The life of a fully qualified SLT

The life of a fully qualified SLT

Monday 28 January 2013

Guest Blog: Where are the men?

This is the first guestblog for the Speech and Language Thera-peers Blog site, and as many questions and discussions have been raised on Twitter about men in SLT, I thought I'd ask my fellow colleague Lauren to give an insight into the men in SLT as a result of her literature review on this topic. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where are the men?
Back in August I was having a conversation with some of my fellow SLT students (including Gemma) about boyfriends and men in general (as you do!) when someone exclaimed ‘Why aren’t there any men on our course?!’  As usual, I overanalysed.
I had never seen a male SLT whilst on any placement, only one of our lecturers is male and there is only one male on our course. I left what was an informal lunchtime chat with the following questions swimming around in my head-
·         WHY are most SLT’s female?
·         What are the experiences of male SLT’s?
·         What campaigns are out there to encourage males into the profession?
 It has been the focus of my final year dissertation ever since.
The evidence base is limited. Whilst consideration has been given to males in nursing and teaching to improve recruitment, and there is plenty of research to suggest why females choose male dominated careers, SLT seems to have been left behind.
Speaking very generally after setting up an informal questionnaire, I found most of my male friends did not have a clue what an SLT does or who we work with. Some of them hadn’t even heard of one. Furthermore, most of them would not even consider joining a profession that is 97% female (Litosseliti & Leadbeater, 2012). When I gave them a list of client groups and asked them to comment, many said they were surprised at the range of clients and the scientific nature of our work. Greenwood et al. (2006) suggest awareness and the profile of SLT need to be raised to encourage more males and I would agree.
Some research suggests males experience gender stereotyping and negative experiences leading to drop out from courses or going into a different profession after qualifying. However, the male SLT’s I have been lucky enough to speak to seem to have had mainly positive experiences and not experienced these so called stereotypes. Whilst they recognise they are in the minority, they get on well with their colleagues and have learnt a lot as an SLT.
Male SLT’s on twitter have also been known to refer to themselves as unicorns!
In terms of recruitment, studies and articles are very quick to say something needs to change. They highlight that it will take time. The fact is, nothing will change if nothing is being done to change it. And no one seems to really know how to go about it.
Following a conference presentation by McAllister & Neve (2005), Australian Speech Pathology has recently launched a campaign called ‘Real men do Speech Pathology’ but as yet its effectiveness is unknown. There was also a support network called ‘Blokes in Speech Pathology’ but this no longer exists. Perhaps it is time for the RCSLT and ASHA to follow suit and attempt to create a gender neutral workforce?
My aim, along with my research project is to gain some perspectives of male SLT/SLP’s and help to promote this brilliant profession to males making university course choices. In my opinion, it is important to create role-models for our male clients and understand SLT from a male perspective.
If there are any male SLT/SLP’s out there who would like to share their experiences or have ideas about how to involve more males in the profession, I would love to hear from you! I tweet from @LaurenpreSLT and have just set up my own blog which will have further information if you are interested! http://laurenlonghurstslt.blogspot.co.uk/?view=classic 
References:
Greenwood N, Wright J A & Bithell C (2006) Perceptions of Speech and Language Therapy amongst UK school and college students: Implications for Recruitment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 41 (1) p. 83- 94.
Litosseliti L & Leadbeater C (2012) Speech and language therapy/ pathology: perspectives on a gendered profession. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders.
McAllister L & Neve B (2005) Male students and practitioners in speech pathology: an Australian pilot study. In proceedings of the 2005 Speech Pathology Australia National Conference, Canberra, Australia May 2005.

Monday 21 January 2013

Wordle...

I was introduced to Wordle today, so I thought I'd put my blog in and find out just how much I talk about certain things.  Shock of shocks, SLT is the most commonly used word :)

You can view it on the right hand side of my blog and it should update as I continue to blog!



Guest Blog #2!

So the exciting day has arrived.. I have had my second guest blog posted on the world wide web! YAY!

I've taken to questioning everything and anything (My last placement supervisor will be jumping with joy, she thought I lacked in the questioning department!) and so here is my piece questioning how SLTs (or SLPs depending on which country you are in!) effectively stay evidence based focused.

Read, enjoy, share with friends:

http://www.londonspeechtherapy.co.uk/guest-blog-evidence-based-practise/

And a MASSIVE Thank YOU to Chris Wade for letting me loose on his new website :)

Friday 18 January 2013

The Undateables


A recent television programme in the UK has sparked much debate in the disabled community… yep, you’ve guessed it: The Undateables.  It is often taken with mixed reaction with some viewing it as mocking and fuelling the fire of bullying for the disabled community, though many others view it to be a positive outreach of awareness in the community.  How the broadcasters for this program describe it is: “People living with challenging conditions are often considered 'undateable' - this series meets a few and follows their attempts to find love”. 

Whilst this has become a hot debate, I am not here to write about my views of bullying and portrayal of disabilities in the media, though that is one topic I am sure I could more than fill a blog piece on.  No, instead I am here to ask, what is the role of the SLT in all this? 

