As those who have Facebook know, I'm currently in Columbus, OH for the 2007 NATTAP/OCALI Conference, funded kindly by those wonderful people who give out the ASHA SPARC award (for those who don't understand the abbreviations: I'm at an autism conference funded by the money from a research award I got recently.)
The conference has truly been a fascinating experience. I came here wanting to find out more about autism, thinking I might do something related to it or to Asperger's or hyperlexia for a PhD topic over at Iowa when I (hopefully, if I decide to go for the PhD!) go there. I wasn't sure what exactly the conference would do for me.
Two days into it, I've gone to:
"intro to Asperger's"
"how to get typically developing preschoolers to interact with preschoolers who have autism"
"understanding the social framework of kids with autism"
"autism spectrum disorders and slp's: what asd training is needed for undergrads, grads, and professionals"
"autism and AAC"
"autism and ADHD: the connection and differences between the two"
and have learned loads that might help me in looking at past, present, and any potential future clients. But I won't bore anyone with random autism factoids. The major thing I learned from this conference is that I will not be doing an autism-related topic for my PhD. I know now from what I learned that what I had envisioned as a possible group of kids to work with for the rest of my life is not a group that exists under the spectrum, and the work that people do with kids who have autism - while eminently noble, laudable, and impressive - is not work I'd want to be doing for the rest of my life. A few clients, sure, but I'm not sure I'd want a full caseload of kids with autism.
This conclusion was somewhat surprising to me. I really expected to love the conference and be all fired up about autism and this and that. And while what I've learned is fascinating and invaluable - you won't find me specializing in ASD's in ten years.
In other news, despite a harrowing day this past Tuesday (the day I left for this conference - I've rarely been so stressed in my life as I was that day, but IT'S OVER!!!) life is going quite well. Things are moving forward, I'm getting some clarity and some leads as to where my life might go in the future, and I'm just very happy with everything :)
Well, time for me to run off - I've felt like I might be getting sick (stupid lack of sleep from 7am construction every morning!!!) lately and have been sleeping an absolute ton, so it's time for me to take advantage of my last night having absolutely nothing to wake me up at any point, and head to bed! 'Night, all!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
And it begins....
Well, the craziness of a new semester has begun. Fun times have been had - I started Clinic 2, in which I get two clients, and have two other classes besides. The two classes' times and days were messed around with to no end when the new professors took over classes for the former prof after he seems to have disappeared. But luckily I was able to keep both classes because my schedule was open - others weren't so fortunate. There's not been much to do for either class thus far, but of course that's made up for by the mountains of paperwork that are Clinic. It doesn't quite feel like Clinic One times two because I'm way faster at everything now that Clinic 1 taught me more or less how to structure my paperwork...but it's a hoppin' party of wild and craziness nonetheless. :-P
I was correct in my suspicion of who one of my new clients would be, which makes me happy. Both my new clients are really interesting cases and it will be so much fun doing therapy with them this semester! I'm still figuring them both out, but hopefully I'll be up and running with solid therapy sessions soon, and for sure sooner than the about-a-month it took me last semester to get everything solidified with my then-client.
Got to see my little former client in the hall of the Clinic today. That seriously made my day! I had hoped to get that client back for this semester, but if I can't, at least I know now that I can go observe whenever I want because the session time is extraordinarily convenient. :))))))) And we're encouraged to observe other clinicians, anyway!
I'm kind of excited because I just structured some stuff with a professor of mine so that I can meet with her on a regular basis and really get going on some research stuff when the approval comes back from the necessary committee. There's apparently also another girl at EMU, who I haven't met yet, who my prof knows wants to do some research. If I could get in on that, I'd be thrilled! The more research projects I've got, the better - and since a few I thought I was going to be involved in haven't happened due to other people's time constraints, I'm excited to do stuff on my own - where only I am holding myself back in terms of time - and with people who also have the same idea of wanting to do a lot of research. Possible coolness there! I'm also doing a presentation in my professor's class (which I took a year ago and which spawned the paper from which my current research emerged) in mid-October. I'm excited about that too - my research topic is very close to my heart and I welcome a chance to share what I know with other people. I could talk forever on this topic, but I have a feeling I'll be kept to a half hour or so - boo! lol but I shall deal.
Today I get to see Apryl! I am very very excited. I have not seen her in forever!!!! Much to tell her, and I can't wait to hear her stories. I also need to go to the gym, do a lot of Clinic work, study my 3-letter-words if miracles happen and I have time (yeah, right - I have two hours or less as it is, probably :-P), and then Michael comes tonight. Fun times! But it's amusing how no day turns into an entirely-work day where I can just crank Clinic stuff out. I'm having way too much fun now to back out on any social thing, but I can't say I won't relish an entire day to work, if I ever get one, hahaha. A few days in November look like the most likely and soonest candidates for that. By that time, maybe I won't need a work day! lol But there's always stuff to do.
