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, a podcast from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, recently posted an episode featuring Elissa Larkin, research speech-language pathologist, Center for Aphasia Â鶹APP and Treatment.
During the podcast interview, Elissa shared her thoughts about the role of speech-language pathologists in advocating for patients with communication disabilities and empowering fellow clinicians to provide ¡°communication ramps¡± when interacting with patients.
¡°A PT or OT might come to me and say, ¡®How do I make it easier for my patient to understand the information I¡¯m telling him?¡¯ Or, ¡®How do I understand better what he¡¯s trying to tell me?¡¯¡± she said. ¡°We can build on that and lift these things up more broadly. Everyone can use communication ramps ¡ª it¡¯s just a matter of training.¡±
Elissa also discussed Communications Champions, a yearlong interprofessional program she designed to progressively build clinicians¡¯ knowledge of and practical skills when interacting with patients with communication disabilities.
¡°It helps clinicians understand all these different options they have when they¡¯re communicating with their patients and demonstrating what those can look like, and then gives them lots of practice opportunities,¡± she said.