Horticulture to go - a case of it

I call the speech-language treatment activity "horticulture to go", because it essentially does not let the person you serve - if you serve a facility where people are housed, for medical, nursing and/or rehabilitative care - off the hook. They don't want to come to you, then you can go to them. Start seedlings, cultivate, water, transplant, harvest. That easy. Of course, "to go" means your STUFF has to be portable. In my most recent trial of HTG, I used a shoebox with an attached lid as the garden hardscape. For the actual garden beds I selected

This is the best time of year, as Chia Pet products are heavily marketed for the holiday season.
Two of the herb garden kits supplied SIX terra cotta pots, which filled up the majority of the shoebox space. If you are doing this with a child or adult, fill the empty space with crumpled single pages of newspaper, wedges of styrofoam or any other pliable material that will help stabilize the pots in transit. The rest is so easy!

Though ample instructions for seed starting are in the kit, my direction set reads similar to this:

" I need your help. I want to start growing some herbs, but it goes faster with two persons working. Can you help, please? Good! Here's what we need to do."

After the pots are unwrapped, and wiped clean of any plastic debris: "this is where the seeds will sprout. Now we need dirt."

The soil is initially a dry disc, but when you "add water....", it dramatically swells to take the shape of the container. After the seed packet is opened, I pour out the contents into a clear plastic medicine cup.

Each seed variety is examined, to discriminate it from another, then the person is told " Please pour the seeds into THIS (pointing) pot". Once all the seeds are placed in all the pots, a light cultivation can be done with a TOOTHPICK, or the point of a PEN or PENCIL not being used, or the handle edge of a plastic TEASPOON - any low tech tool will do, to evenly distribute the seeds about the surface of the soil.

You can use that same medicine cup to "pour the water over the seeds in each pot". Six filled cups; one per each seedling pot. SO NOW, the seeds have their SOIL, their WATER - they need, next, their LIGHT and their AIR to sprout and grow. Providing air is easy; when you are not transporting the box about, the lid can be folded open to allow even airflow. But, light?

Though there will be ample sun during the fall and winter months ahead, a light source with sufficient HEAT (like the gooseneck lamp I have) comes in handy to accelerate the germination (POP!) process. What happens as a result of all this?

My most recent foray into HTG, has a woman in her mid 80's who is normally recalcitrant about therapy - smiling and saying she wants to keep at least SOME of the plants she helped start. Who knew?
HTG. Try it and see!

My thanks in this blog post, to Joseph Enterprises for all their creative and marketing legerdemain in putting the "Chia Pet" empire together. You can get information on their products, including the herb garden pictured above, by going to their website at http://www.chia.com.

The transitions

I forgave ASHA for depriving male attendees of hygenic resources, during this year's Denver Convention. 4% of the membership deserve 50% of the stalls? FIE! Let the men all desiccate into dust and be blasted home on howling winter gales! Sorry, dehydration mania.

It's the last day of convention, and I feel myself tugged - looking in two directions at once. Like Faulkner said, the past may not even be past; but  - and the original statement is copyrighted so, be kind Apple - you had better have one of those teeny tiny programs that do fun STUFF, for that -

I have attended ASHA conventions off and on from 1974, when it was in Las Vegas and I was an undergraduate in search of a career. Since that convention, the Association has never returned to Vegas. Giantesses and giants alike in the professions have blazed numerous trails of discovery with rigorous method and proven results, so that the people we serve can blaze their own trails as powerful, interactive individuals. Conventions have served to not only celebrate accomplishments, but also to charge us to search for more.

And, would you fill up my water bottle while you're at it - yeah, at that fountain right there - thanks!

What are we becoming as two professions; audiology and speech-language pathology?  It's the height of magical thinking, to assume that today's professionals can just bypass all the technological, regulatory, business model, legalistic, political warfare, cultural Hatfield v McCoy types of changes; all those and more, whirling us around every day like ingredients for a
Venti Iced Skinny Hazelnut Macchiato, Sugar-Free Syrup, Extra Shot, Light Ice, No Whip - ??

We have to live in the world where our consumers live; where they communicate, move, think and swallow . But do we have to be swept along by it til pureed? We are charged to help the persons we serve, find the tools they need to maneuver the world in which they live. The convention sessions on wellness, mindfulness, stress is your friend, etc.; - all are part of our professional lexicon, none too soon.

The more stable and resourceful we are in all our life settings, the better we are at serving as shelters from the storm. Thank you, Mr. Dylan. An example of our need for both resources and resilience?

Greenslade, Hutchins and Prelock, session 1607: 4 out of 4 hammers; -
I will never cease to amaze myself. First, an audiology session and now - well, I have not had a child consumer on my caseload for three years. But there are great scientists-clinicians out there, not just building the corporate theories of mind, but also empowering families and communities for persons with ASD, and standing alongside their persons served, to enjoy life. Those in the meeting room who saw the 17 year old, on video, express empathy for his mother who (not really) whacked her finger with a hammer - if you were not one of the group that let out an "Awwwwwww!", you immediately wished you had acted on what you had felt inside.

The union of science and human contact: this has been, is and should always be the core of our professions.

