Hey #slp2be 💕 Are you in your first semester of graduate school and feel like you’re a huge imposter? Read the 3 things you need to know👇🏽

1. You are here to LEARN 🧠. You are not expected to know it all yet. Make notes of what you need to improve on and set aside time in your schedule to review/relearn these concepts. Do your research, go to office hours, listen to SLP podcasts, and/or form a study group!

2. Be your own clinician 🌟. You can’t always rely on other people to give you “the answer.” You are going to have to make decisions using your clinical instincts and figure out ways to make your therapy sessions engaging and intentional. Don’t try to be like everyone else. Understand your strengths and utilize them throughout your entire grad school journey.

3. Focus on the POSITIVES 🫶🏽 It can be easy to get caught up in everything that went “wrong” during a session, without acknowledging any of the parts that went right. Give yourself credit for all of your wins (e.g. you have established good rapport with your client, you improvised when your client didn’t like the activity you brought, you remembered to collect data, etc.). This is the time to make mistakes because they’re all opportunities to learn and grow as a clinician.

💬 Comment down below what you’re struggling with as a first semester (or year) graduate student?

The financial part of SLP school, including student loan repayment, necessitates careful consideration. In this blog article, we’ll look at the financial aspects of SLP school. This article emphasises on student loan repayment and advanced financial planning tools targeted to SLP students.

https://content.liricare.com/the-financial-side-of-slp-education-student-loan-repayment-and-financial-planning-for-slp-students/

I interviewed with a social worker last Wednesday who told me she has to educate her SLP colleagues on the nuances of African-American English. This shocked me because we should be the language experts! However, I understand a lot of graduate programs do not take the time to truly teach this concept.

If you relate to this, I encourage you to take 5 minutes today to research the dialectal features of AAE! You can start here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227605544_Phonological_and_phonetic_characteristics_of_AAVE

Hey everyone!

If you did not know, I started my Student Teaching semester at 2 elementary schools, which will be my last clinical placement in graduate school.

Yesterday, I go to observe my first IEP and was fascinated because we had two ASL interpreters on Zoom. At this school, there is a big population of DHH students and one of the teachers present was DHH also. It inspired me to possibly go back to school and double major in ASL and Spanish to help with my dreams of being a multilingual SLP. Additionally, tomorrow I will be running 3 speech and language sessions that I planned and created materials for. Being a grad student on a budget means that I have to DIY a lot of speech materials unless I plan activities with games and other materials my supervisor has shared with me. I like adding a piece of myself to my speech therapy so I mix my crafted materials with my supervisor's. I've been really enjoying working with and learning from my supervisor.

I am excited for what is to come!

Do you use wordless videos for pragmatic/language treatment and wonder where you can find the proof of its efficacy? Check out this article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40489-016-0098-5

P.S. If you're looking for EBP Google Scholar is an excellent resource. Happy treatment planning!

This is more relevant now than ever! It's time to start shifting how we educate children here in the U.S. and around the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Closing academic achievement gaps as speech pathologists should be a collaborative effort. As language experts, we're required to advocate for cultural linguistic diversity. I wrote an article with Dr. Valencia Perry about specific steps we can take to support the communicative behaviors of Black and Latinx children. You can check out our articles on ASHA Leader here: https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/2021-0223-cultural-responsiveness/full/

Does anyone have tips to memorize cranial nerves?

3 Ways to Combat Imposter Syndrome in Grad School:

1. When you find yourself confused or having a hard time understanding concepts (especially when you're with others that get it), tell yourself: “This is an opportunity for me to learn.”

Having this mindset will allow you to feel comfortable asking for help from your peers/professors/supervisors instead of talking down to yourself.

2. Instead of thinking “it’s better not to answer because you’re probably wrong,” choose to be courageous and confident in yourself. Answer to the best of your ability and if you are wrong, reference the first strategy.

3. When you feel yourself getting anxious during testing environments, take a second (or a few) to take a deep breath, remind yourself that you did everything you could to prepare, and look at the question again with a fresh mind.

Comment how you plan on combatting imposter syndrome this semester!

Exciting times ahead! Starting my second year of Speech-Language Pathology graduate school!

I can't believe how quickly time flies. I gained valuable clinical experience, working with diverse populations and honing my skills in communication disorders throughout my first year.

As I embark on my second year, I'm excited to delve into advanced coursework and explore specialized areas within SLP. From augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to fluency disorders and voice therapy, there's so much to discover and learn.

#SpeechLanguagePathology
#SecondYearJourney
#BlackWomeninHealthcare