Concentration/Research Interests

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

Hi, 

 

It's starting to sink in now that I'm going to grad school (my fingers stay crossed and good luck vibes go out to all those still waiting). Now all of the things I've talked at length about with friends, and boiled down to concise phrases in SOPs are going to be my life for the next few years. So I thought I'd start a topic for those of us to discuss what specifically in the field we want to address, understand, or expand on. I'd love to hear what everyone's area of interest is or what population you want to work with and why. Also it's a great way to de-stress from the application process.

[midnight]

Of course this is all dependent on what clicks for me in practice, but in theory I want to study neurogenic disorders and possibly work with stroke victims and geriatric populations.

 

However, now that I know I'm in at CU, I'm definitely interested in getting involved with El Grupo de Familias and bilingual language development as well.

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

Midnight, 

 

Wow, those are two very different tracks I know it really depends on the faculty and department. How did you get interested in each?

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

It seems rude to start a post as such without sharing mine…

 

I have a strong interest in studying both the etiological and treatment optimization features of language disorders in children with histories of trauma. I love working with teens and young adults (largely because I’ve seen them ignored more in this area than the younger kiddos) but I’m not set on any age demographic.

 

I started off moving from a volunteer in the corporate world to beginning a full-time social work track. Along the way I had a couple great language intervention courses that really changed how I looked at things. As I got more involved in both the research side and the on-the-ground stuff it became pretty apparent that, despite a lot of the great neurochem/nuroanatomy work on the effects of early abuse and neglect, very little has been done from an SLP perspective. So few questions have been answered on how ED and SLI are related, how to develop complementary treatment modalities, and so forth so that's where I want to be. I could go on for… well... a very long time, but I’ll leave it here. I’m looking forward to hearing about what others are studying, It’s an exciting world, with a lot to learn!!

 

Thanks for reading!

[midnight]

Midnight, 

 

Wow, those are two very different tracks I know it really depends on the faculty and department. How did you get interested in each?

 

I was my mother-in-law's caretaker last summer, and she has been suffering from Alzheimer's-related aphasia for about five years. Being with her and seeing her struggle with language made me want to help people with similar issues.

 

However, I have a professional background in ESL and have worked with children for several years. I'd at least like to become involved with El Grupo in some way if possible.

[lele]

I have a strong interest in studying both the etiological and treatment optimization features of language disorders in children with histories of trauma. I love working with teens and young adults (largely because I’ve seen them ignored more in this area than the younger kiddos) but I’m not set on any age demographic.

 

Wow. That sounds amazing!

 

I'm leaning towards working with kids and am interested in speech and language disorders and their intersection with reading disorders. At the same time, though, I think working with adults would be so rewarding. AAC and autism spectrum disorders are also something I want to learn more about. I'm really excited about studying anything to do with speech, language, and voice disorders, although I'm not so interested in the dysphagia side of SLP. This summer I'm going to do lots of reading and research so that I can define my interests a bit more before I start school in the fall.

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

I was my mother-in-law's caretaker last summer, and she has been suffering from Alzheimer's-related aphasia for about five years. Being with her and seeing her struggle with language made me want to help people with similar issues.

 

However, I have a professional background in ESL and have worked with children for several years. I'd at least like to become involved with El Grupo in some way if possible.

 

Very cool. My grandmother had a stroke affecting association areas about 15-18 years ago, and at 92 SHE was the first person in my family to really connect what an SLP was.

 

what kind of ESL experience do you have, and how do you want to integrate that into practice? 

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

lele, 

 

The intersection of literacy and language is such a cool area, one one I know so very little about! 

[Tuck]

Wow, you guys all have really cool areas of focus!

 

Being relatively new to this field, I hope to narrow and refine my research interests during the Master's degree. I keep learning about new things that I think I'm interested in!

 

I'm interested in all things brain: the neural bases of language, neuroplasticity (especially in older adults), learning and memory in adults, and multisensory integration.

 

I'm also interested in neuromotor speech disorders and in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, TBI, stroke, etc.

[lexical_gap]

Currently, I am leaning toward articulation and phonological disorders.  However, I am also very curious about language development and literacy, specifically the impact technology (TV, text messaging, IM speak) has on linguistic development in pre-school and school aged children.  The disregard for standard spelling, syntax, or grammar in IM Speak; in addition to the abbreviated style of conversation, might have an impact on sophistication of language, vocabulary, and MLUs.  That in turn, may have implications down the road which affect a child's reading and writing.

