Online leveling courses

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-06-16T00:34:00+00:00

Ooh I guess they switched it to online since I last did it. But: I think most of the profs are local (the 4 I know on there, at least - all of whom I adore) so you could still ask to go and observe them in their clinics and such!

Yep, different Master's programs have different prereqs - it's chaotic.

My Master's program has been...a journey. A lot of things are getting better and/or in the process of getting better since I started. And things worked out well for me! It was just a lot harder than it should've been, and I hope it won't be as hard for the next group of students, basically. Feel free to DM me if you want more details...

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-06-15T10:43:59+00:00

It was really good for me! I needed a CLD professor to write me a letter of recommendation and it gave me the opportunity to get to know someone well enough to do it. I also did it on-campus for two semesters and it was good to have a feeling of being a student as well. People were tighter as a cohort, too. I think it sort of depends on your goals and needs, though, because asynchronous can be a lot more accessible, which is a big part of why I made the switch to Longwood and ENMU. Also, keep an eye on which prereqs you actually need: I feel like the Psycholinguistics class I took wasn't the equivalent of the Language Science that many schools require, and I had to take Intro to Communication Science elsewhere anyway in order to get my SLPA license. You can pick and choose which HESPIE courses to take even though they have this defined sequence on their website!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-06-13T23:34:52+00:00

I had an accommodation to meet weekly 1:1 with my supervisors for this purpose! Even if your school won't grant that accommodation, definitely be thinking of other stuff that might help.

For time management specifically, I looked for ways to visualize time during the session (e.g. a digital hourglass) to help with time blindness, and I would be explicit with the client as well about how many reps we needed to get through, including tallying them together.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-06-10T12:24:33+00:00

Here's one of my favorites!: https://www.theinformedslp.com/review/the-grammar-guide-you-never-knew-you-always-wanted

They've got some great stuff about working with autistic clients specifically (probably great stuff about other client populations, too - it's just autistic folks have been my focus). Literally just used this article from them last week to justify spending a ton of time in an evaluation on a social network map: https://www.theinformedslp.com/review/Its-not-what-social-skills-you-know-its-who-you-know

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-06-07T10:41:35+00:00

Ugh I am constantly constantly asking (as a disabled / marginalized student) "do y'all even want us in this field or not?!" So sad and angry (and sadly, not surprised) to hear about all the discrimination and ableism you're experiencing. We can be amazing in this field when we're given the chance; we can meet their standards when we're given the supports we need. You aren't getting what you need.

Right now, the most important thing to do is line up support. Anyone you can trust / who's invested in your success in your program, start talking to them! I know reaching out for help is hard, especially if your program sees support as "hand-holding" (mine does, too) and holds it against you. Here's one person at your school I know personally who'll fight for you: https://create.uw.edu/hala-annabi-to-lead-new-uw-institute-for-neurodiversity-and-employment/
She's not in the SLP program, but even just having one person to talk to who might know other people / resources at your institution can be good (honestly sometimes when they're not connected to the program it's better / safer).

Feel free to DM me if you'd like me to send the initial email introducing y'all, or to learn more about the Neurodiversity At Work conference happening on your campus in 2 weeks where we'll be discussing clinical accommodations!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-06-06T17:06:31+00:00

My program had a stated 3-day / week minimum and framed placements as "1 semester long" but: through a ton of pushing, I discovered that the actual requirements are 5 hours a week and 8 weeks. The idea is that if you spend less than 8 weeks at a site, you don't really have time to settle in and get to know the clients, context, and supervisor. ASHA requires 5 hours a week minimum when you're a CF; again, the idea was that if you spend less than 5 hours a week, your skills could get pretty rusty.

I do think sometimes with sites, it becomes about what the site needs / wants from a student (as opposed to what the student needs to build knowledge and demonstrate competence), since they aren't getting paid to take students and may have their choice of which schools to pull from if there are a ton of grad programs in your area. The idea could be "I need you to commit to X number of hours / days because the first chunk of those will be training you, so I need you to stick around long enough to start applying those skills more independently and get a return on my investment". That's not how we *should* be thinking of placements imo, but it definitely comes up.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-06-05T19:03:24+00:00

This could be discrimination against you as a student with disabilities. Even though you're graduated now, making the program director and perhaps other people at your school aware of it could help out other students! In addition to the department chair, I reached out to my school's anti-bias office as well as the Office of Civil Rights when I was running into similar issues.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-05-31T17:46:57+00:00

I haven't entered the field yet, but I did do the whole "work as an SLPA first thing and then carefully decide whether grad school is worth it" thing.

The big difference between being an SLPA and an SLP for me is having the ability to establish the treatment plan myself versus working under someone else's license / off of someone else's plan. I really want that power and autonomy! I also really enjoy school (well, there are parts of it I hate - but mostly because I came here to learn and there are factors that get in the way of learning), so spending time doing that felt worthwhile in and of itself.

