ASHA

So much going on lately, where to start....let's start here--I hate this semester. I really do detest it. It needs to be over now. And people need to have clearly stated expectations and quit surprising us with stuff, etc. etc. And I need to stop getting Bs.

On to more interesting things.

This week I was in Philadelphia for the ASHA convention. It was fabulous! I'm used to TESOL conventions which must be smaller (ASHA had 12,000 ppl this week) because I was not nearly so overwhelmed by the program book and options for sessions. ASHA could also help by organizing the sessions by time instead of subject area, but I would still probably only be able to get to about 1/5 of the sessions I want to see.

I saw quite a few really interesting sessions. One I really enjoyed looked at transition strategies for young adults who use AAC. It was really practical, and presented well, which is just as important as the content.

Another interesting research presentation looked at predicting stuttering onset in the context of the Early Language in Victoria Study. They found that you can't really predict it, so that's not great, but it was a good presentation and had some other useful information.

I was really interested in a presentation I went to on starting a private practice. It was exactly the kind of information I was hoping for too, not too detailed but not too broad either. It definitely helped me think through some of the options there.

My very favorite presentation though was Christina Santhouse talking about having the right hemisphere of her brain removed due to Rasmussen's Encephalitis. It was fascinating because not only did Christina recover from the hemispherectomy, but she finished college, earned a Master's degree and became an SLP. The PhD who presented with her said that either this type of success has not yet been documented, or does not exist. I wouldn't say it's the presentation I gained the most factual information from, but it was by far the most interesting and inspiring. Christina even had her SLP in the audience for the presentation.