We Love Observers at Speech and Beyond!
We consider it an honor to give back to our professions and contribute to the future of pediatric therapy intervention! We wish we could accommodate every request that we receive, and we intend to find placements for as many as we can.
Please read this information carefully and indicate your acknowledgment and agreement to these policies by submission of the form below. Once received, your application will be shared with our therapists. If there is an opening, you will be contacted directly by the therapist with potential availability. Please note that this application is a requirement and it must be submitted a minimum of one month prior to your requested observation, volunteer work, or clinical placement. Partially completed applications will not be accepted for consideration.
Requirements:
Adhere to our Dress Code: Plan to wear simple clothing- no shirts with writing or large logos. We dress professionally yet comfortably. Do not wear tight-fitting, revealing pants or tops. Improperly dressed students will not be permitted to observe. The Volunteer/Observer will be frequently in movement. Please make sure attire style cuts are appropriate when in movement with bending or sitting down.
Applicants must be enrolled or planning/preparing to enroll in a physical, occupational, or speech therapist undergraduate or graduate program or an educational program that is related to a profession that serves children with delays or disabilities, such as a special education teacher, psychologist or
pediatrician.Applicants must be HUMBLE, energetic, friendly, easily directed, and eager to learn about pediatric therapy.
Applicants should feel confident in their ability to be good communicators and a self-starter.
Hours are based on the attendance of the children receiving services. We will do our best to accommodate requests for specific days and times within the schedule of the therapist offering the Volunteer/Observer or clinical internship opportunity.
Students Volunteers/Observers must bring their own log forms to document their time before leaving the building or before completion of the agreed-upon total hours. The Volunteer/Observer is expected to fill in the hours and ensure it is signed by the designated therapist. We cannot and will not sign forms to confirm your hours weeks after completion of the experience.
To obtain Volunteer/Observer observation hours, the Volunteer/Observer is also required to volunteer services to the clinic. This is to be offered at a 2:1 ratio. For every 2 hours of observation, 1 hour of volunteering must be completed. Examples of volunteer duties are: copying and laminating or wiping down toys and mats. Most volunteer hours will be able to be completed within view of therapy in progress and these hours can be included in your total observation hours to be documented.
Confidentiality Agreement
Recognizing the importance of preserving the integrity of the therapist/patient relationship, and in acknowledgment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Public Law 104-191), all students completing the form below must promise to honor the confidentiality of each client whose care and treatment they are permitted to observe and/or contribute to with the therapist as part of their participation in the opportunity. All students and/or Volunteers/Observers must agree to not reveal to any person the names or any other identifying information of the individual clients whose care and treatment were observed and/or contributed to as a result of participation in the program. Students and/or Volunteers/Observers will not discuss with any other person any details of the internship or observation experience that might cause the client’s identity to be revealed.
Photo Release
Completion of the form below will additionally serve as consent for Speech and Beyond and to its employees, agents, and assigns the right to photograph the student or Volunteer/Observer and to utilize the photo/video and/or other digital reproduction of themselves for publication processes, whether electronic, print, digital or electronic publishing via the internet for the purpose of marketing/advertising/promotion of services/purpose of instruction/documentation of patient condition, etc.
Liability Release
By completion and submission of the form below, the Student and/or Volunteer/Observer acknowledges that their presence on the premises of Speech and Beyond and/or their presence at any other setting where therapy services are provided may, even under ideal conditions, including the proper use of materials and adherence to safety procedures, pose a risk of personal injury. Participants may be removed from the opportunity on a temporary or permanent basis if the individual refuses or is unable to follow safety rules, wear or utilize assigned personal protective equipment, or perform activities as directed.
Prior to participation, the participant must notify the assigned supervising at Speech and Beyond faculty member of any allergies or other physical, mental, or emotional condition that might limit their ability to safely participate in activities at the facility to which they are assigned.
The participant must fully recognize that their presence is voluntary and that they have made the decision to participate despite the possible dangers and risks, specific and unforeseen.
The participant’s completion and submission of the form below indicates an understanding that neither Speech and Beyond, its employees, nor the student and/or Volunteer/Observer, shall earn or receive any compensation in connection with the assigned.
The participant completing and submitting the form below, therefore, agrees to indemnify, release, defend, and hold harmless employees of Speech and Beyond, its administration, faculty, staff, and agents from any and all liability, claims, and actions that may arise from injury or harm to the participant, from the participant’s death, or damage to the participant’s property while participating in this opportunity with Speech and Beyond. It is further understood by the individual completing this form, that this release covers liability, claims, and actions caused entirely or in part by any acts or failures to act by Speech and Beyond, its governing officers, employees, agents, and students, including but not limited to negligence, mistake or, failure to supervise by Speech and Beyond, its governing officers, employees, agents, and students. The participant also understands that this release means they are giving up, including but not limited to, all rights to take any legal action against Speech and Beyond, its governing officers, employees, agents, and students for injuries, damages, or losses the participant may incur.