Recently I had a lecture on TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), here the SLT lecturer said he worked with the client toward whatever goal the client selected, even if it was the task of helping a client to ask another person for a date.  Now so far in my work with adults with learning disabilities I have seen SLTs work on comprehension and understanding right from wrong and how to make choices and express their daily needs.  What this program has got me to question is, if there is a role for supporting a member of the TBI community to date for the SLT, should there not be a role for the SLT to support a member of the LD community in dating?   I wonder how many adult therapists in LD or ASD settings work on this as a shared priority goal?
For those who may not have seen the program, the second series now airing on Channel 4 in the UK has followed 6 people: a man with autism, a man with Tourette’s, a woman with aphasia, a man with Chron’s Disease, a man with a learning disability, and a woman with dwarfism. 

Of these people there were three that struck me as potential cases for an SLT; that of the man with autism, woman with aphasia and the man with a learning disability.  Now, if you think back to the earlier question of whether this program raises awareness, what can be said for the first episode of the series was that in the credits were the words “Thanks to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists”, yet no mention of SLT during the episode.  It got me thinking how much input people with these different abilities get from the SLT services in the UK at current, many of them appeared to be independent in their life and not deemed as needing daily support, though there were many obvious communication challenges along the way. 

Many of my blog posts of lately appear to be ones reaching out to people and questioning.  I am more than curious about how the services for adults with LD work in the UK and how it is that SLTs prioritize in this busy time in the UK where SLT funding is low.  If anyone has any thoughts or experiences I would absolutely love to hear them. 

And consider this, next time you watch the Undateables, consider how much of an impact you could have on someone else’s communication and whether or not as a SLT you are effectively investigating what your clients wishes are for therapy and the goals they have in life. 

 

Youtube: The Undateables Series 2 Episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZD_7xHxZyc

Thursday 10 January 2013

My First Day of Placement... & TACPAC

So yesterday I began my first Adult year SLT Placement - I am currently in a Private setting for Adults with Learning Disabilities and these range from mild to profound.  I've got a lot of experience in the LD setting and so I was very excited to throw myself in at the deep end on this one.  The morning involved a tour around the place, a detailed introduction from my supervisior about her background as an SLT, her reasons for taking students and background into the setting itself.  Then after being introduced to the clients and groups we would be working with over the next 8 weeks we were given a chance to breathe in the form of a lunch break. 
 
After lunch came the really interesting part of the day - TACPAC.  A peer from my course had previously been on placement at this setting and told me I must look up TACPAC, but I can safely say (like most things) you will not understand it till you see it.  So, I should start at the beginning...
 
TACPAC (as it is described on its website) "is a revolutionary activity pack that combines touch and music to promote communication and social interaction, sensory, neurological and emotional development."  Basically, you get given a box of objects, a list of when to use them and music to accompany the objects. 
 

So first we were given a furry piece of fabric, with the instructions to rub it on the clients body, namely the body parts that were skin exposed for best sensory experience.  Next was chopstick, tap and roll these on the client.  Thirdly came the double textured sponge where both textures should be experienced.  Fourth was a paint roller, which was rolled on the clients body.  Fifth, a wet sponge in warm water "squished" on the client, followed by number six, a towel and/or blanket for the drying and relaxing time.  All of these individual items came accompanied with "matching" sensory sounds and should be used in connection with the client to establish a safe area, a comfortable sensory experience and an opportunity to engage with another
 
Initially I thought it had many resembelences to Intensive Interaction, the idea of having a shared space between two individuals where interaction was possible.  However with the added dimension of sensory integration. 
 
Whilst the client I was working with did not seem to respond very well to these items, I was informed that today was a new item introducing day, and that for the past 5 weeks she has had the same items consistently and has built a strong recognition of scheduling, timing, and connection with both the objects and the individuals working with her.  For those with profound disabilites, this seems to be staffs choice of intervention, and can work as a calming end to what may have been a highly stimualted day for some individuals. 
 
Though I may feel slightly dubious about its actual long term effects, I can see that many people are invested in this as a tool to develop sensory, emotional and even communication skills.  I am looking forward to partaking in TACPAC over the next 8 weeks, and would love to hear anyone's views of TACPAC both on my Twitter account or on this Blog Post.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TACPAC (Further description - taken from their website)
 
  • It provides a structured, emotionally safe framework for the 'receiving partner' to make contact with their own bodies, their environment and other people, and develop a relationship with these.
  •  
  • Through linking what becomes familiar music with objects, actions and people in a pattern of different activities, the partners communicate with each other.
  •  
  • It is the building of trust which can help both giver and receiver develop greater confidence in communicating with each other, perhaps meaningfully for the first time. 

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Exciting News...Part 2

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it - I recently Guest Blogged for Smart Talkers.  The Blog is titled "Challenges of a SLT Student" and can be found at:
 
 
My next venture is Guest Blogging for London SLTs new website (Thanks to Mr Chris Wade) and I look forward to posting more about that soon...watch this space!
 
 

Just a quick one...

I'm now officially addicted to Twitter and Blogging - and if these aren't enough to keep me busy, I've now gone and made (by recommendation) a LinkedIn profile!
 
What an ego-boost that was - Realising just how much I had done over the past 2 years and even prior to that! So now I have a profile set up, my next challenge is to overcome having no clue about how to add people ("make connections" they prefer to call it)! & in true blogging style, I decided that the best way for me to reach people, was for them to reach me. So if anyone is interested in looking at or "connecting" with me here is the link to my LinkedIn!
 
 
Blog post coming tomorrow on the topic of Adult LD & Tacpac - Experiences of Placement