Hi everyone,
I am a current speech pathology and foreign language major. A number of factors attracted me to speech pathology: linguistics is a passion of mine, I excel when working with people one-on-one (rather than in a large group), I enjoy biology/neuroscience, and most importantly, speech pathologists have made a big impact on my life, thus, I want to give back. I am still in the beginning stage of my major, and before taking any more courses in the fall, I wanted to evaluate that this is indeed the best career path for me. I am feeling more confident about speech pathology that the other options I have considered in the past, but I have several concerns. Before I go any further, I want to make sure that my ASD symptoms won't interfere with my ability to be an effective speech pathologist. Here are what I foresee as the most significant issues:
1). Eye contact: I am at the point where I can fake eye contact for short intervals, but I cannot sustain eye contact. For instance, when I first meet someone, I can usually make eye contact through our introductory remarks, but I cannot make eye contact during longer conversations--it is too distracting for me, and my discussion skills suffer as a result! At my university, speech pathology students are observed intensely in practicum, and I am worried that the clinicians in charge of the speech center might be concerned by my lack of eye contact (especially since I am supposed to be modeling good eye contact for kids with communication disorders and ASD's!)
2). Stimming: I am a notorious stimmer, particularly, a hand-wringer. The manifestation of this stim is that I often break whatever I am holding (e.g. writing utensils, paper clips, my cell phone, etc.). When I am in public, I am mostly able to keep this under control, but at my current job, at least once a day, I manage to have an embarrassing incident where I break something important, or a coworker/client asks "what are you doing with your hands??" Of course, I am concerned that the overseer of the speech center would take note of this.
3). Poor coordination: I know that some speech pathologists, particularly those who work in medical settings, need to administer tests that involve prodding in the mouth. My hand coordination is very inconsistent. If you're a speech pathologist, have you found you need to administer a lot of physical tests--if so, how much coordination do they entail? Could I find a position without this component?
4). Voice modulation: My speech is clear, but it is loud. During a short, to-the-point conversation, I can monitor volume, but when a conversation becomes more complex (about a challenging topic, or there is lots of give-and-take), I find it very difficult to be aware of how loud I am talking. In most settings, this doesn't cause a problem (it definitely helps with public speaking!), but at my current job, I get a lot of "quiet down" comments. Will this generate issues as a speech pathologist?
24 May 2013, 11:29 am
I should have known I would find another Russian major on Wrong Planet! My friends joke that Russian etymology, Soviet history, and the Trans-Siberian Railroad are all I talk about. Have you been to Russia?
