The end of an era...

Today I finished my final lecture, ever - a time for excitement and happiness as well as goodbyes and sadness! Recently my cohort had a "end of year party", and whilst this may seem a little premature for most people on my course as the final deadline of 2nd September still seems a million miles away, it's certainly become the time of goodbyes, and final thoughts and so I thought it might be nice to blog about this.

 

SLT Students at the University of Essex

For me, I have a job and I know where I am going (moving myself down to Somerset may not have been in my 5 year plan but I can safely say I am very excited about the future!), whereas for others this may be a time of finishing university and going into the unknown.  But despite knowing where I will be in just under 4 weeks, this doesn't mean the panic of finishing my course isn't there. 

 

There are so many feelings, including being excited that university is over, and feeling glad that the constant stream of coursework, placement, deadlines and university demands will be over - and I know that throughout the 2 year masters we have all wished this day to come when the deadlines will be no longer!

 

However, none of us quite expected the fear of leaving university behind.  It's become somewhat of a comfortable habit to be stressed, to be busy and to have the security net of wonderful lecturers to guide us when it gets tough.  We know who we are as SLT Students, we have some idea of how we are clinically thanks to placement, but we don't know or yet identify ourselves as SLTs, and maybe that is the fear. 

 

Then come the other things  - How will I still keep on top of evidence base and CPD without the net of university supporting that? Who will become my peers that will support us in times of panic in the real world? and, What challenges will be ahead of us now?

 

Maybe that panic of "am I going to be able to do this?" never truly leaves us.  Maybe the comfort of university, becomes the comfort of our workplace, and just maybe learning for ourselves won't be the worst thing - at least we will be able to tailor our own learning to our passions.

 

So it is at this point that my blog becomes less about my experiences as a SLT student, and more about my experiences as NQP in my first band 5 post - and I can certainly say that fear and panic aside, I cannot wait for this journey to commence!

 

Good luck to my cohort and the journeys that you will all now take, and to any SLT Students reading this, enjoy your time at University - it'll surprise you to know that you'll be sad when it's time to say goodbye!

 

My fabulous MSc cohort

 

What’s acquired brain injury?

Heard the term acquired brain injury or ABI but don’t quite know what it means? If so read on…

According to draft NHS Figures around 40,000 children sustain an acquired brain injury (ABI) every year as a result of an accident or illness.

Just as each child is unique, so is the way they respond to a brain injury. Whilst there are two main types of brain injury: ‘traumatic’ caused by a blow to the head such as a road traffic accident or fall, and ‘non traumatic’ caused by illness such as meningitis, a brain tumour or stroke, there is an enormous range of difficulties a child might face – from minor problems with memory, or speech to serious, long-term, physical and learning disabilities.

Some children on the outside may appear ‘normal’ having made a full physical recovery but they can have considerable difficulties with cognitive, communication, emotional and behavioural skills. Some of the effects may not be noticeable until years after the injury was sustained as the brain continues to develop into early adulthood. It is because the changes and difficulties surrounding ABI are hard to spot that it is sometimes called ‘the hidden disability’.

Difficulties experienced by a child after an ABI vary and depend on: their age when they sustained their injury, the area of the brain that has been damaged, and the severity of the injury. As different areas of the brain work together, if one part is damaged, it is likely to affect the function of other parts of the brain too.

Unfortunately there is no single ‘cure’ or treatment for ABI, and some children will never fully return to the way they were before their injury. Progress may also not always be rapid. But there are opportunities for children to get back some of the skills they’ve lost, through different therapies and support, and that’s where The Children’s Trust can help. The Children's Trust is the UK’s leading charity for children with acquired brain injury, multiple disabilities and complex health needs. Based in Tadworth, Surrey, the Trust’s services include brain injury rehabilitation and community-based support, working with hundreds of children and young people from across the UK.

If you would like to find out more about The Children’s Trust visit www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk If you’d like to know more about brain injury please visit the Brain Injury Hub, The Children’s Trust’s information website www.braininjuryhub.co.uk.

