Sunday, June 7, 2009

The school side of our lives

We don't blog about school very much (even though it constitutes about 90% of our lives right now) because it's just not that exciting to blog about.  However, at this point, we are reaching some exciting milestones. 

CLASSES:
I've been in graduate school at BYU studying speech-language pathology for the last year.  In just a week and a half, spring term ends and I'll be done with classes...ALL done.  I don't graduate yet though because I still have two internships and a thesis to write, which will all take another academic year. Now you're thinking "at least she can earn some money now with the internships."  Wrong. I don't know why our field is different than most, but our internships are unpaid, but everything else about them is like a job (e.g. we can't miss work, we are expected to contribute a full day's work 5 days a week). 

INTERNSHIPS: 
The 3rd week of June (right after spring term ends) is when I begin my medical internship at a rehabilitation center in Sandy.  I'll ride UTA at 6:30am, then trax, and then bike the last 2 miles...and wahlah...I begin working at 8:30 am.   I'll be working with mostly older patients who've had stokes and traumatic brain injuries and are learning how to talk again.  I'll also work with patients who are having difficulties swallowing (betcha didn't know that SPEECH THERAPISTS do that!).   This will be a brand new context for me and I'm excited for the experience.  

In September, I begin a new internship at a private preschool for children on the Autism Spectrum.  The school is called Giant Steps and I've heard such wonderful things about the program.  I'm really excited for this one. 

MY FIRST SLP JOB:
I also have a job lined up to begin in September also working at another preschool for children with Autism.  My boss is awesome and i do get paid for this (and the pay is great).  It will give me excellent experience also!

THESIS: 
While doing all of the above, I'll be setting aside time to continue working on my thesis.  I'm looking at withdrawal behavior (the kind where they play by themselves more than with other children) in children with language impairment and how it correlates with their language test scores.  Are the withdrawn because they don't have good language skills? or do they not have good language skills because they're withdrawn?  Aren't we all DYING to know?!?!

ok...so see what I mean? BAD idea to blog about school stuff.  It can get boring to ya'll.  Let's move on to Darin before I dig a deeper hole...

DARIN:
He is not currently taking classes, but he's been working at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) and studying hard for the Dental Admissions Test (DAT).  He's been so diligent with his study--I don't know how he keeps himself motivated!  I admire him so much for that.  Anyway, it's getting tough, but he's hanging in there.  He'll take the exam in a couple of weeks.  He will apply for dental school next summer since our plan is to work full-time for a year before he starts dental school.  He's a smarty-pants!

11 comments:

  1. Jake has to ride UTA to Salt Lake everyday so he will know what you're going through on that 2 hour commute. It's a killer sometimes. I am so happy for you that you are almost done. YOU WILL MAKE IT! How did the run go?

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  2. I had no idea that speech therapists helped with swallowing difficulties... my grandmother died from choking because she had trouble swallowing! (...she had other issues like losing her mind as well, but that's beside the point) Anyway, it sounds like you're doing great!

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  3. Yeah, crazy huh. It's a really medical branch of speech and language therapy. And usually when they lose the mind it doesn't help the swallowing situation!

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  4. Crystal! The 10 went well. I kinda skipped out on a couple of meals Friday and Saturday just cuz things were crazy, but I definitely won't do that again! I felt fine during and even right after the run, but within an hour of finishing, I was SOOOO nauseous! I forced myself to drink and eat a couple bites of applesauce, but then I was out for the night. I know it was just lack of nutrition, so I should be fine next time. When are we going to run together? How was boating?

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  5. Hello Johnstons! I love your blog! Darin, do you still use your wotmaniac e-mail? Or your facebook e-mail? I emailed you on both...what are your thoughts on a 5 year reunion? I guess there's been some chatter about it on facebook...let me know what you think!

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  6. Yay, I found your blog! I love the background btw, where in the world did you find it?! ;) And, actually I was enthralled throughout this post. Very interesting! I guess that tells you a little about SLPs. Haha :) Feel free to check out my blog: michaelandmeghan.blogspot.com

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  7. Congrats on all the academic milestones! Your job sounds really interesting. Good for you working so hard. I would really love to hear more about what you are doing, I think speech therapy is such an interesting and much needed field. Maybe we could talk this summer...we are coming home at the end of July! Are you guys around end of July, beginning of August? It will be really busy for us, but I would love to try and get together!

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  8. Wonderful to hear an update! I've been wondering :) Congratulations and good luck!

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  9. Hey I found your blog through your comment on Kami's blog. It's cool to know how things are going for you. Where are you guys living?
    -Katie (Schenk) Wood

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  10. We have a guy working for us right now--he has a speech problem. It's sooo interesting to see how he interacts (or doesn't) with us. You should come by for lunch sometime.

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  11. oh my gosh! I can't believe there were 10 comments on this blog I posted in may and I didn't even know until TODAY. I've repented and changed my ways...and my settings so that the comments get emailed to me. That way I'll get them ASAP and respond. Dang, Brittney--I really wish we could have seen you guys this summer!! And Suz, thanks for the invite! Do you know how many times I've passed that exit and thought...oh, I should just drop in and say hi to you guys!

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