To be honest, I find that collaborate more naturally with Occupational Therapists than Physical Therapists. This is not because I prefer or value one discipline over another in any way, but because OT goals seem to overlap more with ST goals than PT goals overlap. Still, I do find myself consulting and working with our PT team daily in order to ...

As I began my search for helpful information regarding cerebral palsy and how it affects feeding and oral motor function, much of what I found included various cases that have been conducted on this very topic. Oral motor therapy has become quite controversial in our field of speech therapy over the past 10-15 years; therefore some of the ...

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a prevalent diagnosis in patients admitted to nursing homes. The Global Initiative for COPD, or GOLD, defines COPD as a disease that: is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible; is usually progressive; and is associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the ...

One of the more difficult experiences a family faces is choosing to place a loved one in a Skilled Nursing Facility for long-term care. SLPs in long-term care meet families almost daily who are experiencing worry, fear, guilt, anxiety, and possibly even anger - at themselves, at loved ones, and at other causes of the need to seek long-term ...

I have loved reading about SLPs' experiences with the iPad over the last year, and am enjoying the ADVANCE AAC and App review blogs. I am still a newbie when it comes to the iPad, and am looking forward to an iPad workshop and having one to use at school in the fall. Over the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to meet 2 very different ...

Short-term goals are our steps toward long-term goals and should be seen as milestones that we can use to help the patient to reach along the way to attaining a functional outcome. Therapists identify skills to target as short-term goals that can be learned in a specific time frame of three weeks or so, and these  should be updated as ...

A good patient history, family interview, chart review and both subjective and objective measures are the foundation of writing goals. Realistically, not all of these components are going to be present for every patient. Some patients are unable to give a personal history due to cognitive or communication impairments. Family members might not be ...

Dysphagia therapy encompasses many treatment options and approaches. There is always considerable debate about the efficacy of one treatment approach or another. This week, as I continue on with my advice for new clinicians in the SNF, I'd like to focus on swallowing therapy. Firstly, let me remind everyone that the resources and equipment ...

I'm still focusing on therapy materials that new clinicians in the SNF or geriatric setting might want to collect. One of the most versatile therapy tools you can use are everyday objects, which work for naming, following directions, describing, attention, memory, orientation, speech intelligibility and auditory comprehension. So many skills can ...

Autism Awareness Month began on Sunday, April 1. My son Doug's birthday is April 1. The fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day was April 2. World Autism Awareness Day ''aims to increase people's awareness about people, especially children, with autism. The day often features educational events for teachers, health care workers and parents, as ...