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Tracie Pospisil (Photo: Supplied)

For graduate student Tracie Pospisil, a passion for speech-language pathology (SLP) was sparked by personal experience. Growing up alongside her sister Kristen, who has Down syndrome, she saw firsthand the barriers individuals with communication challenges face. Fortunately, she also witnessed the positive impact SLPs can have by equipping individuals and families with tools to address these barriers. “Inspired by this work and wanting to be able to make a similar positive impact for other families like mine, I decided to pursue a career in SLP.”

Her early coursework continued to shape the progression of her studies. Pospisil completed a bachelor’s in psychology at the º£½ÇÉçÇø’s francophone campus, Campus Saint-Jean, and worked at the Edmonton Down Syndrome Society as a language and literacy program facilitator. Initially, fluency disorders weren’t on her radar, but during Jessica Harasym O’Byrne’s course, her interest deepened. “The case study she presented on a person who stutters with Down syndrome … was the first time I considered how stuttering can co-occur with other diagnoses,” she says. As someone who is English-French bilingual, she also found it interesting to hear how stuttering can vary across languages and contexts, when she heard from an invited panel of individuals who stutter — including some who were multilingual — who shared their experiences. These realizations were a big eye-opener for her, and that led her to pursue a placement at the Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR) to learn more.

Regarding her education, she shares, “I found the first year of SLP grad school to be the most challenging, since you’re given a lot of information in a short amount of time. What helped was leaning on my peers for support. We all come from different academic and professional backgrounds, so everyone brings expertise in different areas.”

When she joined the spring 2025 student placement at ISTAR to work with school-age children Pospisil continued to benefit from collaboration. “Working with the ISTAR team was incredibly collaborative! It was one of the unique placements where I worked with multiple SLPs and fellow students to create resources, plan lessons and carry out therapy sessions.” This teamwork allowed them to leverage each other’s strengths and create the most effective treatment plans for clients. For example, her peers with teaching backgrounds helped design group activities that engaged all the children in therapy.

Now she has had a chance to work with clients facing a range of speech and language challenges. “The most fulfilling part for me is seeing clients’ confidence in their skills grow and hearing how they get to use these skills in activities which are meaningful or important to them,” she says. “This work is incredibly rewarding.” When creating individualized treatment plans, she emphasizes the importance of understanding each client’s goals and context to match them to the best evidence-based intervention strategies and functional activities to help them move forwards. “This allows me to meet the client and their family where they are at,” she explains.

Pospisil knows building trust with clients is essential, especially for those who may be hesitant about therapy. “I take time to explain the purpose behind each assessment or activity and how it connects to their personal goals,” she notes. “I also strive to create a safe, supportive environment by listening, validating their experiences and incorporating activities they enjoy so therapy can be engaging and fun.” Again, collaboration comes into play as the client’s family or care team of other professionals also play a huge role in success. “I always seek out and welcome that teamwork.”

Looking ahead, Pospisil hopes to work as a SLP in Alberta, using her bilingual skills to support both pediatric and adult clients. “During my clinical placements, I’ve learned so much from clients across age groups and practice areas, and I hope to continue gaining that breadth of insight and experience throughout my career,” she says. Her advice for others interested in pursuing a placement at ISTAR? “If you have the opportunity, take it! Working at ISTAR is such a unique and collaborative experience. You’ll gain valuable exposure to stuttering and build your clinical skills and confidence along the way. I promise you won’t regret it!”