The rest of the media story

You've seen in the previous post, that there are contemporary examples of persons with problems communicating, thinking or swallowing, portrayed in today's media and stirred into today's popular culture. With the current emphasis upon a "brand" and a "social media platform" being essential for the professional, one has to ask the questions, "Why aren't SLP'S featured more often in media and culture? How could  an SLP be a major character, or even THE main character in a play, film, novel or TV series?".

Then of course, I hear the blowback - as if it weren't all in my own mind: "Why would I want to be the star? Let me do my job and treat my students and patients, finish my documentation and go home". Real life tells us that our typical days are often not that heroic, and - we're not that sexy, not that charismatic, not that influential. Can an SLP be the hero?

Back in March 2016, this blog asked and answered the question "Who Exactly Are We?". It so happens that multiple sources affirm, an SLP is smart, industrious, courageous; that s/he takes the long view as well as the short; and that s/he listens and tends well the heart as well as the mind. Even though SLP's may influence most persons we encounter in the private, 1 to 1 world of the conversation, - the clinical encounter can often yield big, heroic outcomes! A person's striving to come fully into human existence, with communication, thinking and swallowing skills they need, is a journey that is often paved with tears, trauma, anxiety, sacrifice, ingenuity, humor and dogged, deliberate eyes-on-the-prize determination.

If you were to dramatize the clinical encounter, or any other events that surround a day in the life of the clincal encounter - would it be good TV? Good theatre or film drama?  It would be character driven, helping you know the principals involved as real, even flawed individuals who nonetheless are bound by a goal. Look at Henriette, Bauby's SLP in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". Look at Logue, King George's therapist and friend in "The King's Speech". They embody their mission - Logue is even fuller a character than Roi, as we get to know him more than just a professional. Building a story about the SLP, and how s/he can do things pivotal for helping people live fully, will not be fiction or fantasy or fluff.

One of my favorite canvas bags, out of all the canvas tote bags I have accumulated from meetings, etc., asks of the reader "I help people communicate. What's YOUR super power?".