- written by Michelle Baillie

 All writing and photos accredited to The Children's Trust, Tadworth. Not for reduplication.

Inspiring the young

Recently the SLT Society were asked to host a stall at "Children's University Family Learning Festival".  It was intended for Children between 7-14 years of age and their parents to learn about the University, what courses it offers and inspire career choices.  In fact, the turn out for the day even included much younger children and it was an opportunity to talk to both children and their parents.

 

 

 The SLT Society hosted a big stall, containing both communication and dysphagia aspects of the vocation.  For the Communication aspect, we had AAC - including Go Talk's, Big Buttons, Symbols and PECS.  We also had many posters about the impact of communication difficulties and the range of which SLTs work in, and many leaflets from the HELLO campaign.  Then there was a communication game for children and their parents to get involved in, the children were asked to say a sentence to their sibling, parent, or friend without speaking.  This brought on some giggles.  Some children even got involved in filling in a speech bubble with what they thought communication was and some extremely pictorial images of communication difficulties and how people communicate were drawn!

 

"What Is Communication?" A 6 year old's definition.

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




However, the dysphagia aspect of the stall got the most attention - though what 7 year old isn't tempted by chocolate mouse or digestive biscuits! We had a taste test, "which is the easiest to eat" game, and put out sliced banana, chocolate mouse and digestive biscuits.  Nearly all of the children were able to identify that the mouse was easiest! Then we discussed with them why we as SLTs were interested in eating, drinking and swallowing, and had lots of plastic models to demonstrate swallowing techniques.  We even had Videofluroscopy videos to teach the children and their parents how we investigate swallowing and show them where their food and drink goes! Then we had thickener, and created thickened water to stages 1, 2 and 3 consistency.  Many of the children wanted to try the thickened fluids, and big spoonful's of stage 3 were spooned into their mouths before contorted faces were pulled!

 

Overall, the children and their parents learnt a lot, many were intrigued in the job role and stated that they didn't know what SLTs did until the day, and many parents even recalled their children having SLT input.  It was also a great learning experience for us SLT Students, who developed our ability to talk about communication and dysphagia completely jargon free, a lesson in how to train people in our complex role in a simpler fashion.  We all learnt lots, enjoyed our time, and promoted the wonderful profession!

 

The highlight of the day was when one mother stated "I hope one of my children becomes a speech therapist after today" - Mission Complete!

PODD: An Update!

Recently I was contacted and asked to distribute information about an upcoming PODD training session.  I have had some interest from viewers of my blog re:PODD since I wrote a blog post on my experience of it at the London Autism SIG, so I thought I would share the information about the next training day.

 

If anyone does go on the course, or if anyone reads this that is already booked on the course, I would love to hear about it, receive a review of the training, and hear the stories of you all implementing it across SLT.

 

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For all Speech & Language Therapists and those working with children/young people with Autisitc Spectrum Disorder:

 

Eagle House School, Mitcham, is running an Introductory Workshop to the PODD Communication System; 20-21st June (£250 for 2 days, includes lunch).  It is being run by Haylee Parfett, who is visiting from Australia.  (she was at Eagle House school for about 2 years, then she left, but she is coming back to do this training)As you know - PODD is a fantastic system being used across Eagle House Primary and Secondary schools with some amazing results - non verbal children learning to communicate using full length autonomous and functional sentences using the PODD (picture symbol) books.

There are still some spaces left - contact the Charlotte or Noora in the School Business Office on 084555 074 2972 if you or anyone you know would be interested! We have a flier with further details which we could send you by email. contact admin@eaglehousegroup.co.uk

We appreciate that this is very short notice - but we wanted to let people know about the last few spaces left.

 

How do we keep on top of it all?!

Lately I've been distant from the blogging scene and the Twitter scene, and I wish I could say it was through no fault of my own, but things have just gotten very hectic!

