Journal Reviews
How much does it cost to simulate speech and language therapy placements?
The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists report that 20% of speech and language therapy positions are unfilled in the UK. Consequently, there is an urgent need to offer as many training courses as possible to fill these gaps....
Motor learning: better knowing how, not how well
Motor learning is described as the ability to perform a motor skill due to practice and/or experience. Research on interventions to enhance limb motor skills can be influenced through the amount, distribution, variability and schedule of practice as well as...
The nice therapist effect: does the therapeutic relationship matter?
Quality of relationships is considered a core component of all speech and language therapy work, yet there is little agreement of what constitutes a therapeutic relationship. This study describes a scoping review to map existing evidence that has investigated this...
Sing it, say it, sort it: singing for Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) occurs in 1% of the population aged over 60. Changes in voice and speech are among the earliest and most prevalent symptoms of PD; reduced vocal intensity, monopitch, monoloudness, breathy and hoarse voice quality, imprecise articulation, vocal...
Speech predictors after glossectomy
This is a cross-sectional study from India where 69 patients were assessed for speech intelligibility and phonetics using an assessment tool in the local language. Volume defects were classified into thirds and the location of this defect noted. Not unsurprisingly,...
Risky behaviour: do care homes follow dysphagia recommendations?
A huge proportion of elderly people living in residential care homes will develop dysphagia. In Australia this is estimated at close to two thirds of all residents. It is the role of the speech and language therapist to make recommendations...
Till death do us part: the role of the speech and language therapists in palliative care
Increasingly, speech and language therapists are being involved in end-of-life and palliative care. This study reports on a three-phase project to explore this in the context of the Australian healthcare system. In phase one, the authors described a scoping review...
Bringing aged care back
Worldwide, our older population is increasing, and thus a need for the provision of care to older people is also increasing. Aged care may be informal, provided by unpaid carers; or formal, provided or subsidised by government or other organisations....
Swallowing it whole: the physical and psychological consequences of dysphagia
Living with dysphagia in the real world can be extremely challenging, both practically and psychologically. Long-term changes in taste due to chemo-radiation treatment for head and neck cancer, fatigue due to Parkinson’s disease, and physically impaired structures due to stroke...
Pretend placements: simulation is as good as the real thing
Clinical placements are now, more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge time and personnel commitment. Recently, allied health students have had huge changes to their placements, often undertaking them entirely remotely. This article describes a novel method of...
How long is too long? Waiting times for speech and language therapy
Waiting lists are a reality of clinical practice, and many health and social care professionals become used to having to cope with this. The authors of this paper addressed this issue by examining written submissions to the 2014 Senate Inquiry...
Speedy speedy: people with MND chew faster but speak slower
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive neurological condition that affects motor neurons in the brain, brainstem and spinal cord, affecting the control of skeletal muscles for speech, chewing and swallowing. There are two variants of MND, with symptoms typically...
