L&L Therapy Services, LLC

Marketing might not be a topic that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) find themselves thinking about on a daily basis. However, marketing impacts our profession in a variety of ways. Marketing entails more than just advertising. Successful marketing involves four factors commonly known as the four "Ps" of marketing (product, price, place, promotion). Developing a marketing plan takes time, talent, and consistent energy. This article invites clinicians across different professional environments to consider their services through a framework used by many marketing consultants as they develop a marketing plan. The four "Ps" of marketing, as well as their relationship to each other and the profession, will be explored. Thoughtful questions are posited and myths regarding the practice of marketing are addressed.

As students transition from graduate programs to their Clinical Fellowship Experience, there is a corresponding shift in their autonomy and level of supervision. Supervisors of student clinicians and mentors of Clinical Fellows share many of the same roles and responsibilities as key figures in the professional development of the new clinician. Mentors are appropriately less directive than supervisors as part of a collaborative process with the Clinical Fellow. The mentor is charged with facilitating and promoting reflective practice techniques while giving consideration to influence and power; interpersonal skills; issues of race, culture, gender, and age; and professional ethics.

Counseling is considered a critical component of effective clinical practice. As such, speech-language pathologists and audiologists should receive explicit preparation in counseling as part of their graduate education. However, counseling is often a neglected area of instruction in many graduate programs. A research study was designed to assess perceptions of the effectiveness of a set of counseling strategies (i.e., nonverbal approaches) that have been described in the literature. Interestingly, preliminary data suggest that individuals may have differing opinions on effective counseling approaches. In part, these differences may be based on experiences and education. Implications for improving counseling skills of professionals and service delivery effectiveness are discussed.

This article details the process of self-reflection applied to the use of traditional performance indicator questionnaires. The study followed eight speech-language pathology graduate students enrolled in clinical practicum in the university, school, and healthcare settings over a period of two semesters. Results indicated when reflection was focused on students' own clinical skills, modifications to practice were implemented. Results further concluded self-assessment using performance indicators paired with written reflections can be a viable form of instruction in clinical education.

The "unique learning style and social communication challenges" experienced by children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) necessitate that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) receive education specific to this disability (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], 2006a, p.18). Graduate training programs often provide this education through classroom instruction and clinical education (also referred to as clinical teaching or supervision). Clinical education has a long-standing tradition in the field of speech-language pathology and is considered "an essential component in the education of students" (ASHA, 2008a, p. 1). This article presents a description of clinical education experience, specific to serving children with ASD, that is offered to graduate level speech-language pathology students at Radford University. The RiteCare Family Autism Camp, hosted by the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, provides graduate level clinical training in a model of service delivery amendable to many best practices when serving this population, such as intensive services, a partnership with parents, development of social communicative competence through the use of peer mediators, and a focus on literacy. This article describes the role of the SLP working with ASD and the RiteCare camp and seeks to inspire other graduate speech-language pathology training programs to consider an intensive, family-based day program for children with ASD as a clinical education model for its speech-language pathology students.

Purdue University and the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery formed a joint Doctor of Audiology (AuD) program approved in 2002. Students gain foundational academic knowledge and clinical experience during the first 3 years of the program at Purdue University. During the 4th year of the program, students are placed at the IU Medical Center in Indianapolis and continue to gain experience in diagnostics, hearing aids, and cochlear implants. Sixteen to 18 audiologists are involved in clinical teaching of these 4th-year students. Two administrative positions have been created in order to manage this clinical program. The Medical Center Liaison at Purdue University and the Coordinator of Medical Center Clinical Audiology Education at the IU Medical Center have specific responsibilities that create an organizational structure for both the audiologists and the students. These positions provide continued, clear communication between the faculty and audiologists at both campuses. These positions are critical in the success of the administration of the fourth year clinical experience of the joint AuD program.