 

Any qualified SLT knows what the last few months of their degree are like.. Writing the research proposal, being on a block placement, applying for jobs and then preparing for interviews offered (not that I am complaining about the interview part!) and keeping on top of other coursework/timetable demands.  Turns out my quote that I wrote in my guest blog on Smart Talkers for Libby was true... I am well and truly a Swan. So calm and graceful in the face of it all, yet paddling like mad underneath. Whilst I am able to keep a balance of all my coursework, research proposal, placement and job applications... I am disappointed that my blog and twitter have come 2nd best to all of this, and the reason why I'm disappointed is that it is my contact with other SLTs for some much needed empathy, and also my wide source of evidence base.  I recently looked through past tweets from some of my favourite SLT tweeters, and found I had missed so many news articles and recent research. 

 

This has really changed my view on how I promote Twitter and Blogging to SLTs, as many of you know that I like to promote SLTs using it.  However, when demands are high on a daily basis I wonder how easy it is.  Even I who love Twitter and Blogging have neglected it. 

 

So I have decided that at least once a week during this busy time I will log on to twitter, for 30 minutes maximum and search #slpeeps and #slt2b and #slp2b hashtags, identify any key links to news, blogs, or research. That will be my put-a-side dedicated online CPD time and I will make sure I squeeze this in, even if it's whilst I eat breakfast...

 

Keeping on top of your CPD in the face of life's demands.

How do you keep up with your CPD? How do you keep up with your online CPD networks? I would love to hear how others do it! Because in this busy climate, how do you really keep on top of it all?

My experiences.. Job Applications and Interviews

Recently I sought the hints tips and suggestions of SLT's and SLT2B's about job applications and interviews, and have had some great responses to the things mentioned and have heard some fab stories about the process of job hunting in the SLT world. 

 

However, I am not here to talk about other peoples hints tips and suggestions anymore, instead I want to reflect on my recent experience in the job hunting world.  I applied for my first Band 5 job in April this year and was lucky enough to get an invite to interview for the post following my submission of a personal statement.  Unfortunately I did not get the job, but found the whole process a great learning experience - even in learning how to handle waiting for the phone to ring, and taking in feedback and points to develop (of which any student SLT on placement knows can be difficult at times, especially if you may not fully agree with the comments posed).  So this post is to say that, even if you do get knocked back, every knock back is a learning experience and will only endeavour to make you better in the future.  So here are tips from my recent experience:

 

Job Application:

• Be concise in your personal statement.
 
• Make it focused on the service you are applying to.
 
• If you have had experience within the service you are applying to, mention it! Drop names even!
 
• Follow the person specification in your personal statement, ensure you cover all essential and some desirable!

Interview:

• Be calm and confident, you've already made it so far!
 
• Give yourself time to settle down, you're only human!
 
• If you don't understand a question or can't remember it all, apologise and ask for repetition.
 
• Seek clarification if you are unsure of the question - one way is to paraphase "do you mean..".
 
• Sell yourself, if you are asked to "add anything else", make sure that you use that opportunity to shout about your skills and why they should hire you.
 
• Prepare answers to scenarios, and questions prior to the interview.  Try to consider all your placement/work experience and the strengths, challenges and points to develop of these before you go into the interview.
 
• Ensure you thank them for the opportunity at the end of the interview, manners go a long way!

Post-interview call back:

• Make sure you answer the call when you have time to talk, and are in a suitable environment without lots of noise.
 
• Even if it is a call of rejection, thank them for everything.
 
• Seek feedback, or if offered, accept feedback.
 
• Discuss with them honestly how you felt it went, or give them more detail about why you felt that question was difficult.
 
• Write down the feedback they give you, including tips for future interviews.
 
• Consider the positives of the feedback, or where they do not offer positives, ask for positive feedback.

Most of all, it is necessary you remember that every interview is different and that every interviewer is different. And, like I said before, every knock back is a learning curve to take a leap forward with. I know that I am grateful for the opportunity to interview, it showed me strengths in my personal statement, and showed me that I did have what it takes to be considered for a Band 5 post.  I am also glad that I have learnt so much from the interview experience and the feedback given and I hope that future interviews to come will also support me in developing and learning.  Then one day, I am positive, an interview will end in my dream SLT job! *Fingers crossed*. Good luck to all #SLT2B's out there!

