This is just a SOP for a graduate program i am applying to. any type of feedback would be great!
When volunteering at an educational and medical center, I learned that communication problems in children and adolescents are more common than I had suspected they were. Interacting with an array of patients with cerebral palsy and others on various levels of the autism spectrum opened my eyes to things. I have several family members and friends on various levels of the autism spectrum. It breaks my heart when I see others make fun of them or ignore them because they think they are rude or too boisterous. Not understanding they have issues with social language. That yelling "I'm praying for you!" during a quiet prayer service is typical for them. I became part of the solution to this problem, by volunteering at that center and teaching others how to interact with those who have disabilities. My goals are to join and excel within a great master's program to enable me to offer services as a Speech Language Pathologist. Specifically, I hope to develop effective programs to help typical developing people interact and respect those on the autism spectrum scale and other disorders.
I first observed an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device while volunteering at the center. A cerebral palsy patient who did not communicate with me at first, found a common ground with me (the love of chocolate milk) while using her AAC device. This peaked my interest even more. As a member of the Freddye T. Davy Honors College, to get honors credit in a specific major, several research based projects must be conducted. My sophomore year, I conducted an observational study on a teenaged client with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and multiple other disorders and saw what effect that had on her language learning abilities. After missing therapy for a month, the client came back and performed near the same level where she previously was. She improved in her therapy goals at the end of the semester, despite her behavioral and communicative issues. I have also created professional Power-point presentations on dysphagia treatment options for adults versus pediatrics and ethical scenarios that one may meet; and one which compares and contrasts myasthenia gravis to multiple sclerosis. These extra projects allow me to get a better in-depth understanding of the topic at hand, rather than just taking the class and doing the bare minimum.
My undergraduate curriculum has given me vast exposure to various fields of research and career paths. In my clinical apprentice course I could observe adults and children from different backgrounds, and causes of communication impairments. After passing a cumulative exam, Hampton University allows their senior students to become student clinicians during their last year. This opportunity allows me to accumulate 50 direct client contact hours, an opportunity that large schools may not offer due to their large cohort of undergraduates. Observing something differs from doing it. As an undergraduate student clinician, I take baseline data, assessed it, decide what evidence based treatment is needed, improve my writing skills, and use my creativity with my client (s). These hands on experiences give me insight into the expectations of a graduate clinician and how to run a therapy session.
Those skills developed further during my internship at the University of Michigan, under the School of Public Health. I conducted research using my advisors largest data set: The National Survey of Life- which addresses ethnic variation within African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the United States. The purpose of my study was to examine gender differences in health service use among ethnically diverse black adolescents. I gained statistical knowledge by learning how to use SPSS while understanding the data, creating and manipulating my own variables, and ran descriptive, logistic regressions and Chi-square models to further understand the data. Our advisor gave us vast opportunities to take part in mock-IRB meetings and sit in on various seminars during our 8 week stay. A professional poster was created at the end of the experience in which positive feedback was received and created an experience of a lifetime. I brought a different perspective to the diverse group since I was the only speech pathology major in a group of social and medical science majors. My interdisciplinary skills emerged and improved during this internship.
_________ University's special emphasis on producing leaders who can provide services to people with special needs is parallel with my long-term ambition to work clinically with those on the autistic spectrum and conduct research on the use of AAC devices.
1. When ("While"?)volunteering at an educational and medical center, I learned that communication problems in children and adolescents are more common than I had suspected they were.
2. "opened my eyes to things" -- what "things"? Is there other word can be used instead?
3. "It breaks my heart when I see others make fun of them or ignore them because they think they are rude or too boisterous. Not understanding they have issues with social language.(This sentence doesn't look complete.) That yelling "I'm praying for you!" during a quiet prayer service is typical for them . (as well as this one) I became part of the solution to this problem, by volunteering at that center and teaching others how to interact with those who have disabilities. "
4. "My undergraduate curriculum has given me vast exposure to various fields of research and career paths" -- this sentence could be the opening one for the paragraph.