On that note - better get going so I can get some of that "stuff to do" done! But hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Saturday is Michael's and my first competitive Scrabble tournament in Battle Creek - wish us luck!!!
I was correct in my suspicion of who one of my new clients would be, which makes me happy. Both my new clients are really interesting cases and it will be so much fun doing therapy with them this semester! I'm still figuring them both out, but hopefully I'll be up and running with solid therapy sessions soon, and for sure sooner than the about-a-month it took me last semester to get everything solidified with my then-client.
Got to see my little former client in the hall of the Clinic today. That seriously made my day! I had hoped to get that client back for this semester, but if I can't, at least I know now that I can go observe whenever I want because the session time is extraordinarily convenient. :))))))) And we're encouraged to observe other clinicians, anyway!
I'm kind of excited because I just structured some stuff with a professor of mine so that I can meet with her on a regular basis and really get going on some research stuff when the approval comes back from the necessary committee. There's apparently also another girl at EMU, who I haven't met yet, who my prof knows wants to do some research. If I could get in on that, I'd be thrilled! The more research projects I've got, the better - and since a few I thought I was going to be involved in haven't happened due to other people's time constraints, I'm excited to do stuff on my own - where only I am holding myself back in terms of time - and with people who also have the same idea of wanting to do a lot of research. Possible coolness there! I'm also doing a presentation in my professor's class (which I took a year ago and which spawned the paper from which my current research emerged) in mid-October. I'm excited about that too - my research topic is very close to my heart and I welcome a chance to share what I know with other people. I could talk forever on this topic, but I have a feeling I'll be kept to a half hour or so - boo! lol but I shall deal.
Today I get to see Apryl! I am very very excited. I have not seen her in forever!!!! Much to tell her, and I can't wait to hear her stories. I also need to go to the gym, do a lot of Clinic work, study my 3-letter-words if miracles happen and I have time (yeah, right - I have two hours or less as it is, probably :-P), and then Michael comes tonight. Fun times! But it's amusing how no day turns into an entirely-work day where I can just crank Clinic stuff out. I'm having way too much fun now to back out on any social thing, but I can't say I won't relish an entire day to work, if I ever get one, hahaha. A few days in November look like the most likely and soonest candidates for that. By that time, maybe I won't need a work day! lol But there's always stuff to do.
On that note - better get going so I can get some of that "stuff to do" done! But hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Saturday is Michael's and my first competitive Scrabble tournament in Battle Creek - wish us luck!!!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Only about 24 hours of freedom remain....
...and I have enjoyed this freedom way too much to see it go! :( Life has been crazy and busy, but intensely fun. Among the more interesting parts have been the job-that-lasted-a-week,-thankfully, continuing driver's training which is fortunately going well, having two fabulous new roommates move in, and generally getting life in order for the new semester.
Michael spent a week here while I had no roommates, which was awesome :) He's now back in Port Clinton, though :( But I'll see him again on Friday, which is happy! And we'll go with Soumya to the Recent Grad Reunion casino night and all that. While he was here we went to a wedding in Ohio, which was really pretty but which they held outside (not sure why anyone would get married outside - hello, rain? hello, wind and messy hair? dirt to mess up outfits? I could go on and on....hahaha) and at which they played Disney songs...not my cup of tea, but cool if that's what floats your boat! :-P
We also played lots of Scrabble, so much that I literally had to start a Scrabble file in my file cabinet to keep all the score sheets!! hahaha sooooo much fun. I rule the short words and the overlapping/stacking plays that get 25-40 points with just a few letters...Michael's better than me at the 7-letter word (bingo) plays, though. Which probably means he's in better shape than I am to do well at Scrabble tournaments, since you can more easily study a sheet of three-letter words than you can study the millions of seven, eight, and nine letter words that comprise bingos. But I win more games than he does nowadays....so we'll see. :)
Our first tournament is September 22 in Battle Creek. It's one full day and seven games - we've been trying to play several seven-game days over at Starbucks so that we can prepare for not just one or two games like living-room Scrabble, but actually seven full and challenging games against players who have rankings and who may be more prepared than we are (we're studying, but having not been to tournaments yet, we have no idea what we're up against!) I'm just hoping to finish respectably, seriously. I refuse to finish dead last! But anything better than, like, middle-of-the-pack will thrill me. I will make goals for future tournaments after this first one...but I can't say "I want to finish first! or in the top five!" or whatever until I know from one tournament if that sort of goal (even in the bottom division, where we'll be playing) is feasible or if it's just a pipe dream. Again, we shall see :)
We also went to the Lifehouse/Goo Goo Dolls concert at Freedom Hill on August 26. It was so completely awesome!!!! Although I'm biased - Lifehouse is, like, my favorite band EVER EVER EVER - I do think Lifehouse was objectively better than the Goo Goo Dolls because you could actually hear the lyrics Jason Wade was singing, the background beat/accompaniment wasn't so overpowering, Lifehouse had a better set list, and Jason Wade just has a better voice than Johnny Rzeznik (Jason is like my height though - he's really short and it's slightly disturbing!) But don't get me wrong - both were great, and the entire concert was amazing!
