Aieshea is a licensed and nationally certified speech-language pathologist (SLP). She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Communicative Disorders, beginning her career as a clinical SLP in 2003. Over the span of her career, she has worked with individuals and families with suspected or identified communication challenges from pediatric through adulthood in public and private educational settings, in-home early intervention, and private practice. Although her clinical experience includes a wide range of communication profiles, she has worked predominantly with individuals who have developmental disabilities and neurodevelopmental conditions. With a strong belief in the power of communication and holistic care, Aieshea has placed great emphasis in the importance of understanding the needs of the whole person and functional language skills that encourage self-advocacy, empowerment, and connection.
In 2014, Aieshea joined the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Loma Linda University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses that include, but are not limited to, Counseling in Communicative Disorders and Neurodiversity. She is a clinical instructor for the university’s Communication Clinic for Autistic Individuals, the coordinator for the Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant preparation program, and participates in several committees which include, but are not limited to, cultural diversity.
Aieshea’s passion in supporting autistic individuals led to her pursuit of a doctorate degree in Rehabilitation Science to research the self-perceived social communication experiences of Autistic young adults. During her doctoral journey, coursework in stress management, gaining a greater understanding of the stress and trauma related to the social experiences of Autistic people, and her own personal experiences were the impetus to learning more about trauma-informed care.
Aieshea firmly believes that diversity is valuable to the human experience, and everyone should feel empowered by their authenticity as well as supported in their differences and/or challenges. Although trauma may not be the cause of all communication challenges, the impact of trauma will exacerbate difficulties. Therefore, an awareness and sensitivity to one’s trauma and providing trauma-informed environments and support systems will facilitate comfort and growth in communication which will improve self-advocacy, empowerment, and connection.
Aieshea has completed training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and has professional certification as a Trauma-Informed Care Practitioner. She seeks to increase knowledge and support to the intersection of stress, trauma, and communication.