During my freshman year in high school became interested in Phonology and language differences when I studied Arabic. The mother of one of my childhood friends who is a clinician took notice of me; she encouraged and inspired me to pursue Speech Pathology as a major. I graduated from St. John’s University in the spring of 2016 with a degree B.A. in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. However, last year did not work out as planned. Much to my dismay, I was rejected from every single school that I had applied to for graduate school. I was crushed and wondered if I had wasted four years of my life pursuing “unrealistic goals”. I did not know it then but I really did need this time off for growth. I returned home wondering what I was going …show more content…
They require 1:1 or 2:1 instruction. This position has allowed me to develop many skills that are transferable to Speech Pathology - such as, teaching skills, creating materials, running discreet trails, running massed trials, data collection, data analysis, graphing, and problem solving prompt dependence, and behavior intervention. All the related services in the program are consultative. The Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapists come in to give the staff intensive training so that they can embed the therapy techniques. The children in my classroom are all verbal. However; I also interact with nonverbal students who use Sign Language and Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices on a daily basis. The background that I have allows me to be more effective in the field because I have deeper understanding of psychology and behaviors than most other applicants. I am prepared to teach and to do research; each day I collect and analyze data, probe skills, and run baselines. I am analytical, quick and strong in problem …show more content…
When people mention autism, they usually think the highest possible end of the spectrum; Asperger’s and Savants. This is what motivates me to work with this particular population. I want to enable effective communication, I do not want them to be dismissed, discounted or abused because of a language or speech barrier. There is a need for Speech Pathologists who have knowledge of the principles of ABA. I hope to one day conduct research on Autism and how it affects the language process, learning and the use of ACC deceives. I am also fascinated by the complex and heterogeneous mixture of behaviors, learning disabilities, and speech and language disorders. I have encountered atypical communication in most of the areas that ASHA lists as disorders at work, this allows for a broad range of practice. This is beneficial because, if I ever wanted to work with a different population, I would have had some experience with multiple disorders that have co-morbidity with ASD. The skills I have are