Mindfulness in SLP Practice
How we frame our sentences in speech therapy may motivate clients to engage in the treatment process. Motivational interviewing uses (selectively) the following ways of talking with the patient to focus on change and guide them.
When a therapist asks open-ended questions, the client can answer in a way that makes sense to them. This strategy enables one to acknowledge or appreciate the client’s talents in a real manner. Users emphasize strengths and facts differently than praise. Studies reveal that speech-language pathologists require greater reflection. These statements show clients that the therapists are listening. Summarizing highlights changes in discourse promotes strengths, consolidates material, and moves the debate forward.
GAS measures a student’s functional change following an intervention or counseling progress. In speech therapy, Goal, Plan, Do, Review/Revise (GPDR/R) identifies a person’s executive function strengths and weaknesses. Collaboration with healthcare providers may accomplish this.
The Mindset in Our Clients and in Our Sessions(Treatment?)
How do we identify how we label ourselves and others, and how has it changed over time?
Step 1: Defining the approach
Ethnographic interviewing invites patients and families early, shifting the contact from a clinician-directed dynamic to one that empowers and encourages the patient to tell their narrative. The doctor tries to comprehend the patient’s experiences and values (individual, familial, and cultural).
Step 2: Identify the primary purpose
Individuals should define themselves and tell the therapist how to relate to them. A mindset session empowers individuals to know who they are and to recover or own elements of their identity.
Step 3: Impart relevant patient/family education
Explain the therapist’s therapeutic theories and values. The therapist should determine what clinical information a patient requires upfront. Has the deaf client ever described how he hears and identifies? What is their opinion on self-labeling?
Step 4: Clarify expectations, continually
Navigating complicated discussions and clarifying expectations requires expertise. The therapist should reclaim control of the interview and shut down patient and family comments. The therapist should revisit the issue, recommend it to another professional, or just listen to patients’ experiences.
Step 5: Recognize identity’s impact
Each person’s overlapping, multidimensional identities shape interpersonal dynamics. In this case, the therapist needs to find and deal with their own hidden biases, which will continue to hurt their relationships with their patients. (Hassey, 2022; Burda, & Mehta, 2003)
How to Empower Clients to Normalize Disability
Avoid Writing Ableist Goals in Speech Therapy
The therapist should utilize a primer on ableism and avoid using language that can be seen as discriminatory against people. As a result, individuals feel more empowered and engaged in the therapeutic process.
By making a treatment plan that focuses on weaknesses and makes a passing reference to “functional goals,” therapy should also make diagnostic sessions less important.
Use Non-Ableist Pragmatic Language Therapy
Provide acceptance training, interoception consciousness for self-regulation, and problem-solving to empower clients and normalize their impairment.
The therapist should look at the client’s training history to see if they have formed a habit of flight or avoidance.
Disability Affirmative Accommodations
Give speech-disabled kids more time and assure them that working at their own speed does not make them poor students; rather, it allows them to demonstrate what they have learned in class. For testing, learning, and training, students with speech impairments also need thorough instructions. By doing this, holes that may skew the information are ensured. The questions should also be read aloud since the majority of people with speech disabilities also have hearing issues. As a result, it is crucial to be precise even while giving instructions in QA style.
References
Magan, K., & Devis, S. H. (n.d.). Treating the whole person practical treatment strategies for children and teens that stutter. Web.
Gore, K. (2021). How to avoid writing ableist goals in speech therapy. Web.
Hassey, J. T. (2022). Time Trials: Ethnographic interviewing within health care system constraints. Web.
Therapist Neurodiversity Collective. (2021). Non-ableist pragmatic language therapy. Web.
Vela, J. (2020). Episode 76: Incorporating mindfulness into SLP practice. Web.
Westby, C., Burda, A., & Mehta, Z. (2003). Asking the right questions in the right ways: Strategies for ethnographic interviewing. The ASHA leader, 8(8), 4-17.