“If This is What I’m ‘Meant to be’…”: The Journeys of Students Participating in a Conversation Partner Scheme for People with Aphasia

Abstract

The development of speech language therapy students into clinicians is an area of increasing interest as educators focus on how knowledge, skills and attitudes are taught and learnt within the profession. The personal journeys of students through experiences of service learning have potential to further our understanding of the impact of civic engagement on the student experience and their learning. This paper explores the journeys of first year speech and language therapy students through a Thematic Analysis of reflective letters written by students to themselves at the beginning and completion of a service learning module. Analysis demonstrates development of interpersonal and preclinical skills as well as an understanding of attitudes and values inherent in the social model of disability. The skills and attitudes developed by the students through participation in the Conversation Partner Scheme are consistent with social model principles that support therapists to fully address the long-term, real life needs of clients with aphasia (the acquired communication disorder that frequently follows stroke). The interface between the social model of disability and the role of service learning in nurturing the attitudes and values which underpin this model are explored.

Does communication partner training improve the conversation skills of speech-language pathology students when interacting with people with aphasia?

“…Previous research has revealed that CPT with healthcare students can lead to self-reported increases in confidence communicating with PWA and increased recall of strategies for communicating effectively with PWA (Cameron et al, 2015;Jagoe & Roseingrave, 2011;McMenamin et al, 2015). The present study extended this body of research by revealing that participation in a CPT program can encourage speech-language pathology students to use effective communication behaviours during conversation with PWA.…”

“…It is possible that after receiving CPT the trained students felt more relaxed and more confident (as per Jagoe & Roseingrave (2011) and Wilkinson et al (2013)), and therefore, were more capable of focusing on the actual conversation and keeping the ideas flowing than the untrained students. This finding may also reflect that the students had learnt strategies for introducing new topics, or had benefitted from examples of conversation topics role modelled in the training.…”

“Who decides what criteria are important to consider in exploring the outcomes of conversation approaches? A participatory health research study”

“…The current literature describes a global appraisal of conversation training approaches (Fox et al, 2009;Jagoe & Roseingrave, 2011;McVicker et al, 2009) In Phase 2 engaging representatives from all stakeholder groups in participatory dialogue using PLA techniques was a challenging task. It was difficult to negotiate and find times that suited representatives from all groups for face-to-face PLA sessions.…”

From patients to teachers: the perspectives of trainers with aphasia in a UK Conversation Partner Scheme

“…On one level the CPS gives aphasia experts an opportunity for purposeful involvement in a way that allows them to leave the "patient" behind; on another level, involvement appears to play an important role in redeveloping a positive self-identity. While bearing in mind the challenges of opening up participation opportunities for people with aphasia (e.g., Howe et al, 2008), our findings suggest that the UK CPS offers benefits to people with aphasia who may feel socially isolated , as well as to SLT students or health professionals, who have an opportunity for service learning and personal and professional development (Jagoe & Roseingrave, 2011). The implications for service provision are clear: people with aphasia do not just want to be "patients"; they wish to be actively involved and make a contribution.…”

“…A number of aspects of CPSs has been investigated, including the impact on those being visited and the experiences of students' learning and professional and personal development (Horton et al, 2007;Jagoe & Roseingrave, 2011). The impact of face-to-face interaction with individuals with embodied expertise is seen as a key feature of the experience for trainees in the health and social services (Skilton, 2011).…”