Back to the poster sessions, as I prepared to rush to the airport. A poster at which I had paused, appeared to me to bring this issue to focus. A doctoral candidate from a southern US university presented  her research, on assessing attentional impairment after brain injury. Her data was impressive, but her excitement at reporting what the data revealed - it made you glad you were masochistic enough to finish advanced study in this field.

Lucky me. I ended convention on a high note. Back to work now; we'll take this up again in Philadelphia next November.

Drink plenty of water, but this is not your bathroom!!

It all started when I flew into Denver this past Tuesday, and immediately began to suffer the effects of altitude sickness. According to a Los Angeles Times article on Lady Gaga, being hit with altitude sickness on a 2014 Denver concert swing, altitude sickness has symptoms that include headache; anorexia, nausea or vomiting; fatigue or weakness; dizziness or lightheadedness; and difficulty sleeping.

The Denver.org website (to which ASHA conventioneers were directed) reminds us that the best symptom relief for altitude sickness is HYDRATION - drinking, in fact, up to twice your normal intake when at home.

The second day of the ASHA Convention ensues, and I am reminded again that, with my newly hydrated status, I will have to walk up to twice as far to find a men's bathroom at the Convention Center. Many men's bathrooms have been converted to women's bathrooms for the duration. Hmmm I have dressed in drag a few times, but not now - the sessions are starting!

Kudos to the Colorado Convention Center (CCC), and to the ASHA Convention co-chairs, for generally comfortable facilities and amenities. I am guessing that, having no water dispensers in meeting rooms, and signs that encourage careful use of water in bathrooms, reflects the realities of western drought. You gotta buy that water, baby! Right over there - go stand in that line and they'll sell you all the water you want!

Whew, just in time. Scribbling furiously -

*Aaron Ziegler, Aaron Pham and Joshua Schindler, session 1342: 3.5 of 4 C major triads; a model of the seamless joint work of MD, Pharm.D. and Ph.D., CCC-SLP in a university voice clinic was well portrayed. There were sufficient references to help participants,  who need to research the ingredients patients choose to self-realization their voices. A case study may have helped illustrate the role of the Pharm.D. in treating the clinic patient.

*James Coyle, Steven Leder and Gary McCullough, session 1385: 4 out of 4 Toothettes, for the fireworks alone! I am sooo indebted to Dr. Leder, as he has not let die the fine old art of debating convention papers in real time. It's rare now in sessions, to see the University sensei wage combat over a reference, or fillet a statistic until there's no there, there. Is the CSE a "common sense examination"? Gimme that 3 ounces of water, and let's move on.

*Sarah Blackstone and colleagues, session 1396:4 of 4 switch ports; the AAC community are very well prepared for the new world of patient-provider communication. As the panelists had been collaborating to get out the recent Plural book of the same name, each facet of the concept connected well to the others. Cultures to be changed, yes.

*Anna Meehan and colleagues, session 1470: 3.5 out of 4 saccules; I was an SLP in an "audiology session", but they did not smell my fear. I wanted more background on pathophysiology, and a better picture of  the thinking behind differential diagnosis for military MTBI.

The first author had apologized for not having video that explained the mechanisms of injury. Another video to illustrate the diagnostic clinic process, with emphasis  on showing the MTBI patient's presentation, would also have helped. Will hyperbaric oxygen treatment help these veterans?

Boy, I'm thirsty after that but - NOT YET.

*Paul Rao, session 1498: 3 out of 4 policy manuals; cultural competence as a lecture topic at 5 PM is very challenging, but Dr, Rao's witty connection with the audience made the experience work. Large blocks of text that are read from a slide, does not easily engage the audience in an important objective for our professions. Reaching back to refer to the Blackstone et al. panel, and the informal exchange with the 15+ person audience, pulled you in to commit to greater competency back home.

Whew, what a day! And in memory of the innocents massacred in Paris on Friday, we'll segue into the evening (awards ceremony, open houses) with Greg Brown's "Laughing River". Since the copyright police are as thick as the HIPAA police, please "youtube" it.

See you tomorrow for final sessions and a scramble home.

A patient's wishes should really matter, or - we're glad we're not old.

This was the first day of ASHA's 2015 national convention, held in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center. Yesterday's snow became today's chill, and the assembled professionals came out of the 8:00 keynote session loaded for gaining knowledge. I began my day by attending a swallowing track that was attended at capacity. What I carried away from my sessions, totally unique from the body of sessions others at this Convention are attending - included:

* You should be glad you are not "old" - subtle jabs at the older faculty, to those of us who have been in the field for awhile, and by extension, to those older persons we serve, that - it stinks to be us!

* "There are squamous, columnar/esophagus tissue/Schatzki, hiatus//sarcopenia - ewwww!/When dysfunction strikes/let's recall what the patient liiikeeessss.../Eating is complicated/...."

* James Coyle, session 1040: 3 1/2 out of 4 hyoids rating; his delivery was rather rapid but - a lot to say! Great foundational lecture for the next one -

* Joseph Murray and Paula Sullivan, session 1085: a 4 papillae performance. We do this job to improve people's lives, after all, and this session squeezed in some tips to help the frail elderly sustain quality of life.

