Speech pathology students, on placements at Residential Aged Care Facilities, frequently face confronting challenges, such as, the progression of horrendous diseases like dementia, Motor Neuron Disease and Parkinson’s Disease and coming to terms with ‘end of life’ support. Below is a reflection about students’ recent experience and their positive impact with one resident.
Reflection for Ray*
*name changed
Approaching the beginning of our six-week placement, we had no concept of the journey we were about to embark on. Walking through the halls of the facility we were immediately captivated and curious about the loud noises coming from one of the rooms. As we got closer we were greeted by a tall man who extended out his hand and gladly greeted us with a handshake and a smile. His name was Ray, a man in his early fifties, diagnosed with a form of frontotemporal dementia called Pick’s disease. Pick’s disease is a rare form of progressive dementia that can affect an individual’s communication skills including spoken and written language. In Ray’s case, this diagnosis resulted in him not only having difficulty communicating his daily needs but also difficulty creating meaningful communication with his family and friends. This form of dementia also impacted on aspects of Ray’s personality and social behaviour.
From an outside perspective, it was very easy to feel afraid of Ray due to his height, diagnosis and his loud outbursts. However, after discussing with the staff and setting aside our initial judgements and preconceptions we saw Ray for the gentle and kind man he was. Ray would be the first to yell out a friendly hello and made us feel welcome in the nursing home. After getting to know Ray and talking to the staff, we couldn’t wait to help him with his communication. One staff member expressed that producing the phrase “I love you Anna” would be a meaningful goal for Ray so that he could tell his wife each time she came to visit. After a few sessions, Ray was able to say “I love you Anna” each time the clinician asked, “what do you say when you see Anna?”. It was amazing to witness a man who predominantly communicated with one-word utterances and grunting be able to produce a meaningful four-word sentence. We hope that by supporting Ray he will have confidence and ability to tell his wife how he feels and Anna will get to hear Ray say those four magical words.
To further support Ray’s functional communication, a range of multimodal communication (MMC) charts were developed. They included feelings, pain, temperature, needs/wants and yes/no charts. Pictures and text were used to support Ray in using these charts as an alternative form of communication. We witnessed Ray having an opportunity to express his emotions through the use of the MMC. It was amazing to see how using these forms of communication could empower and provide Ray with the opportunity to communicate with others. Communication is something many of us take for granted and it’s not until you give someone their power back that you realise its significance.
It was a privilege to have had the opportunity to get to know Ray and witness the immense love and support he received from his family and staff at the nursing home. This will be a learning experience we will forever remember and value, we have loved having the chance to support Ray’s communication.
Jemima Commens, Yasmeen Prasad and Carly Desfosses (Southern Cross Speech Pathology Students)
Suzanne Oram (Clinical Educator)
