More free coffee! @ Peet's

On April 3, Peet's coffee is kicking off their 40th Anniversary Celebration! Enjoy a complimentary drink at any location.

See here for more info (and the "coupon" for a free coffee drink). G0 here to locate the closest location to you. :)

Cheers!

Next NSSLHA meeting on April 3, 2006 in KH B-111 @ 6:15 P.M.

Welcome back from Spring Break! We hope you all had a wonderful time off!

As we spring into the new quarter, we hope you will join us for our next NSSLHA meeting!

In honor of April being National Autism Awareness Month, we have arranged a special guest speaker for you! Graduating from CSU Fullerton, Ms. Marilyn Van Dyke is an SLP in a school district, and she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Special Education through a joint doctoral program between CSULA and UCLA (Hooray! A Ph.D. candidate! ASHA must be thrilled! Double hooray! A CSULA "student" just like us! :). Future Dr. Van Dyke is also the mother of a child with autism. Come hear her speak about her firsthand experience both as a clinician and as the special mother of a special child with autism.

The next NSSLHA meeting is on Monday, April 3, from 6:15 to 7:00 P.M. in King Hall B-111. As always, X-hour snacks will be served.

See you there!

P.S. We will be selling the remaining SLP clipboards! First come, first served!

Juan Last Chantz

One last chance to purchase the speech and language (dysphagia) clipboard! If you haven't purchased yours yet, reserve your copy for $17 by March 28!

Please contact either Kristin, your fabulous Newsletter Editor, or Cheryl, NSSLHA Secretary, at the e-mail links on the side bar.

For more information, please visit February 28th's posting here.

Textbook sellbacks

Shh...don't tell the CSULA bookstore...

...But selling back your textbooks online may get you more gas and textbook money than selling back to the bookstore!

Actually, if you do sellback, you will get more money back. ;)

All sites are very user-friendly, such as Amazon and half.com.

Scholarships

Just a reminder that now may be the perfect time to apply for scholarships! (Simply because it's
Spring break. and we actually have some time. Sort of.).

A number of scholarships are available through ASHA. Please visit their website or click here.

CSULA also offers a number of scholarships. For more information, visit here.

Super Duper Inc. sale!

St. Patrick's Day Special!
Save 25% on your web order of Super Duper Phonological Awareness products today and Friday only, March 16-17, 2006.
Just select the products that you wish to purchase!

ASHA's Award Programs for Students and New Faculty

From ASHA:

To foster leadership and promote careers in academia and research, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has created several award programs(http://www.asha.org/students/). These programs are available to undergraduate, master's, AuD, and PhD students enrolled in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs; postdoctoral fellows; and new faculty.

The Minority Student Leadership Program is open to racial/ethnic minority students at the levels listed above, who wish to enhance their leadership skills, interact with leaders in the professions, and learn how their association works. Now in its 8th year, this program has given over 200 students' insight into their leadership abilities and a better understanding of how leaders affect change in their professional association and has empowered these students to take risks and meet their own challenges.

The Students Preparing for Academic & Research Careers — SPARC Award, the Advancing Academic-Research Careers — AARC Award, the Student Research Travel Award, and the Minority Student Travel Award were all instituted to increase and retain CSD scientists and faculty. The SPARC and AARC Awards were developed as part of ASHA's Focused Initiative on the PhD Shortage in Higher Education. SPARC's primary focuses are to promote PhD career development for CSD undergraduate and graduate students and to increase the number of PhD teacher–scholars and students who choose higher education as a career option. The AARC Award addresses the shortage of PhD-level faculty by encouraging those at the beginning of their academic research careers to remain in higher education.

ASHA developed the Student Research Travel Award to encourage budding scientists to pursue careers in science and research. This award is available to undergraduate, master's and doctoral students who are the first authors on a technical paper. The Minority Student Travel Award is open to underrepresented racial/ethnic minority students interested in pursuing research. These new scientists will attend the 16th Annual Research Symposium, "Issues of Development and Plasticity of the Auditory System," at the 2006 ASHA Convention in Miami, FL.

Visit 2006 ASHA Award Programs(http://www.asha.org/students/) for application, deadline, and submission information.

First Ever Starbucks Break!

If you're a Starbucks aficionado and need a quick "pick-me-up" (not the late night "pick-me-up" -- that's for after finals) for that 1:30, 4:30, or 7:30 PM final, Starbucks is serving up a complimentary "tall" cup of coffee!

Today only, from 10AM to 12 PM, visit any Starbucks and they (should) be serving a 12 oz. cup of freshly brewed "Coffee of the Day."

