Speech and Language Pathology

Volunteering in NYC

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:04:56 GMT

Surprisingly, I'm having a difficult time finding somewhere related to Speech or Disabilities where I can volunteer in NYC. Does anyone have any suggestions?

The Myth of the Safety School

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:04:38 GMT

Can any seasoned applicants share what "safety schools" they applied to? I'm starting to believe that there's no such thing. All SLP programs seem to be extremely competitive.

Easter Seals Early Intervention

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:56:32 GMT

Anyone here know anything about Easter Seals Early Intervention? Esp. for specific states/cities.

undergrad and I need some guidance!

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:53:33 GMT

Hello,

Everyone is so helpful on here! I thought I'd throw my question out there. I have just decided to change my major and speech pathology has really caught my attention. Ideally I would love to work with children in a hospital setting. I was just wondering what time frame I'm looking at. Could I get a job with a Bachelor's while I get my Masters? Should I start volunteering now? For example, doctors graduate and after the cap and gown they have a couple of years for licensing and boards etc. So what does my time frame look like? I am obviously just becoming familiar with the major and schools give very general information. Any advice and/or guidance would be really appreciated! Thanks!

NYC DOE

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:30:09 GMT

Anyone here work for the NYC department of education and have advice for getting hired? You can respond here or PM me :)

Thanks!

University of the Pacific accelerated program

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:18:17 GMT

Hello :)
Wondering if anyone can offer information about the accelerated 15-month SLP program at the University of the Pacific (UoP) in Stockton, CA. Would you recommend this program? What is the cost of tuition? How competitive is it? I've done a bit of research myself in regard to tuition - about $60K - but it seems like a fair trade-off considering it's a 15-month program versus 24 months like "regular" grad programs. I would greatly appreicate any words of wisdom or advice you might have, and am open to hear from others who attended accelerated programs at schools other than UoP.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond!

Ungrad Advice

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:33:37 GMT

Hey everyone! :) I know a bunch of us ungrads overload this forum but you guys are just so helpful! I need advice because I am an out of fielder studying Psychology, because there is no CSD offered at my school. I applied for the Speech Language Pathology Certificate program (starting Fall) which is basically the pre-reqs required for grad school however you must apply to receive the permission codes. I am about to start my senior year in the Fall. I'm really stressed because my plan was always to apply for grad school Fall 2014 but so far all I have going for me is that I have research experience which I received credit for a poster. I've tried volunteering SO many times at different hospitals, private clinics, disability camps. It's crazy because you would think people want someone that's offering to help for free but nothing. It seems like in my area (Miami, FL) there's already so many other people that are trying to volunteer as well and I admit my schedule is tight. I'm available weekends and evenings at the moment because of work and school. I really wanted to have volunteered at different kinds of settings but it's harder than I expected. My current GPA is 3.54, I'm part of Psi Chi (Psychology honors society), Stand Up for Love Treasurer (non-for-profit organization), my job isn't related - Epilepsy Foundation of Florida but it does have to do with health care? Lol. I am honestly am not close to any professors yet :/ But I will change that hopefully this summer, in order to ask for letter of recommendations. I'm debating whether I should do a program in my area to become a Substitute Teacher (which costs $$). I'm also thinking of becoming a Teacher Assistant, and I applied to a Disability Charter school which I haven't heard back from. Basically I need feedback whether I should go through and do the Substitute Teacher process? Or focus more on trying to volunteering somewhere. I want to work in a school setting, at least at first. Does anyone know about the loan forgiveness in Florida? How does that work? Anyways, I need to apply to most schools by Jan/Feb so I would need experience and on top of that study and pass the GRE, I feel like I have no time for everything I need to do. Should I plan to apply to grad schools for 2015 instead and become an SLPA for a year? I don't want to waste my money on all these applications and stress when my application isn't even all that strong at the moment. But in the same time I'd rather go straight to grad school if I luckily could possibly get in. What are your opinions? Feedback is much appreciated. Thank you guys! (sorry for the super long post)

So, I started a blog on AAC and visual supports

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:43:33 GMT

Figured I'd share in case anyone finds it helpful. And let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like me to discuss! What are your questions about AAC?

http://thoughtsaboutaac.weebly.com/

LOW GPA SLP graduate school applicant

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:48:30 GMT

So my semester grades are being finalized,
I was on the hopes of getting a 4.0, which then went down to a 3.8 and now it will be a 3.6 for the semester My GPA for applications next semester will be about a 3.2 with probably a 3.53 last 60 units with another GPA in psychology with a 3.47 and an ABA certificate GPA of 3.6. I have work experience being a behavior instructor with children who have autism and i am part of psi chi, NSSSLHA and I have some research experience, and some supervision hours.

