SPTH341: Lecture 17 Clinical Procedures

1
SPTH341 Lecture 17Clinical Procedures

• Based on Erber (1996)

2
Components of communication therapy

• Conduct professional conversations with the
  client.
• Provide instant therapy.
• Implement situation management principles.
• Train frequent communication partners.
• Train the client.
• Observe the client's participation in personal
  conversations.

3
(No Transcript)
4
Typical/Traditional clinical sequence

• Linear therapy assessment ? intervention may be
  limited
• Client may leave after experiencing only
  assessment
• Assessment may be later found to be irrelevant

5
Differences in Erber's (1996) model

• Assessment is carried out throughout the clinical
  process
• Exit takes place at the point of entry
• Division between the real world and the clinic

6
Major components of Communication Therapy (but
not linear!)

• Interview client
• Screen client's speech-perception abilities and
  discuss.
• Conduct conversation(s) with the client (eg.,
  TOPICON)
• Provide Instant Therapy
• Situation management
• Partner training
• Client training
• Observe real conversations (if possible) between
  client and frequent partners

7
Aspects of Communication Therapy

• Goals
• To maximise the fluency of conversation
• To maximise positive feelings in the participants
  before, during and after conversation

8
General types of therapy

• Instant therapy
• Situation Management
• Partner training
• Client training

9
1. Instant Therapy

• Immediate improvement in the client's
  conversational performance
• Provide best amplification
• Provide a good environment
• Provide a short distance
• Be a co-operative partner

10
(No Transcript)
11
2. Situation management

• Recreate best environments in the client's real
  life.
• Small changes.
• Larger/radical changes (but often impractical).
• If radical changes are impractical/difficult then
  client and partner training may be required.

12
3. Partner Training

• Aims of partner training
• increase level of awareness
• increase speech and language clarity
• increase use of clarification strategies
• increase confidence regarding ultimate success
• maximise proactive role in communication.

13
4. Client training

• Self-help strategies
• Loop A and Loop B
• Loop A is real world conversation, this is the
  goal or aural rehabilitation
• Loop B is the rehabilitation process

14
Special features of communication therapy

• Contents of each session are adapted to the
  client's abilities interests and needs
• Therapy does not follow a linear model, where all
  the clients experience the same experiences in a
  prescribed order
• Because useful skills are acquired each therapy
  session, the client/partner or clinician may
  discontinue therapy at any time

15

• Traditional perception-based therapies, such as
  hearing aid use, listening training, and
  lip-reading instruction are applied along with
  other procedures, but are not given principal
  status
• Most of the assessment and therapy actives are
  conversation orientated and therefore reflect
  real life - an approach which appeals to both
  clients and clinicians

16

• Most communication therapists learn
  conversation-orientated activities quickly and
  easily, because the procedures tap their
  intuition and life-experiences as well as their
  theoretical knowledge and clinical skills