312 – Navigating Dementia Care as an SLP: Tips and Insights from a Dementia Consultant

Have you ever wondered how much you can actually do as an SLP when it comes to dementia care? One of the most common misconceptions about dementia care in general is that not much can be done. It’s a progressive disease after all, right? This is where medical SLPs can shine, and Adria Thompson, MA, CCC-SLP is here to talk about it! Adria is a dementia consultant who teamed up with an OT to create a dementia program and traveled around to different facilities to teach this program. In this week’s episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast, Theresa and Adria explore the importance of understanding dementia stages and supporting caregivers. They address misconceptions about therapy for patients with dementia and cover recent changes in billing that allow for caregiver training without the patient present, including the potential for caregivers to receive financial support for their services.  If you support individuals with dementia and their caregivers in any capacity, you won’t want to miss this episode! Get the show notes at: https://syppodcast.com/312 Timestamps: The need for better dementia care (00:02:36) The role of speech therapists in dementia care (00:07:01) Understanding dementia staging (00:10:10) Caregiver support and collaboration (00:14:27) Challenges of caregiver role (00:19:01) Therapist-patient communication (00:19:22) Billing for caregiver time (00:21:25) Caregiver payment and reimbursement (00:23:09) Medicare and Medicaid services program (00:24:54) Support for caregivers (00:25:18) Speech-language pathologists in hygiene ADLs (00:27:19) Communication issues in hygiene ADLs (00:29:06) Training and competence for SLPs (00:32:07) Communication intervention in hygiene ADLs (00:33:49) Challenges and learning experiences (00:36:27) Role of SLPs in caregiving (00:37:09) Therapist Collaboration (00:37:22) Collaborative Care (00:40:20) Specialization Communication (00:42:26) Encouraging Learning (00:44:07) The post 312 – Navigating Dementia Care as an SLP: Tips and Insights from a Dementia Consultant appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.