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Ha ha... You sound just like me - in the sense of having a lot of mixed emotions (less mixed these days...).

Basically, what lead me to consider quitting was that I felt totally ineffective and a bit of a fraud (in the sense that colleagues and patients seemed to have a positive impression of me but I was too painfully aware of my shortcomings). Also, the job was just a lot more stressful than it was satisfying. There are different kinds of stressful. I have no problem with the stressful that results from being really busy - like getting a bunch of dysphagia consults at the end of the day on Friday. That's can be exciting in a weird way. The kind of stressfull that I LOATHE is the kind that comes from not knowing what to do. Now, here's something important about "not knowing what to do," it doesn't bother me so much when I know that no one knows what to do - and that's the benefit of knowing the research. It prevents you from blaming yourself about things that are NOT reasonable to blame yourself about. There are limits to our science/understanding. But if you don't have a good grasp of the research on a disorder you're treating, it will be easy to imagine that you should be achieving more results than you are. All of the lecturing directed our way is about knowing the research so you know what to do! No one says that there's equal benefit to knowing the limits of what we can do...

I'm satisfied with the work when I feel a certain amount of confidence about it. Early in my career, I spent most of my time reading the research on different treatments. That helped a lot, but if I had to do it over again, I'd do a couple of things differently. First, I'd focus more on reading and understanding theories related to my work. It's not as immediately satisfying as reading treatment research, and it can be a rat's nest of different ideas and concepts, but eventually it allows you do to develop a depth of understanding that you'll never get by just know different treatments (and FOR SURE you'll never get there by relying on CEUs). Theory allows you to understand WHY something works or doesn't work and that's been the key to my confidence and it allows me to develop my own treatments and feel confident that they have a strong rationale. I like feeling creative at work and feeling confident that I can develop my own treatments or modify others' treatments is satisfying. The second area, and this has been HUGE for me, is to really understand the science of motivation. When it comes right down to it, the reason our clients do or don't maximize their outcomes is not because we chose the right treatment, it's determined by how engaged and persistent our patients are. There are two theories (in order of importance) that I think are supremely helpful to SLPs, no matter what age group or disorder they treat. By far, Self-determination theory has been the most useful to me followed by self-efficacy theory..

Here are the book I would by and start to devour:
The Bible of SDT https://www.amazon.com/Self-Determination-Theory-Psychological-Motivation-Development/dp/1462538967/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ryan+deci&qid=1565971431&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Useful books for understanding how to put SDT into practice:
https://www.amazon.com/Self-Determination-Theory-Practice-Supportive-Environment-ebook/dp/B06W9P1XTY/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=la+guardia+self-determination&qid=1565971515&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Motivation-Therapists-Children/dp/1849051259/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ziviani+motivation&qid=1565971561&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Setting-Motivation-Therapy-Engaging-ebook/dp/B00WRNEM4S/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1565971587&refinements=p_27%3AJenny+Ziviani&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Jenny+Ziviani

Two of the books above are focused on Kids and the first is focused on adults. All of them are useful no matter what age or didorder you work with because the factors that influence motivation are universal.

Finally, I would find a way to get trained in Motivational Interviewing (MI). But I would not do it until I had developed some familiarity with SDT and self-efficacy theory. One of the weaknesses of MI is that it was not developed out of any theoretical foundation, which limits its applicability. Also, MI doesn't do a very good job of helping us understand why a motivational intervention may or may not work, doesn't do a great job helping us understand all of the influences on motivation, or why some goals are more motivating than other, etc. The benefit of learning MI is that it will give you a great toolbag of counseling techniques that you can leverage in order to put theories like SDT into practice.

Sorry for the long ass response. There's probably lots of typos but I'm too busy right now to go back and fix them.

If you want a quick, inexpensive base, get one of these "6 [subject] games" in each subject. About $20 - but there really are six games in each.

6 comprehension games
https://www.amazon.com/Junior-Learning-6-Comprehension-Games/dp/B015SIDP8C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=6+comprehension+games&qid=1565910375&s=gateway&sr=8-1

6 speaking games
https://www.amazon.com/Junior-Learning-6-Speaking-Games/dp/B015SIDPZA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=6+speaking+games&qid=1565910417&s=gateway&sr=8-1

They've got them for grammar, phonics, reading, phonological awareness, vowel, letter sounds (I know these seem redundant but they have different types of games) - they're nice because they're pretty flexible and have lots of different things.

I also like the dominos from the same company.

