Students\u27 Self-Perceptions of Knowledge and Skills Pre and Post Externship

Student self-rating and self-reflection are often used as part of a formative assessment in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduate programs. This article focuses on the use of a rating scale assessing speech-language pathology graduate students\u27 self-perception of their readiness for school and medical externships utilizing a survey format. Students completed a pre and post survey during their culminating externship experiences reflecting their perceived level of required assistance and independence with disorder groups and processes. The results of this project will be discussed with the information benefiting graduate programs in planning curriculum, assessing externship experiences, and providing a tool for student focus on perceived areas of need during the externship and at the initiation of the Clinical Fellowship (CF)

Methamphetamine Exposure, Iron Deficiency, and Implications for Cognitive-Communicative Function: A Case Study

Methamphetamine (meth) exposure during fetal development has the potential to adversely affect the development of multiple organ systems. An interdisciplinary case study of a 4-year 11-month-old child born to a mother addicted to meth revealed significant cognitive and communicative delays. Possible meth-related consequences for these delays included stroke in utero with associated hemiparesis and epilepsy, congenital eye dysfunction, recurrent middle ear infections, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social adjustment problems, and parental neglect. An important additional finding was the child\u27s nondietary iron deficiency anemia, which could contribute to or compound meth-related behavioral problems. The influence of chronic iron deficiency anemia on cognitive-communicative function speaks to the importance of including dietitians in the interdisciplinary team assessment of children exposed to meth