Speechmag

Ralli round to raise awareness of specific language impairment

"Ralli likes computer games, playing with her friends in the park, and smoky bacon flavoured crisps - BUT Ralli also sometimes finds talking difficult, and she doesn't always understand the words people say. Ralli wants to tell you what this is like and explain what happens."

If you haven't met Ralli yet, have a look at the Raising Awareness of Language Learning Impairments You Tube channel, and subscribe to receive new video updates. This campaign was launched in May by Dorothy Bishop, Gina Conti-Ramsden, Maggie Snowling, Courtenay Norbury and Becky Clark as a resource about specific language impairment for children, families and educators.

As is often the case, it is the young people themselves who provide the most compelling viewing as they explain what it is like to have a specific language impairment. The use of video also tells you a lot about context - for example the bookshelves behind the practitioners in the 'Signs of SLI' video hold an eclectic mix of material from joke books to textbooks on vocabulary and language development, to professional standards - a reminder of the everyday but complex process required to put theory into real world practice. 

 

Article on speech sound disorders course posted as Caroline Bowen receives special award

By happy coincidence, I completed a new article reflecting on two days immersed in speech sound disorders with international expert Caroline Bowen just as Caroline was awarded life membership of Speech Pathology Australia at its National Conference in Darwin. She is pictured here being congratulated by Ros Neilson, Councillor for New South Wales.

Having known Caroline 'virtually' for many years, it was a pleasure to meet her at last at her two day 'Speech Sound Disorders - the Basics and Beyond II' course hosted by the Association of Speech & Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP) in the beautiful city of York. Reading my article will give you a sense of the contribution Caroline has made to promoting evidence based practice around the world, and of why she thoroughly deserves the highest honour of her own professional body.

Caroline is returning to the UK shortly to run three one day courses in London (18, 20, 22 July). She will then deliver two complementary one day courses (28, 29 July) in Durham, 'Spoiled for Choice - Therapy approaches for speech sound disorders in children' and 'Sound Reasoning: Therapy targets and techniques for children with speech sound disorders'. If you are interested in attending, there is more information here.

Summer 11 Speech & Language Therapy in Practice out now!

The Summer 11 issue  of Speech & Language Therapy in Practice magazine was mailed to subscribers on Friday and Saturday, so should be with you very soon.

As well as the second instalment in the new goal negotiation series and an 'In Brief' contribution that puts the accent on aphasia, we have an uplifting story of the evolution and impact of a total communication project across Devon. In 'Journal Club', Jen Reid provides a framework for critical appraisal of intervention studies, while 'Boundary Issues' looks at the ethics of new professional roles.

We hear about a collaborative project with a children's centre and library service in an area of deprivation, which seems to highlight the benefits of targeting training on selected individuals. We also get a glimpse into the speech, language and communication needs of prisoners completing community sentences.

The cover feature is on using the evidence in dysphagia management. Hannah Crawford and Julie Bake explain why they have moved away from previous practice and introduced oral taster programmes with people with learning disabilities who gain their nutrition via PEG, while Celia Harding and colleagues use a problem solving framework to support appropriate intervention for infants and children with early feeding, eating and drinking difficulties.

We have reader offers for Photosymbols 4, I CAN Secondary Talk narrative and a Grow Words resource set, as well as Editor's Choice, three pages of reviews and 'Here's one I made earlier' on encouraging clients to make their own books. As always it is good to the very last page, where Kate Balzer shares some of the ideas for working with people with dementia from a SIGDOM therapy swapshop.

Enjoy!

Shine a light to recognise good practice in children's communication and inspire others

I know from all the articles I receive that speech and language therapists put a great deal of thought, imagination and effort into providing the best possible service to clients in challenging circumstances, and that sharing their experience really inspires others. So I'm delighted that the Hello campaign is going to 'Shine a Light' on good practice for children and young people's communication with an extensive awards scheme.

The Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists is sponsoring Team of the Year for speech and language therapists, and there are other categories for outstanding achievement, communication friendly establishments, other types of team, communication strategy, commissing and employee support. You might also want to have a think about potential candidates for the Hello Young Person of the Year Award, open to children and young people up to 19 years with speech, language and communication needs.

Sponsor Pearson Assessment says, "We encourage you to apply no matter what size and scale you are working at. If you think your work is special and making a tangible difference that you can evidence, we want to hear from you."

Hello is the national year of communication, a campaign to increase understanding of how important it is for children and young people to develop good communication skills. Wendy Lee, Professional Director for The Communication Trust, says the awards are intended to recognise inspiring work and "enthuse and spur on others who, through the national year of communication, are starting to tackle this subject head on in a range of ways - from small grassroots projects through to larger area-wide initiatives."

To enter, visit the Shine a Light 2011 Hello campaign awards site. Entries close on 15 July 2011.

 

New 'Communicating ethics' article explores use of Seedhouse grid

There wasn't room for 'Boundary issues' in the Winter 10 issue of Speech & Language Therapy in Practice - but don't despair if you missed your ethics fix, as I have just published an online only article which explores the use of the Seedhouse grid.

'Communicating ethics' is a collaborative effort from Professor Jois Stansfield of Manchester Metropolitan University and Jane Handley, one of her former students and now a practising therapist.

When Jane was in her final year she found a series of workshops on a case-based approach to ethical reasoning very helpful. As she says, we frequently need to make decisions that "are often difficult to resolve because they present ethical dilemmas which cannot be reasoned out with logic alone. To achieve the best possible outcome, it seems that a moral judgement is also required." 

