SLP Writes Award-Winning Horror Film Featuring Lead Character With Hearing Loss

Before becoming a speech-language pathologist, I attempted to be a full-time screenwriter. (Hey, I’m from Los Angeles, it’s a birthright). After some early success, near misses, and heartbreak, I decided to find a more stable career—and a source of income—I felt equally passionate about. I discovered speech-language pathology and the rest is history. I’ve worked as an SLP for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 10 years, and love my job. However, the writing bug still gnawed at me. By day, I’m a mild-mannered SLP, and by night, I feed my coffee habit and my literary dreams. My work with children with special needs opened up a new world to me and, consequently, added depth to my writing. I engage with children of all kinds of challenges—from intellectual disabilities to specific learning disabilities to hearing loss. I experience it all and value the daily opportunities to work with them. These experiences inspired me to write another screenplay. “Soul to Keep” features a lead character with hearing loss in a full-length horror film. My friend and director David Allensworth worked with me on the script and directed the movie. I made sure our main female protagonist’s character did not focus on her hearing loss. I highlight her as a part of a group of lifelong friends who treat her simply as just one of the gang. To top it off, they all communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). “Soul to Keep” is a mainstream horror film emphasizing the frie...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Audiology Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology American Sign Language hearing loss Source Type: blogs