Gandalf and Speech Pathology

“Look out for me, especially at unlikely times!” –Gandalf, "The Fellowship of the Ring"

I learned much about the field of speech-language pathology this week: presentations, CPR, paperwork, professional communication, and specialized computer programs are just a few topics that came up this week.

In the midst of this overwhelming sea of new information, I found my knees shaking a little.

Don’t misunderstand: I am excited to dive into this field and I believe this will be an amazing experience.

However, I also know that there is a lot for me to learn. I approach the coming months with confidence, but not entirely without misgivings about how smoothly the weeks will go.

But in the midst of this newness and change, I found encouragement for my speech pathology pursuits in an unexpected place: Gandalf, my favorite character from my favorite book series, The Lord of the Rings. (Props to Gandalf, by the way, for appearing at an unlikely time in this case, just like he did for Frodo and Bilbo.)

What does Gandalf have to do with Speech Pathology?

As I learned from a presentation given a few days ago, when a speech therapist works with a client, the intent is to help the client communicate or swallow more effectively.

Other than Gandalf’s obvious affinity for talking, there’s not much this evil-fighting, horse-riding, adventuring wizard has in common with a speech pathology student. What’s the connection?

The connection lies not so much in what we do, but in how we go about doing our business.

I’ll start by laying out what speech pathologists are supposed do when they have a client referred to them.

Before a speech pathologist sees the client, he or she does research prior to an evaluation. Speech pathologists find out why the client is coming to them and look at family history and medical history (as long as it is made available – medical privacy is important). If questions remain, the speech pathologist may seek more information from the family or the referring doctor. When they finally meet for the evaluation, the speech pathologist administers tests and/or examines the client and finds out what he or she (the client) can and cannot do. The speech pathologist, based on expertise and testing, then writes down their recommendation – the client should receive services, should not receive services, etc.

Guess what? Gandalf researched too. When Bilbo left his ring to Frodo, Gandalf decided he needed to find out what exactly this ring was. Taking on the roles of both concerned parent and knowledgeable professional, Gandalf notices something that might be a problem and looks into it. He has some pieces of the puzzle – Bilbo found this ring, had it for x many years, ring appears to have y magical qualities. This is clearly a ring of power, Gandalf decides. But which one?

Thanks to his research, the wizard learns the history of a certain One Ring (which the bad guy is desperate to reacquire): after passing hands multiple times, it went missing. Also, he discovers that placing the One Ring in a fire reveals an inscription that proves it to be the One Ring that controls all the other rings of power. Finding this ring was kind of a big deal.

Gandalf returns to the Shire, has Frodo perform the fire test, and bam – Gandalf has some recommendations to make.

Research, tests, diagnoses – turns out Gandalf and speech pathologists engage in pretty similar activities. Let’s not forget that, like Gandalf, speech pathologists make a journey with the people they work with. Gandalf travels to the Lonely Mountain and across Middle Earth with specific groups, and speech pathologists “travel” through therapy with their clients.

And finally, when the time comes for clients to move on without services anymore, the professionals take their leave: professional speech pathologists dismiss their clients, and professional world-savers let go of the reins and travel across the sea.

Speech pathologists may not perform on as novel-worthy a level as Gandalf, but it is encouraging to me to know that exciting events can be rooted in what originally appears as mundane and ordinary tasks.