Written by: Megan Smith / Treatment / May 19, 2021 / 10 minutes read

Roughly once per quarter, you will find that Well Said closes down for the entire day, with no clinical appointments available. These dates in 2021 are as follows:

• April 27th

• June 22nd 

• September 21st 

• December 14th 

On these dates, the entire team meets to complete a day full of professional development and learning! We each are tasked with bringing in a presentation of at least an hour in duration to help instruct the group at large. These can be about research, interesting case studies that we have seen (with permission), new administrative procedures, or treatment methods, to help improve our team’s standards of clinical care.

Here is an overview of what we learned this spring:

AC provided us with a recorded presentation from his side hustle: a continuing education platform with a focus on cultural humility in speech-language pathology services. This presentation covered many of the basics of working with transgender clients, from background information about some common negative experiences trans clients often experience with healthcare professionals to strategies to make our clinic safe and comfortable.

AC also offered a lengthy question and answer period to cover specific questions, comments, and concerns from the entire team. We learned a lot from him!

Melissa had noted that she had received several questions from team members on the treatment of social skills, and a similar number on the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). As a result, she created a presentation that examined several models of TBI treatment, and highlighted the many similarities between the methods used to treat social skills and the methods used to treat the deficits associated with TBI.

Many of our team members reported feeling much more prepared to tackle each of these concerns after hearing her talk!

Anna presented some emerging research on the human voice, and how voicing and mask use interact. This research was particularly useful in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increased need for many of our clients to work and socialize while wearing masks. 

This presentation included strategizing on ways to overcome the muffling effect that mask-wearing has on speech, and we even managed to work in some mask “show and tell” while talking about the pros and cons of “windowed” masks (those with a clear plastic pane that theoretically should improve speech intelligibility by allowing us to lipread).

Laura presented, with consent, a case study of a client that she had seen. In the interest of maintaining confidentiality, the specifics of this case will not be discussed. However, it inspired lots of discussion about the overlap of treatment strategies between fluency and voice therapies, and in the end, a lengthy discussion on how to find Laura a way to get this case study in front of more therapists – potentially by presenting at a conference, or publishing the case study in a journal. When you read about the “Janzen Method” sometime in the future, know that we saw it here first!

Laura’s presentation included a “before” and “after some therapy” language sample, that inspired reaction of shock and awe from the team!

Finally, clinician Megan Smith presented a primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for stuttering. She outlined the basics of this treatment methodology, covered the basic methods used, and led two of our clinicians who were not accustomed to using this type of therapy through some of the exercises that they might use with clients, to practice assessing and treating in this framework. This presentation included anonymized sample texts and exercises from past clients to show how progress might look over time. 

The team also had a chance to ask some questions about how this framework might be applied in different contexts, and to practice scanning for the major themes of ACT in the ways in which clients might talk about their stuttering.

As you can see, while we may not have had the chance to work with any clients on this date, we certainly used this time productively! Many of our team members reported feeling excited to try out the new methods that we discussed with current or future clients.

If you are struggling with a topic that was covered by one of our clinicians in their presentation, consider choosing to work with them on your speech therapy journey. To book an appointment at the clinic, you can call us at 697-795-5277 or book your initial consultation using the link below. If you are a speech-language pathologist, keep an eye on our website, as we may begin to publish our PD Day presentations for others in the field to avail of.