Classes start tomorrow for me, meaning that soon I'll find out what this new professor who's taking over the original professor's classes is like...and I'll also find out who my new Clinic 2 clients are! I'm sooooo excited about that. I have a suspicion I know who one of them is...if I'm correct, that'll be really interesting and quite a challenge but an exciting one!!! I love being a speech therapist :-DDDD
In the coming time, Soumya and Tasia will both be visiting me, Soumya this week and Tasia at the end of October. Can't wait to see both girls - haven't seen them in forever!!!
I'd better run so that I can get a few emails done to important people and then start my Scrabble studying - today's free, but after today who knows how much time I'll have, so I should tackle it full throttle when I can!! Hope everyone's having a great summer end/fall beginning!
Michael spent a week here while I had no roommates, which was awesome :) He's now back in Port Clinton, though :( But I'll see him again on Friday, which is happy! And we'll go with Soumya to the Recent Grad Reunion casino night and all that. While he was here we went to a wedding in Ohio, which was really pretty but which they held outside (not sure why anyone would get married outside - hello, rain? hello, wind and messy hair? dirt to mess up outfits? I could go on and on....hahaha) and at which they played Disney songs...not my cup of tea, but cool if that's what floats your boat! :-P
We also played lots of Scrabble, so much that I literally had to start a Scrabble file in my file cabinet to keep all the score sheets!! hahaha sooooo much fun. I rule the short words and the overlapping/stacking plays that get 25-40 points with just a few letters...Michael's better than me at the 7-letter word (bingo) plays, though. Which probably means he's in better shape than I am to do well at Scrabble tournaments, since you can more easily study a sheet of three-letter words than you can study the millions of seven, eight, and nine letter words that comprise bingos. But I win more games than he does nowadays....so we'll see. :)
Our first tournament is September 22 in Battle Creek. It's one full day and seven games - we've been trying to play several seven-game days over at Starbucks so that we can prepare for not just one or two games like living-room Scrabble, but actually seven full and challenging games against players who have rankings and who may be more prepared than we are (we're studying, but having not been to tournaments yet, we have no idea what we're up against!) I'm just hoping to finish respectably, seriously. I refuse to finish dead last! But anything better than, like, middle-of-the-pack will thrill me. I will make goals for future tournaments after this first one...but I can't say "I want to finish first! or in the top five!" or whatever until I know from one tournament if that sort of goal (even in the bottom division, where we'll be playing) is feasible or if it's just a pipe dream. Again, we shall see :)
We also went to the Lifehouse/Goo Goo Dolls concert at Freedom Hill on August 26. It was so completely awesome!!!! Although I'm biased - Lifehouse is, like, my favorite band EVER EVER EVER - I do think Lifehouse was objectively better than the Goo Goo Dolls because you could actually hear the lyrics Jason Wade was singing, the background beat/accompaniment wasn't so overpowering, Lifehouse had a better set list, and Jason Wade just has a better voice than Johnny Rzeznik (Jason is like my height though - he's really short and it's slightly disturbing!) But don't get me wrong - both were great, and the entire concert was amazing!
Classes start tomorrow for me, meaning that soon I'll find out what this new professor who's taking over the original professor's classes is like...and I'll also find out who my new Clinic 2 clients are! I'm sooooo excited about that. I have a suspicion I know who one of them is...if I'm correct, that'll be really interesting and quite a challenge but an exciting one!!! I love being a speech therapist :-DDDD
In the coming time, Soumya and Tasia will both be visiting me, Soumya this week and Tasia at the end of October. Can't wait to see both girls - haven't seen them in forever!!!
I'd better run so that I can get a few emails done to important people and then start my Scrabble studying - today's free, but after today who knows how much time I'll have, so I should tackle it full throttle when I can!! Hope everyone's having a great summer end/fall beginning!
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