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

Currently, I am leaning toward articulation and phonological disorders.  However, I am also very curious about language development and literacy, specifically the impact technology (TV, text messaging, IM speak) has on linguistic development in pre-school and school aged children.  The disregard for standard spelling, syntax, or grammar in IM Speak; in addition to the abbreviated style of conversation, might have an impact on sophistication of language, vocabulary, and MLUs.  That in turn, may have implications down the road which affect a child's reading and writing.

 

What a REALLY cool area!!! I could see how use of texteese might end up attenuating certain elements of english. I've actually read a couple of papers that deal with this as an emerging language. Though, since languages are defined as systems of arbitrary symbols and rules with "U R 2 kool" having the same functional role as its english analog, I wonder if  having exponentially more opportunitis for communication experiences (remember the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) with IM/Text/Etc might actually accelerate language development?  It's worth remembering that for a long time sign was thought to be a "lesser" form of communication. 

Edited March 19, 2013 by cahurt

[SLPzs91]

I'm really interested in adult neurogenic disorders, specifically aphasia. The interest started because patients with aphasia are absolutely the most friendly people you'll ever meet, and know what of their capabilities were lost with their CVA. Because of this, they're really hardworking because they want to reach what they seem normal.

Research-wise, though, I'm interested in bilingual aphasia, and how L1 can affect/help L2 or vice-versa due to complications arising from the aphasia. Also what residual linguistic capabilities are left from each language post-CVA.

[katieliz456]

I've always been interested in literacy and language acquisition, and this is the area where most of my research & my thesis has been.  Recently, I've started to develop an interest in dysphagia.  At least out here, there is a high demand for specialized SLPs in NICUs and PICUs, so I could still work with kids while avoiding the outrageous school caseloads, crazy politics, and relatively low pay.

 

However, I'm wondering if it's too late to change my interests-- I already wrote about my work in language&literacy for my personal statement, and I'm worried it might seem like I'm betraying my grad school by changing my mind.  Opinions on this?

[fsustar83]

Hi, 

 

It's starting to sink in now that I'm going to grad school (my fingers stay crossed and good luck vibes go out to all those still waiting). Now all of the things I've talked at length about with friends, and boiled down to concise phrases in SOPs are going to be my life for the next few years. So I thought I'd start a topic for those of us to discuss what specifically in the field we want to address, understand, or expand on. I'd love to hear what everyone's area of interest is or what population you want to work with and why. Also it's a great way to de-stress from the application process.

 

I'm interested in communication disorders secondary to neurological disorders/trauma (aphasia, TBI, PD, etc.). I currently work at a Parkinson's Disease center, and I really love that population. I am interested in studying more about how to improve speech (especially dysarthria, dysphagia, and hypophonia) in patients with PD.

[queenleblanc]

I wrote in my SOPs about being interested in neurogenic disorders, aphasia, post-stroke recovery, and voice disorders. All of the profs that will be teaching the masters level courses at ECU all specialize in one of those areas (another reason it is a great fit for me!), in addition to some other areas, of course. I am still learning so much about this field, and I am taking an extra course this summer (neural processes) to learn more about that side of things, because thesis topic discussion and selection begins in the first semester! I hope my thesis ends up being in one of those areas of research, but I am open to change if I find other interests in the MS program! :-)

[Nebraska19]

I am very interested in autism, but after doing research on it for a year and talking about it extensively in some of my psychology classes, I think I may want to mix things up and concentrate on something else for grad school. I remember when I took language acquisition that I was very interested in how that and reading literacy were connected. Back when I thought about going the school psychology route I thought that I would do my whole thesis on that and how you could improve a child's reading level. I would like to maybe do something similar only spin it around to be more appropriate for the slp field. 

[CO (soon to be) SLP]

I've always been interested in literacy and language acquisition, and this is the area where most of my research & my thesis has been.  Recently, I've started to develop an interest in dysphagia.  At least out here, there is a high demand for specialized SLPs in NICUs and PICUs, so I could still work with kids while avoiding the outrageous school caseloads, crazy politics, and relatively low pay.

 

However, I'm wondering if it's too late to change my interests-- I already wrote about my work in language&literacy for my personal statement, and I'm worried it might seem like I'm betraying my grad school by changing my mind.  Opinions on this?

