School based/Data taking
Hello my name is Makayla,
I am currently an SLP-Assistant as well as working on my masters! I have a whole new look on stuttering as a clinician since I have been in graduate school. In the past, I have worked with students who stutter and the focus has been on strategies and data was so hard to take. As a future SLP, what advice can you give me to make the focus client-driven in therapy and less data-driven?
Thank you so much!
Hi Makayla, it’s interesting to hear that your view on stuttering has changed since starting graduate school. I’m not 100% sure what you mean by ‘data driven’ but I am guessing this means goals set related to reducing percentage stuttered syllables or similar through use of fluency-shaping strategies. Your desire to make therapy client-driven is wonderful. This should absolutely be a key element in therapy! I think you can achieve this by asking the client what they want. Is stuttering having an impact on their day to day life, and if so, how? For example, are there situations where they want to communicate but feel their stutter (or fear of stuttering) is holding them back, or is their stutter just part of how they speak and they feel confident across most speaking situations? There are assessment tools such as the OASES that will allow you to work out what parts of someone’s life is most impacted by their stutter (if any) and approaches such as Solution Focused Brief Therapy will allow you to explore best hopes with the client, this will enable you to work out where they would like change and the best ways to achieve that.
Holding on to your intention to keep things client driven and put the client at the heart of care is the best way to ensure your focus remains client-driven.
I wish you every success in your future career!
Jenny