Over the course of Clinical Procedures in Speech-Language Pathology, Dr. Perrotti provided a wealth of information on the different clinical skills that I will soon be applying to my own practice. This class has taught me the importance of not only understanding how and what methods to apply, but why I’m choosing to apply it– and being able to explain it to a parent or caregiver.

My major takeaways from this class are included below, grouped according to the content unit they fall under.

Autism Spectrum Disorder:

• Therapy can be highly unpredictable, so you need to be prepared for all the possible behavior responses and outcomes.
• It is essential to prepare and plan for the specific client at hand, because the “one-size-fits-all” approach has no place in the practice of speech-language pathology.o
• It’s important to build a strong therapeutic alliance with your client and their caregiver, and have the ability to read the learning needs of your client. Scaffolding, cueing, and support needs are going to vary from client to client, especially among clients who represent the neurodiverse population.
• It’s essential to be an empathetic facilitator and provide the individual that we are working with in a particular session with the tools that they uniquely need to work to achieve their best level of communication.
• The success of future sessions is built upon the foundational therapeutic alliance that you create with your client. If our clients don’t trust or feel comfortable with us, any barriers to communication that are already in existence will only be heightened.
• We need to actively work to create a therapy environment that meets the sensory overload needs of individuals with autism.

Voice:

• Voice therapy isn’t a linear process, so it’s very important to build good rapport and comfortability with clients who are part of the transgender community, and to be prepared for emotional and raw conversations.
• As an SLP you need to be prepared to explain that therapy won’t always be strides in the forward direction, some sessions will feel like steps back.
• Place a heavy emphasis on not just being your client’s clinician, but a fellow human who is trying to help and serve them.
• Sometimes the best thing that you can do for a client is to validate their emotions and provide a listening ear, as the journey to stepping into their true authentic selves may not always be easy.

Childhood Language:

• Being in-tune with your younger clients’ attention spans is a necessity. It’s essential to have creative outlets planned to optimize productivity and progress during sessions.
• Movement breaks can be highly beneficial for regaining the client’s focus and attention. Goal work can also be worked into movement breaks.
• Goal work doesn’t always have to be discretely black and white; naturalistic conversations and interaction between the client and clinician can be equally as productive.
• It’s essential to give our clients time to answer our questions, and to keep in mind that their processing speeds may not be the same as ours. Let them have a chance to demonstrate their thought processes and higher-level thinking strategies.

Specific Skills:

• Writing clinically proficient SOAP notes
• SMART goal writing
• Assessing for professionalism and cultural sensitivity in clinician/client interaction
• Fine-tuned my ability to view therapy sessions through a “therapeutic lens”