Counseling Patients With Motor Speech Disorders (MSDs) and Their Significant Others

Vocabulary flashcards cover key counseling concepts, skills, and frameworks SLPs use when working with patients with motor speech disorders and their significant others.

Counseling (SLP Scope)

Interactions that address emotions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors resulting from a communication, feeding, or swallowing disorder.

Informational Counseling

Also called psychoeducation; giving clients and families factual information about a diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.

Personal Adjustment Counseling

Helping clients process the emotional and behavioral impact of their disorder.

Prevention and Wellness

Reducing new disorders, detecting disorders early, and limiting the severity of existing ones.

Collaboration (ASHA)

Joint communication and shared decision-making among the team, client, and family to improve outcomes.

Reflective Listening

Restating or paraphrasing a speaker’s message to show understanding and verify accuracy.

Empathy

Experiencing and communicating genuine understanding of another person’s perspective or feelings.

Patient-Centered Thinking

Prioritizing the individual’s goals, values, and preferences in all clinical decisions.

Supportive Counseling

Adapting language and using multimodal strategies so clients can openly discuss concerns.

Therapeutic Alliance

Active, collaborative partnership between clinician and client that guides goal-setting and therapy tasks.

Caregiver Burnout

Physical and emotional exhaustion that results from prolonged caregiving without adequate self-care.

Active Listening

Attentive nonverbal behavior plus verbal techniques (reflection, summarizing) that communicate genuine interest.

Self-Awareness (Skill 1)

Recognizing how one’s own strengths, challenges, and reactions influence communication with clients.

Attending (Skill 2)

Nonverbal and verbal behaviors—eye contact, body posture, empathic statements—that convey full attention.

Gathering Information (Skill 3)

Using questions and listening to obtain insider details about the client’s experiences and priorities.

Providing Information (Skill 4)

Educating clients with clear, adapted, often multimodal explanations and opportunities for questions.

Promoting Change (Skill 5)

Using strengths, reframing, and goal alignment to motivate and sustain rehabilitation progress.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Accepting clients without judgment while maintaining genuine respect and support.

Cultural Competence

Awareness of cultural differences and adapting communication to bridge clinician–client cultural gaps.

Practical Skills Model

Alberta & Wood’s framework for applying cultural sensitivity in clinical interactions.

Burnout

Chronic workplace stress leading to fatigue, mood changes, and reduced empathy.

Compassion Fatigue

Loss of meaning and emotional numbing that can follow unchecked burnout in helping professions.

Reflection (Listening Tool)

Brief verbal acknowledgment that mirrors key content or emotion expressed by the speaker.

Summarization

Succinctly pulling together main points to confirm understanding or transition topics.

Silver-Lining Response

Optimistic reframing intended to comfort; useful only when client’s feelings are first acknowledged.

Observation (Attending)

Noticing client reactions to adjust communication style in real time.

Open-Ended Question

Query inviting more than a yes/no response to elicit detailed client perspectives.

Information Sandwich

“Say what you’ll say, say it, say what you said” structure that aids comprehension and recall.

DANCERS Framework

Mnemonic for a brain-healthy lifestyle: Disease management, Activity, Nutrition, Cognitive stimulation, Engagement, Relaxation, Sleep.

Disease Management (DANCERS–D)

Controlling risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, and medication issues.

Physical Activity (DANCERS–A)

Incorporating resistance training, aerobic exercise, or tai chi to support cognitive health.

Nutrition (DANCERS–N)

Calorie control and Mediterranean-style diets to reduce cognitive decline risk.

Cognitive Stimulation (DANCERS–C)

Activities—reading, learning skills, art, music—that challenge and engage the brain.

Social Engagement (DANCERS–E)

Regular social contact and participation to combat loneliness and cognitive risk.

Relaxation (DANCERS–R)

Stress-reduction practices such as meditation, yoga, or muscle relaxation training.

Shock Stage

Initial traumatic phase post-onset when clients/families are overwhelmed and information retention is low.

Retreat/Denial Stage

Coping phase where family may minimize or avoid acknowledging the disorder’s impact.

Realization Stage

Period when individuals grasp the long-term consequences and begin active grieving and planning.

Acknowledgement Stage

Adaptation phase marked by acceptance of a ‘new normal’ and ongoing adjustments.

Reframing

Helping clients view challenges through a more constructive or empowering lens.

Multimodal Communication

Combining speech, writing, gestures, and visuals to enhance understanding.

Group Education Benefit

Shared sessions for PPA or aphasia clients/caregivers that yield psychosocial support and knowledge.

Support Group Referral List

Curated local and online resources clinicians provide to connect clients and caregivers with peer support.