Teaching, Learning, and Communication

FCs from Communiation Exam 1 and CM (teaching and learning)

Dysarthria

• Motor speech disorder

• Impaired movement of muscle used for speech (tongue, lips, vocal cords and diaphragm)

• May have: slurred speech, choppy, or mumbled speech, slow rate of speech, limited tongue, lip, and jaw movement

• For better communication: reduce distractions, pay attention, watch as they speak, only repeat what they say, and ask yes or no questions

Apraxia

• Motor speech disorder in which the messages from the brain to the mouth are disrupted; they can’t use their mouth or tongue to say words

• May have problems": initiating and making speech sounds, slow speech, groping for the tongues and lips to make sounds, making sounds

• Can be helped by: speech therapy, training muscles to make sounds correctly

Stuttering

• Affects the fluency of speech

• How to help: give the patient time to speak and don’t interrupt them, don’t tell them to “breath or relax”

Voice

• Quality may be affected by many things (colds, screaming, surgery)

• Includes vocal cord nodules and polyps and vocal cord paralysis

Aphasia

• A communication disorder where parts of the brain that contain language are damaged

• May cause difficulties in speaking, listening, reading, and writing

Receptive Aphasia

• Also known as Wernicke’s aphasia***

• A person does not understand what is being said or written word

• Verbally patient is fluent and grammatically correct but the content is unintelligible

• The patient is unaware of their deficits

• How to help: get pt’s attention, use auditory and visible cues, simplify content, give one direction at a time, use gestures, give the time to speak

Expressive Aphasia

• Broca’s aphasia

• A person has difficulty expressing thoughts, ideas, and feeling

• Often good comprehension but apraxia when speaking

• 1-2 word responses

• Aware of their deficits

• How to help: maintain eye contact, give multiple choice options, minimize background noise, praise their attempts

Global aphasia

• A person has difficulty expressing AND understanding language

Dementia

• Group of symptoms related to memory loss and overall cognitive impairment

• Worsens and is irreversible

• Cannot take care of themselves

• May have difficulty communicating

• Everyday activities become difficult

• How to communicate with them:

  • Reorient them frequently

  • Give them 2-3 choices

  • Establish a routine

  • Redirect them when they are off task

  • Educate the family

Parkisnon’s Disease

• Progressive neurological disorder caused by decreased levels of dopamine

• Problems include: resting tremors, festinating gait, rigid muscles, difficulty initiating steps, slow movements

• To communicate: try therapy in a quiet area, remind them to stand or it, remind them to speak louder

Cerebral Vascular Accident (stroke)

• Problems include: cognitive deficits include difficulties in attention, awareness, orientations, memory, problem-solving, reasoning skills, and focusing while there are distractions

• To communicate: ask questions and use reminders, provide a routine, decrease distractions, use calendars, clocks notepads, use suggestions for other types of aphasia

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

• Cognitive deficits may involve changes in awareness of one surrounding attention to tasks, reasoning, problem-solving, and executing functioning, memory deficits

• May struggle to start and complete tasks, with organization and solving problems, understanding, speaking, understanding written messages, no awareness of inappropriate behaviors

• How to communicate: decrease external distractions, be specific and brief, be direct, take frequent rest breaks, work with family members

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Includes all forms of communication other than oral speech (pictures, gestures, writing, etc.)

Used even when people have some oral speech

Unaided communication systems

Rely on user’s body to convey messages (gesture, body language, and/or sign language)

Aided communication systems

Require the use of tools or equipment in addition to the user’s body (writing and electronic aides)

Tracheostomies or Ventilators

• Trach block air and noise so they can’t speak because of surgery and a tube

• How to communicate: valves help (Passy Muir Valve)

• Ventilator provide gases for life support and people might or might not be able to speak while on

Classical conditioning (Pavlov bell)

A process where learning occurs when an unconditioned stimulus (such as food) is repeatedly preceded by a neutral stimulus (such as a bell)

• Neutral stimulus = conditioned stimulus

• Learned reaction = conditioned response

• Ex. A dog is conditioned to salivate (conditioned response) upon hearing a bell (conditioned stimulus) because it was consistently paired with food (unconditioned stimulus).

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The theory developed is that there is a hierarchy of fundamental needs that must be met before moving to higher (less essential needs)

• Level 1 (most basic) = Physiological needs (food, water, shelter)

• Level 2 = Affiliative needs (security, stability, safe environment

• Level 3 = Self-esteem needs (feeling good about yourself, being respected by others, receiving recognition)

• Level 4 = Self-actualization needs (the need to realize one’s potential as a human being)

Operant conditioning

A process where learning occurs when an individual engages in specific behaviours to receive certain consequences

• Includes:

  • Positive reinforcement - giving out desirable consequences for a specific behaviour

  • Negative reinforcement - giving out undesirable consequences for a specific behaviour

  • Extinction - removing variables that reinforce a specific behaviour)

  • Punishment - administering negative consequences for undesirable behaviours