Finding a voice

FATE often provides a helping hand when it comes to career guidance. In Claire O’Loughlin’s case, communication would become a cornerstone of her life when she found herself effectively voiceless while on holiday in France when she was a teenager.
In the heart of Marseilles, Claire felt her communication skills were almost redundant because of the language barrier. One particular incident in a restaurant left Claire feeling like she had no voice of her own. Having to ask her sister what the waiter was saying and to relay her order, the waiter spoke only to her sister, effectively ignoring Claire.
Having now opened a speech centre in Ennis, Claire had in fact never heard of speech and language therapy until her English teacher suggested it as a career option during her Leaving Certificate. At the time, Claire was considering civil engineering because she loved maths but once she started to research the area, she remembered the communication difficulties she experienced during her holiday. Healthcare was a theme growing up in her home. Claire’s mother is a nurse, while her sister Ann is a GP and is now living in Cork where she is also a dermatologist.
“When I was considering civil engineering everyone said I was too much of a people person, too much of a communicator; this profession seemed to be a good match for my personality. From the day I started it, I loved it.
“It is difficult for someone to have to speak for you and for other people to speak about you. I didn’t understand what they were saying in France. It didn’t just take away my expression, I felt a bit like my comprehension was also taken away, which can be the case for adults and children who have difficulty expressing themselves. Very often people assume they have difficulty with comprehension. However, their understanding can still be intact, particularly after stroke or a head injury but they can have a problem speaking.”
It is estimated that seven percent of the population have difficulty in communicating, including people with disabilities such as stammers, Parkinson’s, Motor Neuron or hearing difficulties.
Claire notes a period of loss and grief often accompanies the loss of communication skills in teenagers and adults who can become introverted or withdrawn socially and feel isolated and or very down.
“When someone has an acquired difficulty, they have to deal with the loss of their occupation. Aspects of every day life they always enjoyed, like driving or golf, the loss of communication skills is devastating for families.
“While every case and individual is different, you have to allow for that period of loss and grief and to ensure the person wants therapy. Six months is the period for spontaneous recovery, it is the period where the brain and other functions make the quickest recovery in general. To get in there and started working is vital,” she explains.
The Ennis native graduated with an honours degree in Speech and Language Therapy from NUI Galway and has since worked in primary schools, the Children’s Language Development Centre in Oranmore and currently works part-time for the Daughters of Charity, a voluntary organisation, which caters for adults with learning disabilities.
She was also involved in a three-year research project run by the Child and Family Research Centre in Galway, in association with Barnardos, working in disadvantaged schools in Limerick and Dublin and rolling out a literacy programme for children with difficulties in the area of language and literacy.
Through various discussions with Catriona Lysaght, whom she worked with in a Dublin hospital treating adults with progressive conditions and stroke and providing therapy in the Dublin branch of the Speech Centre, Claire felt County Clare could benefit from a branch of this service. The Ennis branch of the Speech Centre will operate two days a week in the Ennis Family Medical Centre but is expected to increase, subject to demand. With up to four therapists working as a team to provide services to both children and adults of all ages and levels of ability with communication and swallowing difficulties, Claire doesn’t anticipate any waiting lists.
“People need speech and language therapy for many reasons; they may have a stammer, or a hoarse voice or have difficulty eating or drinking. Children who are having difficulty pronouncing words, being understood by others, have only a few words, or are finding it hard to understand others due to difficulties with attention, listening or following instructions, also benefit. 
“Adults who have experienced stroke, head and neck cancer, head injury or have been diagnosed with a condition such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease or Multiple Sclerosis and lose previous communication or swallowing skills, can see great results from speech and language therapy. In all cases, research has shown that early treatment increases the likelihood of achieving success and advancing development,” she said.
The new service will also help people who have difficulty using facial expression, eye contact, gesture or body language to interact with others. This is particularly relevant to those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Down Syndrome.
“From the moment of birth, babies communicate their needs by crying. They soon learn to initiate social interaction by making eye contact and smiling. Babies then start to have ‘little conversations’, taking turns to respond with their caregiver by gurgling and making babbling sounds.
“Generally, a baby’s first words will have appeared by about 18 months and they will start putting words together at two years, for example ‘more juice’ or ‘car go’. By three years, a child usually experiences a spurt in their vocabulary with sentences getting longer and unfamiliar adults understanding about 75% of their speech.
“By the time a child is five-years-old, they are using complex sentences, answering questions and their speech is generally understood by strangers. Unsurprisingly, there are numerous factors required for such development – hearing, attention and listening skills, understanding, vocabulary, grammar, articulation and so on,” she added.
A therapist may recommend an assessment or offer advice on how best to monitor and alleviate an individual’s communication difficulty, she noted.
Claire is also a member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) and the Adult Dysphagia Special Interest Group. She did postgraduate course in the management of Dysphagia, where a person experiences difficulties eating, drinking and swallowing. Because the same muscles are used in speech, it is the role of a speech and language therapist to assess and propose treatment. She believes a few small changes can make a big difference to patients.
“If someone is able to come out of hospital and go out for a meal or have friends over for dinner, it can make a big difference to their quality of life.
“People would experience coughing or hearing difficulties or have things getting struck in their throat. There is a lot of things that can be done to modify a person’s diet or thicken fluids or recommend different utensils, seating or positioning to help over come that,” she explains.
Claire has a special interest in the area of evidence-based practice. This interest led her to undertake research within an early intervention service from a caregivers’ perspective.
She presented her study, Sowing the Seeds: exploring parents’ experiences of early intervention services at the Annual Down Syndrome Ireland Study and Tell Day in 2010 and the IASLT Biennial Conference 2011. Her research paper is due for publication in the 2011 issue of the Journal of Clinical Speech and Language Studies.
Healthcare professionals, teachers, parents, relatives and carers are being invited to drop by to see the clinic and meet with staff at the Speech Centre during its open day on Saturday, October 1 from 1 to 3pm. For further information log on to www.thespeechcentre.com.