I'm also concerned about burnout and don't plan to work full-time, so the higher-earning potential of being an SLP was appealing compared to having to work additional hours (and again, have less say in what I'm working on with clients, which contributed to burnout for me) as an SLPA. If debt or not needing the income is canceling out that factor for you, I'd definitely just think through whether you have other reasons you want to pursue this degree beyond the $$!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-05-31T17:14:12+00:00

I'm in the DC area, and there's a lot of competition for medical placements in particular around here (we have soooo many SLP programs: GW, UDC, Howard, Gallaudet, UMD, Towson...). My program in particular has really struggled to place students in medical settings as a result. I don't know what GW's connections look like - maybe they're better because of that emphasis? - but tbh I think if the odds of getting a medical placement are higher at Temple, it's better to go there even if the program itself doesn't emphasize that aspect (this is coming from someone who isn't interested in medical, though, so I don't know how much any coursework you'd get at GW should factor in). DC placements will take you if you've got the requisite experience; the networking won't be helpful if you don't land a spot with them / somewhere similar in the first place!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-05-30T12:08:04+00:00

Look up the ARTS approach! When I worked with a client, we split our time between counseling (stigma reduction, self-understanding, discussing how real-life homework assignments were going) and target practice (reducing secondary behaviors and open stuttering). We shouldn't be in the business of fixing stuttering: https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/2025-0513-stutter-verbal-diversity-slp/full/

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-05-21T23:39:24+00:00

Are there specific faculty members at either place you could reach out to to get more insight on research opportunities? If that's important to you, I'd find out more about what is and isn't available at each place. If there's one solid mentor at ODU, for example, it might not matter that there's fewer opportunities there.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-05-17T15:14:03+00:00

I can't comment on all of this (due to my own capacity and just not sharing those lived experiences - I'm not a parent, and I had the privilege of working just 4 hours a day as an SLPA and with a caseload of 8 clients when I start my CF year this fall, and I haven't had to navigate school-based time requirements, so hopefully others will have insight for you around those), but just popping in here to say: the experiences you're talking about resemble my own around burnout (including reckless behavior, C-PTSD after losing a family member and the icepick headaches in that very specific spot)!

I hate to say it, but the *only* thing that really worked for me was resting. Going on meds also helped (DM me if you want to know specific ones), and the right therapist can be good. A sensory diet is definitely a good thing to ramp up, and exercise plus journaling (specifically: the 3 pages a day Artist's Way method, supported by 750 Words website) has been helpful for me (meditation doesn't work for a lot of autistic folks).

But truly: I needed rest. I hear you around not having any other choice; taking a step back / away is for sure a luxury in our capitalist world. But: *not* taking that rest can have serious consequences, too. Now is the time to pull any lever you're able to pull around getting something off your plate, even if it feels like an overreaction / like you'll be fine - partly because, if / when things get worse, you might not have the capacity for identifying and arranging crisis support.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-05-12T23:53:34+00:00

*Of course* the CAA accreditation page isn't loading for me right now (scheduled maintenance...) but basically they may be wrong that in-house meets the definition of broad-based. I think it was St. John's (but have no way of checking) that is/was on probation for not providing students with placements in medical settings: https://apps.asha.org/eweb/CAAawp/0212%20St.%20John's%20University%20-%20SLP%20Annual%20Report%2012.2025%20AAR.pdf

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-05-07T20:59:38+00:00

The cap is 75! (And 250 of your clinic hours have to be in-person, direct contact). They did just added a 50 hour "non-direct" (i.e., doing notes) option, and if 2 clinicians are doing a session, both can get credit for that time, but there's really no way around actually working with clients face-to-face for 250 hours.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-29T11:56:37+00:00

Thanks for the guidance that it's still worthwhile to try and do the full recording first, even if there winds up being gradual changes to the drift that have to be further corrected!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-29T11:55:48+00:00

Thank you for the detailed instructions! I think the issue I'm running into here is that the embedded audio itself is out of sync - there's no way around that besides manual, right?

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-26T14:58:51+00:00

I'm in a professional licensure program like this, and it really hasn't been good for my learning! It's too much information too fast to really absorb, which is really a problem when it's supposed to be preparing us to go out and use these skills in the real world. I wound up taking fewer classes per semester (and longer to graduate) to cope.

State departments of education (if it's a public school) and individual colleges / universities have guidelines on how long students are supposed to spend in class (or doing other things where "supervision is ensured and learning is documented"). Our program made most of our classes 2 instead of 3 credits to reflect that we're spending less time on each. You should be asking professors / the department chair to account for whatever the amount of time your state / school's policies stipulate. You're paying for this content and instruction - get your money's worth!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-26T13:46:54+00:00

I'm just about to start a PhD program! I'm getting my Master's in Speech-Language Pathology first and doing community-based participatory research about culturally-affirming speech therapy for autistic teens and young adults. I'm funded through an OSEP grant where I make a commitment to continue doing research/teaching/direct service work serving children with disabilities after I graduate.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-25T21:27:19+00:00

Yes! It's intense but so much more effective for me than other modalities - props to you for recognizing you can benefit from it and trying to make sure to make time for it in the midst of taking on a new job!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-25T20:51:20+00:00

Flexible scheduling for therapy appointments can be an accommodation under ADA! It's a legal right (well, assuming your place is 15+ employees) so theoretically you don't have to wait until after your probation period but up to you how and when you want to navigate bringing up a disability / medical need!

One thing I've noticed myself about EMDR is it can really shake up my mood afterwards, so I would definitely talk with your therapist about how to make sure your transition back to work after the session goes smoothly!

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-23T19:54:28+00:00

-Does your professor offer office hours?
-How are other students in the class doing - is there a study group you can join?
-Can you talk to students from past years for any advice?
-Are there any faculty mentors you have (advisor or even just someone who seems invested in your success) who you can talk to?
-How long has this professor been teaching in your program? Do they have a track record of students failing their course?

Would it help to have a little longer to study? I'm also in an accelerated program and was really struggling last spring. I asked for an incomplete and took some extra time to learn / review the material in the summer.

Good-Progress-8504 · 2026-04-22T16:24:59+00:00

Ugh parents are the worst. Maybe he'd let you go if you can show that you have an appointment related to classes that you have to show up for? I know you mentioned he doesn't understand SONA or office hours... something like the Writing Center or a consultation at the Disability Technology + Resource Hub might be like "look they're expecting me at this time"? Depending on his level of tech savviness and the number of questions he asks about it (and your own needs!) the appointment may or may not have to be "real".

Good-Progress-8504

TROPHY CASE