The past year I have been an online grad student at UBC due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Although being able to wear a house robe whilst attending all my online lectures was terrific, I think it is fair to say that having an in-person graduate school experience would have been far more ideal. One can only learn so much from a textbook and slides (and from a robot dysphasia patient lovingly named Mr. Gus Shultz). *see photo* Before commencing my placement at Speech Ease, I experienced the highest degree of imposters syndrome. How do I apply what I have learned from the textbooks to real-life clients? How do I play with kids? How do I talk to people in general when I have basically only interacted through Zoom calls over the past year? I have to wear pants now? What a concept. Fortunately, my people skills returned rapidly, and in no time I remembered how to play with little humans again! So, now that my time at Speech Ease is coming to an end, here are the 3 Priceless P’s I learned during my placement:
1. Play
It goes without saying, children learn through play. As adults we tend to observe and follow the child’s lead rather than introduce novel ideas and goofy scenarios. Our active participation in play is immensely beneficial for the learning and development of invaluable social and communicative skills!
2. Patience
Allowing yourself to pause and observe is key to discover what works and doesn’t work for the child. It also allows you to self-reflect and discover how you can make adjustments. Learning takes time!
3. Persistence
Plans may not always go our way, especially when it comes to working with strong willed, explorative kiddos! We grow and learn alongside them and for that reason remaining tenacious and having a positive outlook will benefit both you and the child!
I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to learn from the supportive and excellent staff of SpeechEase and their amazing clients. This placement has ignited my passion for this field even more and I will take the countless lessons I have learned from my time here into my future
practice. Thank you Sarah, Ina and the SpeechEase team!
By: Ashtyn D., MSc Student, Speech-Language Pathology
