Behind the scenes with fellow SLP, Nancy Castilleja

November 10, 2020, 15:36 , 15:36 by

Nancy, a fellow speech-language pathologist, worked in clinical practice for many years before coming to Pearson. She didn't simply happen upon her career as an SLP. Perhaps like you, Nancy’s interest in following a path to help people with communication disorders was sparked by her experiences with some very special people in her life.

What led you into the field of speech-language pathology?

“My interest in speech pathology comes from having several family members who had communication disorders. I have an autistic brother who’s younger than I am and a cousin who communicates through sign language due to a severe hearing impairment.

“My family had an everyday need to understand what my brother’s communication disorder was. He was diagnosed with autism in the 60s, which was back in the days when people thought being autistic meant that you had a flare for painting, and there wasn’t a lot known about autism itself or how to help him with the challenges he was facing. My parents really needed to understand why he was communicating the way he was, what techniques we could use at home, and what the school was going to do to help improve his communication and behavioral skills.

“When my brother started going to therapy, we would all pile in the car and go with him. We went to many summer programs and clinic with him, and as a result, I met a lot of his preschool teachers and therapists. They were all so dedicated to helping him do better — very family oriented and concerned about how we felt he was doing at home. They gave us ideas for what we could do to work with him and help him to do better. They were very professional, and they all worked a little differently. I just thought that was so exciting and interesting.”

“Every child is a challenge to figure out, and it’s a fascinating, problem-solving procedure every step of the way.”

What makes assessment so instrumental in helping people with autism and other disorders?

“The true value of assessment isn’t a test score or a description of what the child can or cannot do. As a family, we would become frustrated when my brother was tested and we got back a test score and a list of his strengths and weaknesses. When you’re living with someone, you already know a lot of their strengths and weaknesses. What my parents really needed was to understand his behavior and communication, and what we could do as a family, in everyday life, to improve his communication skills and overall quality of life. His primary mode of communication early on was to scream or run away, so the assessment piece was critical to our ability to support him and help him communicate his needs.”

How has Pearson’s focus evolved over the course of the COVID-19 crisis?

“Over the last several years we’ve made many of our tests available in digital format. We’re working very hard on perfecting ways to use the digital components to make testing easier and accommodate remote testing with ease and accuracy. The point of going digital is not to be cool and technologically savvy, but to make testing easier for today’s new set of challenges. We want to simplify scoring and test administration to match changing needs.

“A lot of our current development research is looking at assessment with current events in mind — remote, with/without PPE, with/without facilitators, etc. — and we will be taking these factors into consideration, along with previous research that has been included in digital test development thus far.

“We are very excited to see what’s new, what we should be considering, and how we can support and guide clinicians to use and interpret our tests more effectively.”

What’s the most exciting feedback you get from clinicians?

You seem to get a lot of personal satisfaction out of your job. Are you excited about what’s next?

“I do! I saw a child with significant phonological and behavioral issues. This was very challenging to me as a first semester clinician. Fortunately, I had great mentors who helped me to realize that every child is a challenge to figure out. They helped me to recognize what she was able to do, then plan strategies to help facilitate better interaction and better communication. It’s a fascinating, problem-solving procedure every step of the way. There’s truly nothing better than helping a child and their family find their way.

“As for what’s next, our field is always evolving. There are always new assessment best practices, therapy methods, and recommendations that we need to keep on top of. I think we have a huge personal investment in what we do, not just the SLPs on staff, but the entire team we work with here at Pearson. There's a lot of personal motivation and satisfaction in a job well done. When there are problems to solve, everyone jumps in to try to figure it out."

“We feel a deep, personal obligation to take care of the clinicians using the tests, knowing that kids and families are depending on the results.”

Nancy’s picks

Tools that Nancy is loving right now

CELF Preschool-3

Use the CELF Preschool-3 for in-depth assessment of your Pre-K students’ language skills.

PEDI-CAT

Use the PEDI-CAT to examine daily living, mobility, social/cognitive, and responsibility for students on the autism spectrum and those with multiple disabilities.

Professional assessments

Digital solutions

Other assessment types

Featured topics

Training

Research

Webinars & Blogs

Ordering

Account information

Manage orders

Contact us

Behind the scenes with fellow SLP, Nancy Castilleja

“Every child is a challenge to figure out, and it’s a fascinating, problem-solving procedure every step of the way.”

“We feel a deep, personal obligation to take care of the clinicians using the tests, knowing that kids and families are depending on the results.”

Nancy’s picks

Tools that Nancy is loving right now

CELF Preschool-3

PEDI-CAT

More connections

SHOP ASSESSMENTS

LEGAL POLICIES

HELP & SUPPORT

ABOUT PEARSON