Interested in Children (specifically Autism or Literacy)

[iloveslp8797]

Hello,

I'm about to start my senior year of undergrad (crazy how fast time flies). I have been sucked into the hole of spending a lot of time studying for the GRE or researching grad schools. I was wondering if anyone had insight on programs that are focused more on children, specifically literacy difficulties or autism. I've read a lot of threads on here about different graduate schools and done a lot of research myself; however, a graduate school's website isn't going to give you the same information as a student in the program. I'm looking for schools on the East Coast, ranging from North Carolina to Massachusetts, but also open to anything! My GPA is a 3.66 (CSD GPA = 3.7) and I haven't taken the GRE yet. I've worked as an elementary school tutor, over a year in a research lab, shadowed multiple SLPs, and other college extracurriculars. Any sort of advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

[jmall]

I'm going to assume you're a woman, but if you aren't I apologize. 

St. Mary College in Notre Dame, Indiana offers the opportunity to get a double masters in Autism Studies and Speech Pathology! 

Good Luck!

[jpiccolo]

I’d say in general, most programs are going to give you a broad experience with disorders across the lifespan. They kinda have to for asha accreditation. But my suggestion would be when looking at schools, check their classes and also internship opportunities for ones with an emphasis on autism. 

[Oxbow]

On 7/25/2018 at 11:54 PM, jmall said:

I'm going to assume you're a woman, but if you aren't I apologize. 

St. Mary College in Notre Dame, Indiana offers the opportunity to get a double masters in Autism Studies and Speech Pathology! 

Good Luck!

 

Hey, is this information on their website? I see that they have a masters in autism studies, but I don’t see any information on doing it as a double master. I would love to learn more!

[Jordyn_M463]

I know that all of the programs I applied to make you experience every cohort and setting at least once but other than that you can choose to work with any cohort/setting that you desire. My program (Edinboro University in Pennsylvania) has 5 practicums, 2 are in the clinic on campus and the other 3 are wherever you want to be! They suggest that if you really want to work with children, maybe choose to work with adults inside the clinic and then spend the rest of your practicums doing what you really want to do! I would assume most programs are like this. They want you to experience everything, but in the end its up to you what you want to do!

[koalalover1]

I would look on the websites of the schools you are interested in and look at where their possible clinical practicum sites are. They should be listed on the website.  Once you are actually at your program, too, it wouldn't hurt to talk with your clinical director about your interests and see what he/she can do to help. The one I ended up choosing had an autism/AAC clinical placement, and once I let my clinic director know my interests, she placed me there! At least in my experience it seems programs  typically provide multiple clinical practicum opportunities for these types of reasons, so it doesn't hurt to advocate for yourself! ☺️

[AlwaysaFalcon]

A school I was accepted into called Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT had a concentration you could do in Autism. 

[SpeechGal1234]

MGH Institute of Health Professions has a HUGE focus on literacy. They have a literacy concentration and you can get a reading specialist certification in addition to your master's in SLP within the 2 year program. Seriously, they are obsessed with literacy so I would highly recommend applying there. Your entire first year revolves around literacy (and speech/language). You have two clients at the in house clinic: 1 is working on Orton Gillingham (research based reading instruction), and the other gets speech/language therapy (articulation or language- it just depends on the client). Your whole language class is really focused on literacy & first words (heavy focus on autism). There is also a writing clinic you can be part of in the summer. If you decide to go the autism route, they also have lots of autism electives and opportunities to get outplacements with children with autism.