JCPSLP Vol 18 No. 1Mar 2016

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JCPSLP Volume 18, Number 1 2016 16
• memory – personal memories, experiences, opinions or
feelings associated with the word;
• letter – recognising the combination of letters;
• sound – hearing the sounds without being distracted by
the letters.
It was relaxed because it was one-on-one at my home.
Throughout the program I would mispronounce words.
At that time I was supported by being given time and
encouragement to break longer words into syllables.
Another program I participated in was a communication
group offered to people with progressive communication
difficulties, supervised by a senior speech pathologist, and
presented by two fourth-year university students on their
practicum. It was interactive, relaxed and an opportunity
to share and practise different strategies. Interestingly,
all participants were women. Our title was Gutsy Girls,
as going through a difficult time requires courage. My
conversations were improved and I was pleased to join in
successfully.
The strategies were collated and given to the
participants. Some of the key strategies I use daily include:
1. When you’re having trouble finding a word: Take your
time, visualise the word, keep the flow of conversation
by choosing a word with a similar meaning.
2. What others can do when you’re having trouble finding
or pronouncing a word: Give time, if you have the word
give a clue or ask questions relating to that word.
3. When you’re feeling anxious or frustrated: Stay positive,
give yourself permission to relax and take time, use a
calendar, diary or phone to keep organised.
More recently I have participated in a program designed
to improve the structure of my speech. I have learnt
different frameworks to help me plan and recall information
I exchange in conversations. Giving an opinion or sharing
a recount needs planning by writing down or thinking it
through before you jump in.
Providing a lead-in to a conversation is needed.
Introducing the: who, when and where, creates successful
dialogue. My husband often says to me, “What are you
talking about?” Ken was pleased to hear my speech
pathologist saying, “You need a lead-in.” However, I have
caught him out many times without a lead-in. I kindly
remind him!
4. Advocate for my communication needs
The decision to disclose my diagnosis or not, depends on
where I am or who I am with. There are times I feel I need to
explain my difficulties. To some people, I will say,
“Sometimes I have trouble with pronouncing words or
finding the right words. If that happens I’d like your help.”
With time on my hands after resigning, I joined a writing
group. Sharing the reading of the lesson was a focus. The
thought of that raised my stress. I spoke to the teacher
about my speech problem. The teacher had noticed my
speech and had assumed I had dyslexia. She suggested I
could say, “I’ll pass.”
Unfortunately, the following week, I was asked to share
the diagnosis with the other students. I should have said,
“No!” but didn’t. I gave them the diagnosis and a short
explanation. Following there was a question about the
prognosis! I didn’t want to imagine where the prognosis
would take me. Instead of going into details, I said, “It’s
different for each person.”
My speech pathologists have designed practical
communication strategies. Firstly, get my attention by
saying my name before starting a conversation and I
Although I was shattered by the outcome, I didn’t want
to ignore the diagnosis. After the appointment of the
diagnosis, my husband and I went to see our children, who
lived in Perth. The following night we contacted our children
living in country towns. We shared the information given
to us with them. Our children showed concern and they
offered to help us out.
2. Maintain strong faith
After a long day of the diagnosis, we drove back home and
fell into bed around 2am. I had no intention to go to work
that day. In the morning, I received a message from my
daughter, reminding me of Isaiah’s prophecy from the Old
Testament. By reflecting on Jesus and his sacrifice my faith
in healing was renewed. I jumped out of bed, full of faith in
God’s love and went to work.
I remind myself to stay faithful to God instead of dwelling
on my speech and worrying about the future. Over years
I have used Our Daily Bread booklet (RBC ministries)
which has personal devotions to God. The short stories
demonstrate drawing close to God. One message that I
needed to hear was, “Feeding your faith helps starve your
fears”.
I love to praise Jesus through singing hymns, at home
or in church. Many ministers’messages have links to my
situation. Ken and I were invited to go to Collie’s Foursquare
Church with one of our families. The minister was preaching
on Christ’s healing. Throughout the service, the minister
regularly looked directly at Ken and I. It seemed he was
seeing our troubles. He invited people to come to the front
for healing and I jumped at the opportunity.
My daughter sends me links to Christian programs.
Listening to online healing messages encourages my faith.
There are two ministers I listen to, Dan Mohler and John
G. Lake. I am amazed, as many times the message has
answered a particular question I am asking God. I follow up
with going to my King James Bible to become more familiar
with God’s words.
Another program my daughter suggested was Who
Switched Off My Brain, by Dr Caroline Leaf. It draws links
between brain science and scripture, examining how you
can change your thought patterns through faith in God’s
words. It includes a book and a workbook/journal. After
reading a chapter, the workbook/journal gives a summary
and questions to focus on the significant information. A
memory verse follows, and a page for journaling your
thoughts or your learning.
Subscribing to a Bible study programWord@Work
through BeaconLight is emailed to me Monday to Friday. I
highlight the readings in my Bible. Recently, the topic was
staying close to Jesus. One of the scriptures was 1 John
3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed
on us, that we should be called children of God”. I believe I
am God’s child.
3. Get involved in research projects and
explore options
I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in speech
pathology projects though Curtin University and the
Neurosciences Unit. The first program was provided
through an Honours project for a fourth-year university
student studying speech pathology. It was designed to help
people with PPA to use strategies to aid word finding. The
strategies involved:
• meaning – the accepted understanding within a given
language;