[nabs-l] online speech-language pathology program

Fri Aug 9 02:30:06 UTC 2013

Kelsey,

I am currently a student at an online university. My experiences are less then pleasant at many levels. They include accessibility, lack of contact with professors and classmates, and the extra effort to create a study of structure when you don't have the requirement of being anywhere physically.

I personally do not recommend online coursework to anyone based on my own experiences. These are admittedly personal preferences, but maybe worthwhile to someone considering online school. If you ask me, don't do it.

Antonio.

On Aug 1, 2013, at 9:03 PM, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Kelsey, and welcome to NABS!
> 
> Although I am not a speech therapy major, I can say from my volunteer
> experiences as well as my coursework thus far in my music therapy
> program that it's vital to have the physical concepts you will be
> teaching to your clients down pat, and especially as a blind person
> since we don't have the luxury of visually checking our work or using
> vision to check what our clients are doing.  I'm usually pretty good
> at picking up physical concepts by following verbal directions, but
> because I know I will need to teach/train others in these concepts I
> still find checking with a professor to make sure I understood them
> correctly to be very important.  Because of this I think it would be
> prudent and well worth the money of paying for in-person classes,
> unless there is some reason like Anna said that would suggest that an
> online course or a combo of in-person and cyber classes would be
> better.  I would speak with an advisor at the U of Akron early on
> before entering the program so you can discuss your options together.
> I would also highly recommend that you look for speech therapists in
> your area who would be willing to have a volunteer assistant or a job
> shadower.  That would give you the opportunity to see what speech
> therapy sessions are like early on, and if you find a good therapist
> who is willing to do a little coaching in the basics it could be a
> huge learning experience for you.  The good thing for you is that by
> being in chorus and having some familiarity with vocal technique, you
> probably already have a little more of an idea of how the vocal system
> works than most incoming speech therapy students.
> 
> You might also look up some speech and language pathology, vocal
> pedigogy, and anatomy books on Bookshare.  I believe there is a
> tactile anatomy atlas available from APH for about $100, which would
> be a huge investment as it would be something you could keep for
> reference throughout your career.  NLS might have some additional
> materials you can borrow as well.
> 
> The NFB also has a human services devision open to any professional or
> student in the therapy fields.  The list is humanser at nfbnet.org.  It's
> a great resource and a great bunch of people if you're interested in
> joining.
> 
> On 8/1/13, Anna Givens <annajee82 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Kelsey, where do you live??  Why are you looking into the online program in
>> Akron?
>> As far as online classes versus classroom classes.  I find online classes to
>> be much more work and I personally do not like them much.  But some people
>> really do!  And it depends on what kind of class i guess too.  Where do you
>> work?  Can you not still work if you do the regular classes instead of
>> online classes?  If not, then maybe online classes would be a good thing.  I
>> am wondering also if you have taken online classes before?
>> It seems that especially with certain things you are trying ro study it
>> would just work a lot better to be in a classroom or on campus in order to
>> be able to interact with others to learn these things.  But I think there
>> are a lot of things to consider.  Have you talked to the university in akron
>> about this issue?
>> 
>> Anna E Givens
>> 
>> On Jul 31, 2013, at 10:38 PM, Kelsey Nicolay <piano.girl0299 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hello,
>>> I just completed my studies as an undergraduate with a degree in
>>> communication and French.  However, in a couple years, I am looking to go
>>> back to school for speech therapy.  I am looking at a program at the
>>> University of Akron in Akron, Ohio which is online.  I am completely blind
>>> so I use JAWS and a braille note to accomplish school work.  I am
>>> proficient with JAWS so that is not an issue.  The concern I have is that
>>> since the program is online, I won't be able to interact with professors
>>> in the same way.  I am referring particularly to the anatomy portions of
>>> the program.  I took an anatomy class before but it was at my college in a
>>> classroom.  Since I will not have access to diagrams and images, how would
>>> I effectively the visual concepts? Would I need a sighted assistant who
>>> can describe any visuals to me? Or could I ask the university to assign me
>>> a personal assistant who could help me with the coursework? Would I be
>>> better off completing my degree on campus as opposed to online? The
>>> advantages to the online program are that I can continue working while
>>> completing my degree as well as being able to complete my alinicals in my
>>> home city.  Any speech therapy majors out there, please shed some light on
>>> this topic, I want to make sure I am making an informed decision and that
>>> my tuition money is being well spent.  Either way, what methods did you
>>> find helpful when you were completing your courses? I am a very physical
>>> person so I would actually need to be shown exactly where the different
>>> speech organs were located.
>>> Thanks in advance,
>>> Kelsey Nicolay
>>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Kaiti
> 
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