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LaFayette Library hosted the Auburn University Rural Health Initiative for an information session about speech and hearing services available in LaFayette on Thursday. 

Assistant Clinical Professor Lydia Allison spoke to LaFayette citizens about the resources that the Chambers County Health and Wellness Center offers the public for free. Auburn University faculty and students will be offering free speech and hearing walk-in screenings every other Friday at the center. 

The Chambers County Health and Wellness Center is a partnership between AU Rural Health Initiative, the city of LaFayette and the Chambers County Commission to bring resources to parts of the county where healthcare disparities are common. 

After the screening, Allison said diagnosticians will make their recommendation on whether the individuals should make an appointment for a full evaluation. Auburn’s Speech and Hearing staff offer evaluations at the wellness center in LaFayette or on the Auburn University campus clinic. 

Though the screenings are free, a full evaluation will have a charge. However, Allison said they accept many forms of health insurance. 

The next screenings will be Sept. 8 and 22, Oct. 6 and 20, Nov. 3 and 17 and Dec. 1. 

“Anybody is welcome to come even if you just want to participate and kind of want to see what it’s all about even if you don’t have any concerns,” Allison said during the meeting.

Speech Language Pathologists work with people from infants in NICU all the way to geriatric patients. 

Allison, who now teaches at Auburn University, has a background with adults who have had strokes and brain injuries. However, she said SLPs also work with patients who have swallowing disorders, cognitive or social deficits and fluency disorders such as stuttering. 

Over the years, the form of speech and hearing therapy has evolved to become more “more person-centered and more family-centered,” Allison said. 

Many people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and dyslexia undergo speech therapy. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can also be treated by SLPs. 

Allison said the Health and Wellness Center is also offering an IPE Clinic on Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CT. Students from Nursing, Nutrition, Pharmacy, Social and Speech Pathology will be there to perform free services and screenings. 

During the clinic, faculty and students of Auburn will offer comprehensive health screenings, medication review, weight assessment, blood pressure screenings, blood sugar screening, cholesterol screening, nutrition education and screening and community resource and education.

The health and wellness center is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.