I read an article the other day on the ASHA Leader Blog that discussed one speech therapist’s use of Star War’s in the classroom. Now you might be thinking “How the heck is Star Wars remotely related to speech therapy?”— and you’re right to do so because on the surface—it isn’t. But, what is relevant to speech therapy is the therapist’s use of a piece of pop culture to foster a connection between herself and her young patients. But have you considered how a speech therapy EMR software can play a role in increasing engagement?

 

The reality is that many children in speech therapy don’t particularly want to be there. They’d rather be at home playing video games or watching their favourite TV show. Keeping them engaged is a challenge for even veteran speech therapists and sometimes doing so requires an unconventional approach. And this is where pop culture finds it’s place in speech therapy.

 

In the article, “The Force is Strong in Speech-Language Treatment”, the author talks about how her pediatric treatment plans incorporate the use of characters from sci-fi mainstays like “Star Wars” and Marvel’s “Avengers” to spark an interest amongst her young patients. The neat part is that these pop culture weren’t incorporate in some off the cuff kind of way—her sessions were built around them. And in turn, she was able to build a rapport with her patients and while connecting the characters to key takeaways.

 

To give a practical example, speech language therapists can leverage a speech therapy EMR software like Practice Perfect to include the specific details of their therapy session. The integrated documentation functions, such as SOAP notes, allow them to bring their insights forward into future training sessions. Further, patients receive their own client profile that allow you to record individualized notes—their likes, their dislikes, and subjects of interest that can be worked in to their treatment plans.

 

Not all speech therapy EMR software solutions give you the ability to record key information and post it directly to the patients’ profile. But the ones that do deserve recognition for their ability to aid therapists in their quest towards patient rehabilitation.

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