I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
📲✍️Agraphia in a Digital World: Help your Patients Connect
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Whether you're more likely to send an email 📧 or a text 💬, there's no denying that written communication is everywhere. We connect with others through typed messages, including commenting on social posts. ⌨️💬 According to the PEW Research Center, only 5% of U.S. adults used social media in 2005, but by 2021, that number jumped up to 72%! 🤯 For patients with agraphia, or a loss of writing ability, this shift can be a major barrier to connection and independence. 😞 So, what are the best approaches to treat writing? 🤔 We break it all down for you (with references) in our latest blog: What SLPs Need to Know: Agraphia.
Practice Connecting with TechnologyWriting was often a therapy goal for patients returning to work or school, but now that we connect through texting and social media, all patients should be able to improve their writing if they want to. The latest treatment in the Virtual Rehab Center uses realistic stimuli to practice 1-4 word phrases that can be used to respond to social messages. This fun and functional treatment uses both typing and memory to aid social connection. Check out Copy & Recall Social Messages here : In addition to over 45 interactive treatments, the Tactus Virtual Rehab Center offers 65+ patient-friendly PDF handouts, including a social message bank, How To: ACRT clinical guide, free homework, and more! 💕 🚀 Try the Virtual Rehab Center for FREE: tactustherapy.com/rehab All the best, Megan P.S. There are only 3 days left to use the coupon code MaySLP10 when you sign up for your free trial of the Virtual Rehab Center for $10 off! No credit card required to start your membership. |
Megan @ Tactus Therapy
I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
About six years ago, I published a short e-book called Setting Goals in Aphasia Therapy. This 11-page PDF has been downloaded more than 11,500 times. 🤯 Apparently, lots of SLPs want help writing goals! 🙋♀️ One page of the e-book is a template for writing SMART goals, the kind payors want to see. Goals need to be specific, measurable, relevant, and time-bound so we know when they’ve been achieved. ✅ The template asks you helpful questions… but sometimes what you really need are ideas for what...
I saw this post recently from an SLP who described feeling so “on” all day: back-to-back patients, constant talking, cueing, thinking, modeling. By the time she got home, she couldn’t even bring herself to speak. 😩 If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In a 2024 survey, 62% of SLPs reported symptoms of burnout. In medical settings, we can see 8, 9, 10 patients a day. There’s no built-in quiet time. No pause between sessions. Being fully “on” for hours straight takes a toll. We were...
After an acquired brain injury, subtraction often breaks down before addition. Not because it’s “harder math," but because it tends to place greater demands on working memory and executive function (Dehaene et al., 2003). Try this in your head: Most people get this quickly. 5 tens plus 7 ones = 57. Let's do another: This time, you have to hold 40 in your mind, subtract 10, then subtract 7 - mentally tracking each step to get 23. Same numbers. Different cognitive load. That extra mental...