Deaf- and/or SLP-related notes

Ok, I reallllllly do have a lot of information/reflections I want to post! So keep checking for more info as time goes by. I am officially making it a New Years resolution to be more consistent here.

Right now, as I "study" for orals, I am finding SO many great sources online for SLPs. I just wish I knew what I should be memorizing instead of everything.

cool handouts (with a free registration):

http://www.superduperinc.com/Handouts/Handout.aspx

cool stuff for SLPs doing IEPs (in Wisconsin...) - see phonetic development chart and normal curve statistics sheets...

http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/pdf/slguide.pdf

LOADs of stuff - from reference info to activity ideas:

http://speech-language-therapy.com/whatshere.htm

my new favorite blog! free materials with subscription:

http://www.speechtherapyideas.com/

"You know a lot more than you think you do"

I hear this sentence often. Everyone in my program does. And I believe it, don't get me wrong. Of course it's all relative. I know more than the "average" parent about the typical language development of someone their child's age... whatever "average" means. And I get that I have more knowledge of what's going on in the body related to hearing loss, and how that affects language development, not to mention social-emotional development and the cultural components that you can't ignore. But do I really know anything?

When I talk to non-SLPs or people naive to the Deaf world, I get a lot of respect. "I can see you are really passionate about this!" People understand what I am saying and appreciate my level of sensitivity and concern.

Perhaps this is because I step out of student/SLP/professional mode and step into a casual/informal/sincere mode. I'm noticing it can be a challenge in itself to be professional and confident at the same time. "Not my thing," as I usually say when discussing anything out of my scope of being (i.e. alcohol, sports, cars, etc. ;-)

When I talk to my peers or supervisors or faculty, I fall apart, I guess. A wise friend once said to me, "Fake it til you make it"... referring to confidence, in case you haven't heard that line before. And I honestly try! I walk out of my meetings feeling great, thinking I ask intelligent, provoking questions, thinking I left the impression that I knew what I was doing and expressed an appropriate level of rational thought, creativity, knowledge, depth, consideration, etc. But it seems that without any exception, the truth of the matter is that I walk away, and the supervisors more than likely discuss how I couldn't possibly have been more disappointing.

Okok, well, maybe not that far. I always get positive + negative feedback. Though I think that is an SLP thing. "I like how you said your good /s/ sound on the first one, but I didn't hear it for the next 29 words!" yeayeayea. okok. Again and again, I just get slammed to the floor. This isn't for me, I get it. Story of my life.