CSD Immersions Back in Person with New Workshops

Immersions Back in Person with New Workshops

This summer, the clinical immersions program for Practicum 1 and 2 students was back in person again on the Washington Square campus. SLP students from all over the country—as far away as Alaska and California—joined their local peers to participate in a three-day series of instructional workshops run by clinical and instructional faculty.

“The deep hands-on experience on procedures they’re learning in their courses is an important part of students’ learning journey,” says Penelope Romano (MS ‘16), field placement administrator for CSD. “The immersions take place right before students begin their field placement sequence or complete semester-long internships, so this practical knowledge is key.”

Students will get to participate in some newer workshops this summer, including Sonja Molfenter’s “Medical SLP Speed Dating: Hands on Practice with Devices,” in which small groups of Practicum 2 students rotate through “stations” to test out medical devices used in the assessment or treatment of patients with dysphagia, voice, and/or motor speech disorder impairments.

“I'm really proud of the quality of our courses and teaching in our online MS program, but the one thing I really miss is being able to share the physical experience of aspects of hands-on learning in the classroom,” says Molfenter, associate professor. “In this new workshop, students get to go table to table, engaging with and using the devices that they have learned about in various classes like Dysphagia and Voice Disorders. I think this is really important to help students feel more comfortable with these devices and instruments before heading out into the field—and it's also really fun.”

Brand-new this summer is Maria Grigos’s workshop called “Dynamic Assessment: Hands-on Training in the Differential Diagnosis of Childhood Apraxia of Speech.” Students will learn more about the Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skills (DEMSS), a tool designed to differentially diagnose CAS.

“I’m really excited to teach this new workshop for Practicum 1 students that will help them work with a very specialized population,” says Grigos, professor and chair of CSD. “This technique uses strategies to look at how a child responds to the cueing they receive during assessment and then uses that information to differentiate between possible diagnoses and treatment options. These are challenging skills to learn, but by introducing SLP at the early end of their training, they will begin a foundation that they continue to build on throughout their clinical education.”

Approximately 70 Practicum 1 and 2 students attended this summer’s immersion program from July 17–19. Other sessions included diagnostic and audiological simulations, screening speech-language or swallow skills at various centers out in the community, and watching a live dissection of a pig larynx at NYU Langone Health.