For more info, please visit this online news clip.
If we're lucky, maybe they'll come to us. ;)

**Trivia: Did you know that their mild coffees have more caffeine than their regular, full-body coffee? Cheers!

Kicking off MS Awareness week

It's MS Awareness Week!
We'll keep this short and sweet since we all have final exams looming. :)
Please visit today's special webcast by going here. Today's special webcast features Dr. Peter Calabresi of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, presenting on "Repairing MS Damage and Protecting the Nervous System."

Happy studying!

Final Exam Schedule

At least for the "evening" classes ;)

Class hours & Days	Final Exam Day	Date	Time
Monday only classes
starting between 4:20 and 6:00 p.m.	Wednesday	Mar 15	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
starting between 6:00 and 7:50 p.m.	Wednesday	Mar 15	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
starting at 8:00 p.m. or later	Saturday	Mar 18	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
Monday/Wednesday classes
starting between 4:20 and 6:00 p.m.	Wednesday	Mar 15	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
starting between 6:00 and 7:50 p.m.	Wednesday	Mar 15	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
starting at 8:00 p.m. or later	Saturday	Mar 18	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
Tuesday only classes
starting between 4:20 and 6:00 p.m.	Tuesday	Mar 14	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
starting between 6:00 and 7:50 p.m.	Tuesday	Mar 14	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
starting at 8:00 p.m. or later	Saturday	Mar 18	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday/Thursday classes
starting between 4:20 and 6:00 p.m.	Tuesday	Mar 14	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
starting between 6:00 and 7:50 p.m.	Tuesday	Mar 14	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
starting at 8:00 p.m. or later	Saturday	Mar 18	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday only classes
starting between 4:20 and 6:00 p.m.	Friday	Mar 17	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
starting between 6:00 and 7:50 p.m.	Friday	Mar 17	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
starting at 8:00 p.m. or later	Saturday	Mar 18	10:45 - 1:15 p.m.
Thursday only classes
starting between 4:20 and 6:00 p.m.	Thursday	Mar 16	4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
starting between 6:00 and 7:50 p.m.	Thursday	Mar 16	7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
starting at 8:00 p.m. or later	Saturday	Mar 18	1:30 - 4:00 p.m.

In case you need to check for final exam times for other classes, please visit Cal State LA's website (click here).

Don't forget that you can pick up a free scantron and blue book from ASI (just bring your current student ID card). Good luck everyone!

NSSLHA presents the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Congratulations to pre-graduate student winner Ms. Anna Lim! She was the lucky raffle winner of the fabulous SLP-oriented clipboard!

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Tonight, NSSLHA welcomed two representatives from the Southern California Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). Ms. Julia Hakim is the Programs Mangers of Knowledge/Family Programs and Ms. Mercy Murcia is the Programs Manager of Public Information/Education. Together, they presented information on multiple sclerosis (MS).

Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease of the brain and spinal cord (collectively called the “central nervous system” or “CNS,” according to Dr. Nancy Manasse, NSSLHA @ CSULA’s advisor). In particular, MS causes gradual destruction of the myelin that surrounds neurons located throughout the CNS. In many individuals, the demyelinization causes various symptoms depending upon which neural signals are interrupted. The symptoms that individuals experience vary from one person to another. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness or tingling sensations in the limbs. Severe symptoms include paralysis, loss of vision, and/or cognitive decline. Many individuals with MS also experience difficulties with speech production, which is where SLPs come into the picture!

As Ms. Hakim disclosed, “MS is not as rare as many people think.” The *prevalence rate,* or the number of individuals affected at a given time, is an estimated 400,000 people across the United States. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. However, individuals are being diagnosed at an increasingly younger age. Less than a week ago, an article on the cover of “Wall Street Journal” described doctors becoming more aware of this disease in children and teenagers. In addition to the 10,000 children that are already diagnosed, as many as 15,000 children may be experiencing signs of the disease. Moreover, MS typically affects females more than males, as much as a 3-to-1 ratio.

Unfortunately, the cause of MS is unknown, and the progress, severity, and symptoms of MS in any individual cannot be predicted. Although treatments are available, they serve only to slow down the progression of the disease. They do not cure or reverse the disease. The difficulty in finding a cure also rests on the fact that finding a cure has a different meaning for different people, since no two individuals experience the same symptomatology and severity.

Until there is a cure, NMSS will continue to advocate for individuals with MS.

“The mission of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is to end the devastating effects of MS.”

NMSS is the “largest private sponsor of MS research in the world.” Out of every dollar that is donated, 48 cents goes to local programs and services for people with MS and their families, 31 cents goes to research and national programs, and 15 cents goes to fundraising.

NMSS funds researchers that are dedicated to finding the cause of the disease, a cure, and additional treatments. In addition, NMSS also sponsors many self-help and special interest support groups and educational programs. An extensive network of counseling and support exists for individuals with MS, their significant others, caregivers, and professionals (such as SLPs!) that surround these individuals. “Support means different thing to different people,” commented Ms. Murcia. “We have something for everyone.”