I was wondering what my chances are of getting accepted were. I was thinking of applying to some schools for spring admission and if i don't get in there for Spring, maybe some fall school, including NYU as a "reach school." what can I do now to better my chances and application?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

CFY billing question

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:38:30 GMT

I'm about to start my CF at a private practice and was wondering what (as a CF)/ how I am supposed to bill. Do I have to be added on as an "assistant" to my mentor or am I allowed to have it solely under my name? I did call and ask my state licensing board and they said it had to be under my mentor, but ASHA specifically states that if you are in a state that provides temporary licensure (mine does) then a CF is fully qualified to bill Medicare. I am confused! Anyone do their CF in a private practice or have any idea on this topic? Any info would be great! Thanks! :)

IPAD

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:58:40 GMT

I have purchased an Ipad and intend to use it next year with my CFY caseload. I know that the company will provide an "expense" account of sorts to purchase supplies, etc. Now if I buy apps with this "expense" account for my Ipad, what happens when I leave? Aren't these apps the property of the company? And what happens if the Ipad is broken or damaged by a client? thanks.

Feeling Extremely Discouraged About Praxis

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:45:29 GMT

Hi everyone,

I am feeling extremely discouraged about the praxis. I have taken the praxis 2 times already and have not passed. The first time I took it I got a 590 and the second time I took it I got a 570. The first time I took it I studied for about 3 months and took it and then when I took it the second time I studied for another month and took it again on the next available test date which was a month from the first test date. I have used the advanced review book (yellow and purple) to study and I'm not sure why I am unsuccessful with passing. The second time I took it I felt like the test was harder than the first time because there were a lot of stuttering questions(which is my weak area) and a lot of questions with graphs. So..after all that what I'm trying to ask is..is there any advice, tips or material that anyone can advise to help me increase my chances of passing hopefully the third time around? I appreciate all the help and advice I can get..I'm really starting to freak out now and worry because I'm afraid that I have done all this undergrad and grad school work and won't be able to practice as an SLP and obtain my CCC's because I can't pass the praxis :(

Childhood apraxia of speech vs Severe articulation delays ?

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:56:18 GMT

I'm assessing a four year old preschooler whose primary eligibility is ID. The child is non verbal but uses gestures to communicate.Some oral motor planning issues were also noted. His parents are suspecting apraxia ( courtesy Dr.Google) and inquired about assessing him for apraxia. Should this child be referred to a pediatric neurologist for a diagnosis of apraxia ? ASHA's position is that SLPs can provide the CAS diagnosis. My question is, how to differentially diagnose apraxia vs severe articulation delays, given that the child has very limited language and unable to follow test commands to assess oral motor function ?. Thank you !

SLP's and SLPA's that work in a clinic

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:11:37 GMT

How long have you been at your clinic? And why do you stay?

No pre-reqs

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:57:48 GMT

I know that there are some SLP graduate programs that do not require prerequisites in order to apply or be accepted. However, given the competitive nature of the admissions process for programs, this seems to be impossible. Does anyone know of any success stories of being admitted to SLP graduate programs with little or no prerequisite courses?

AAC consultant

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:35:11 GMT

If you required an AAC consultant for you child what would you hope to achieve through hiring the consultant? I understand in general a consultant helps when/where needed but not everyone realizes what the potential benefits could be. So what would you say a consultants selling highlights are?
i.e. IEP structuring, programming, implementation strategies etc.

Admissions: Grad School, getting in!

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:41:30 GMT

For those of you who were like me and are extremely frustrated or confused on how to get into graduate school without the most amazing stats, (i.e. GRE scores, GPA, etc.) let me tell you that it does get easier and everything really does happen for a reason! First of all I'll tell you my background I recently graduated from an above average university in the midwest (it has a good reputation, so well known but not ivy league by any means). I graduated a year ago with barely a 3.4 and around a 3.2 in the actual speech pathology major (I had a few C's, unfortunately), I got a 150v/148q/4.5 for my GRE scores. Finally I had a lot of volunteer experience relating to speech pathology/ in a lot of organizations but very few leadership roles and not a lot of work experience in the field. In the end I applied to around 10 schools and was wait listed at many, but accepted at zero in the end. I was devastated. But I decided to look at this year off as an opportunity, and I chose to stay close to home but still moved in with a friend in a nice apartment and got a job at a therapy center for autism where I currently work as a behavioral therapist and preschool assistant. Although it has not been the most ideal year, it really has given me much more experience and motivation towards my goal as an SLP that I did not have a year ago, and I feel like I now know how to work with professionals, families, and most importantly children with disabilities better than I ever did in undergrad. So in the end I tried to take the GRE again but did about the same and I made sure to work harder on my personal statements for each school and not just do the same essay for each. I did visit a few schools this time, which some people recommended but in the end I truly believe they choose based on your application rather than just coming to an open house.

In the end I got into THREE schools this year so far. I reevaulated what schools I could get into and I did some research (grad cafe admission results really helped, and instead of looking at the avg gpa's on ASHA's site I looked at the number of applicants and acceptances, and I truly believe this is what helped me... the schools with more applicants were much more competitive, even if they weren't better schools). For those of you wondering the schools I got into were Edinboro of PA, Eastern Kentucky, and Armstrong Atlantic State (savannah, GA). And although these are not the top schools, I know that I will work even harder because of this last year and the connections I made in the speech pathology community. I know that I may not be extremely "book smart," I'm an average student but I knew this is what I wanted to do and I know I make connections with others and more personable than most. So if you are similar to me don't give up, or even just need a safety school I hope this advice helps you. I also have the flexibility to move so I applied in many states and even applied to schools for Marriage and Family Therapy as a plan B and was accepted at Northwestern after an interview... So this field is competitive and just make sure to try everything!! Good Luck everyone!

