Speech Therapy and Dementia | What is the SLP's Role?

One of the biggest struggles I encountered as a new med SLP working with adults was knowing how to best serve individuals with dementia. I’d get a consult to evaluate and treat either cognition or swallowing for someone with Alzheimer’s, and I felt stuck.

What were my roles? Which assessments do I use, especially when most insurance companies require standardized assessments?

Stick around to learn what your roles are as an SLP and several assessment tools to be aware of.

Watch and Enjoy!
Theresa Richard

Video Resource:
========================
Grab a free editorial-reviewed resource that lists out screeners and assessments SLPs can use when working with dementia. This includes cognitive-communication screeners and assessments, language assessments, functional communication assessments, depression screeners, and more. This tool is a great place to start when you need a quick reference list of functional assessments to better serve individuals with dementia.

medslpcollective.com/dementia

Key Moments in this Episode:
========================
00:00 SLPs Role In Speech Therapy For Dementia Patients
00:49 Assessing A Dementia Patient For Speech Therapy
04:30 Working With The Patients Caregivers
06:35 The Right Mindset To Have When Treating Dementia Patients As An SLP
08:46 Cognitive Communication Disorders Of Dementia Assessment

What To Watch Next:
========================
Why Evidence Informed Practices Are Needed | Informed Evidence vs Based On Evidence:
youtube.com/watch?v=h1xoRWgTekE&t=45s

Access to Med SLP Resources:
========================

Get my Amazon and Barnes & Noble Best Selling Book; So You're Having Trouble Swallowing: The essential guide to basic swallowing, swallowing disorders, and navigating care. theresarichard.com/book

Listen to the Swallow Your Pride Podcast: Dive deeper into the issues that speech-language pathologists face when working with patients with swallowing disorders. swallowyourpridepodcast.com

MedSLPEd (an approved ASHA CEU provider): Offering live and recorded online courses that fill the gap between grad school and clinical practice. Each course is in-depth, goes far beyond the textbook rhetoric, and focuses on case-based learning. medslped.com/

MedSLP Clipboard Kit: 30 blind editorial reviewed resources written by 15 contributors with over 150 references to support its contents. medslpcollective.com/clipboard

MedSLP Pediatric Clipboard Kit: Get instant access to blind editorial-reviewed pediatric resources for Medical SLPs with references to support its contents. info.medslpcollective.com/medical-slp-collective-pediatric-clipboard-kit-download/

About Theresa Richard
========================

Theresa Richard, a medical speech pathologist for 15+ years, is a board certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders, and the founder and CEO of the MedSLP Collective and MedSLP Education. Theresa is also the mother of a son with severe disabilities who humbles her daily and is the inspiration behind all of the work she does in the world.

Theresa, host of Swallow Your Pride Podcast, has over 3 million unique downloads, and her book “So You’re Having Trouble Swallowing'' is an Amazon and Barnes and Noble best seller.

Theresa Richard, MA, CCC, SLP - Medical Speech Language Pathologist
TheresaRichard.com/

========================

#SLP
#MedicalSLP
#Dysphagia