Feelings ($15)
https://www.amazon.com/Junior-Learning-Emotions-Dominoes-Educational/dp/B077BZ1Z8V/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?keywords=emotions+dominos&qid=1565910453&s=gateway&sr=8-12

Random tiny and inexpensive but super handy games:
Scrabble Slam $7
https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-B0967-Scrabble-Slam-Card/dp/B00NQQTZ74/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=Scrabble+Slam&qid=1565910589&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Learning Resources Popcorn Games $8
(They have a lot for many different components of reading, I'm linking to letters)
https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Pop-Letters-Game/dp/B004DJ52N4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=popcorn+letters&qid=1565910692&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Alphabet flip $8
(Flexible, use for basic vocab, describing, letter recognition, and phonics)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HF89YBC?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Also, go to Target's dollar spot ASAP and snap up their inexpensive materials. Hit up your local Dollar tree for flashcards, games, reinforcers, and more. And go to yard sales! You will find a lot of random things, but you can pretty consistently score books for super low prices, and as you know you can use books to teach pretty much anything.

Also there are free resources out there with pre made things you can just print.

Free behavior management and AAC
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ese-Aac

A treasure trove of what is at least hundreds of evidence based worksheets and game ideas for anything to do with reading - phonics, phonological awareness, fluency, and comprehension (which is also good just for teaching regular old vocab)
http://fcrr.org/resources/resources_sca.html

This will be a big year of learning for you. Definitely ask us questions when you have them! Even if you don't have a Facebook, I would get one (just use your initials if you're worried about privacy and don't post anything) just to lurk in the many SLP related groups on there. Reddit is lovely, but what Facebook has that we don't here is sheer quantity of SLP users. That means there are groups for SLPs about AAC, schools, dysphagia, you name it, it's there.

I learned a RIDICULOUS amount from Facebook my CF year. Frankly, speaking as another contract SLP for my CF (with a technical mentor who actually worked in a different school, in a different county, and saw me the requisite number of hours but no more), I genuinely learned more from these groups than I did from my mentor. I would see common themes, like core vocabulary, LAMP, motor planning in general, core boards with flip fringe, PODD, etc (my caseload that year was basically almost all AAC - it was AWESOME but a lot of learning!) and I would rush to look them up and learn more. I learned more from all that than I have in all my CEUs since (I'm in my 4th year of practice). Way way way helpful, highly recommend.

I work often with children with CAS and they are some of my favorite students! The prognosis is good if it is the main area of difficulty but for children with other diagnoses (e.g. Autism, genetic syndromes, etc...) it depends on many other variables. Keeping that in mind, progress tends to be slow and takes a substantial amount of practice. I cannot tell parents enough that one of if not the most important components of therapy is regular practice. I also highly recommend supplemental therapy either outpatient or at a private practice if you are able in addition to what is being provided through the school district. Be sure to find a therapist who really understands motor speech disorders - the recommended approach for CAS is quite different than traditional articulation therapy. Be sure that your child is also getting help to get their message across and expand their language skills through use of communication boards/books or high-tech devices like iPads or Speech Generating Device (they will need an AAC evaluation for this). Speaking of Apraxia a wonderful and very comprehensive resource that is written by a mother with a child with CAS. Best of luck!

1. LOL, I've been in 2 different states and 4 different towns in the past 4 years. Licenses are very easy to transfer, don't worry about it. You are likely at a time in your life where picking up and moving about is still very easy. Later in life, kids happen and parents may require extra care and the flexibility you have now can become much less of a possibility.
   
   
2. I wanted to walk to school, so I made sure to find an apartment close to campus. Larger schools will likely offer some sort of resident assistant program which could potentially get you in campus housing for much less/free.
   
   
3. Practice makes perfect. Go to the library and check-out study guides from years previous. Take a couple, score them, and address any weak spots.
   
   
4. I love learning. As crazy hectic as grad school is, this is the last time you get to sit down and have some incredible minds tell you incredibly interesting things day after day.
   
   
5. It sucks, and I should have gone to a cheaper school. Luckily, I'm not a complete financial moron and have paid over half my debt in 4 years post-graduation. /r/personalfinance is a wonderful resource.
   
   
6. I did take a year and a half off between a very grueling undergrad and grad school. Many things happened - I had more financial stability, I gained geriatric experience, and I grew up. Instead of worrying so much about school, I was able to look at it with more of a "job" mentality which made it MUCH less stressful. Also, I didn't lose my grasp on the material and found that I was able to review anything I was less familiar with very quickly.
   
   
7. HA. No seriously, it hasn't come up on ANY of the interviews I've done. Once you have your CCC's it's mostly a non-issue. The only instance I can see being relevant would be a PhD/research-based condition. The caveat would be I imagine that some places are more regionally familiar with a certain school, but your skills as a clinician are infinitely more important at the end of the day.
   