 

I don't think it's bad at all to change... that's just part of why we go to school, to learn and explore. From my point of view, having an area of initial interest is great, but not required. It actually might be more unethical to start in a focus area you know you don't want to be in just because you felt bad that you discovered something new and fun. I don't think SOPs in an SLP program should be viewed in any way as binding unless there are extenuating circumstances. In a PhD or other science masters, it very well may be somewhat more difficult as a specific advisor may be assigned, but as long as your SOP wasn't intended to be misleading (e.g. "I'll write about wanting to work with population x because so few people want to be in that area and it'll help me get in") recognizing changing interests early is good.

[rcacemek]

I adore anything to do with language acquisition, particularly bilingual acquisition and attrition of heritage languages. I have a ten-month-old who I'm attempting to raise to be trilingual (she is equally strong in all three languages right now ), so she is my personal guinea pig! 

 

I'm also interested in swallowing issues in premature infants and aphasia, so we'll see what becomes of those interests in grad school. 

[katieliz456]

I adore anything to do with language acquisition, particularly bilingual acquisition and attrition of heritage languages. I have a ten-month-old who I'm attempting to raise to be trilingual (she is equally strong in all three languages right now ), so she is my personal guinea pig! 

 

I'm also interested in swallowing issues in premature infants and aphasia, so we'll see what becomes of those interests in grad school. 

Wow! That's super impressive! What are the 3 languages? I bet she'll be fluent in all of them! My advisor recently told me about a former student who emailed him for advice because she was worried her daughter was "confused" by the languages spoken in the home-- the mother, father, and nanny each spoke 8+ languages, with some overlap between them (English, Yiddish, and a bunch of Eastern European languages).  The parents eventually decided that each caretaker would choose 2 languages to speak around the child. The child ended up being multilingual in 5 of the languages, i think!!

[katieliz456]

I don't think it's bad at all to change... that's just part of why we go to school, to learn and explore. From my point of view, having an area of initial interest is great, but not required. It actually might be more unethical to start in a focus area you know you don't want to be in just because you felt bad that you discovered something new and fun. I don't think SOPs in an SLP program should be viewed in any way as binding unless there are extenuating circumstances. In a PhD or other science masters, it very well may be somewhat more difficult as a specific advisor may be assigned, but as long as your SOP wasn't intended to be misleading (e.g. "I'll write about wanting to work with population x because so few people want to be in that area and it'll help me get in") recognizing changing interests early is good.

Good point, thanks for the advice! I'm really excited to explore the different aspects of SLP during grad school. I have lots of exposure to therapy in schools, but the only voice/swallowing i've seen was when i shadowed an ENT and his team this summer at the local Mayo clinic. 

[rcacemek]

Wow! That's super impressive! What are the 3 languages? I bet she'll be fluent in all of them! My advisor recently told me about a former student who emailed him for advice because she was worried her daughter was "confused" by the languages spoken in the home-- the mother, father, and nanny each spoke 8+ languages, with some overlap between them (English, Yiddish, and a bunch of Eastern European languages).  The parents eventually decided that each caretaker would choose 2 languages to speak around the child. The child ended up being multilingual in 5 of the languages, i think!!

Right now she hears a pretty even mix of English, French, and Russian, because those are the languages she needs to know to communicate with her extended family. But my husband and I are both huge language geeks, so between the two of us we have at least the basics covered in Vietnamese, Thai, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Ancient Greek, and Latin. My husband's 8-year-old nephew is fluent in Japanese, French, English, and Vietnamese, so our daughter has some competition! 

[midnight]

That is phenomenal, rcacemek! You've definitely motivated me to take an intensive Spanish class I was considering for the summer.

[lele]

Right now she hears a pretty even mix of English, French, and Russian, because those are the languages she needs to know to communicate with her extended family. But my husband and I are both huge language geeks, so between the two of us we have at least the basics covered in Vietnamese, Thai, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Ancient Greek, and Latin. My husband's 8-year-old nephew is fluent in Japanese, French, English, and Vietnamese, so our daughter has some competition! 

 

That's so neat, rcacemek! If I ever have kids, I really hope to raise them bilingual. My husband is from Asia and we're hoping to teach them his native language along with English. I'd also love to put them in a bilingual (Spanish-English or Mandarin-English) school. Unfortunately, it's hard to find those opportunities in the US...