Cognitive therapy

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:42:23 GMT

Ok, here's a confession. I don't care for cognitive therapy. I work in SNFs and do it a lot. It's usually with people who come in with unrelated dx's such as hip replacement, falls, etc. Maybe they display confusion at first for a multitude of reasons. Maybe they had symptoms of cognitive decline before but they didn't notice. Maybe their family/friends did but chalked it up to normal aging. Either way, they or their family don't understand the point of speech therapy for it. I try to make it functional as possible like planning for changes they might have to make at home to accommodate their walker, managing new medications, recalling the steps for safe sit-to-stand transfers, etc. I get why we do it but many of my pts and their families don't. It's just common sense to them and I'm wasting their time pretty much. I wish our work and progress was more "visible" like PT and OT is. Any tips or words of wisdom? Or anything to cheer up a bad week?

Interview activity

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:53:35 GMT

Hi! I'm interviewing at a charter school this Friday for a SLP and need some help. I have to do a 10 minute activity with typically developing 5th graders. It doesn't have to be a speech-language activity (they said but almost anything can be a language based activity.). They more want to see how I interact with the kids. I definitely still wanna show some creativity and do something that could be perceived as somewhat therapeutic. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'm hoping to blow them away. I want something that shows my skills as an slp, my ability to interact/relate with the kids and creativity during therapeutic tasks. Thanks!!!!

One idea I had was to watch a cartoon video and have the kids take turns saying one sentence of a summary. So one student would start and then each child would have to build on it. I am completely open to suggestions and anything and everything is much appreciated!

Giving Casl Assessment for AU kid

Tue, 14 May 2013 04:30:27 GMT

Ok I just finished scoring the CASL..and the student passed with flying colosr. His lowest ss was an 85.I can't just dismiss this child because he is AU right...especially from the schools..This is what worries me

Lesson planning for a bigger caseload

Tue, 14 May 2013 01:33:14 GMT

I'm currently at a pediatric outpatient clinic for my summer practicum. I love it but I'm having a hard time finding the line between planning activities for each client and balancing having so many to plan for. When I was on-campus in clinic the supervisors wanted original ideas for every session and I found myself getting carried away with lesson planning. Now I will have around 8+ kids/morning the plan for and it doesn't seem doable to creatively lesson plan for each individual student. Currently I'm making special activities for each client but soon I think it will become too much. My supervisor doesn't plan before each session because she has lots of experience and can make anything fit the clients' goals. What do you guys think? Should I just use what my supervisor has been doing for each lesson or will that make me look like I'm not trying? How did you all balance creativity & time management in graduate school?

SLPA Certification

Mon, 13 May 2013 01:37:13 GMT

Hi All!

So, I am currently getting my BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences and have recently been accepted into a great SLPA program but before I accept my spot in the program I would like to know more about getting my certificate on my own. I know that it requires a hundred hours of observation but does anyone know what the cost of the test is, or where to take it (I'm in Arizona)?

Thank you for the help,
Roxanne

Artic kids progress

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:13:39 GMT

Hey Everyone,

I am working at a school and I was just wondering how fast your artic kids have quickly progress either kids being served at a clinic, home health, or school.

A majority of my artic kids have gone from words to conversation in 7 to 8 months. Is this the norm?
How long did it take your kids to progress to conversation? Did you send homework or not?

Just trying to see how effective my therapy has been.

Retaking SLP prerequisites

Thu, 09 May 2013 23:57:02 GMT

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has advice on retaking prerequisite classes. I want to retake two classes at a school different from where I took the majority of my prerequisite classes. I had a bad experience with a teacher's class. I was doing well in all of my classes except hers. Most of the students had a hard time because it was extremely hard to get good grades. As much as I tried, I got "Cs". My low grades brought my GPA down a lot. I couldn't afford to retake the two classes in the program. Even if I had to do her classes again, the anxiety would be the same. I tried applying to grad school and sure enough the GPA wasn't high enough to compete with hundreds of other applicants. I believe I could have gotten a higher average if I took the class elsewhere. I was wondering if anyone had tried to take prereqs outside of your program and if that helped your application. I'm looking for inexpensive classes (perhaps online) because I've already amassed a lot of loan debt with my prereqs already. I know retaking them elsewhere doesn't necessarily mean it will be easier, but I'm willing to do it if it means increasing my chances of getting into school.

Common Core & Language

Thu, 09 May 2013 23:32:40 GMT

Just wondering if anyone incorporates 'Common Core' standards into their language goals? I have a 5th grader who scored fairly low on his Expressive Language score on the CELF-4, and was wondering what types of language goals I could make for him to help him along with the Language components of Common Core. I have the App on my iphone so I can look up the objectives easily. Has anyone ever taken this into account when making language goals? Any advice would be much appreciated!