JCPSLP Voll 15 No 3 Nov 2013

This experience prompted RTRC to develop a proposal to provide this training to all LTU SLP students. Outline A full-day workshop was developed based on the SCA™ training (The Aphasia Institute, 2013). The Aphasia Institute training consists of a 3-hour workshop focused on teaching the SCA™ framework, with opportunities for experiential practice using communication strategies via increasingly complex role plays. Simple role plays were created that required students to take the role of a person with aphasia who needed to communicate a message that could be easily gestured such as “I am having trouble communicating, can I draw it for you?” Then students attempted more complex role plays where they were required to convey emotions and discuss plans for the future, such as “I am worried I will have another stroke” and “After rehabilitation is finished I would like to move to WA to be close to my family”. The original Aphasia Institute workshop was developed further into a full one-day training program to provide greater opportunities for student learning. A timetable for a typical one-day workshop is set out in Table 1. Although the SCA™ framework is taught in the context of aphasia, the principles of SCA™ are applicable to supporting conversation with people with a range of different communication disabilities; therefore, this program was used without specific modifications to teach students communication strategies and skills that could be applied to people with a range of different communication disabilities. The workshop was also expanded to include an experiential session and a reflection session to support students with different learning styles. For example, the one-day workshop provided the opportunity for students to hear about communication strategies, practise these strategies with scaffolding and feedback in role plays with one another, and then experience using communication

• reflect on the impact communication impairment can have on health care delivery and life participation for people with communication disabilities and their families; • understand and describe appropriate communication strategies to support people with communication disabilities in conversation; • apply effective use of communication skills to conversations with people with communication disabilities; and • report increased confidence communicating with people with communication difficulties. Details about establishing the program, its resources, and evaluating the program are provided below to assist others who may be interested in developing a similar program. The first step in establishing this program was to identify a conversation partner training program to run with the students. The Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia (SCA™; The Aphasia Institute, 2013) was selected because there was research evidence that this program was effective in improving the communication skills of conversation partners of people with aphasia (Kagan, Black, Duchan, Simmons-Mackie, & Square, 2001) and it included resources and a train the trainer program. The SCA™ framework teaches communication partners skills to acknowledge the inherent competence of people with aphasia respectfully and to reveal their competence through use of strategies and resources to get the message in, out and verified (Kagan, 1998). An RTRC SLP received a Quota scholarship (QUOTA, 2013) to attend the Aphasia Institute in Toronto and complete the full institute training program including the ‘Train the trainer’ module in October 2008. The SLP then delivered this training to SLP students on placement at RTRC and to rehabilitation staff with very positive feedback. The program Establishment

Robyn O’Halloran (top)

and Rachel Davenport

Table 1. Outline of full day workshop Workshop outline Description

Duration

Introduction

Students were provided with an introduction to the life participation approach for people with communication 30 mins disabilities using video clips and group discussion (Chapey et al., 2008; Kagan et al., 2008)

SCA™ workshop –

As developed by the Aphasia Institute and delivered by Aphasia Institute trained SLP.

90 mins

Part 1 Break

15 mins

SCA™ workshop – Part 2 Break for lunch Tour of rehabilitation

90 mins

Students were given a tour of the rehabilitation facility and services by RTRC SLP.

30 mins

facility Experiential session Students participated in an experiential session practicing communication strategies with educators who

60 mins

have acquired communication disabilities. Groups of four students talked to one person with a communication disability for about 15–20 minutes. The student group then moved to another table to meet another person with a communication disability. Students had a total of three conversations in the course of an hour. Some educators brought along communication supports, therapy or education material to share with the students. Others chose to converse in a more open-ended manner so the conversation topics were very different from group to group. Students had an opportunity to reflect as a group on the experience of conversing with people with communication disabilities and discuss application of SCA™ to conditions other than aphasia using a case mins study. Facilitated by Aphasia Institute trained SLP.

Reflection

30–45

Debrief session for

Educators were offered the opportunity to feedback, reflect and debrief about their experience working

educators

with students. Facilitated by RTRC SLP.

121

JCPSLP Volume 15, Number 3 2013

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au