“MS attacks. Fear and unpredictability change lives forever. As [the National Multiple Sclerosis Society] continue to search for a cure, there's hope. For 59 years, the Society has been here to help people live with multiple sclerosis today and without MS tomorrow. People depend on us. This is why we depend on you.”

We hope you will join us today in fighting MS, “one person at a time,” by participating in the MS Walk on April 9^th at Griffith Park, or by donating as little as a $1 to the cause.

For more information on multiple sclerosis, volunteer opportunities, educational programs, support groups, and much more, please visit Southern California Chapter’s NMSS website or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s general website. To reach the nearest Society office, call 1-800-FIGHT-MS.

Lastly, to learn from an educational standpoint on how SLPs are directly involved with individuals with multiple sclerosis, take COMD 555 (Motor Speech Disorders)!

Hoop dreams of a teen with autism

Hope you enjoy this track from Google videos:

When the high school basketball team manager with autism "got his chance in the spotlight, he shattered everyone's expectations by scoring 20 points in four minutes."

Click here to watch the hoop dreams of a teen with autism.

:*)

P.S. Re: "people first" language ~ as future professionals, we need to be sensitive about putting individuals before their disability. According to commentator Kathy Snow of the Disability is Natural website, people first language describes what a person has, not who a person is. "It's all about respect and dignity, not political correctness."

P.P.S. The "P.S." was added in because Google referred to the teenager as "the autistic teen." =O

Happy 10th week,
Your NSSLHA Secretary with a minor case of insomnia/"2nd wind"

MS Awareness Week March 13-17

You may have noticed that several NSSLHA members are actively involved in raising awareness of multiple sclerosis. As previously mentioned (again & again ;), several of us are participating in the National MS Walk on April 9th, and we are also hosting a representative from the National MS Society at our next NSSLHA meeting on Monday, March 6!

We hope that as future communication disorders professionals, you will join us in learning more about MS and raising awareness during the week of March 13 through 17. We are not psychics (most of the time), so we cannot predict whether you will help individuals with MS in your near future, but we can assure you that the more knowledge you have of all the disorders and diseases that our future clientele may have, the better off you -- and society -- will be. :)

More information will follow.

Do you have Financial Aid?

Newsflash!
The phone number for the Center for Student Financial Aid has been changed to (323) 343-6260.

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In addition, the 2006-07 Scholarship application and CSU System-Wide Scholarship Application are now available @ http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/finaid/forms.htm.

DEADLINES – Many of the 2006-2007 Cal State L.A. scholarships are awarded for the 2006 fall quarter only. Larger awards are divided by quarters and will be processed for fall, winter, and spring disbursements.

• March 10, 2006: Deadline for new students (high school seniors, transfers, and graduates) to apply. All application materials must be in the Center for Student Financial Aid by 4:00 p.m., Friday, March 10, 2006.
  
• April 14, 2006: Deadline for continuing CSULA students to apply. (Continuing students are defined as those who have established a three-quarter CSULA GPA at the time of their application). All application materials must be in the Center for Student Financial Aid by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 14, 2006.
  

Please visit the CSULA Financial Aid website for more information.

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FAFSA Application Deadlines:

• Submit 2005-2006 FAFSA on the Web Applications by midnight Central Daylight time, June 30, 2006.
• Submit 2006-2007 FAFSA on the Web Applications by midnight Central Daylight time, July 2, 2007.

2006-07 FAFSA is now available for renewal @ http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

Next NSSLHA meeting on March 6, 2006 in KH B-111 @ 6:20 P.M.

Remember the young & restless days of elementary school? Recesses, handball, and pizza parties for being the top-notch class...Wow, time flies!

Gear up for finals and a flashback to the good ol' days by taking a small pizza party break with NSSLHA!

On Monday, March 6, NSSLHA will throw a quick 10-minute pizza party -- in addition to the regular X-hour snack variety -- because we want to (positively reinforce you, negatively reinforce the NSSLHA officers, and) thank you for your loyal support and for being the "top-notch class"!

More importantly, we are bringing yet another fabulous guest speaker! Please join us as we welcome representatives from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society!

As you may know, some CSULA students will participate in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Walk on April 9th. (For more information, please contact our fabulous NSSLHA Newsletter Editor/multi-media woman/creative art director/team co-captain, Kristin Reisch, or our NSSLHA Secretary/crazy E-mailer/other co-captain, Cheryl Liang).

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Not only are we throwing a pizza party and hosting a guest speaker, we have one more incentive!

One lucky raffle winner will receive an envy-*evoking* SLP/Dysphagia clipboard (see yesterday's post) -- worth $20! Envious or not, non-winners can still purchase the clipboard for the 15% discounted price of $17.

See you there!