Communicating with someone who has a Brain Injury

Here is a poster i developed in a cognitive communication group with patients who have brain injuries. Each communication trait highlighted was suggested by a patient.

Family Members Rehabilitation Goals

Just read an interesting article in the september-october 2012 IJLCD (p511-521) on the rehabilitation goals of family members. The researchers found 7 categories of goals, all of which fit within 3 family member roles; Caregiver, Family member with a relationship to the client and Family member with their own rehabilitation needs.

1. To be included in rehabilitation (caregiver)
- Directions on how to reinforce communication skills/ assist the client.
- e.g. observing sessions, interviewed to provide personal info on the client i.e. interests/cultural info, keeping family members who work in the week in the loop.

2. To be provided with hope and positivity (caregiver/ client)
-especially in the early stages of rehab - give encouragement and motivation e.g. most recovery occurs within the first 6-12 months but it will continue afterwards.

3. To be able to communicate and maintain their relationship with the person with aphasia (Family member role)
- e.g. train family members in key communication skills, work with the family + the client e.g. Aphasia Couples Therapy or work with the clients family in parallel to work with the client.

4. To be given information (caregiver/client)
- variety of formats (video's, written, verbal, pictures) - using 'layman's terms'
- information about stroke/ aphasia/ rehabilitation process/ support services and charities.

5. To be given support (all)
- e.g. to be put in contact with the counsellor, social worker or family support groups with peers.

6. To look after their own mental, emotional and physical wellbeing (all)
- e.g respite care.

7. To be able to cope with new responsibilities
- e.g. new roles, financial responsibilities.

Skills 2

According to Karen Bunning there are a totem of  8 key clinical skills:

1. Engagement
 - making sure your client can maintain their attention and aknowledging their       engagement.

2. Modification
- Adapting communication to allow the client to understand, ascribing meaning to the clients responses and checking the clients interpretation.

3. Facilitation
- Encouraging contribution, modelling and requesting a specific response e.g. presenting a picture to elicit a response and assisting contribution.

4. Feedback
- Checking contribution, differential (quality) feedback, evaluative feedback e.g. that was difficult, and summative feedback.

5. Personal Maintenance
- Noticing the clients emotional/behavioural state/ physical needs.

7. Context maintenance
- organising the equipment/ the environment.

8. Transaction
- giving information/ getting information from the client/carer / providing instructions and rationales/ note taking

Skills

To be a good SLT you need skills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KgtGs1ny0k

How to get a job in 30 days

Nice title but it took longer than that. Everyone’s been saying that the job outlook in the NHS is bleak but a fair number of SLT students got jobs within or even before the first month of graduating. I was not one of them.

I had been an SLT assistant previously so was reluctant to apply for assistant posts. I was also fairly certain that I wanted to work with adults and looking at my CV I would not interview me for a paediatric job so I only applied to adult posts. It took around 2 months for me to hone down my personal statement into something that would get me shortlisted. Job applications aren’t kept open very long but it was definitely worth re-writing each personal statement to make it more specific to the job and make it clear why that job is the best for you. The NHS website saved all of your data (schools, qualifications…) and makes job hunting quite easy. During this time I worked a little part time and did some voluntary work within the field I was interested in. Many people got SLT assistant agency work or research assistant jobs while looking for work.

I had one failed interview before managing to get a job and feel that this prepared me for my successful interview. A friend who got a job months sooner than me had 5 unsuccessful interviews before bagging her perfect job. Second time around I revised as if for an exam, looking at topical issues for NQP’s such as prioritisation and caseload management. The most useful thing I did was to order my experiences so that I could use them to evidence the skills mentioned in the job specification. Although it was disheartening not getting shortlisted for jobs this process enabled me to reflect on what my key skills were and to develop a personal statement that would get shortlisted. I had set a time period of 3.5 months (before my birthday) to get a job, after which I would have licence to panic and make a plan B. Although I was pushing 3.5 months I felt more in control and relaxed.