 

 

Extremely SLT-Related and Incredibly Fun

So last night was the first event for the SLT Society at the University of Essex, and we watched Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  It was voted as the film of choice due to people knowing it had links to aspergers/social communication and was "easy going".  Well the later was not true, as many people teared up during it! But it certainly did have some great links to SLT.  Whilst the main character Oskar did not have a formal diagnosis of Aspergers (despite being tested as he mentions during the film) he shows some examples of many clients that all of us in the audience could relate with, from repetitive behaviours to extreme anxiety talking to strangers and inappropraite questioning. 

 

But that wasn't the best part, Oskar meets "The Renter" who "has no voice", which Oskar goes on to discuss reasons behind voice disorders, why it's not physiologically possible to have "no voice" and basically outsmarting 90% of the audience with his terminology and diagnosis! "The Renter" then proceeds to show his right hand, which has a "yes" inked into it, and his left hand which has a "no" inked into it.  He and Oskar go on to have real rapport and "The Renter" supports his "yes" and "no" hands with his notepad and pen, a really great example of low tech AAC.  It highlights how two very different people communicate successfully, how different communication impairments can impact someone and how you problem solve around this to continue to communicate. 

 

Overall a fabulous choice for our first event and first film night! Any suggestions for our next film night are welcome - and if you haven't seen this film, go watch it and let me know what you think!

 

 

How to: SLT Job Applications and Interviews

It's that time of year for many SLT2B's (SLT Students for those not "down" with twitter lingo!) when discussions about job applications and job interviews start cropping up.  Within a single hour yesterday I was asked "Who do you think you'll use for your references?" "Do you think its too soon to apply?", and the competitive side of some people starts to show.

 

But after attending the RCSLT Student Day last week, where many suggestions about job applications and interviews were given from NQT's, it got me wondering what those who are potential interviewers may be expecting.  I also wanted to compile a handy "how to" blog to help all those students in transition just like me.  So I posed the question on twitter and a flood of tweets giving suggestions from both potential interviewers and students came in.

 

Here are the twitter suggestions:

 

"Be yourself & bring extra copies of your resume to the interview. Ask about supervision, training, & opportunities for continuing ed" - Kimberly Scanlon

 

"for interview stage prepare some questions b4hand, ur mind will sometimes go blank so good 2 have 1-2 ready" - Sarah Bobeldijk

 

"remember u could potentially end up working with/for these ppl so ask them q's about the service, the job, the team etc" - Gina Roy

 

"Also good to get idea of personalities of team - its not just job u have to b right 4. U need 2 fit in w/ the team" - Sarah Bobeldijk

 

"Be proactive and ask to see the department before interview." - Ashleigh Westwood

 

"also don't b afraid to go have a look around, it'll get ur face out there & u get a better idea of what t job entails & environment" - Sarah Bobeldijk

 

"When #slp2b job hunting, ask if company/school will provide the supervision and request it be put in the contract, if possible" - Kate Millican

 

"thoroughly read person spec - if there's items u dont meet eg dysphagia trained, st8 what u do have like experience than gloss over" - Sarah Bobeldijk

 

"My 1st application was unsuccessful but I emailed for feedback after not hearing anything. If you ask, they'll most likely... give it to you & you can improve on your next application which hopefully will end in success! :)" - Ashleigh Westwood

 

"look everywhere for jobs - my first one was on Facebook, and that was in 2007! Best job I could have asked for!" - ASDSpeechie

"apply for part time, even if you want full time. I didn't get the original job, but got a full time year long contract instead!" - Helen Sutton

"don't be disheartened by some interview processes. Had 1 where 40 of us did a test, top 6 were invited back for interview....got to interview stage, told I was second fave choice. Felt demoralised at the time but gave hope I was doing ok in the process too!" - ASDSpeechie

 

& Mike Richards also blogged about this last summer http://www.speechlanguagesolutions.co.uk/category/sls-blog/ … (take a look, it's worth a read!)

 

So, get to know the department and the people, including visiting the department pre-interview (or pre-application if there is time!), get to know the person specification and job description, bring along your CV to the interview and ensure you ask lots of questions.  Then once the interview has happened, if unsuccessful don't forget to ask why! This will support your future applications.

