speech and language therapy

crystal5206

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know anything about this course. I am doing social studies in Carlow college but would like to do speech and language therapy. I know the points are really high and i just got an average leaving cert but because im doing social care, would that make a difference? Anyone know?

maryjm

Is the course you are doing a Degree? If it is you could apply to do the MSc in Speech & Language Therapy in Limerick when you are done your undergrad (its what im doing at the moment!!), and if you prefer there are lots of places in the UK that do it and the fees are all funded totally by the NHS so you would just be paying for accommodation and living expenses.
You just need to get experience in the field to get a place, so just asking SLT's can you observe them and stuff like that!

crystal5206

maryjm wrote: »

Is the course you are doing a Degree? If it is you could apply to do the MSc in Speech & Language Therapy in Limerick when you are done your undergrad (its what im doing at the moment!!), and if you prefer there are lots of places in the UK that do it and the fees are all funded totally by the NHS so you would just be paying for accommodation and living expenses.
You just need to get experience in the field to get a place, so just asking SLT's can you observe them and stuff like that!

Tanx how many years does it take when you hav a degree? Do you know if you cn do it in trinity with a degree? did you apply through the cao? Tanx for lettin me no

maryjm

The one in Limerick is a Masters course, so its only 2 years, they have a lot to pack in the 2 years so its gonna be a fairly hectic 2 years for me!!!
Cuz its a masters course you apply directly to the University, you need a 2:2 or higher in ur undergrad as well as experience in the field so they know that you really want the course! its a fairly competitive entry tho as there are usually only 25 places, there are 28 in my year tho, so maybe they are taking in more people.
There is another thread about this course in UL too!

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055086064&highlight=speech+language+therapy

The MSc. is most definitely available to anyone with an existing undergraduate and is definitely a route to become a qualified Speech and Language Therapist, regardless of what your undergraduate is. I'm starting the course in two weeks, so I can say this for sure.

What they do prefer, however, is that you have a related undergraduate degree, such as in linguistics or psychology. You also have to demonstrate your interest and knowledge of the field when you apply. This means that if you want to stand a good chance of being selected for interview, you should start doing some shadowing of therapists and visiting day-care centres.

It's a good learning experience to do the shadowing anyway, it's not just to get you into the course. I'd recommend trying to cover many of the areas a therapist works in: paediatrics, adults, learning disabilities (both children and adults), acquired injuries, dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) and also older people.

You'll probably find that if you contact any therapist about looking for help with getting some experience, they'll be more than helpful. If you want to pm me, I can give you a list of places in Dublin I visited.

To be accepted into the course, you have to go through two phases. The first is the written application phase, which is at the start of December. That's the one you need the shadowing experience for. The seconds phase, if you get accepted, is an interview phase.

Despite being called an 'interview', you actually don't get asked questions at all during the day. Instead, the focus of the day is on your interpersonal skills and ability to work as a team. You have to do three presentations on the day. One is a presentation you'll have prepared in advance (which you'll present on your own) and the other two are ones that are given to you on the day (which you'll do as a group).

About 140 to 160 people apply each year for the MSc course, which has space for 25 people on average every year, so competition is high, but if you get enough experience and prepare well in advance you'll be fine

With regards to the course in trinners, i would imagine you have to apply throught CAO as its an undergrad course, but if ur over 23 (I think) you can apply as a mature student and so its a bit different but ur best bet would be to contact the SLT department in trinity and ask them! They may take the fact that u already have an undergrad into account when u apply but i really dont know, you would have to ask them!

Hope this helps!!