   
8. It's way better than I thought. I've taken risks with jobs and it's paid-off. Challenge forces you to adapt and improve much faster than complacency.
   
   
9. It's this question that made me post. It sounds scarily like me around the same time. Generally speaking, center yourself around a major metro/suburban area and you won't hurt for work. It may not be The Career, but it will be A Job, and those are just as important. But most importantly, whatever you do, do it for yourself. In rather eerily similar circumstances, I had a boyfriend (now ex, lol) during grad school who was a geologist going to school and planning to work in Colorado. There was pressure (both direct and indirect) from him and from a relationship standpoint for me to make career choices that would be more complementary to the lifestyle we thought we wanted. I was tempted to compromise, thinking it for the best of the relationship, but ultimately stuck to my guns and prioritized my education and career instead. To make a long story short, he didn't work out, but everything else did. And among the many reasons I found myself increasingly non-compatible with someone I dated for the better part of a decade ultimately had little to do with my job choices and a lot to do with him being a massive douchebag. Regardless of what you decide to do, make sure you do it for yourself!
   
   
10. n/a
    
    
11. My typical work week is 40 hours with frequent opportunities for overtime. I really enjoy the wide variety of patients with whom I work and being able to learn as much from them as I hope they learn from me. My setting sees adults exclusively (youngest patients around 16 or so) with geriatric adults being seen most frequently.

For my students with apraxia I prefer a similar service model to the one your son has (shorter sessions on more days). If he is not making progress on his goals, then you could look to increase minutes.

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I definitely recommend checking out private speech through medical insurance. Your school SLP can't technically "recommend" private speech because legally if the IEP team recommends something the district can be on the hook to pay for the recommendation.

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You feel a little out of your element, because you objectively are, and that's not a bad thing. You're his mom; you don't have to be his SLP, too. This summer, have fun, find ways to incorporate language into daily routines (your SLP should have some great resources for parent education. I like the book It Takes Two to Talk https://www.amazon.com/Takes-Two-Talk-Practical-Children/dp/0921145527 ), and be patient. Ask his SLP about homework for carryover. Since I'm not working with him directly, it's hard to give specific recommendations. Apraxia has a wide range from kiddos getting their first sounds to working a sentence level.

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What I always remind parents of kiddos with AAC is that language supports language. Language skills through his AAC device support verbal language skills. I'm sure his current SLP has talked to you about this. Talk to his SLP about how you can create language opportunities for his with his device as well as verbally. PrAACticalAAC is a great resource for learning more. https://praacticalaac.org/

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Let me know if you have other questions!

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edits: typos

I would also suggest the book Eliciting Sounds, we used it for Artic and everyone I know who used it in their peds placement said it was a godsend. it's a small spiral bound book that you could easily fit in your bag/purse and it's got direct & easy to follow techniques.

There's this, but probably may be too expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/Primary-Concepts-Category-Sorting-Learning/dp/B00JEVJOJO

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Also, you could try buying some trinkets off of websites like: https://www.dinkydoodads.com/ or The Speech Tree Co on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpeechTreeCo?ref=pr2018_faveshops

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However, the caveat with both of these choices is that there are many small parts, so you really need to watch the kiddoes while using them. :)

• Meet with your professors when you have any questions. Be friendly with them as you'll need letters of recommendations down the line.
  
  
• Do any research if you can.
  
  
• Both of my sister's are SLPs and I used to use one of their old Praxis books if I needed something clarified. It does a nice job of breaking down topics and explaining them. If you don't wanna dish out money for a new one, buy one used or an older edition (they don't really change too much).
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Review-Speech-language-Pathology-Comprehensive/dp/1416406867/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520693080&sr=8-1&keywords=praxis+speech+language+pathology

Secord's Eliciting Sounds . . . tiny book with lots of concise, useful info! Totally worth the price!
http://www.amazon.com/Eliciting-Sounds-Techniques-Strategies-Clinicians/dp/1401897258

This is a great resource for articulation in general. I used to reference it a lot!

https://www.amazon.com/Eliciting-Sounds-Techniques-Strategies-Clinicians/dp/1401897258

Agreed. We read this book in grad school and I found it helpful:

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https://www.amazon.com/Counseling-Persons-Communication-Disorders-Families/dp/1416403698

I like this book http://www.amazon.com/Counseling-Persons-Communication-Disorders-Families/dp/1416403698/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344455840&sr=8-1&keywords=david+luterman

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1416406867/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TDDMQQ0WTN99KD665NQD

That's the one I'm studying from at the moment. It's 600 pages, and I know a few more students in my program that are using this book.