[Alison1992]

Hi, i'm currently a first year studying a psychology degree at the University of Warwick. I'm interested in doing postgraduate speech and language therapy after i graduate in 2014. I know these kinds of causes can be really competitive and i was wondering if anyone had any advice on the kinds of work experience i can get/ things i can do at university to get experience. I've had a variety at paid work both at home and at uni and so far the 'relevant experience' i have is:
-1 week regular playscheme
-3 weeks volunteering in a special needs school
-1 week volunteering at a special needs playscheme
-Some one-to-one mentoring with a severely autistic child
-5 years as a brownie young leader

I'm hoping to go back to the school and do a few more weeks this summer and next and my mum works in my old primary school so i thought i might see if i could hear some kids read there or something in september.

It would be great to hear from someone who is doing the masters and find out what you did to get on, if you took some time out of study first, how you found the application process and how you're finding the course.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks

[Rach_L]

(Original post by Alison1992)
Hi, i'm currently a first year studying a psychology degree at the University of Warwick. I'm interested in doing postgraduate speech and language therapy after i graduate in 2014. I know these kinds of causes can be really competitive and i was wondering if anyone had any advice on the kinds of work experience i can get/ things i can do at university to get experience. I've had a variety at paid work both at home and at uni and so far the 'relevant experience' i have is:
-1 week regular playscheme
-3 weeks volunteering in a special needs school
-1 week volunteering at a special needs playscheme
-Some one-to-one mentoring with a severely autistic child
-5 years as a brownie young leader

I'm hoping to go back to the school and do a few more weeks this summer and next and my mum works in my old primary school so i thought i might see if i could hear some kids read there or something in september.

It would be great to hear from someone who is doing the masters and find out what you did to get on, if you took some time out of study first, how you found the application process and how you're finding the course.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks

Hey, I have got a place to start on the Masters course at UCL in September. I graduated from Nottingham with a degree in English in 2010. I became interested in SALT at uni, but to be honest was put off by staying in education so forgot about it for a while. I had a lot of experience already working with children as I had considered going into teaching. I then graduated and worked in PR for approx 6 months which I didn't like and at the back of my mind was always thinking about SALT. So around Jan 2011 I decided to go for it and started doing all my research, quit my job etc. I then tried to cram as much as possible in to get onto the course...
* Volunteered 1 day a week as a conversation partner at my local hospital (found out about this by phoning local NHS) Included two days training by a qualified SLT which I talked about a lot in applications
* Also volunteered on the ward one lunchtime a week serving, helping to feed patients etc gaining experience in a hospital environment
* 2 weeks work exp at a school in their specialist speech and language unit
* once a week volunteered at local Stroke support club
* Worked the rest of the week at a nursery getting an insight into 'normal child development'
* tutored special needs children at an evening club
* Speech and Language Therapy as a Career 2 day course at CityLit in London - Really recommend this, it was expensive about £140 but so worth it - we got to observe different client groups and learnt to write observations etc all really useful for applications/interviews
Speech and Language Therapy Career 2 day course at Northwick Park Hospital (was about £50) included a morning shadowing a therapist on an acute ward - again so worth while and amazing experience for applications
It would be worth ringing up some unis, I know that people I have met on courses etc have said some unis don't consider you straight out of an undergrad degree because they like you to have had some experience etc
It sounds like you have done a lot already though! Sorry for the essay, really hope this helps! It is ridiculously competitive so you will definitely have a good chance by getting experience in the area already. Good luck with it!

[Alison1992]

(Original post by Rach_L)
Hey, I have got a place to start on the Masters course at UCL in September. I graduated from Nottingham with a degree in English in 2010. I became interested in SALT at uni, but to be honest was put off by staying in education so forgot about it for a while. I had a lot of experience already working with children as I had considered going into teaching. I then graduated and worked in PR for approx 6 months which I didn't like and at the back of my mind was always thinking about SALT. So around Jan 2011 I decided to go for it and started doing all my research, quit my job etc. I then tried to cram as much as possible in to get onto the course...
* Volunteered 1 day a week as a conversation partner at my local hospital (found out about this by phoning local NHS) Included two days training by a qualified SLT which I talked about a lot in applications
* Also volunteered on the ward one lunchtime a week serving, helping to feed patients etc gaining experience in a hospital environment
* 2 weeks work exp at a school in their specialist speech and language unit
* once a week volunteered at local Stroke support club
* Worked the rest of the week at a nursery getting an insight into 'normal child development'
* tutored special needs children at an evening club
* Speech and Language Therapy as a Career 2 day course at CityLit in London - Really recommend this, it was expensive about £140 but so worth it - we got to observe different client groups and learnt to write observations etc all really useful for applications/interviews
Speech and Language Therapy Career 2 day course at Northwick Park Hospital (was about £50) included a morning shadowing a therapist on an acute ward - again so worth while and amazing experience for applications
It would be worth ringing up some unis, I know that people I have met on courses etc have said some unis don't consider you straight out of an undergrad degree because they like you to have had some experience etc
It sounds like you have done a lot already though! Sorry for the essay, really hope this helps! It is ridiculously competitive so you will definitely have a good chance by getting experience in the area already. Good luck with it!

thank you this was really helpful
the 2 day course you did sounds interesting, do you think this would be something i could do during the holidays?

[Rach_L]

(Original post by Alison1992)
thank you this was really helpful
the 2 day course you did sounds interesting, do you think this would be something i could do during the holidays?

I did the CityLit one in September but I know they repeat it every few months, probably best to check their website. The Northwick Park one only runs once a year (I think) and I phoned up to find out about it as I couldn't find any info online

[d_94]

Hi. Are there Postgraduate Program for Speech and Language Therapy in Canada? And which Universities? Also my sister is nearly finishing Nursing degree and hopes to study Speech and Language Therapy in Canada; is it possible?