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A Winner in Every Way
Clarice Karam-Polston talks about winning the ASHA Conference scholarship contest
By Laura Kuhn

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If you happened to stop by the AGS Publishing booth at the ASHA conference in Philadelphia, you might have met Clarice Karam-Polston, M.S., CCC-SLP. She was the vivacious speech-language pathologist who spent an hour each day in the booth encouraging visitors to fill out drawing forms for the travel case on wheels.

Clarice also helped pass out bottles of lavender, cucumber melon, and cherry vanilla lotion—gifts for conference goers—that represented the beneficial "hand-in-hand" partnership between ASHA and AGS Publishing.

"It was like being on stage again. I loved it," recalled Clarice.

In disbelief

Surprised and elated, Clarice was chosen from a pool of over 7,000 entrants to receive a free scholarship to the 2004 ASHA conference. "I had never won anything before," she said. "I was thrilled. It was also the first time I attended this conference." She received an all-expense paid trip from her home in Tucson, Arizona, which included airfare and accommodations, courtesy of AGS Publishing.

Clarice had signed up for the contest on SpeechandLanguage.com. A couple of months later when she got the call about winning the scholarship, she was shocked. Clarice explained, "I really thought the call was a solicitation. I said, 'You're kidding me, right?' I did not believe I had won until the winner was posted on the Web."

At home in a school setting

Although the contest was based on chance, Clarice definitely deserved the prize. After having raised three children and moving from coast to coast because of her husband's business, she went back to college. She chose the field of speech-language pathology because it involved the study of the brain and all of its related parts (motor abilities, voice, cognitive abilities, and more). Clarice received her bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona and her Master's of Clinical Speech and Language Pathology from Northern Arizona University. In addition, she obtained her Clinical Certification Certificate (CCC) from ASHA and holds a permanent Speech and Language License in the State of Arizona.

Since graduation, Clarice has worked as a speech-language pathologist for the Sunnyside Unified School District in Tucson. She serves 52 children and youth in kindergarten through grade 8, spending four days a week at an elementary school in the district and one day a week at a middle school. Clarice thrives in this multicultural environment, in which 90 percent of her students speak Spanish.

"I regularly use PPVT-III (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition) to test my students' receptive vocabulary and language processing abilities. For more detailed articulation assessment, I administer GFTA-2 (Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Second Edition)," added Clarice.

Advocating for children with brain injuries

In addition to her therapy responsibilities, Clarice serves as a consultant on the Support Cadre for the Arizona Dept of Education in Southern Arizona for traumatic brain injury (TBI). She is also a member of the Arizona Governor's Council on Spinal and Head Injuries. Clarice spoke about the work of the Support Cadre: "We are very involved with the process of getting information about TBI into the schools, medical facilities, and other professional areas, so that awareness and knowledge are enhanced and individuals who experience TBI are identified and treated accordingly." She and other members of the team are revising TBI documents for medical and education staff in Arizona.

Highly interested in the subject, Clarice has attended seminars on brain injury for the purpose of sharing information with others. She has presented to other speech-language pathologists, psychologists, and nurses. Clarice aims to "basically make people aware of what happens when a child hits his or her head."

"Sometimes," Clarice explained, "we see medical patients with brain injuries being released into the school setting who still display significant symptoms. These children may require additional rehabilitation. We need to be prepared to provide the best strategies that will help them. By building on the child's strengths, we assist in the progress of the child's successes."

Finding a community of peers

Coming to the ASHA conference nourished Clarice's spirit. "In the speech-language pathology profession, we're pretty much loners. We're hardly ever together," she reflected.

At the ASHA conference, she felt totally immersed in a warm community of peers. "It was incredible meeting professionals who were doing the same thing I was. Just sitting in a room together was exciting," Clarice said. She enjoyed the "face-to-face" contact and the ability to brainstorm with others. "This is the perfect place to generate ideas."

Clarice mentioned one of the many ASHA seminars she found interesting. Led by a voice teacher/SLP/singer, the presentation covered combinations of vocal behaviors that can impact voice problems. She reported learning "basic assessment and treatment protocols applicable to the professional singer. These included the importance of taking the history, administering a vocal capabilities battery, and developing a comprehensive treatment plan."

Final note

All in all, the ASHA conference was rewarding for Clarice. She hopes to come back again. "I want to thank Tina, Deb, Patrick, and all the other staff at AGS Publishing. They were wonderful. I had a very comfortable and peaceful stay. The accommodations were fabulous! I would never have had this powerful experience, had I not put my name into the drawing on the AGS Publishing Web site. I hope that others take advantage of this resource. It offers a myriad of ideas and a plethora of opportunities," she said.