 

Other hints, tips and suggestions for job applications from the student day include:

• Make your application (or personal statement) systematic, structured, punchy and personal.
 
• Short concise applications, personal statements or email enquiries are more likely to be responded to than lengthy ones.
 
• Ensure your application form/personal statement covers all aspects of the person specification.
 
• Make your application form as individual as possible, don't just copy and paste.
 
• Include all transferable skills, non-clinical experience that can contribute to the job role.
 
• Apply for jobs within NHS, charities, independent sector, local authorities - you're not just restricted to NHS work in NQT year.
 
• Sell yourself - make it sound like you're the only one that can do this job.
 
• Gain experience by volunteering, keep in touch with peers and clinicians, start or join journal clubs and attend SIG's.

Other hints, tips and suggestions for interviews:

• Be punctual
 
• Ask questions and find out what is involved in the job
 
• Show your personality and be enthusiastic
 
• Think before you speak
 
• Plan answers to questions (e.g. prepare for questions such as team working, MDT role etc)
 
• Show your interpersonal skills (ability to reflect, team player etc.)
 
• Show your clinical knowledge (theory, caseload management etc.)
 
• Have a solid client knowledge.

Question the models of supervision you may receive, especially if applying to private/independent organisations.

Consider the bigger picture - knowledge of RCSLT, HCPC and wider service provision.

So I hope this gives any "slt2b's" a wider insight into the application and interview process, and comes in handy for those that are also starting the transition into NQT just like myself!  Hopefully once I do begin applications and interviews, I can report back some of my own handy tips that I have experienced!

 

Good luck to all student SLT's in the process of job hunting!

 

Many thanks to all the Twitter responses, Mike Richards for his blog post and Emma Marfleet and Gina Roy for their fab presentation at the RCSLT Student Day

 

 

For any #slt2b's that are feeling they want more support with time management, caseload management, reduce stress and be more productive in the preparation for NQT jobs then you should take a look at the upcoming day from Therapy Ideas at: http://therapyideas.org/workshop - Great for the CV!

 

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Updated 10th April 2013 - Many people have contacted me about this blog post and offered their suggestions, so here is a link to a fab blog on job applications and interviews for Band 5's from a SLT herself http://www.aptus-slt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/tips-for-newly-qualified-speech-and.html and don't forget to check out Journal Clubs in your area for extra brownie points on your CV - sltjournalclub.co.uk   - Pediastaff also have a graduate careers guide that you can check out at : http://ht.ly/jRQpy (works best on laptop/pc rather than mobile!)

SLT Society..an update!

So, having now been ratified as a society there has been many committee meetings establishing a budget and a code of conduct (boy oh boy, I did not realise how much work this society thing would take!) and now we are just awaiting a go ahead on gaining members and we are off!

 

But in the meantime we've planned a film night, showing a film that is SLT related (but is not the King's speech!) so we selected Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close to highlight social communication and we will be holding a discussion group about the interpretation from book to film and how communication is portrayed in the film format. 

 

 

As well as this, we have created a Giving Voice Ballot Box! Now all RCSLT members should have received their April Bulletins and be eagerly reading them back to front, so if you have done this you'll know that the General Elections are taking place in 2015, and RCSLT want the MPs to include a manifesto about SLT provision in their campaigns, so this is an opportunity for real SLTs and SLT Students to put their thoughts down of what they actually want the government to provide SLT to improve it.  We were able to have a go at this at the RCSLT Student Day last week and it was actually a great way to realise that even though we know we need more SLT resources, what do we really want to gain!?

Our Ballot Box!

 

The Ballot Box, Manifesto Blank Forms and Polling Station

 

There are also plans for engaging in the non-verbal week from 22nd April (thanks to Inclusive Communication Essex who will be helping us out at local Essex libraries to provide AAC to use during this week!) and plans to host a Giving Voice stall to promote our society, the SLT profession and the Giving Voice Campaign on campus at the University of Essex. 

