Major Decision

[wiscogirl0402]

Hi everyone! 

I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if I should have posted elsewhere. So my story is I have pursued speech language pathology the past four years, with a minor in special education, and have loved it. I had a job working as a behavioral therapist for a child with autism, and absolutely loved it. I also have experience working with clients with Down syndrome. 

Before  senior year, I had kind of thought in the back of my mind how it would be amazing to work with the autism population by being somebody like an autism specialist or an ABA clinical specialist (board certified behavior analyst). However, the benefits of speech pathology and being exposed to more diversity in disabilities and age ranges trumped those thoughts and I applied to graduate programs for SLP. Now I got accepted into one SLP program, but it was a program that is out of state for me. A lot has happened in the past year with me that weren't factors when I was going into application season, so every school I chose was one I could see myself going to. I have never felt hesitation towards SLP that has been this bad until that's week or so, now that my grad program is getting very close.

I have generalized anxiety, so I get anxiety attacks and all that fun stuff over very general things. I don't know if it is my anxiety kicking in, or if I am having second thoughts. I'm supposed to leave in two ish weeks, but I haven't had a day in a while where I'm super excited to start this new journey. A lot of my emotions are negative and I can't help but second guess myself. I thought at this point I would be so excited for school and becoming an SLP, but my nerves are at an all time high. I may be just nervous as it is a big change, but some days my heart tells me to get back into the ABA field. I'm also going to have to do distance with my boyfriend which will be hard, but that factor is not the entirety of me feeling the way I do. 

i guess what I'm asking is, does anybody have experience as a clinical specialist (BCBA) or with special education and focusing on autism? I've found some information on a potential school for me, and I've been exposed to the field a little bit with my minor and some work experiences. I have a pretty solid SPED minor GPA (3.95) so I'm not as worried about getting accepted into a program than I was about SLP. Or does anybody have a similar experience due to a big change? I'm just really torn right now. My plan is to try out my grad school program to make myself go out and actually be in the situation, and if it is not what I think it is, I want to pursue ABA because I KNOW it would be a great job for me. In SLP I would want to specialize in autism. Sorry for the long post but it's nice to read about people who have experience in the field and with decisions like this.  

[Kslptobe]

I liked reading your story, since I have been feeling the same way. I say go for it and pursue your masters degree in Speech. It may be your nerves that are getting in the way. For me, I know it is my nerves that are getting in the way because it would be an easier route to not pursue speech. Anyways, those are just some of my thoughts (: 

Assuming that you decided on a plan since this was posted in August, I am curious to what route you ended up taking? 

[JustLetMeBeAnSLP]

Hi

So I work as an SLP-A and an ABA therapist at the clinic I am at. I too feel drawn towards the special needs and autism population. I think both fields are amazing. However, I'm trying to become an SLP and if I decide I want to go the behavior route, there is less courses to take to become a BCBA (of course indirect hours will take awhile) so I think you should stick with your original plan and go the SLP route. My experience is, with the population, you end up doing both. Since I have been doing behavior longer, my speech supervisor knows I feel comfortable with kids who engage in high intensity problem behaviors. And then on the other side of it, my behavior supervisor knows I have an interest in speech so I often get kids for ABA services who are learning to use a device or have speech apraxia or something along those lines

 

Best of luck!