A relative of a person I recently served -I was thinking about it in retrospect - shocked me initially after I had completed that person's evaluation. I was boring, the relative passed along to me. Bang! Pow! - and that ultimate of Marvel Comics sound effects that rocked me - TTHOKK! - now, THAT is a criticism of my work that rocks me to my core. My audition had been a seeming failure, and I was on the cusp of being cast aside for a more 'entertaining' clinician. Horrors!
Losing business is no joke. Even with the supposed national shortage of CSD (communication sciences and disorders) professionals, there is always some colleague in your area, glad to welcome a disgruntled customer into their fold - for as long as it takes. I've got to sharpen up my customer service saw, I thought - the neon words "sharpen it! Sharpen it! SHARPEN IT!" flashing hot, like an epileptic engram in my brain. "HOW COULD YOU MAKE A MISTAKE LIKE THAT??"
Boring, maybe - I could rightly be accused of being in my head at times; whether checking a source from my memory banks after seeing a certain customer behavior, or just pacing the session activities, without revealing to the customer my reactions to what had happened - not giving a clue, not seemingly engaged. But there was a method behind it all....
Reviewing this customer's history, I found that he had suffered numerous episodes of agitation when interacting with all persons, familiar or otherwise. The customer had cursed, kicked, bitten, urinated on, screamed at, threatened, run from and punched at friends, family and helpers alike, when he was engaged. Definitely worth keeping my own interaction style cool. In my rehab hospital days, I had called myself "The Quaalude Kid", impervious to threats, shocks or injuries, to interact with an irritable customer. They deserve quality service, too!
The customer's family and I moved on from that temporary disagreement. Learning the threshold of the customer for sustaining attention - it was critical for planning the range of interventions I'd have available, identifying the reinforcers that worked, and gauging when goals would be met.
Back to work.
