The Brainy Speech Therapist Podcast

We chat with Colin Lyall, founder of the charity Say Aphasia. Check out their website for information and resources at www.sayaphasia.org They are part of the Aphasia Alliance, another excellent resource: www.aphasiaalliance.org

Jan and Helen are back with another journal article discussion. This time, we talk through a study that explored the potential use of medication and intensive therapy in treating Wernicke's aphasia. Do share your thoughts and experiences of this form of aphasia.

Jan and Helen discuss their experiences of managing eating, drinking, and swallowing changes in their brain injury caseload. We also chat about guidance available in managing EDAR- eating and drinking with acknowledged risk.

Jan and Helen discuss a recent article focused on identifying factors significant in predicting aspiration pneumonia. The article by Ball, Meteyard and Powell can be accessed at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00405-023-08153-z (institution login required). We also discuss the relevance of the paper in light of RCSLT's position paper on the use of thickened fluids. Listen to the authors of the position paper discuss it in detail here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5q183zJ8iXMbx3jI9LDVnf

Jan and Helen discuss an article exploring communication partner training for healthcare staff in a subacute setting. Read the full article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02699052.2022.2158224

Jan and Helen discuss the topic of prolonged disorders of consciousness. We talk about how this diagnosis can be made, the role of speech and language therapy, and supporting families. Resources: RCP guidelines https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/guidelines-policy/prolonged-disorders-consciousness-following-sudden-onset-brain-injury-national-clinical-guidelines SLT guidelines https://www.rhn.org.uk/content/uploads/2016/04/SLT-DOC-guidelines-RCSLT-version-Jan-2020.pdf RHN PDoC Toolkit https://www.rhn.org.uk/research/putney-prolonged-disorder-of-consciousness-toolkit/ RHN open lecture on Biozoon https://youtu.be/cVRpzGYCHNc?si=fQcK85hwcu_aZ1mC

In this episode hosted by Jan McIntosh-Brown we hear Guido Corvi talking about his injury and his life beyond this.

Helen speaks to Richard about his reasons for becoming a Speech and Language Therapist, and his work on Project Relate. This is an Android app for individuals with non-standard Speech. More information can be found at https://sites.research.google/relate/ Richard can be found on Twitter @speedoftrust27

In this episode, Jan and Helen discuss sexual capacity after brain injury with Dr McIntosh, a Clinical Neuropsychologist. Please note this episode includes the use of explicit language. If you wish to contact Dr McIntosh, her email is catriona@yorkshireneuropsychology.com, or follow her on Twitter @Catrionamcinto1. Further reading: www.bild.org.uk Access the Sex and Brain Injury conference via www.abisolutions.org.uk Get in touch with us and let us know what you think of this topic via Twitter @BrainySLT or Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists

Helen speaks to Jan and Carly to mark Aphasia Awareness Month. Jan had a stroke which resulted in aphasia, and her daughter Carly now works for The Stroke Association. Follow them on social media: Twitter @carlystroke Instagram a_life_after_stroke and Facebook A Life After Stroke. Check out The Stroke Association site for great information https://www.stroke.org.uk/what-is-aphasia. Watch the documentary When the Words Away Went https://www.stroke.org.uk/when-the-words-away-went

Jan and Helen are joined by Dr Aazh, an audiologist with expertise in hyperacusis, tinnitus, and misophonia. Information about his practice can be accessed at https://hashirtinnitusclinic.com/ If you would like more information about his tinnitus masterclass go to https://tinnitustherapy.org.uk/ Dr Aazh has resources he discusses with us: questionnaires are at https://tinnitustherapy.org.uk/assessment-tools/ with information on the research at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9788912/ Dr Aazh's book, Living Well With Tinnitus can be purchased online https://amzn.eu/d/0ZRcUWP If you have comments about the episode, do contact us via Twitter @BrainySLT or Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists

Mr Douglas Gentleman talks with us about his reflections on his time working with people with brain injuries and changes within the field.

