If you are reading this, you’re probably stressed about passing the Praxis. Ever since I found out about ASHA’s state licensure exam in undergrad, it felt like this huge rain cloud looming over my head about to release a downpour.

I took the Praxis about a week ago

I passed!!!

I am here to tell you that you are POWERFUL and you will pass too!

Here are a few things that may help you on your journey, as they helped me. I will also go over WHAT you should study and resources to help you do it well. 

1. Study!

Start looking over your notes at least a month prior to your test date. 

Obviously, you have to commit to studying. Make sure you give yourself enough time to review all of the major subject areas and look over your class notes. Here are a few resources to study from and my evaluation of them:

An Advanced Review of Speech Language Pathology.

This book is a little pricey but it is so detailed that I honestly want to keep it as a resource to refer to when treating future clients.

It also comes with a bunch of practice questions.

You can find it on Amazon, used book sites, and I have seen people selling it on Facebook.

The Praxis Study Guide from Medical SLPs

I love how well this guide is structured and condensed. It costs about $20 and comes in digital PDF format that can be bought and downloaded here. Use the discount code “newspeechie” to get 15% off your purchase.

It is so colorful and beautiful! Also, it is really easy to print out sections if you’d prefer to study from paper.

AND it comes with 115 practice questions which are super important because you’ll need to…

2. Practice answering questions

I strongly believe that practice makes perfect in all aspects of life.

You will become more successful answering Praxis questions if you practice HOW to answer them!

Another benefit is that it will show you which content areas you need to review. This will help you kill it on test day!

I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the practice questions offered on the ETS website here. ETS is the same website you will use to register for the Praxis and their questions were almost identical to the ones on the actual test in terms of structure and difficulty level.

The following websites have free practice questions:

https://slpexam.com/free-practice-exam

I also subscribed to the slpexam newsletter via email. They sent me practice questions every few days and I liked that they included positive affirmations.

https://slpexam.com/free-practice-exam

3. Make notecards

Did you know that the process of physically writing something down is like reading it 8 times?

Not only will the act of writing out notecards help with information recall, but you’ll also have them to quiz yourself later. 

DOUBLE WHAMMY!

4. Positive Affirmations

There is the theory that positive thinking and belief in yourself to accomplish great things is a self-fulling prophecy.

Even if this is just a bunch of bs, it doesn’t hurt to try!

When I would study I kept telling myself that I would pass even though I had a lot of self doubt.

When I registered for the Praxis I made my password:

Iwillpass

To force myself to type it.

Right before I answered my first question at the testing center I did a POWER STANCE!!

Okay…it was in my chair because I didn’t want to scare anyone but it did wonders for my attitude going into the test!

The “Power Stance” is something I do right before I am about to embark on challenging task.

It involves sticking out your chest, putting your hands on your hips like a superhero, and holding your chin up. I know it sounds kinda lame (believe me, I felt like such a weirdo the first time I did it) but it really gives me that touch of confidence to conquer the world. I hope it will do the same for you because let’s face it, if you’re qualified enough to take the Praxis, you’re already a badass. Graduate school didn’t raise no whimp.

5. WHAT to study

I felt so overwhelmed by the amount of material to cover which delayed my studying by weeks because I couldn’t even decide where to start. These are the topic areas that I’m really glad I covered in depth:

1. Aphasia types – What is intact, what is impaired. For example, naming is impaired in Wernicke’s Aphasia.
2. Childhood language milestones – Which phonemes should be mastered first and which typically develop last?
3. F1 is related to tongue height and F2 is related to tongue advancement in the oral cavity.
4. How is apraxia different from dysarthria in client presentation? – Apraxia usually has an oral motor exam that is WNL.
5. Dysarthria types and their presentation.
6. Phases of swallowing and disorders associated with them.
7. Swallowing Maneuvers and what deficiencies they compensate for or correct.
8. Sensorineural vs. conductive hearing loss – Characteristics and audiograms.
9. Functions of the intrinsic and extrinsic tongue muscles.
10. Cranial nerve functions. Specifically, CN 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12

Lastly, remember the perseverance, hard work, and dedication of your brain power is what got you here in the first place! You are POWERFUL and you will pass. I am in your corner rooting for you! You got this.