As we all know, since March 11, 2020, we have been working and fighting hand in hand against the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone takes precautions in their way and countries are using their strategies to fight the pandemic. So how do we, as Speech and Language Therapy students, support these times? Since the first days of the pandemic, we have been continuing our education from home (online classes), developing and educating ourselves. Also; we continue to improve ourselves in the best way possible with online seminars, student congresses and panels. Unfortunately, it is not effective for us to continue from home. Although our university and our lecturers continue to manage this time in the best way, unfortunately, the interaction we have with our lecturers in the classroom is not possible in the online classes. Every faculty and department of our universities continue to be adversely affected by these pandemic conditions. Also, although the Speech and Language Therapy Department seems to be a more intense department with its theoretical content, it is a completely practice-oriented department. Speech and Language Therapy is an independent, applied science field that complements each other, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary.
Talking and communicating are among the most basic needs of human beings. Problems in verbal communication affect people negatively and reduce people's quality of life by causing various emotional and social problems. Although language and speech disorders affect the life of the individual significantly, the negative effects on the lives can be reduced with early diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic interventions. For accurate diagnosis and appropriate intervention, it is necessary to be a specialist in this field. Speech and language therapists (SLP) are professionals trained in this field. Speech and language therapist deals with human communication, language, speech areas and takes part in the treatment of all voice, speech, swallowing functions and language disorders in children, adolescents, adults and the elderly, regardless of the causes. At the same time, speech and language therapists are involved in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders. In this context, they prepare clinical and educational programs, develop therapy programs, evaluate the results obtained, and provide consultancy to families in a multidisciplinary approach with relevant professional groups.
After refreshing our knowledge about the Speech and Language Therapy Department, I would like to tell you a little about being a Speech and Language Therapy student and my internship experiences. First of all, being a Speech and Language Therapy student is very enjoyable, pleasurable and flattering. From the first moment, the feeling that I can touch people's lives and be a trace in their lives, even if it is little, makes me very grateful. The fact that it is a department that is very open to research and development makes me excited while studying. Although our department courses are prepared on both theory and practice, it is more practice-oriented. Due to the structure of our department, we need to combine the information we have learned in theory with practice and turn it into practice. The internship is a great opportunity for us to turn our knowledge into practice. Speech and Language Therapy students have the opportunity to do internships in private clinics, special education and rehabilitation centres, and hospitals. However, most of us cannot have internship experience due to the risk of contamination in the pandemic. I am one of the lucky ones to have this experience. I am continuing my internship in a private speech and language therapy clinic. When I first started my internship, it was difficult for me to figure out how theoretical knowledge was used in practice. In the time, I gained the experience of how I could use the theoretical knowledge I learned in the classes in terms of practice and how I could make the new information I learned during the semester more meaningful. I can convey this situation to you; in my internship, I actively use all the information that I have questioned its connection with my department and its areas of use while the theoretical courses. As I continued my internship experience, I started to give more right to everything our department professors said. Another experience I gained during my internship is that every individual and every child is unique, and every individual must be considered by their individual differences. Finally, my internship experience provided me with the opportunity to look at the Speech and Language Therapy Department and life from a new perspective.
Speech and Language Therapy 2nd Year Student İlkay KALIN
