Growing up, I was always super proud to explain to people what my mom did for a living, and that pride continues to this day! If you grew up the son or daughter of a SLP, you can probably identify with these 12 characteristics.
1. You can identify a lateral lisp from a mile away
And chances are you can make your parents laugh by imitating one too (Sid the Sloth for the win).
2. You receive personal therapy at the first sign of a speech impediment
"There's no way my kid is gonna say his 'r's' like that... we're gonna fix this!"
3. And then you hear about it ever-after
"You're starting to say your r's as w's again, bro..."
4. You are somewhat type A
Schedules, lists, organizing cabinets, clean rooms and glorious Office Max supplies.
5. You learn how to say "speech-language pathologist" and then realize no one knows what you're talking about
So then you have to dumb it down for the lay-people and say "speech therapist." Ugh.
6. You're probably a good singer, and if you're not, you get points for knowing the anatomy of how to sing
"You have to put the breath in the soft palate... sing through the top of your head!"
7. You grew up playing games that tricked you into learning things
Because your mom/dad is basically a type of educator, but with more initials after their name.
8. You knew how to work touch-screen devices before the iPhone was even a thing
Three cheers for Dynavox!
9. You fell in love with laminating from a very early age
Sitting at the desk, cutting out BoardMaker symbols with rounded edges... those were the days.
10. You considered being a SLP early on just because of the high demand rates
And then you tried to pass the science classes... nope!
11. You're super proud of all the hard work they put in to make their student's and client's lives successful
That's a lot of IEPs!
12. You feel like you're the child of a real-life superhero
"Do not fear! The SLPs are here!"
