JCPSLP Vol 17 No 2 2015_web

Aged care

Top ten resources in aged care Jill Lesic

D r Jill Lesic & Associates Speech Pathology is a national speech pathology company providing speech pathology services to individuals in their homes and residential care facilities. The speech pathologists who contributed to this article were: Dr Jill Lesic, Meredith Potts, Madeleine Dziubek, Laura Del Medico, Lauren Woodbridge, Jane Villari, Sonia Pang, Jody O’Connor, Kate McCullough, Dailan Evans, Jessica Linke, Fiona Marzo, Carla Fraser, Daphna Eshel, and Kristie Constance. 1 Dysarthria and dysphagia manuals (SPAR, 1988; 2006) These manuals, produced by Speech Pathologists in Adult Rehabilitation (SPAR) in 1988 and updated in 2006 provide a valuable source of drills, word lists and therapy ideas. Our original set, purchased by Dr Jill Lesic in 1988, also includes several additional manuals: Word Finding, Language Comprehension, Problem Solving and Memory. 2 Therapy manuals: Workbooks of activities for language and cognition (WALC), the Source series, and Handbook Of Exercises for Language Processing (HELP) We find the following manuals to be the most useful in our practice: WALC 1 Aphasia Rehab (Tomlin, 2007); WALC 8 Word Finding (Tomlin, 2007); WALC 10 Memory (Tomlin, 2007); WALC 6 Functional Language (Bilik-Thompson, 2004); The Source for Oral-Facial Exercises (updated and expanded, Gangale, 2001); The Source for Dysarthria , second edition (Swigert, 2010); The Source for Alzheimer’s and Dementia (Reese, 2000); The Source for Dysphagia , third edition (Swigert, 2007); The Source for Voice Disorders (Schwartz, 2004); and the Handbook of Exercises for Language Processing, vols 1 & 2 (Lazzari & Peters, 1987). These practical therapy manuals provide a wealth of reproducible hard and soft copy work sheets and information. 3 Technology Access to the internet and handheld devices provides us with many opportunities to source and/or develop therapy and education tools for a diverse range of clients. Examples of tools we find helpful for use in the aged care sector include: • printable AAC picture boards and therapy work sheets

• iPad applications specific to communication and swallowing. Apps we have found most useful include: • Swallowing Disorders by Blue Tree Publishing. This is a useful resource to demonstrate to clients, families and care workers what is potentially occurring due to dysphagia. The series of detailed images provides lay people with a visual representation of swallowing and dysphagia and can also assist in their understanding of the rationale behind recommendations for modified diets and/or fluids. It is available as a bundle of four apps for AUD$18.99 from the iTunes App Store. • Speakit! 2: A text-to-speech app by Future Apps Inc., which is available for AUD$2.49 on the iTunes App Store. It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad • Language TherAppy by Tactus Therapy, which is available for purchase through the iTunes App Store – AUD$59.99 (which includes four modules) from: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/language-therappy/ id525278822?mt=8 • The Naming TherAppy module is also available on Google Play – AUD$31.99 from: https://play.google. com/store/apps/details?id=com.tactustherapy. namingtherappy • Speech Sounds on Cue (Australian edition) by Multimedia Speech Pathology which is available for iPad only via the Apple App Store for AUD$28.99 or via: http://www.mmsp.com.au/speech-sounds-on- cue-for-ipad/ • Online courses: • Understanding Dementia MOOC – University of Tasmania • The University of Tasmania offers a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that presents the latest international research in dementia studies. It is a free nine-week course that provides theoretical and practical information about dementia. At the end of the course, participants are presented with a certificate of achievement. Website: http://www.utas. edu.au/wicking/wca/mooc • Hand Hygiene (http://www.hha.org.au) • Websites: • My Aged Care at www.myagedcare.gov.au Up-to- date information about the aged care sector is readily available through this website

• Fight Dementia at www.fightdementia.org.au has many informative help sheets available for downloading and printing.

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JCPSLP Volume 17, Number 2 2015

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au