By Dave DeFusco
Dani Weingarten graduated from the Katz School's Speech-Language Pathology program in 2021.Anne, a 50-something churchgoer, lost her speech after a stroke. She had trouble coming up with the right words and stringing them into sentences鈥攁 condition called aphasia鈥攗ntil Dani Weingarten, a graduate of the Katz School鈥檚 M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), took on her case.
Anne was a client at New York Neurogenic Speech-Language Pathology where Weingarten works as a speech pathologist alongside her mentor, Dr. Marissa Barrera, the owner of the practice and director of Katz School's SLP program.
鈥淲hen I first met her, Anne couldn鈥檛 say her name,鈥 said Weingarten, who also teaches at YU鈥檚 Stern College for Women. 鈥淪he couldn鈥檛 express how she was feeling.鈥
Over Zoom calls, Weingarten used standard speech therapy techniques, like reviewing colors, numbers and days of the week with corresponding visuals. With the use of a whiteboard, she helped her client piece together short phrases but they sounded robotic, and complex verbal communication remained elusive.
She sometimes left our sessions very sad,鈥 said Weingarten. 鈥淚t was frustrating for her.鈥
Then one day, she asked Anne to sing.
鈥淪he had lost the ability to read, write and speak鈥攅verything, except singing,鈥 said Weingarten.
Weingarten works with a client at New York Neurogenic SLP.She used a special technique, called melodic intonation therapy, which was developed in 1973 at the Boston Veterans Affairs Hospital. Melodic intonation therapy aims to help patients with damage to Broca鈥檚 area鈥攖he speaking center of the brain, located in the left hemisphere.
The therapy engages the right hemisphere, which is used in understanding language as well as processing melodies and rhythms, by asking patients to tap out rhythms and repeat simple melodies. Weingarten, who learned of the therapy in the Katz School's SLP program, created sing-song sentences for Anne. She then worked on removing the melody to leave behind a more normal speaking pattern. It was the key to retraining Anne鈥檚 brain to speak with tone and rhythm.
鈥淲e started with multisyllabic words and then would add a tune,鈥 said Weingarten. 鈥淚f she couldn鈥檛 find the word church, she鈥檇 sing me a song from her church that was completely intelligible and understandable. We鈥檝e developed our own form of communication.鈥
Throughout the painstaking therapy, Weingarten has kept her mother and brother in mind. As a child growing up in Bayside, Queens, she witnessed her brother, who suffers from severe epilepsy, take frequent trips to the hospital. When she was 9 years old, she saw her mother go deaf. Napkins and pieces of paper were Weingarten鈥檚 primary means of communication with her.
鈥淲hen I work with a client, I always try to see it from the sister鈥檚 point of view or the daughter鈥檚 point of view,鈥 she said. 鈥淵ou want your loved one to have someone dedicated to them at all times, so I think, 鈥楬ow would I want mine to be treated?鈥 That鈥檚 how I approach my work.鈥
She also credits Katz School SLP faculty with instilling in her the discipline to get through the rigorous 55-credit program, which focuses on the medical aspects of SLP. Students participate in four clinical externships, learn how to conduct telehealth sessions and gain clinical experience under the guidance of faculty, supervisors and mentors.
Within the coursework, students utilize technology, such as endoscopy, electrical stimulation and ultrasound, to assist with the diagnosis of voice, speech and swallowing disorders. They also obtain the necessary counseling skills to support families facing a challenging diagnosis.
Passion is another hallmark of the program. Weingarten said the faculty routinely spent off-hours with her on classwork or just to offer encouragement.
鈥淭hey supported and believed in me,鈥 she said, 鈥渂ut they didn鈥檛 spoon-feed me. They were tough in all the right ways鈥攁nd dedicated.鈥
More than a year after their first session, Anne speaks haltingly and in clipped sentences, but she can express when she鈥檚 happy or sad or in pain鈥攁 significant improvement over the few garbled words that constituted her vocabulary and often had her feeling overwhelmed.
鈥淣ow, she cries happy tears,鈥 said Weingarten who recently received an email from Anne thanking her. 鈥淪he said 鈥業 love you鈥. We used to end our sessions with her singing the song, Never Would Have Made It (Without You). Now she just says it to me.鈥