 

So whilst it feels like we only have a few months with this society before we move on to being qualified professionals (eek!), we have a lot of great stuff in the pipeline!!

 

If there are any other SLT Societies out there that have suggestions or ideas of events or activities that worked well, I would really appreciate a comment or tweet about it :)

My Toddler Talks: A Review



My train journey provisions

Recently I was asked by Kimberly if I would like to review her new book My Toddler Talks and I jumped at the chance.  So I eagerly awaited by the postbox for it to arrive and once it did it was time for my Easter weekend break, and the RCSLT Student Day up in Leicester.  So with my bag packed with Kimberly's book, a notepad, pens, highlighters and many post-it notes I was ready for my train ride and to dive into this book.
 

As I had never reviewed a book before I thought post-it notes of my thoughts would be the best way to keep my thoughts organised and have been swimming in post-it notes ever since (finding them in the strangest of places such as in my bed!).

But down to what you all want to hear.. "What did you think of Kimberly's book?"

 



Post-It Notes everywhere!

Well.. It is fab! Absolutely great!

 

As someone who's course is split 1st year paediatrics, 2nd year adult (and now being in 2nd year) it's been nearly a year since I have engaged in paediatric therapy and it was fantastic to read this book to re-jig my memory of child language development and milestones, hints and tips for how to engage with children and some fun games that would be great for encouraging language. 

So whilst Kimberly aims her book to parents to support them in communicating with their toddler and providing a language rich environment, I feel it should be for all SLT Students and SLT Practitioners. 

 

I know I'll keep My Toddler Talks in my SLT Toolkit for my remaining 5 months as a student and into my career as a practitioner.

 

Now if I consider a parent reading this, and stepping out of my shoes as a SLT, I think it's a fab book for working in conjunction with a SLT and a therapy program.  However, there are a few times in the first part of the book (where Kimberly outlines routines and language modelling techniques) where I wonder if parents would fully understand the terminology used and the strategies outlined.  But I envisage a parent being recommended this book following a SLT session, and in that case I think a parent could take a great deal from this book, and would be able to question and clarify any words or strategies with the SLT in charge. 

 

So whilst there may be some SLT jargon, or language modelling techniques that parents may need explaining, Kimberly outlines that this book is not a replacement for SLT and for me this is one of  the important aspects to ensure parents take away from using this book.

 

Kimberly's book initially comprises of theory, outlining language development and milestones, onto general strategies and tips for encouraging language development.  This is a great opener to support parents, children and language development.  But my personal favourite part of the book would have to be the activities section.  This thoroughly outlines resources needed, time needed, the structure of the play and extra tips for engaging in many different activities and is extremely accessible and adaptable to suit the parent and child's needs.  It is also highly transferable for SLTs that are stuck in a rut and need a new activity for therapy!

 

There are many positives in this book for parents, Kimberly effectively outlines that the parent is the expert of the child, not the SLT and detailing that play should be child led and positive throughout.  Extra tips such as reducing questions, imitating and video recording are many things that us SLTs do intrinsically, but are essential to be detailed for the parent.  Having these hints, tips and strategies in this book for parents to keep at home at all times is great, and makes it really accessible. 

 

Overall, Kimberly's book covers both theory and basics of language development, strategies and tips to support encouraging language by adapting the parent/carer/professionals language, and extremely well detailed activities that rely on resources that accessible in most homes that effectively encourage play and language development. 

 

It is a book that all paediatric speech and language therapists should have access to, a book that can be recommended to parents and be implemented alongside therapy in the early years.  I know for a fact that when I get stuck on my language development milestones, or am in need of a new game for therapy I will turn to Kimberly's book.

 

I want to take this opportunity thank Kimberly,

for giving me such a useful tool as a student

and as a future practitioner.

