Our memory is limited, so we write things down to remember later: appointment times, phone numbers, what the pharmacist said. Unfortunately, for someone with an acquired brain injury, this simple strategy asks a lot. It may sound simple, but effective note-taking takes practice. 🤔 Why note-taking is harder than it looks To be successful, your patient has to: Follow what the speaker is saying (sustained attention) Tune out distractions (selective attention) Switch between listening and writing...
about 18 hours ago • 2 min read
Have you ever suggested a writing goal and had a client tell you, "Oh, I don't really write"? If they're thinking about letters or essays... that's a fair answer. But have them really think about their day. They probably texted a family member, typed into a search bar, or jotted a reminder on a sticky note. Most adults write every day. They just might not think of it as writing. While it's easy to assume texting and email are only for younger generations, older adults are more connected than...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Today's email is an ode to flashcards. They're in every SLP's toolkit for good reason: they're hard to beat for flexibility. You can use them to target speech, language, and cognitive goals, in individual or group sessions, and they're great for less structured activities that support generalization. Today, let's take a look at how one card can work for almost any patient. ⬇️ From the Daily Life Scenes flashcard deck in the Virtual Rehab Center With this one card, you can work on: Speech...
13 days ago • 1 min read
Spaced retrieval (SR) has strong evidence in dementia, with growing support in TBI and other neuro populations. The only catch is logistics: timing and tracking intervals can be a hassle. Today, let's get into how it works – and how to make it easier. ⚙️ How it works SR uses procedural memory, so you're building an automatic response rather than depending on conscious recall. It's also a form of errorless learning, which helps encode the correct information. Here are the steps: 1) Pick a...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Last month, I asked you a question: 👉 What's the biggest challenge you face when trying to practice at home? More than 150 of you replied! I read every single email. Some of you shared funny stories. Others spoke of frustrations. All of your responses taught me something. So first and foremost – I want to say thank you for trusting me with your stories. 💜 Recovery can be isolating. Sometimes it feels like nobody else "gets it." You are not alone. Here are some common themes from your...
28 days ago • 2 min read
September is World Alzheimer's Month, so let's talk about dementia, a part of speech therapy where our job can look a little different. A lot of cognitive therapy is aimed at a patient who is recovering or stable. With dementia, the trajectory changes – memory and language will continue to decline. As a speech therapist, our primary goal becomes supporting identity, connection, and orientation for as long as possible. ❤️ Framework for Dementia in Speech Therapy Meet the person where they are,...
29 days ago • 1 min read
When people can't understand what's being said, everything gets harder – understanding health and financial information, connecting with loved ones, and maintaining independence. It's isolating and exhausting. 💔 So today, let's break down auditory comprehension, and how to approach it in your sessions. What to do for Auditory Comprehension: 🔍 Find the breakdown. Is comprehension failing at the word level, sentence level, or connected speech? Is it due to difficulty with phonology, semantics,...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Does this time of year get chaotic for anyone else? It seems like September hits and suddenly everything starts happening at once. So let's talk strategies! For us. The SLPs who somehow have to hold it all together – even when life gets busy. 😅 📋 Documentation Documentation helps with clinical decision-making, continuity of care, recording patient progress, and... ah yes, reimbursement. So how can we make it less painful? Find your system. What works best for you? This might be...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
It's time for another resource round-up! Here are some of the most exciting things I've found related to medical speech-language pathology lately – plus a few that my team has created for you. 1. 🏥 Acute Care FOURC: UNC's Center for Aphasia and Related Disorders developed an Acute Care adaptation of their FOURC model – a free, collaborative framework for setting life-participation goals. Downloads include a goal rating scale, documentation template, visual supports, and more. 🎯 Need more...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read