It is a pleasure to introduce the world to Dora Doss, our March spotlight and amazing therapist! Dora is being recognized for her commitment to the DotCom Therapy® mission and her commitment to learning more about her field! In November, Dora was recognized by the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) and given an Award of Continuing Education for her commitment as a life-long learner. On top of that, Dora has met with me on numerous occasions and is constantly advocating and thinking of ideas to assist DCT with continuing to make therapy available to families in the military, a passion of hers.
Here is a little more about Dora:
What made you want to become a speech therapist?
While registering for my sophomore year classes I decided to take Intro to Communication Sciences and Disorders, because it sounded interesting. During the semester, the professor teaching the class offered the opportunity to earn extra credit to anyone who volunteered to provide childcare at an upcoming conference for parents of children with special needs. I signed up to help with childcare and specifically requested to help with the siblings, as I didn’t have any experience with children who had special needs. Despite my uneasy feelings, the volunteer coordinators reassured me it would be just fine. They introduced me to a little girl who had cerebral palsy and her dad. He told me her story, showed me how to feed her, and how to recognize cues that indicated her needs since she couldn’t speak. I spent the entire day being her buddy by helping her participate in the activities with the other children, and my interactions with this sweet little girl forever changed me. I knew then that working with children to overcome communication and feeding disorders was what I wanted to do.
What made you want to join the DotCom Therapy team?
I was working PRN in a pediatric outpatient setting and loved it, however it was difficult to make the schedule work for my family. I enjoyed the job and people, but began to search for something I could do on a consistent basis that would enable me to have a good work/life balance. When I saw DotCom Therapy was founded by two SLPs and their mission was to remove location as a barrier for services, I was immediately intrigued. My favorite jobs have always been because of the people I had the opportunity to collaborate with, learn from, and develop relationships with. I saw that potential with DotCom Therapy. The other SLPs have a diverse background of experience to draw from and the platforms available make it easy to get ideas, ask questions, and learn from each other. There is also a multidisciplinary team feel because DotCom Therapy also has OT’s and mental health professionals. I’m honored to be a part of such a strong team of people who have a passion for removing location as a barrier for services.
What has been your favorite thing about teletherapy?
My favorite thing about teletherapy is that location isn’t a barrier for the kiddos on my caseload. I have always had a drive to help children receive the professional services they needed. Additionally, collaborating and modeling with the school staff and parents is very rewarding. It isn’t simply me working with a child on therapy goals and sending them back to their classroom; I have a school staff member or a parent present during the session to educate and model how to target therapy goals.
Fill in the blank. When I’m not working, you’ll most likely find me….with my family. I’m a proud mama to three fabulous kids and have been married to my best friend for 18 years. At any given time I can be found homeschooling, driving to piano lessons, watching karate lessons, cheering for the final stretch at a cross-country race, or burning a batch of brownies from a recipe I found on Pinterest. Simply enjoying the time we are able to spend together is what’s important to me.
Dora, thank you for your commitment to the field of speech therapy, to advocacy and to being an amazing and inspirational DotCom Therapist™.