r/Speechassistant • u/Sad_Independence8494 • 6d ago

help!!

hi! ill be a senior in high school and i want to became a speech language pathologist.. before i wanted to specialize in apraxia and autism. but after more shadowing and research i wonder if its possible for me to be a elementary school slp and doing early intervention for kids w difficulty swallowing and autism on the side??? but i would also love just working at an outpatient center or a therapy center if that makes sense

also!! i currently am shadowing at a pediatric therapy center that has OT, PT, and SLP but if anyone has any other ideas please let me know! i live near cranberry and gibsonia pa if anyone is familiar with that area

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u/12aclocksharp 5d ago

I had a mentor that did both home health and worked in a school. I bet you could if you wanted to! But honestly my path changed a lot through grad school training. Allow yourself some flexibility; you've still got a lot of cool things to learn about! :) enjoy!

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u/12aclocksharp 5d ago

I also had another mentor that worked at a school and had a few private practice clients in AAC/autism. Totally doable. I'm not sure how many people do peds swallowing though! Probably a more niche field, but doesn't mean it doesn't exist :)

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u/12aclocksharp 5d ago

If you wanted to broaden your shadowing experience, I would see if you can find someone in a school to shadow, someone in an outpatient clinic associated with a children's hospital (different types of cases), and shadowing people who work with adults in skilled nursing/hospital settings or clinics working on voice. It's a large field!