When I was in secondary school I began thinking about my future and decided I would like to work with children. During transition year work experience I visited several places including a primary school, a preschool and my local Speech and Language Therapy clinic. I also visited hospital laboratories as I was also interested in studying science at third level.

I realised that becoming a teacher did not really suit me but that I enjoyed watching the speech and language therapist working with children. I liked the idea of working one on one with children or in small groups. I had attended speech and drama since I was a young child and every year for exams we would learn a certain amount of the biology and theory behind speaking which I found interesting.

When completing my CAO form in 6th year I put the Clinical Speech and Language Studies course in Trinity College as my first choice. My other choices were science courses in a variety of different colleges. I achieved the points in my Leaving Cert. for the Clinical Speech and Language studies course so I accepted this straight away.

A typical day varies depending on the client groups that the therapist is working with. Speech and language therapists work with children and adults with speech difficulties and with language difficulties including understanding and using language. Possible client groups include clients with learning disability, physical difficulties such as cerebral palsy, genetic syndromes including down syndrome, delayed language development, stammering, stroke, head injury, autism, attention deficit disorder, cleft lip and palate, dyslexia, hearing impairment, voice difficulties, swallowing difficulties.

My typical day involves: I spend four mornings a week in a local primary school where there are two language units. These are small classes for children with specific language impairment. This means that they have average intellectual abilities but have severe speech or language difficulties. They receive their speech and language therapy during school hours several times every week.

In the afternoons and on Fridays I see children in two centres; the local health centre and an outpatient centre for children with physical and sensory difficulties. These children come to the clinic with their parents for assessment and therapy. The therapy I provide varies greatly depending on the client's individual needs. It may include: speech work, oro-motor exercises (these target the muscles involved in speech production), listening skills, play skills, following instructions, grammar, sentence production, conversational skills, and understanding of concepts.

This timetable can change as I sometimes visit schools to liaise with teachers regarding a child's speech and language programme. I also attend meetings to discuss and develop our service and I sometimes attend courses to learn new assessment and therapy skills. Working from a variety of locations every week requires organisation and forward planning. I have to plan ahead what I will need in each location and the children I will be working with.

• To assess, plan and carry out intervention programmes
• To collaborate with clients, family, carers and other staff in goal setting and treatment
• To maintain up-to-date and accurate case notes in line with professional standards and policies
• To manage own time, planning and prioritising tasks appropriately

• When clients present with unusual and complicated difficulties. This requires resourceful, flexible thinking and the ability to research new therapy ideas.
  
• Long waiting lists.
• Balancing seeing clients with managing other aspects of work including attending meetings, keeping paperwork up to date, attending courses etc.
• Keeping up to date with new developments in therapy and assessment and expanding my skill base.

• Waiting lists and time pressures can create stress at times
• The behaviour of clients can be challenging at times
• Dealing with children and adults with difficulties can be emotionally upsetting. However the knowledge that as a profession we can help them is uplifting in these situations
• Occasionally we come across difficult or upsetting situations that cannot be changed by our profession alone. This can be difficult.

• Empathy is important when dealing with clients in difficult situations
• A caring nature is vital. Speech and language therapists must have a desire to help people
• Responsible: this is vital for maintaining confidentiality and acting in a professional way
• Interpersonal skills eg. being a 'people person'
• Organised
• Team player
• Efficient
• Resourceful
• Versatile and flexible thinker

My undergraduate degree course in TCD was definitely the most important education for my job. It was a challenging and intensive course. First year is spent studying a range of different subjects including linguistics, phonetics, language acquisition, psychology, physiology.

Second year is based around learning how to assess the speech and language skills of a wide range of client groups. Third year is based around learning the principles and techniques for providing therapy.

Throughout these years students have a wide variety of clinical placements. Some are once a week while attending lectures. Others are full time placements ranging from 4 to 6 weeks.

Several of these placements involved living away from home for the period of the placement. Fourth year is made up mostly with clinical placements, researching and producing a research project and other subjects such as neuropsychology and additional topics. Grades are based on written exams, assignments, essays, practical clinical exams and the research project. I found that the clinical placements were the most beneficial part of the course as I got the chance to put new skills and knowledge into practice.

• Patient
• Warm
• Caring
• Empathetic
• Good listening skills
• Organised
• Flexible thinker
  
• Approachable
• Good communication skills

Get some experience working with both children and the elderly and feel comfortable working with both. Throughout college you will take part in clinical placements where you will be required to work with various age groups.

Work hard in school and achieve good Leaving Cert. results in order to get the necessary points for entry into the course.

Research the career thoroughly and arrange to speak with a speech and language therapist to discuss the job further.

Think about the personal characteristics mentioned below that are important for the job and think about whether you possess these characteristics

• Being open minded and non-judgemental
• Having a desire to help people
• Being a flexible learner and thinker