Our Collaborative Speech Pathology Intervention
Intervention begins after it has been recommended by the speech pathologist according to the results of the assessment of the client.
Step 1: Individualised Therapy Plan
Within the first 4 weeks of therapy commencement, the speech pathologist will construct an Individualised Therapy Plan that will guide the therapy journey for the client. The Individualised Therapy Plan will set out all the key communication goals to be achieved throughout the entire duration of therapy (or if therapy is expected to be more than 1 year, it will be designed for a 12-month duration).
Along with the goals being laid out in the plan, the document will also state how the goals will be approached in therapy, providing the reasoning based on the client’s and family’s wants, goals and needs, as well as referring to the evidence base for that therapy approach. The Individualised Therapy Plan is highly valuable in making sure that the client, family, speech pathologist and any other key members are all on the same page and are all working together towards the same goals. The Individualised Therapy Plan will inform and guide therapy and will be utilised to track progress or make any necessary changes.
For our clients that have NDIS funding, we construct our Individualised Therapy Plan in line with the client’s own NDIS goals and plan. The Individualised Therapy Plan will display separate, specifically communication-related goals that will target the relevant NDIS goals. The plan will help the speech pathologist track accurate progress, keep accountable and collect data that is up to date for the client’s time of NDIS review.
Step 2: Therapy Sessions
Northern Beaches Mobile Speech Pathology offers 60 minute therapy sessions (to request for shorter or longer, please consult with the speech pathologist). In every session, the speech pathologist will have session goals that they will be targeting that are based on the overall intervention goals set out in the Individualised Therapy Plan.
Therapy is always most effective when individuals are engaged and alert. This is why play-based therapy is a fantastic approach to supporting our clients to learn and develop key communication and social skills. As a result, forms of play or games will be used, particularly with our paediatric clients, to create a stimulating learning environment and to reinforce their skill development. We are always looking for ways to keep our clients engaged, comfortable and ready to learn!
Towards the end of the session the speech pathologist will provide any feedback from the session and provide recommendations of practice tasks to complete throughout the week (outside of sessions). Northern Beaches Mobile Speech Pathology seeks to provide practice recommendations that are practical, realistic, relevant and achievable for families to complete. Practice is a key element of speech pathology intervention to ensure and support the generalisation and maintenance of skills.