 

To read more about Kimberly's book go to: http://www.mytoddlertalks.com/ 

Or to purchase go to Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toddler-Talks-Strategies-Activities-Development/dp/1477693548/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1364994876&sr=8-3

Speech and Language Therapy Society

Recently at the University of Essex I have been trying to start a SLT Society to bring together both the year 1 and year 2 students, as well as to promote SLT to the undergraduates on campus that may have an interest in language, the sciences and communication.  We wanted to be able to get a budget and invite members so that we could fund external speakers, training days and SIGs as well as develop journal clubs and a safe area to discuss issues between peers.  Having pushed and pushed for this since December 2012, we were finally offered the opportunity to be ratified today!

 

I had to prepare a 2 minute speech and was informed prior to today that I would give this 2 minute speech about why we wanted to be a society, then there would be an anonymous vote.  I had assumed this would be a select few members of the Student's Union and was then surprised when I walked into a big lecture theatre to find committee members from all societies on campus! I had managed to drag another committee member with me from the SLT Society and so when 'societies to be ratified' were called to the front of the lecture theatre I dragged her with me (luckily she was willing!).

 

Another hopeful society went before us, and she spoke for 2 minutes, was then bombarded with questions and was then told the voting would commence.  Suddenly arms were flying in the air to the words "not in favour of this society" and hardly any movement during "in favour".  She unfortunately didn't get ratified.  Well, it was fair to say I was nervous following this as I had not been mentally prepared for questions, nor had I been prepared for a non-anonymous vote - now I was faced with watching people say that they were for or against us. 

 

In the essence of being a therapist though I remained swan-like and despite my desperate nervous paddle, I looked graceful on the surface and took to the stage with my accomplice.  I spoke of how it was imperative that the 2 year groups merged more over the course of the 2 years on the MSc programme and how we longed to draw in members from linguistics, sciences and psychology degree programmes to share knowledge and work together.  I spoke of recent news that SLT is "least preferred" profession for teenagers, highlighting the lack of awareness of SLT and how we really wanted to bring this to light, who we are and what we do. In my flustered state my accomplice took over and really reiterated that we wanted to promote awareness and inclusion, before I then went on to outline that we hoped to have social events as well as academic events in the form of external speakers and journal clubs. 

 

Then it was doomsday time. The floor was opened to questions.  Not a single person had a single question. We paused a second to enjoy the moment of relishing in the fact we had made our points clear and concise to the audience.  Only to then return to doomsday feelings of vote time.  I could have jumped for joy and screamed when "those in favour" was said and the whole room shot their hands in the sky! Of course, there was the cynical man in the front row who put his hand to "not in favour", but besides him, we were on the full stretch home.  The VP of activities then said the sweet word "congratulations"! We were officially a society!!!

 

Hard work, persistence and dedication to the cause paid off, all whilst looking calm and collected - all features of the SLT profession from my experiences so far!

 

It was an even lovelier moment when a girl from the crowd came up to us at the end of the meeting to tell us she desperately wanted to be a SLT and that she was so glad we had decided to start up, asking for our email addresses and more info.  We had our first member!!

 

It's safe to say that from now till I leave in August, there will be much awareness raising, many academic events and a much better sense of community between year 1 and year 2 students.

 

I am so looking forward to this journey!

Clinical Reasoning Models: Applying these to supervision

Today I had a lecture on clinical reasoning and clinical supervision.  It was really eye-opening to see that my feelings that I had reflected on in my previous 2 blogs on clinical supervision were mirrored by my peers.  I was able to reflect more on the issue of supervision being a 2 way process, of which is reciprocal from both supervisor and supervisee. 

 

What was interesting to then draw on was the notion of clinical supervision as a space for the supervisee to draw out their thoughts and really become more self-aware whilst engaging in offline reflection - a process of clinical reasoning.  It was interesting to then be aware of how to apply the Higgs and Titchen's model of knowledge alongside a newer model of evidence based practice to clinical supervision in order to become effective at clinically reasoning whilst drawing out personal strengths and areas to develop. 

 

Higgs and Titchen Model

 

By reflecting offline with a supervisor, you were able to see more clearly how you clincally reasoned derived at that thought, by drawing on research/literature/theory from propositional knowledge, vs. personal knowledge from own experience and from client centred personal knowledge vs. drawing on clinical skill craft knowledge.  It was interesting to be aware that as we grow as student SLTs that the way in which we apply these different domains can alter and this can be a growing process in itself.  

