“But what will I do without you?”
This was what a patient asked me once. Even though we had been working together every week for months, the patient still wasn’t feeling “ready” for discharge. This was a pivotal moment for me in my clinical practice. The patient's question made me reflect on how much “self-advocacy” had been included in their patient’s treatment plan. It also helped me come up with the idea of therapy outings (but that is a different blog post for a different day lol).
Self-advocacy is defined as “as an assertiveness and willingness to represent one’s own interests when managing a disease or disability"; hence, it is critical to those who have experienced neurological changes.
After discharge from speech therapy, patients need to be well-equipped to handle the challenges they will be faced with. They need to advocate for themselves across different situations, settings, and communication partners.
Question: Without you being right beside them, will your patients know how to advocate for themselves regarding their needs and wants?
Self-advocacy can look different depending on the patient’s specific situation. It could look/sound like:
- requesting modifications or accommodations at work or school
- asking for more handouts, visuals, or demonstrations when learning new info
- requesting more time with communication partners
- having a verbal script to explain challenges
- purchasing/using assistive technology when needed
- asking for repetitions or clarification when listening
Here’s a great quote from an article on SLPs and self advocacy:
“SLPs have insight into the role of the communication partner (anyone who communicates with a client) in supporting and understanding the client's communication challenges or differences. For these reasons, SLPs are particularly well placed to promote and/or support self-advocacy among our clients” (Santhanam & Bellon-Harn, 2022)
So, as we prepare to see patients this week, let’s ask ourselves if we’re including self-advocacy in our patient’s treatment plan? Perhaps my digital product The Neuro SLP GOAL GUIDE can assist you in creating goals involving self-advocacy. The GOAL GUIDE includes :
- (20) Considerations BEFORE and WHILE Writing Therapy Goals
- (15) Goal Structures (*customizable for patient needs)
- Examples of Goal Transformations
- Explanation of Goal Attainment Scaling
- Goal Attainment Scaling Template + Examples
- Journal Article References re: collaborative goal setting, goal attainment scaling, motivational interviewing, specification of AIMS of therapy
You can download your copy of the The Neuro SLP GOAL GUIDE here.
And always, have some amazing therapy sessions!
Dana (The Neuro SLP)
Relevant Research:
Hawley, L., Morey, C., Sevigny, M., Ketchum, J., Simpson, G., Harrison-Felix, C., & Tefertiller, C. (2022). Enhancing Self-Advocacy After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial. The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation, 37(2), 114–124
Santhanam, S. P., & Bellon-Harn, M. L. (2022). Speech-Language Pathologist's Role in Understanding and Promoting Self-Advocacy in Autistic Adults. American journal of speech-language pathology, 31(2), 649–663
Schmidt EK, Faieta J, Tanner K. Scoping Review of Self-Advocacy Education Interventions to Improve Care. OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research. 2020;40(1):50-56
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