Interprofessional Health

School of Physiotherapy students (from left to right): Katie Cook, Kimberly Alexander, Jessica Roy and Michael Lok who took part in the InteRACT (Intensive Aphasia Communication Therapy) Program.

InteRACT (Intensive Aphasia Communication Therapy) Program

~ by Kimberly Alexander, Katie Cook, Micahael Lok and Jessica Roy

InteRACT is intense! It's a 4.5 week treatment program providing therapy five days a week for patients that are having trouble communicating. Health care professionals and others involved in rehabilitation see more and more that intensive treatment is the best way to accomplish specific, measurable results. InteRACT is tailored to tackle aphasia, a disorder of the central nervous system characterized by partial or total loss of the ability to communicate, especially in speech or writing. It affects social, vocational and emotional aspects of an individual's life as well as that of his or her loved ones.

Program Description

InteRACT is a 4.5 week residential program run 3 times per year. Speech therapy is provided 5 days a week. The program includes:

• 4 hours of daily individualized speech therapy and computer activities
• 1 hour of daily group speech therapy
• Off-site community integration activities
• Individual and group therapeutic recreation
• Partner education and training
• Physiotherapy exercise sessions
  

Dates

• February 26 - March 28, 2013
• May 8 - June 7, 2013
• July 3 - August 2, 2013
  

There were 3 clients registered for the February start date and we chose to work with Gail Wainwright, our Clinical Coordinator, as part of a project within Module 8 (Integrated Practice). The goal of the project was to allow students to work with clients challenged with a chronic disability over a 4-8 week period to prescribe an exercise program and follow their progress. The requirements of each student was:

1. To provide individual programming for the clients twice a week on Tuesday and Thursdays, 3:30-5:00
2. Attend a speech therapy group session to understand how the communication challenges can be understood and managed in treatment sessions
3. Attend a community outing when possible - usually Friday afternoon
4. Participate in team goal setting
5. Provide an inservice for the SLP students involved that could include:
   
   •    How to get up from the floor
   •    Positioning during speech and other activities
   •    Shoulder pain
   •    Spasticity
   •    Car and bus transfers
   •    How to support when walking
   

One speech language pathology (SLP) student came with the clients to every session to provide communication assistance. This interprofessional learning was so important to the project. The physiotherapy students had a thorough understanding of aphasia and how to manage during their treatment sessions while the SLP students understood what they could reinforce from physiotherapy during their sessions.

The therapy sessions were very successful and the students provided a discharge summary and program to each client on the last day. The client participants were an integral part of the program and we hope to continue to have physiotherapy involvement at each session.