In this episode we speak to Dr Giles Yeates, a Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist. Dr Yeates works with couples and families following brain injury, is a researcher at Oxford Brookes University, and integrates his expertise as a T'ai Chi and kung-fu master to rehabilitation. Resources: UKABIF https://ukabif.org.uk/ AnchorPoint https://ukabif.org.uk/page/AnchorPoint Article on the therapeutic alliance and social cognition: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362696714_ASSOCIATIONS_BETWEEN_THERAPEUTIC_WORKING_ALLIANCE_AND_SOCIAL_COGNITION_IN_NEURO-_REHABILITATION_ASOCIACIONES_ENTRE_LA_ALIANZA_TERAPEUTICA_DE_TRABAJO_Y_LA_COGNICION_SOCIAL_EN_LA_NEURO-_REHABILITACION Conferences mentioned: International brain injury association Dublin. https://www.internationalbrain.org/meetings-and-events/ibia-world-congress Ahead Together Conference https://www.rwkgoodman.com/events/ahead-together-conference-2023/ Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group hybrid conference https://www.mersevents.com/20th-nr-sig-wfnr Different Strokes YouTube channel. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFbV9vPwChQY-u8FlPPC021xfg0dOphkg

Tonight we hear from Duran Hunt, a motivational speaker and survivor of a traumatic brain injury. He speaks about his journey and his desire to help others. He is joined by his speech and language therapist Matthew Nakonesky. If you would be keen to have Duran come and speak at any of your events, please contact Matthew matthew@speechtherapynortheast.co.uk, website: www.speechtherapynortheast.co.uk And here is the link to the video we discussed https://youtu.be/328J0E8vq9g

In the final episode of season 2, Jan and Helen speak to Dr Sara de Ramos about Rehab Mantras, a concept recently introduced across The Disabilities Trust. Sara mentions the Research Digest that the Trust produces, to read more head to https://www.thedtgroup.org/research/research-digest?page=1

We speak to Dr Lesley Scobbie about her work on goal setting in therapy. To read more about Lesley's work and get in touch with her, head to her research profile at https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/persons/lesley-scobbie The specific paper mentioned on making goal setting accessible for people with aphasia can be accessed here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2022.2085331 As always, connect with Helen and Jan via Twitter @BrainySLT or Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists.

Professor Jenny Kitzinger is the Co-Director of the Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre, and Director of Research: Impact and Engagement at Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Culture. In conversation with Helen, she discusses the role of SLT in disorders of consciousness, media representation of brain injury, and the importance of having a conversation with loved ones about our wishes in the event we can't advocate for ourselves. Jenny can be found on Twitter @JennyKitzinger, and the training site we mention is at https://cdoctraining.org.uk. Further reading mentioned: Guidelines for SLT working with adults in a Disorder of Consciousness : https://www.rhn.org.uk/content/uploads/2016/04/SLT-DOC-guidelines-RCSLT-version-Jan-2020.pdf and the RCP Guidelines: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/guidelines-policy/prolonged-disorders-consciousness-following-sudden-onset-brain-injury-national-clinical-guidelines Also look at the Healthtalk site section on family experiences of vegetative and minimally conscious states: https://healthtalk.org/family-experiences-vegetative-and-minimally-conscious-states/overview

Jan and Helen discuss the wide range of assessments they use with their caseloads. Here's where to access many mentioned: Brisbane evidence-based language https://brisbanetest.org/ Quick Aphasia Battery https://aphasialab.org/qab/ Aphasia Impact Questionnaire https://www.aiq-21.net/ TASIT-UK https://www.assbi.com.au/Sys/Store/Products/39998 Cognitive-Communication Checklist for Acquired Brain Injury https://brainandcommunication.ca/cccabi/

June 2022 is Aphasia Awareness Month, so Jan and Helen took this as a cue to chat about aphasia, how speech and language therapists identify areas of difficulty, ways to support a person with aphasia, and a couple of key intervention strategies. There's lots of further resources to access: Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland https://www.chss.org.uk The Stroke Association https://www.stroke.org.uk Better Conversations with Aphasia https://extendstore.ucl.ac.uk/product?catalog=UCLXBCA Aphasia Access https://www.aphasiaaccess.org https://tactustherapy.com/mor-multiple-oral-rereading-how-to/ https://honeycombspeechtherapy.com/script-training/ Communication access UK https://communication-access.co.uk/ Some interesting training opportunities too: UCL Aphasia Symp May 2022 https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/events/2022/may/cnr-aphasia-symposiumqueen-square Webinar: The Neurobiology of Language Recovery in Stroke-Aphasia, https://asha.figshare.com/articles/presentation/2018_ASHA_Research_Symposium_Cynthia_K_Thompson_Recovery_of_Sentence_Processing_in_Aphasia/10257587?file=18535703 Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program: training days Oct 2022 Applying ICAP approach to your Clinical Practice ICAPcourse@gmail.com

Dr Nicholas Behn from City, University of London joins Jan and Helen for a conversation about cognitive communication and project based interventions. We cover lots of ideas in this episode, if you'd like to learn more about running projects, Nick is starting an online course in June: https://www.city.ac.uk/prospective-students/courses/city-health/social-communication-after-brain-injury Examples of project work carried out previously can be seen on YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCL_KmMcSwrsl_HdwTddc0pA