Speech and Language Therapy – Issues in Professional Practice

This book demonstrates novel ways of working across a wide variety of clinical areas, including children, people with learning difficulties and adults with acquired communication disabilities. It explores the paradigm shifts beyond technical rational approaches to professional artistry underpinned by reflective practice and user involvement. It discusses values, understanding expectations of clients, the commonalities of therapy, the Care Aims model and the biopsychosocial model in dysphasia management. The contributors look at the three elements of competence, knowledge, skills and attitudes and attributes, to demonstrate the relationship between observable skills and the hidden influential aspects of competence that play a vital role in making a practitioner professionally competent. By bringing together constructs and challenges from differing areas of practice, the book will stimulate readers to think about their work in new ways by learning from experts outside their own scope of practice.