Meet Our Therapists: Amanda Nichols

Today we have the wonderful joy of hearing from Amanda Nichols, MCD, CCC-SLP. We love having her as part of the Steel City Speech team!

Tell us about your family.

I grew up in Birmingham and my parents and siblings still live in Birmingham so we see each other a lot! I have an older sister, brother-in-law, 3 year old niece, and a new nephew that was just born; and I have an older brother and sister-in-law. 

Do you have any hobbies or interests?

I love reading, going on walks to explore different parts of Birmingham, and baking. I’ve had a lot of time to try out new recipes recently! I also enjoy going to my family’s lake house and spending time there reading on the porch or kayaking. 

Favorite Birmingham restaurant?

Brick&Tin, or Farrelly’s! 

Where did you go to school?

I went to Auburn University for both my undergraduate degree in Communication Disorders and my Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology. 

What made you want to be an SLP?

I always knew I wanted to work with kids and always said I wanted to be a teacher, but after shadowing a kindergarten teacher when I was in high school, I realized that I wanted a career where I could work with kids more individually. My dad is the one who researched some career options and told me to look into speech pathology. I immediately fell in love with it and knew it was something that I would be passionate about! I love getting to know my kiddos and their families and helping them communicate with one another. 

What's your favorite aspect of being an SLP?

There is nothing greater than a child’s imagination and fascination of even the smallest things and I get to be a part of that. Incorporating language into daily activities and games makes therapy fun and getting to help a child communicate for those basic desires is such a joy! I’ve always loved creating things so it’s fun to make my own therapy materials and see what random objects I can make a game or activity out of. 

What are your favorite resources for learning more about speech and language?

I read a lot of research articles that The Informed SLP puts out on a monthly basis. I also learn so much from other seasoned SLPs on social media. TeachersPayTeachers is my go-to for finding fun, new activities! 

What's the one thing you wish parents knew about speech and language?

How broad it is!! An SLP can help with so many things and not many people are aware of that. To list a few…receptive and expressive language, articulation, fluency, reading, apraxia, feeding, social skills, voice disorders, etc. We can do it all! 

You can reach Amanda at amanda.nichols@steelcityspeech.com.