What should I read to prepare myself for Speech Pathology classes?
May 9, 2010 4:38 PM Subscribe
What books or other resources would you recommend for someone interested in pursuing a career in Speech Language Pathology? I have a degree in Communication and I am thinking of going to grad school for Communication Sciences and Disorders to become a SLP. I would like to know what I can do to prepare myself for the CDIS prerequisites I must take to qualify for admission to graduate school.
Response by poster: I am mostly asking about course prep materials. I still need to take leveling courses to make up for the fact that I don't have bachelor's in Communication Sciences and Disorders. I want to be prepared for the coursework I am heading in to, because I think it's going to be a decent departure from my current degree. My communication curriculum was a little too varied in it's approach, with classes ranging from video editing and film history classes; to intercultural communication and nonverbal communication classes. I work for a school district right now and I am very interested in becoming an SLP and working in a school setting. Thanks for your advice nublet!
posted by javsgotyournose at 5:12 PM on May 9, 2010
posted by javsgotyournose at 5:12 PM on May 9, 2010
I was just about to post what lilnublet said; one of my college roommates is on her way to becoming a full fledged SLP after wrapping up an undergrad degree in ComDis and a grad degree in SLP . She told me once that students who do not have the undergrad ComDis degree were at a real disadvantage, found things harder to understand, were required to take extra coursework for a year, and still struggled.
With your clarification in mind, here's what I suggest: I would strongly encourage you to speak with an admissions advisor at one or more of the grad programs that you are interested in to see what they recommend for admission (it could range from 'you'll be fine' to 'you'll need some extra coursework' to 'you'll need a bachelor's or significant experience in the field before we'll admit you'). A degree in Communication is (typically) not at all the same thing as a Communicative Disorders degree, and you could really find yourself struggling when you don't have the audiology or lab background (this is what I remember as being really distinct from other fields from when my roommate earned her degree in ComDis). Then, you should also see what the program recommends for reading material (alternatively, contact the folks here, where my roomie got her ComDis degree, and see what undergrad textbooks they use).
In the meantime, you'll also want to learn and understand what is going on in the field. I went to the website of the accrediting agency, ASHA, and looked at their publications. They have a few journals, including the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, that you may want to look at subscribing to (or seeing if you can get regular access to through a local academic library). This is one way to get familiar with what's going on in the field, even though you may not fully understand what they're talking about in the articles.
posted by librarylis at 5:39 PM on May 9, 2010 [3 favorites]
With your clarification in mind, here's what I suggest: I would strongly encourage you to speak with an admissions advisor at one or more of the grad programs that you are interested in to see what they recommend for admission (it could range from 'you'll be fine' to 'you'll need some extra coursework' to 'you'll need a bachelor's or significant experience in the field before we'll admit you'). A degree in Communication is (typically) not at all the same thing as a Communicative Disorders degree, and you could really find yourself struggling when you don't have the audiology or lab background (this is what I remember as being really distinct from other fields from when my roommate earned her degree in ComDis). Then, you should also see what the program recommends for reading material (alternatively, contact the folks here, where my roomie got her ComDis degree, and see what undergrad textbooks they use).
In the meantime, you'll also want to learn and understand what is going on in the field. I went to the website of the accrediting agency, ASHA, and looked at their publications. They have a few journals, including the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, that you may want to look at subscribing to (or seeing if you can get regular access to through a local academic library). This is one way to get familiar with what's going on in the field, even though you may not fully understand what they're talking about in the articles.
posted by librarylis at 5:39 PM on May 9, 2010 [3 favorites]
Best answer: SLP here.
Before graduate school, you should:
-have a good understanding of anatomy and physiology, particularly of the head and neck
-do some observations of treatment, if you know anybody in the field it will be much easier than cold-calling because of privacy laws
-volunteer at an elementary school and do something related to special education
-find a family who has a child with autism or other developmental disorder and become part of his or her team. The parents or therapists could train you to work with the child at home on a prescribed program, especially if they are using ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) approach.
-have some knowledge of literacy development and normal language development in children
-be comfortable with all age groups, including medically fragile and seniors
I would not go crazy and start reading journal articles or textbooks. At this point, you want a little experience working with people with communication disorders and a basic understanding of how we learn to talk.
I used this book to prepare for my licensing exam upon graduating with my master's, but it's actually a really nice guide to what you will learn in grad school. If you know a recent grad, you could probably buy it for cheap or check for a used copy.
posted by coolsara at 5:17 AM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
Before graduate school, you should:
-have a good understanding of anatomy and physiology, particularly of the head and neck
-do some observations of treatment, if you know anybody in the field it will be much easier than cold-calling because of privacy laws
-volunteer at an elementary school and do something related to special education
-find a family who has a child with autism or other developmental disorder and become part of his or her team. The parents or therapists could train you to work with the child at home on a prescribed program, especially if they are using ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) approach.
-have some knowledge of literacy development and normal language development in children
-be comfortable with all age groups, including medically fragile and seniors
I would not go crazy and start reading journal articles or textbooks. At this point, you want a little experience working with people with communication disorders and a basic understanding of how we learn to talk.
I used this book to prepare for my licensing exam upon graduating with my master's, but it's actually a really nice guide to what you will learn in grad school. If you know a recent grad, you could probably buy it for cheap or check for a used copy.
posted by coolsara at 5:17 AM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Speech Pathology is a really varied field with a ton of different possibilities. I'd recommend talking to people who are practicing about what they like or dislike, challenges, etc, or better yet seeing if you can shadow people in your area to see what they do all day and if it's something you might enjoy.
I work in an outpatient pediatric hospital working primarily on multidisciplinary diagnostic and developmental follow-up teams (autism, cp, down syndrome, rett syndrome and other developmental disorders). Feel free to mail me with questions you have about that particular setting although not a lot of people do what I do.
posted by lilnublet at 4:54 PM on May 9, 2010 [1 favorite]