SLP undergraduate internships?

[Nicolettec]

Hi, I am currently an undergrad not majoring in CSD (it's not offered at my university). I'm trying to gain some sort of SLP experience before applying to graduate schools next year, but I'm finding it really difficult to find shadowing or any work opportunities (understandably) due to COVID. Does anyone have any advice for things I should be doing this summer before applying to SLP schools? Anyone know of any places looking for volunteers?

[jomyers.online]

 

I wrote a post about ways to improve your application if you've received rejections, and the advice that I'd give here is really similar. If you don't have a network built yet, you're going to want to do a lot of cold-calling. You can call schools, as some SLPs that work in the schools provide extended school year (ESY) services. Other places to try include hospitals, private practices, SNFs, and inpatient/outpatient clinics in your area. Before you ask to shadow/volunteer, be sure to look up a little bit of info about the practice so that you sound knowledgeable. See if the hospitals have websites with specific numbers to call to get ahold of the SLPs (even better, email so that they can respond when they're not busy!). Schools also often post faculty emails or phone numbers on their websites! There are also some SLPs over at r/slp that have offered to allow students to do teletherapy observations. 

 

[ZSLP]

On 4/24/2021 at 8:18 AM, Nicolettec said:

Hi, I am currently an undergrad not majoring in CSD (it's not offered at my university). I'm trying to gain some sort of SLP experience before applying to graduate schools next year, but I'm finding it really difficult to find shadowing or any work opportunities (understandably) due to COVID. Does anyone have any advice for things I should be doing this summer before applying to SLP schools? Anyone know of any places looking for volunteers?

Doesnt answer your question directly, but here's a resource you can use when you start applying!

I am finishing graduate school at a university in California. For my capstone project, I created a resource guide for first generation BIPOC students  for applying to graduate programs. This guide is catered to schools in southern California, but has tons of information you can use to help you. I hope this guide is helpful, it is a product of self-reflection and personal experiences. I hope it will be a valuable tool for you use to use. Please feel free to share freely and widely.  Also open to suggestions & questions! 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dqr4omQdPKXQgLLVDUd2gtH-FDYsbE2H/view?usp=sharing

[meadymalarkey]

I'd also add that if your college has an linguistics, psychology, or neurology labs that have student roles open to you, definitely seek out and do those things. 

As far as work goes, anything having to do with small group/one-on-one teaching will give you lots of solid experience to draw from. Check out companies/organizations that provide intervention services for speech-adjacent topics: literacy, behavioral, life skills, etc. You can also look into volunteer opportunities for summer camps in your area that are specific to different populations (ASD, fluency, etc), as well as retirement homes/skilled nursing facilities more generally.