University News

Donation Helps Speech Pathology and Audiology Students Work with Clients

June 22, 2020

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MACOMB, IL – Students in Western Illinois University's Speech Pathology and Audiology program got a recent boost with the donation of 100 protective face shields by the Wahl Clipper Corporation in Sterling, IL.

The donation was sought by company employee Jody Dirks, the mother of Erica Armstrong, a graduate student in WIU's speech pathology program.

"Wahl is a family owned company, which really cares about their employees and community," said Dirks. "They made and donated these shields to local hospitals and emergency workers in the area. I asked if I could get some for the kids who are in health care areas at Western Illinois University, like my daughter Erica. They were happy to help."

The face shields will allow students to provide safe therapy and appointments with clients and patients. The shields are a big help to students working with hearing impaired clients who use visual cues to communicate and with children who need to see the students' mouth and tongue to learn how to improve speech.

"We are very appreciative of the generosity from Wahl," said Speech Pathology and Audiology Chair Amanda Silberer. "These face shields help us in continuing our speech, language, feeding and hearing services for clients. Each student clinician and supervisor will use a face shield to further increase our safety precautions. This donation has been extremely helpful during this time of uncertainty and we are so thankful."

For more information on the shields, visit c19protect.com. For more information about WIU's Speech Pathology and Audiology Program, visit wiu.edu/cofac/spa.


Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing