Phew! Looking Back Winter '13

Winter semester (otherwise know as the semester of a million group projects) was a busy one! I think the hardest thing this semester has been coordinating everyone's schedules to meet and get things get done.

Favorite things this semester:

Audiometrics -
*Presenting hearing conservation and ear anatomy to a 1st grade class. They were AWESOME!! I loved this experience so much and the kids loved it too.

Aphasia -
*Ummm... pretty much the whole darn class, but if I had to pick a couple of favorites I'd go with the aphasia observation that I did in Royal Oak and the AAC assignment I did at the Apple Store. I can't rave enough about this class. The prof of this class is a great teacher and I've learned a lot in this class. This is definitely emerging as an area of interest. :)

Diagnostics -
*Though scheduling has been a big issue with our clinic diagnostic, I really enjoyed this experience a lot. It was great to finally get some hands-on experience with standardized tests and work with a client!
*My observation at the Autism Collaborative Center - the SLP there is a graduate of EMU's SLP grad program and it was great to observe another alumni from my school out in the field. (First EMU alum I observed was up in the U.P. at Marquette General Hospital for some of my 25 hours of observation for my post-bacc.)

Early Intervention Language Disorders -
*This class has spent a lot of time on the back burner and has felt like a lot of review, but I've enjoyed some

#springbreak13

So it's my spring break... it officially started Thursday night after work at 1pm and so far it's involved a lot of sleeping in, netflix and retail therapy, but that's about to change. Starting today, this is my opportunity to get a crapload of stuff done! I am continuing my crazy busy February into a crazy busy March, but things will slow down again after the 13th. The week after spring break is ridiculous: 2 exams, 1 group presentation, possible retake of the clinical readiness test, 2nd half of my group diagnostic with report write-ups and assessment scorings that go along with it. After the 13th I can breath again.

First up this week, I have two exams to study for that will happen the Monday and Tuesday after we get back from break (thank you professors!) and I have twelve chapters to read for one of those exams... yikes! Quizlets and study guides will be my friends this week.

This week I am also going to Royal Oak for an aphasia observation. It's an aphasia group that has 2 clients with fluent aphasia and 2 with nonfluent aphasia. I only need to observe a fluent aphasia but I am very happy that I will also have the opportunity to observe a nonfluent one as well. I'm really cutting it close with this

Full Speed Ahead!!

February has been BUSY so far and it doesn't look like it will slow down for a long while yet. Just had my first exam in aphasia and though it was a bit challenging, I think (I hope!!) I rocked it. Will find out for sure on Tuesday. This is definitely my favorite class this semester and I'm learning a lot. I'll have another exam in aphasia at the end of this month... only 2 weeks of lecture on that one!  

Next up is my clinical readiness test (CRT) on Monday, which is a test I need to pass with an 85% or above in order to take clinic this summer. It's offered twice, so if I don't pass it the first time I have a chance to re-take it again next month. Here's to hoping I pass it the first time! I've been studying for it over the past couple of days and have been neglecting studying for my 1st audiometrics exam which is the day after I take the CRT. I will be power cramming for that exam after I take the CRT... can I do it?! I can dooo it! Also this month in audiometrics, I will get to bring in J and practice a hearing screening on him as well as immitance

SLP and the Great Aphasia Search

I'm taking aphasia this semester and it has captured my attention completely. One of our class assignments is to complete an observation of either a treatment session (individual or group) or attend a meeting of an aphasia support group. I love that we have to do this and have begun the process of tracking down SLPs in my general vicinity who work with clients who have aphasia. A great resource I'm starting off with is Find a Professional with ASHA's ProSearch. I've already sent off about 6 emails today and I've heard back from 4 SLPs, though no sites secured as of yet... just one possibility (no patients with aphasia on her caseload atm but keeping my contact info and will let me know if that changes) and a lead from an SLP to a site that she observed at when she took this class (Emich alum!). I still have a bit of time and I can expand my search area, but I'm off to a good start!

First Week - Finished!

It's Tuesday night and I am finished for classes for the week.  Yep, you read that right... I have one class on Mondays, three classes on Tuesday and then I am finished for the week.  Good thing though, is that almost all of my classes have a few outside of class components besides homework and studying for exams.

For my diagnostics class, we are being broken up into pairs and will be matched with a faculty member to perform a diagnostic in our university clinic.  We also have to set up an observation with a local SLP to observe (or participate in - if the SLP is comfortable with that) a speech and language evaluation of either a child or an adult.  For our aphasia class, we have to set up an observation of a treatment session (either individual or group) or attend a meeting of an aphasia support group.  Then for our audiometric disorders class, we are putting together a hearing conservation project, then going out into the community to a class (1st grade classroom or a middle school classroom, etc.) teach them about the anatomy and physiology of the ear, the loudness scale, hair cells damage, and hearing conservation.

There are also a lot more presentations this semester in comparison to last semester... I definitely need practice with public speaking so I am glad we will have many opportunities to do so.  My goal is to not use note cards at all since I tend to over-rely on them.  This semester I'm also going to set up some volunteer hours with the SLP at the Autism Collaborative Center on campus.  It's definitely going to be much busier this semester compared to last!

Overall I am really excited about this semester.  I love that we will go out into the community to observe and to teach.  Going off of first impressions of first days in classes, my favorite so far is diagnostics and aphasia as a close second!
     
Oh! Another cool thing about today - I met someone who also did the Utah State University online post bachelor's in communicative disorders and deaf education!  We overlapped by three semesters so we probably had a class or two together but didn't know each other then.  She's in two of my classes this semester and happened to mention that she attended USU online.  I've only "met" my former classmates online and not in person, so it was great to finally meet someone IRL.  Definitely made my day!

The end is in sight!

The end of my first semester in grad school is in sight!  There's lots to do between now and my last final, but it's good to be almost finished.  A lot of this semester has felt like review, which means that Utah State got me off to a good solid start. 

   

There have been a few unexpected surprises this semester, the biggest being a much longer time in grad school than expected (7 semesters vs the typical 5 semesters of most programs).  The other unexpected surprise is a very unorganized professor (who teaches two of my classes this semester) and her very specifically-vague directions with a dash of inconsistent grading.  Yes, specifically-vague... and sometimes the inconsistent grading was in my favor and other times it was not.  I definitely have higher expectations for grad school professors... but, yeah... moving on.

Next semester should have a bit more new information and I will also one step closer to getting clinic hours.  I can't wait to get into clinic!

All signed up!

Just finished registering for Winter '13!!  Overall, this has been a good semester but I feel like a lot of it has been review with just a little bit of new info thrown into the mix.  This next semester has a bit more meat to it!

-Diagnostic Methods: Assessment of Speech and Language Disorders in Children

-Diagnosis and Treatment of Audiometric Disorders

-Early Intervention for Speech and Language Impaired Children 

-Aphasia

I'm really excited about Aphasia!!