Speech and Language Therapy assistant

Hi, I’m Marjana

My job as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant is varied and includes community visits to provide therapy to individuals who have suffered from a stroke or brain injury.

I work with individuals who have communication difficulties as a result of an acquired or progressive neurological condition, such as dysarthria, dysphasia and cognitive communication difficulties.

Time is spent assisting with assessment, observations, information gathering , therapy programmes, creating communication aids and resources, liaising with MDT, clients, families/carers and contributing to MDT meetings.

Monitoring my clients progress,  I record and update information and having regular meetings with the therapist to discuss individual cases.

Together with the therapists I make changes to the therapy programme, adapting and modifying them to suit my clients individual needs, taking into account their progress, personalised goals, and providing quality care.

Once a week, I assist Tina (Specialist Speech and Language Therapist) at a neuro rehabilitation setting where we provide therapy to residents with neurological conditions. This includes one to one and group therapy targeting speech, communication, impairment/functional, as well as social skills, reintegrating them back into the community.

I also work closely with Tina on service delivery projects such as developing communication aids and assessment resources. This is in order to make our services more accessible to the wider community and improve the quality of our services for clients as well as support for our fellow SLT’s. 

My role also includes providing education, training and increasing awareness through our informative posts on social media. The topics we cover include: Different types of cognitive and communication disorders as a result of an acquired/progressive condition and how speech therapy can be a powerful tool in treatment to the community including health care professionals.  Furthermore, I assist with training and education to health professionals in care/nursing homes, so they can provide the best care for their residents. 

In and amidst my busy schedule, I am continuously developing myself as a therapist, through training with Tina and working towards a degree and educating myself on important topics such as person-centred care and biopsychosocial sciences. Being able to apply theory into practice has really helped improve my competency as a therapist.  

I want to become somewhat of an ambassador of cultural competence and help existing speech and language therapists develop their cultural competence skills to enable them to connect with patients of all backgrounds and inevitably improve and develop better more inclusive assessments and therapy treatments.