Tara Plenderlieth – Newly Qualified Speech and Language Therapist

I qualified as a speech and language therapist in July 2019 and over a year later, I still struggle to sum up what my job is really about.

The range of communication difficulties that I have encountered and the people and the stories behind those difficulties means that ‘I assess people’s communication and provide advice’ just doesn’t quite cut it.

For instance, during my first year of working as an SLT in a learning disability team, I have worked with an individual who wanted help with his stammer. 

We adapted some resources that are usually used with adults (and children!) who stammer so that they were much more accessible for him and enabled him to explore his perception of his speech.

In contrast, I have also worked alongside support workers in a residential setting by delivering intensive interaction training. This gave staff confidence interacting with the service user at an appropriate level, and reinforced the importance of spending quality, one-to-one time with them.

Being part of a multi-disciplinary (MDT) team is one of the reasons why I love working with this client area. The learning opportunities from my colleagues has been invaluable, and working as a collective always ensures that a quality care plan is developed. Team formulation meetings and MDT meetings are a part of the ‘typical’ working week, and provide a space for different professions to contribute to assessments and care plans. It is also these multiple perspectives that form positive behaviour support plans, which aim to improve the quality of life of people with a learning disability.

Working as an SLT during a pandemic has presented with some challenges, however, I have learned just how adaptable we are as a profession.

Video consultations have become the ‘new normal’ for many service users and carers, particularly for those with dysphagia. This is an area I am really excited to develop in over the next 12 months as a newly qualified SLT (if I can still call myself that!).