Hello!

[Karianne]

I'm Karianne and I have been working as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for just about 8 years now. I've worked in both school and rehab/skilled nursing settings and enjoy working with both groups of people. My husband was in the Navy and we moved around a lot, but fortunately it was always easy to find a job as a SLP. Now that he is out of the Navy, we've settled back down in Gainesville, FL. I have two daughters, both of whom I started using American Sign Language (ASL) with when they were babies and have personally seen the benefits of using sign language with hearing children. I believe all children can benefit from sign language, at home and in educational settings, and hope teachers and more speech-language pathologists incorporate sign language into their curriculum to make learning a multisensory experience. As a result of using ASL with my daughters, they have rapidly learned concepts ahead of their peers, so I have decided to homeschool them. I am new to homeschooling, and would like to gain wisdom from seasoned homeschoolers.

This forum was created to bring together people who are interested in sign language, homeschooing, and/or speech-language pathology. I believe each of these areas are separate but also overlap enough to create a dynamic and interesting community of people. Welcome to the forum, and I look forward to getting to know you!

[rapunzelcrazy]

Hello my name is nicole masten and I am 22. I am going to school to be a Speech Therapist. Currently I am working on my general arts degree. I have learned some sign laungage. I would like to learn as much as I can about speech therapy and sign language. Maybe you could give me some pointers.

Thanks
nicole

[reskinner]

My name is Rachel Skinner. I am 22 years old and am currently working on my master's in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) at Valdosta State University. I received my B.A. in CSD at the University of Florida. I was homeschooled from the 1st-12th grade.

I have taken several classes in ASL. Though I am not fluent, I genuinely love the Deaf culture and their language.

[Karianne]

Welcome Nicole and Rachel! I am so excited to have you as my first members and hope the forum provides a place where you can get all of your questions answered. I will gladly answer any questions you have, and from the looks of it Nicole, Rachel may be able to answer some of your questions too since she is just a bit ahead of you in school on the SLP track. She may be able to give you better answers about what school is like now, and what clinical experiences she has had. I'm not sure what questions you have, but likely the best place to start posting would be in the SLP forum in the General Discussion thread, unless it fits better under one of the other categories. I look forward to answering your questions!
Take care,