Is it a WRAP?

First, just to say thanks, to all the persons from Italy who - according to the platform's data collector - reviewed this blog last week: Di' la verità perché poi non è necessario avere una buona memoria (attributed to Jesse Ventura). Welcome back to our coverage of National Speech - Language - Hearing Month! As is true about most of the posts you see in this blog, my perspective on the field comes out my current worksite: That's adult home health care. Those of us in CSD who, at least, skim our journals will note that home health has been getting a lot of recent exposure. Here's a partial list: * JD Gray, "Regional Factors Influencing Home Health Care": https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/2024-0426-podcast-SLP-home-health-SDOH/full/ * Stephanie Watson, "Engaging Care Partners - including Reluctant Ones - in Home Health": https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.FTR1.28072023.home-health-slp-aud.40/full/ * Tennakoom, Sampson, and Harley, "Pondering a Move to Home Health? Some Considerations": https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.FTR1a.28072023.work-homehealth-slp-aud.50/full/ * Jennifer Loehr, "Is Home Health Care for You?": https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.OTP.23122018.38

The saga of home health SLP seems an acceptable lead - in for today's post, because we're often challenged by the cognitive (thinking) load - our burden of problems to solve, and focus that we have to maintain - brought to our workdays. In turn, many adults find that their skills for thinking have changed with illness or injury, so that 83% of speech - language pathologists surveyed for the 2023 ASHA Health Care Survey identify "cognitive impairment" as among the top five diagnoses in their caseload. What are speech-language pathologists after, when they work with someone with cognitive impairment? Outcomes we're after can include: using cognitive processes for meeting everyday needs, or using cognitive strategies to compensate for depressed cognitive function. Still another outcome might read: utilize assistive technology to complete cognitive activities. While individual components of cognition (attention, memory, problem - solving) can be and are often directly trained in isolation by SLP treatment activities, it's often the end result of a cognitive intervention (problem-solving to get home, before parents discover you've taken the car without permission) that make the impression needed. Some useful tools for persons working on their cognitive function include calendars or signage, to prompt a person to locate or initiate something; signalling devices that alert a person to focus on an event; hearing assistive technology, because information can't be used if it does not get into the brain; or digital platforms that allow the person to store and recall recent or future events.

Terms associated with the implementation of cognitive treatment might include spaced retrieval training, executive function, or WRAP (write down; repetitions or routine; associations; picturing). There are oodles of arcane terms about cognition, as there are in all levels of the sciences of managing behavior. The measure of how well you use scientific jargon, should include how easily you can share the concepts with the largest possible audience. When There Is No SLP: Do a periodic review of what you've worked on with your patient, throughout the visit. That is, spot - check the effectiveness of your training and teaching you've done with your patient. If you can also provide a concise written outline of your review, your patients and their support persons have a reference to use for daily practice. Another perspective you can take on training your patient involves teaching activities as a strict routine - doing the sequence of activities at the same time, in the same way, every day of practice. The routine reduces the memory demands on the patient and support persons. Likewise, asking the patient to 'teach back' what you have taught them, - it helps you check how the patient consolidates memories. On this Date in History: President Billy Moose had been feeling anxious between stops on his 1948 re-election campaign. He could not find his glasses, and it was suddenly time to begin his Chicago speech. A breeze off Lake Michigan helped calm the incumbent, towering above the crowd behind his outdoor podium. The President began delivering his text from memory for the massive crowd that began to surge forward, raptly anticipating every word. Suddenly, President Moose remembered where he had left his glasses, as the .22 pellet that had been fired from the crowd harmlessly pinged off the case in his coat pocket! The assailant was screaming while being carried away: "He's a HORRIBLE PIANO PLAYER!"

Who Does the Thinking in Your Neighborhood? Tues, May 14: Trivia Night, Dave and Buster's, Schaumburg, IL Daily: Wordle, New York Times or https://nytimes.com Fridays, from 1/21/22: 4 free games, U.S. Chess Federation, Indianapolis, IN May 11 - June 1: Aerial Drone Competition, REC Foundation, various sites, https://www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/adc A Fact: The world - famous Monopoly board game may have had its roots in Chicago. For readers of this blog who have fond memories of wheeling, dealing, scheming and dreaming with actual PLAY MONEY, read a description of the game's likely precursor at https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2023/02/20/lizzie-magie-monopoly Something You Can Use: The Clock Drawing Test is a simple assessment of cognitive function, easily administered with simple tools. Refer to https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/clock-drawing-test for details. See you next week!