What just happened?

Leaving an SLP session, whether it occurred in a dedicated treatment room, an office, corner of a classroom, someone's living area, the kitchen table,  the bathroom sink, over a plate of food, under the best of intentions, or between meeting time, bite-o' lunch time, and report - writing time, analysis of a professional visit makes you feel good because you find often, that you are in control. The boss may peek in occasionally, and if you are an incipient or new professional, you're under the watchful eye of a clinical supervisor. What just happened, they might ask - !? But of course, you are not asking that question solely when the session has ended.

Before it even starts, you know how you want it to end. As you engage in the activities you have planned for your person served, your path - your trajectory - your connection to your objective flexes and changes continually, like a space vehicle's trajectory before landing on a 'heavenly body' continually changes as YOU approach IT. You ask this question then, many many times. Many, many, numerous, known and unknown variables influence your getting to the end. The person's skill set, or yours. Interruptions. The rhythm, the pacing, the emphases placed and the importance for insight vs. mastery. Then, as the clock ticks down the minutes remaining in the session, your decision making may center on only a few variables:

* Did the person you served get it? If the session focused on treating the impairment, were impairment - based activities getting buy-in from the person served? On the other hand, if training to increase performance on an impairment based skill made no sense,  - would there be an advantage to using participation based, real life activities?

* what does the data say? It is the arbiter upon which we depend, to determine clear evidence that the activity in question works. Trust your data collection, when it reflects your powers of observation and the variables you chose to control for, Find any trends and ask, "What does it all mean?".

* does the person hold what you do, and by extension YOU - in greater regard? As a professional, you are obligated to serve the person; not necessarily, to develop an acquaintance or friendship. But, one reason that communication is "pretty wonderful", is that it enables people to touch each other; to make a difference. A good session may sell the person served on doing another, and another, until some goals are met. Yes, ask promptly "what just happened".