Clinical placements are an invaluable part of learning at the 鶹AV School of Communication Sciences and Disorders (SCSD). A unique aspect of the 鶹AV SCSD Program is that students start having hands-on experience in their very first semester.
While placements offered throughout the fall and winter semesters take place in the Montreal-area, students have a choice to stay close to 鶹AV or to go further afield for their spring and final placements. But as current students and recent graduates will attest, whether you stay close to home or travel afar, clinical placements are places you’ll grow!
Close to Home in Quebec
Students Charlotte Guillet and Judith Tchen chose to stay close to home for their spring practicum. The duo took part in a peer placement divided between two sites, both within driving distance of Montreal. Once a week, they worked at the Ste Anne’s Veterans’ Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue under the supervision of Suzanne Lalonde. They spent the rest of their workweek at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital in Laval with their clinical educator (CE) Annie Delyfer.
At the Veterans’ Hospital, Guillet and Tchen worked with clients in their 90s. Despite being at the site only once a week, the students worked towards achieving a variety of goals. These included improving speech intelligibility of clients with dysarthria, and increasing the efficiency with which a patient with ALS could use her iPad as a communication device.
At the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, the students were part of the stroke team. As part of the team, they helped clients who experienced speech and language difficulties, such as apraxia, aphasia, and dysarthria, following a stroke.
Both students felt the combination of locations provided them with excellent experience, especially since this was their first time working with an adult population.
“I really appreciated how both of our CEs allowed us to take charge right from the get go...We really felt like true S-LPs and not just students anymore!” said Tchen.
“The thing that left me with a smile at the end of our days was the clients,” added Guillet.
Adventure of a Lifetime in Haida Gwaii, BC
Tara Casorso, currently a second year student at the SCSD, travelled across the country for her spring placement. Casorso and her classmate spent five weeks in Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the north coast of British Columbia. Working primarily with children in elementary schools, she gained experience providing articulation, language and fluency therapy. She also participated in interdisciplinary health-screening days for children entering kindergarten.
All of this was done in a location that Casorso described as “the West Coast on steroids”, one she was able to admire during the up-to-three hour daily commute from school to school. These commutes also provided plenty of time to learn from her clinical educator Garth Foote, who graduated from the SCSD in 2007.
A unique aspect of the placement was learning more about Haida culture and working with indigenous clients. To facilitate this learning, Casorso and her classmate completed Northern Health’s Indigenous Cultural Competency course online and took part in a variety of community activities.
“This placement was amazing in that cultural experiences were always valued as learning experiences,” said Casorso. “If we discovered that the child we were to see for therapy was not in his classroom but instead practicing Haida dance in the school gym, we were invited to watch. If we were doing paperwork and our CE discovered that a local elder was giving a language lesson in Kindergarten, we were encouraged to go take part. The cultural experiences extended outside of our workday as well, as we took part in community events...These ‘extra-curricular’ experiences really enriched our time in Haida Gwaii and helped us to feel a strong sense of community.”
Despite the pricey plane ticket – flying over 4,000 km isn’t cheap! - Casorso wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this practicum. “To quote a 2015 S-LP graduate who went to Haida Gwaii a year before I did, it was ‘a highlight of my life!’ ”
International Experience in Oakland, CA
Recent graduate Billy Leet took his final placement south of the border. With a bit of organization and perseverance on his part, Leet arranged for a placement at Word Works, a private practice in Oakland, California. Under the supervision of clinical educators Gage Herman and Devra Posner, he worked with children ages 2 to 6 and their families.
“The bulk of our clients fell into the categories of language delay, motor speech disorders, craniofacial cases, and [autism spectrum disorder]. The practice also welcomed clients for things like cochlear implant rehabilitation, accent modification, and social communication,” explained Leet.
The diversity of the clientele made this placement an interesting experience for a student who was about to enter the workforce. Furthermore, the Word Works team provided Leet with a safe learning environment.
“I never felt stupid asking a question. I always felt supported, and my [clinical educators] knew when to throw me into the fire without leaving me stranded.”
Leet felt that his Canadian education served him well in this final placement, even though it was in the United States. Processes, paperwork and expectations were similar to what he had learned at 鶹AV and he was confident jumping into therapy sessions.
Because of the potential need to apply for visas and study permits, it is recommended that students interested in going abroad for their final placement start doing their research early on – as early as first year! Although it may be a bit more work, the experience is worth it, assured Leet. This is especially so if a student chooses to go somewhere like the Bay Area, where exceptional clinical experience can be complemented by a world-class cultural activities and culinary scene.
Practica are not only places where students apply theoretical knowledge. Practica provide students with the real life experience needed to become empathetic and effective speech-language pathologists. Whether a clinical placement is close to home, across the country, the border or even the world, the experience students gain allows for them to grow not only as professionals but also as people.
To learn about another incredible practicum adventure, read about Leah MacQuarrie and Alexandra Lauzon’s experience in Chisassibi, QC at