The article explores how Jane used David Seedhouse's Ethical grid with a hypothetical client, Bryan (5), who has profound physical and cognitive disabilities. His parents are looking for a second opinion, as they do not believe sufficient time is being allocated to his feeding in school or in respite. This was the first Manchester Metropolitan University speech and language therapy case to be presented in Seedhouse's Values Exchange, an online approach to ethical decision-making.

Better Communication Research Programme needs input from practising therapists

What interventions do you offer children with speech, language and communication needs, and what outcomes are you looking for?

The Better Communication Research Programme team is looking for speech and language therapists to respond to a survey about practice. The closing date is 17 December 2010.

This research programme was set up by the government as part of its response to the 2008 Bercow Review of provision for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. The team, which includes Professor Sue Roulstone and Yvonne Wren, wants to make sure that its research takes account of everyday practice, and that it will ultimately be useful to practitioners, commissioners, policy makers and parents.

It therefore intends to use the survey responses, together with the findings of a systematic literature review, to develop a database of the evidence for specific interventions and the outcomes which can be expected from them. The researchers want to capture different factors that influence effectiveness and efficiency. These include where the intervention takes place, the content of the intervention, the people and resources involved and whether it is offered via a direct or indirect method.

The researchers say the survey should take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete, and that all responses are in confidence and anonymous. Click here to complete the survey.

Caroline Bowen brings her 2 day speech sound disorders workshop to the UK

I can't believe it was as long ago as 2002 that Australian speech-language pathologist Caroline Bowen compiled her top ten child speech resources for Speech & Language Therapy in Practice.

I have "known" Caroline virtually for many years, and enjoy her humourous contributions to the excellent ACQ magazine. I also admire the firm hand with which she guides the phonologicaltherapy listserv, a fantastic resource for anyone who works in the field of child speech.

Now finally I am going to meet her in person when she presents a two day workshop in York next year on behalf of ASLTIP (the Association of Speech & Language Therapists in Independent Practice). 'Speech sound disorders: The basics and beyond II' will cover referral and screening, assessment, diagnosis, contextual factors, intervention approaches, target selection, treatment principles, goals and strategies and roles. It should be an exciting - if exhausting! - couple of days.

 

Autumn 10 issue now out!

The Autumn 10 issue of Speech & Language Therapy in Practice was mailed on Friday. (My own copy hasn't made it to Scotland yet, but I know some people got theirs as early as Saturday!)

It includes:

• our new series to help you with critical appraisal of the literature
• teaching indirect interaction techniques to education staff
• working with people with aphasia in a community arts venue
• scaffolding opportunities for silent bilingual children to speak out
• How I support TEP (tracheoesophageal puncture) closure
• complementary therapy - exploring our boundaries
• my top resources for working outside the NHS
• what's hot and what's not: book, resource and software reviews
• In Brief - chewing in children with mild cerebral palsy
• Here's one I made earlier - the menu game
• Editor's choice - adolescents, aphasia, intergroup contact
• win our free reader offer for The Communication Toolkit

New subscribers always receive an extra issue FREE in their first year.

'ASHA needs to actively enforce its code of ethics' petition

The Chair of the British Stammering Association is urging people to join him in petitioning ASHA to prevent misleading claims that stammering is curable.  

Leys Geddes has been at the forefront of a UK campaign to ensure that people understand there is no universal 'cure' for stammering and that very few adults recover. He wants to ensure people who stammer are not given false hopes, and that people who do not stammer are not given a false impression of the condition.

Leys says, "Within the UK we have seen some considerable success but, as the web is international, it has been difficult to stamp it out worldwide. We approached authoritative organisations in other countries, particularly the States, asking for their support. Many have come on board but, disappointingly, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) declined, explaining that, in their view, these claims were a case of 'let the buyer beware'."

The new 2010 ASHA code of ethics includes rules, which are "specific statements of minimally acceptable professional conduct or of prohibitions". One of these states, "Individuals shall not guarantee the results of any treatment or procedure, directly or by implication; however, they may make a reasonable statement of prognosis." ASHA members Peter Reitzes (co-host of StutterTalk) and Dr Phil Schneider believe that speech-language pathology colleagues marketing their services with phrases such as 'Discover how to stop stuttering' and '12 days to fluent speech' are violating this rule. They have therefore started a petition to ask ASHA to enforce it. 

Leys comments, "It is both brave and sad that two speech-language pathologists, and ASHA members, must ask for support from the outside world to fight against a refusal by their own professional body to uphold such a straightforward ethical issue. Stammerers need to stand together on these issues, so every signature will be important." 

Speechmag blog is Speechwoman's 'Site of the Month'

What a great start to my day - an e-mail from Caroline Bowen telling me that the speechmag blog has been awarded the Speechwoman 'Site of the Month' award for January 2010!

Along with speechmag, Caroline's renowned website is one of the most enduring speech and language therapy related presences on the internet. Since June 1998, her alter ego Speechwoman has selected "an outstanding speech-language-pathology related website" as her site of the month. The variety of winners is testament to Caroline's super powers in finding and sharing good practice around the globe.

Speechwoman notes that the "immensely readable" Speech & Language Therapy in Practice magazine is supported by the speechmag website, a presence on Facebook and the editor's blog.  Explaining why she has chosen to recognise this blog with the first Speechwoman award for 2010 she says, "As well as being a skilled editor Avril has a lively and engaging writing style, so it comes as no surprise that her blog is interesting, informative and entertaining."  

The blog gets a maximum triple plus 'excellent' rating for quality, usability and design and a double plus for authority, reflecting the Speech & Language Therapy in Practice aim of bridging the gap between academia / research and practice.

Thank you Speechwoman, my blog will wear your logo with pride!