Keeping the "Information Itch" at Bay: Resources for Knowledge

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300"] English: Books available for Guantanamo captives to read. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Since I have a tendency to have trouble not pondering about academics outside of the school year, I've managed to find some ways to stay current and read up on some issues within our field. It's a good way to stay on top of things, become aware of novel(or recurring) issues within the academic and clinical side of Speech-Language Pathology, as well as soothe the itch of entertaining myself til the school year. Like I said before, I'm a nerd, which is good for this profession, in a sense.

Of course one way I've managed to keep the beast at bay is through reading other blogs. It's interesting to see all the different perspective that professionals and students can have about SLP in general, their specialty, or research. In fact, one blogger, Rachel Wynn, has called her fellow bloggers together to spend some time delving into current research and posing their comments on the article they read [1]. This is quite exciting, as she herself points out that many working SLPs often get caught up in all their work, and don't have much time to peruse through research, which is why she encourages a post once a month, and then she will collect it all into one post for others to skim through other research for information. It's quite a great, collaborative idea! Besides this, simply reading other blogs and their take on news, research, techniques, apps or daily happenings in SLP is superb as well. I love seeing all the activities that SLPs come up with. If you want to read some blogs, go to the right side of my page where you'll see some listed; I actually follow many more that aren't shown due the amount of blogs and space on this blog design. If you'd like to see more, just e-mail me and I'll share others! You can also check out the top blogs in any Google search. All of this information will help me in my clinical placements, as well as when I'm a working SLP!

There are also some print materials that aid my SLP-information-itch. If you're a NSSLHA or ASHA member, you should receive e-mails when a new volume of the latest journal are out, as well as have access to them when they are archived [2]. These include the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (AJSLP) and the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR). Some members may also have access to the American Journal of Audiology (AJA) or Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (LSHSS). Students are also subscribed to Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders (CICSD) Journal, which has more articles/research relevant this population [3]. All of these have fascinating research on a variety of topics and have different frequencies of publication, ranging from biannual to every other month. If you do not have the means to have a membership, I do believe that abstracts are free, and there is a $10/article fee or $25 to access all archived articles for a day. So if you'd rather just skim through the archives to read the abstracts and purchase those that strike your fancy, then that could be an option as well. But having a membership does serve well, especially for those in school, as you have unlimited access to research for classes!

Another benefit of membership is the access to Special Interest Groups (SIGs) [4]. These are groups where professionals collaborate and discuss themes pertinent to their specialty. Of course you can join more than one of the nineteen groups, but it does cost some money. These groups range from "Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation" to "Issues in Higher Education" to "Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders" to "Telepractice". There are plenty more dealing with audiology and it's components, fluency, gerontology, multiculturalism and language, among others. I'm personally part of "Language Learning and Education" and " Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Populations". If I had more money, I would've joined a few others as well, since many of them sound interesting! The ones I'm currently in are great, provide so much information... anyway, back to the meat of the post. What these groups offer information-wise are online "Perspectives" which are journals specific to that SIG's theme, as well as access to discussion boards. I actually get the discussion board correspondences sent to my e-mail. These are extremely helpful, as members bring up issues within the field, as well as for assistance with an issue they are having, which can be helpful to you now or in the long run. Just another way to stay up-to-date on happenings that arise in the profession/ your specialty.

Besides research, there are also newsletters that can help you maintain and gain relevant information. They are also great sources for knowledge on other professionals and sometimes tips for a certain event or problem. The ASHA Leader tends to be more for professionals, but, as I keep hinting at, this can help students learn stuff they might not learn in class as well as shed light on the profession itself. For students, there are also a couple of publications:  NSSLHA In The Loop and NSSLHA Now! Newsletter that publish articles geared towards students within the Communication Science and Disorders realm. They even post CFY listings and accept some articles written by students, so if your creative juices are flowing and you are knowledgable about something of student interest, then have a go and see if you get published! (The CICSD also accepts student research and has a mentoring program.) As with the research journals, these are also archived, just follow the link listed below [5].

Lastly, I've become aware of two other opportunities for free-time knowledge quests. First, there's the ASHA Podcast Series which entail interviews with professionals making strides in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology [6]. I have yet to view these, but once I do I'll tell you what I think! Second, there are other e-newsletters that ASHA provides which cover several different themes that pertain to all professions under ASHA's scope [7]. I'll try to read these over and see if any of them will be added to my reading list. Some seem interesting, so we'll see!

If this post won't help your 'information itch' then I'm not sure what will! Hope you find some that tickle your fancy and enjoy! Also, if anyone has suggestions of other places for interesting/relevant information, please share!

Related Articles/References:

[1] Blogging About Research : from Rachel Wynn at "Talks Just Fine"

[2] ASHA Journal Archives

[3] CICSD Archives

[4] ASHA Special Interest Groups 'Perspectives'

[5] ASHA Leader ,   NSSLHA Now! Newsletter  and  NSSLHA In The Loop

[6] ASHA Podcast Series

[7] ASHA e-Newsletters