* The quality of poster sessions so far; their breadth of topic and clarity of argument: a rating of 3 out of 4 hair cells. Three posters on hippotherapy alone!

* Kimberly McCullough, on cognitive wellness, session 1171: she was so preaching to the choir that I had to be content with fingerspelling AMEN!

She did such a good job of dovetailing her work, and that of her co-author Kathryn Bayles, with the keynote address of Kelly McGonigal - that I WILL buy McGonigal's book, THE UPSIDE OF STRESS.

McCullough gets 3.5 out of 4 glial cells, however, for keeping the actual clinical science of cognitive wellness fairly romantic. One of my few claims to fame in the field came, when I made David Yoder blanch at an ISAAC conference, by linking AAC with 'romantic science'.

 I offered her some help in applying the paradigm shift to clinical practice - think of a demonstration garden on the Appalachian State campus. It provides opportunities for stress reduction in an environment offering mindfulness. It provides the participants material for practicing prevention of cognitive - communicative and swallowing impairments. (I am shameless, but that is one thing convention is about).

DAY 2 of convention beckons. Won't you come along?

when it is fall here....

This blog originates from zone 6b, designated as such on the United States Department of Agriculture hardiness zone map. First devised in 1960 to explain the effects of variations in climate across the country for growing plants, the USDA map describes the hardiness of plants for zones  1 through 13, from Alaska to Puerto Rico.

Defining hardiness as a function of average temperature ranges, hardiness zones help a farmer/gardener select plants that will thrive in their region. The speech-language pathology community that is involved in gardening, as part of its clinical mission, knows that peers who share about gardening may sometimes compare apples and oranges, but - how do they find a fresh apple or orange in October? Let's look briefly around the nation to see what a gardener can do during this month.

*Duluth, Minnesota - In the north central lake country, Duluth is a landmark for those traveling the Mississippi.       

                                                                                                                                                                    It lies within hardiness zone 3. Most of the Duluth area's 31 Farmer's Markets are closing for the season. Apples come from the market area of St. Louis, Carlton and Lake counties. St. Louis County, of which Duluth is the county seat, has its extension office in the courthouse building. Three miles away is the Pierce Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, at the University of Minnesota - Duluth.  

The home gardens in the Duluth area are still harvesting: beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, celery, cucumber, garlic, kale, leek, lettuce, melon, okra, onion, peas, peppers, potato, pumpkin, radish, spinach, squash, chard, tomato, and watermelon.The price of an apple ranges from 77 cents per pound of Braeburns, to 1.99 for a pound of Gaia or Fuji.

*Hayward, California - the East Bay area keeps average temperatures significantly higher than Duluth, as Hayward is within hardiness zone 10.

October in the East Bay brings not only harvest of the plants available from the Duluth area, but also plantings of beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, leeks, and parsnips. California State University, East Bay, has its Norma S. and Ray R. Rees Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic, within the Music Building on campus.

14 miles away is the local office of University of California Cooperative Extension, in Alameda. A trip of 2.5 miles from the University brings you to the Hayward Farmers Market. It is open year round.

Granny Smith apples are 99 cents per pound, honey crisp are 1.48.

*Barrow, Alaska - In zone 2b, Barrow seems on the surface the type of locale farthest removed from areas of the country that garden. To be exact, the distance from Barrow to Hayward CA is 2632 miles;  from Barrow to Duluth, 2693 miles.

But, recently emerging on the North Slope of Alaska at Ilisagvik College, is one site for "arctic gardening", where outdoor barriers such as cold frames can insulate seedlings and transplants against the cold.

Ilisagvik College does not have a speech, language and hearing clinic. The Old Farmer's Almanac, source for the planting information in this post, says that crops that are easiest grown in the Barrow area are lettuce, radish, spinach and chard. Farmers Markets in Barrow? No, not yet, but the college may find itself its parent.

A pound of honeycrisp apples in local markets goes for 3.97.

*Columbus, Ohio - USDA hardiness zone 7 surrounds the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Its speech, language and hearing clinic is housed within Pressey Hall on campus. Beekman Park surrounds the clinic on its north face. 0.6 miles away is the OSU Extension office, within the Ag Administration Building.

Up to 12 Farmers' Markets can be found around the city, with closing dates through early December. OSU also has a Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, where new horticulturists are born. In October, the harvest in Columbus includes beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, kale, leek, lettuce, melon, okra, onion, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, spinach, squash, sweet potato, chard, tomato and watermelon. And, at apple harvest time? Macintosh apples are at 88 cents per pound.

There are many similarities in garden seasons and commodity prices, across the USDA hardiness zones. Careful breeding of plant varieties and the well-run national marketing of produce product helps keep food prices low, and fruit/vegetable varieties easy to grow across the zones. Speech-language pathologists who include gardening in their clinical armamentaria, will have lots of opportunities to share their clinical findings with peers across the country.

The differences among zones are as intriguing as their similarities, for the variety of clinical outcomes one might achieve with a clinical gardening program. They have yet to be explored, to determine their full efficacy.What will future SLP clinicians accomplish toward this end? The future is ripe for picking.