Are you an ASHA Newbie?? I remember my first time at ASHA and I was overwhelmed at the size of the conference. With over 10,000 professionals in attendance, it is helpful to have goals and objectives coming into the conference. Learn from our ASHA first timer, Alexa, on what she is looking forward to in November. Enjoy!

“As I enter my third year of my career as a school-based speech-language pathologist, I thought what could be better than completing my CEUs being surrounded by thousands of hard-working professionals who share the same interests as me, in the wonderful city known as “Big Easy” aka New Orleans?!

My colleagues and I had talked about attending the ASHA conference every year since our clinical fellowship, and I am so happy to say we finally pulled the trigger and we are fully registered, have flights booked and have a place to stay! As excited as I am, I am also overwhelmed by the number of events, presentations and booths we get to look at and choose from in just one short weekend. I am sure many speech pathologists like myself, who are Type A, already have planned out a full weekend itinerary, with a schedule of what sessions they want to attend each day, with the location and time so we don’t get lost! Looking at the program planner gave me flashbacks to when I was a freshman in college, trying to select the appropriate classes and building a schedule that would best fit me, stressful, but it will all come together in the end!

My three goals I have for myself going into my first ASHA convention are to build relationships with other professionals in our field, gain as many CEUs as possible, and more importantly have fun and enjoy myself. Building a network and meeting new people especially in the SLP world is key. With so many different avenues in our scope of practice, it is crucial to make connections with other therapists to expand our knowledge as a whole. Down the road you may never know when you will need someone to turn to for guidance, or who may need to turn to you! Obtaining CEUs may sound daunting at times, but with the increased demand of SLPs, along with individuals with speech and language needs, it is important we keep our skills up to date. Therefore, I am so excited to learn about newly conducted research, treatment approaches, tips and tricks to help the students I serve every day, and of course add to my SLP tool box! Last, I truly believe if you don’t have fun on a day-to-day basis, then it makes it difficult to love what you do, and loving your job is so important. I cannot wait to be surrounded by so many therapists, who love this field as much as I do, who are continuing to expand their knowledge to provide the best care for the individuals we serve every day! 

As they say there, “Laissez les bon temps rouler” 

Alexa Torrence M.A. CCC-SLP”

Thanks Alexa! Are you going to ASHA? Come and visit us at the Cicero Therapies Booth #411 in the Exhibit Hall. Let us know you read our blog and we have special prize for you!

See you in New Orleans!