 

Only through reflection and supervision can we become more aware of our skills and expertise, as well as our areas to develop.

 

 

Evidence Based Practice Model

 

I am very excited about starting my block placement in a month and hope to go into this being open and honest about how I prefer supervision to be, having been able to reflect on the things that I have valued in a supervisor previously, but also in the hope that I can become more aware of my own clinical reasoning skills through applying both the Higgs and Titchen model and the EBP model that I have now come to know.

 

Does anyone have experiences of this as a student supervisee or as a supervisor? How do you apply these models to your practice? How do you develop your reflection skills? I would appreciate any comments or tweets on this topic :)

 

My first SIG: Intensive Interaction & PODD

On Monday I attended my first SIG.  The London Autism SIG.  I had no clue what to expect and was going alone, so armed with my Kindle and my diary I prepared to be sat alone not being able to network with anyone.  How wrong was I! I met a lovely NQP to start with and she told me all about her past 6 months working and how autism was a new area to her so she thought she’d join the SIG.  Then a lady she knew arrived and I got talking to her, followed by another lady who sat to my left who also joined in.  It was lovely.  The SIG hadn’t even started and I was beginning to feel like a real SLT, able to discuss clients and other SLTs I knew. 





Graham Firth

The first presenter of the day was Graham Firth.  He has a lot of experience in Intensive Interaction and is the current project leader for it in the Leeds Partnership Trust.  He also has a book out about it and has developed the Framework for Recognising Attainment in Intensive Interaction.  The FRA is a tool I’ve been using recently with my Communication Partner as it is really easy to use and shows clearly where my client is at.  But on Monday, Graham talked about how to use it most effectively and boy oh boy is there ways for me to improve my recording of intensive interaction! I was also surprised as there were activities to watch a videoclip of II and then map it to the framework, I was surprised that so many of us had different opinions about which level the client was at.  This made me realise that best practice for II, may in fact be video recording the interaction and gathering a colleague or two to discuss where you may place them on the FRA.  This way you will get to hear peoples clinical reasoning out loud and develop your own.  It was a packed hour with lots to learn about the framework and great opportunities to practise it, but by then I was bursting for a drink and a stretch and before I knew it, it was break time. 

After the tea break Hayley Parfett, an Australian SLT now currently working in the UK.  She came to talk about a method of AAC called PODD (Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display).  Now I had never heard of this before and upon showing us a big hefty book chocker full of symbols I began to doubt this method.  Would a child with autism who was reluctant to engage in communication actually use a book of symbols so big? Then Hayley said “How often do you provide a system with just the words that you know they are able to achieve?” “How are you pushing your clients to learn and to grow?” – Well, she certainly had my attention! She stated that we need to widen our expectations of our clients and not be masked by what we have seen them achieve.  And that is exactly what PODD does, whilst a child may not know the symbols or words to start with, when adults, staff, family are facilitating their speech/communication with the symbols within the book, the adult is facilitating the child to learn that they can use these too.  She then went on to ask us, if we had the option to leave the SIG right now, and be free in London, with no responsibilities, what would we like to do with our afternoons? Then she produced two pictures, one of the big ben and one of tower bridge.  Then she said “which one do you want to do?” “you choose”. 

 

Well, it was fair to say nobody in the room had even had these two options in mind, and in fact we didn’t want to choose either of those 2 pictures.  Hayley then detailed that often this happens, we give our clients a choice of 2, in a situation where there could be endless choices and then we view our client as being incapable of making a choice if they don’t make one out of the two limited ones presented.  That, she stated, was what PODD also tried to achieve, to give a range of possibilities to the child to support them to be able to communicate.  I am hoping to learn more about PODD and read up on the evidence base, but I wonder how much these display communication books are currently being used? I haven't come across PODD before, have you?

Overall, it was a very interesting thought provoking day, which not only supported my skills using the FRA for II, but also began to change my views on communication and how we work with people with autism.  I will definitely be going to the full day SIG in June that is for sure!