Episode 24: Assessing Functional Needs in the Adult Neurologic Population with Sarah Baar, MS, CCC-SLP
“You don’t have to know everything. ”
Sarah Baar is here to revolutionize your evaluation procedure. If you want to know how to dynamically assess the functional needs of your patients to identify deficits to target in therapy and develop measurable goals for therapy, then Sarah has the inside scoop for you. Sarah will guide you through real-life examples of how to implement a functional needs interview, get the best out of patients with motivational interview techniques, and create measurable goals for therapy via Person-Centered Outcomes questionnaires.
Something I’ve been lacking in my practice has been this critical piece of the puzzle. I’ve been relying solely on static, standardized assessments and a few brief open-ended questions along the lines of “so, what’s important for you to achieve in therapy?”
Sarah’s recommendations go so far beyond that to really capture a patient’s functional needs/deficits that many standardized assessments can often miss. For example, a patient may test “WFL” on an assessment, but have impairments in the home environment. Non-standardized, dynamic assessments can fill the gaps and show us how we can help the patient return to a level of participation in their daily life that is achievable and desirable.
more of Sarah Baar on the podcast!
Dig deeper with the following article:
Coelho, C., Ylvisaker, M., & Turkstra, L. (2005). Nonstandardized assessment approaches for individuals with traumatic brain injuries. Seminars in Speech & Language, 26(4), 223-41
*Protip: Use Google Scholar to search for this article and find a PDF version. I copy and paste the title in Google Scholar and viola - article link on the right (if it’s available).
Resources mentioned in the episode
Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB) (The Short Form is in a Table)
From Sarah’s collection on Honeycomb Speech Therapy:
You can find everything Sarah Baar and more at her website: Honeycomb Speech Therapy
Hear more from Sarah Baar / get a discount on MedBridge subscription !! You can also use code: Honeycomb
I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to Sarah Baar for providing the article and website links for the show notes!
Sarah Baar is a practicing SLP in the state of Michigan and the creator of Honeycomb Speech Therapy. Sarah has worked for 10+ years with adults, specializing in person-centered functional approaches for neurogenic disorders. She has worked across the continuum of care, treating patients with stroke, brain injury, and dementia in acute care, inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy, and home / community settings. Sarah started Honeycomb Speech Therapy in 2016 as a starting step for her goal to bring real-life, meaningful tasks into therapy, along with evidence-based ideas, in a way that was efficient and didn’t require extensive planning outside of therapy. The name of Sarah’s project is inspired by the proverb “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Sarah believes the therapy we do as SLPs can impact those we work with, both body and soul.
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