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To provide reassurance to those who are struggling during sessions

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To provide reassurance to those who are struggling during sessions

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To help people realise and reach their full potential

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To help people realise and reach their full potential

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To make sessions as enjoyable and interactive as possible

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To make sessions as enjoyable and interactive as possible

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At the beginning, I was eager to help people but uncertain if I could be the reason someone would reach their potential. I was more concerned about my particular skills and experience, as I had no experience in speech and language therapy or working with people who have aphasia.

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During my placement, I was able to motivate and encourage my clients, by taking time out to have a conversation with them at the beginning and end of every session. For example, at the beginning of each session we set out clear goals, and I always gave words of encouragement throughout the session, so they felt more uplifted instead of frustrated.

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At the end of my placement I felt very confident, this is because I had very good feedback from the speech and language therapist and my client.

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At the beginning of my placement, I didn't know much about Aphasia, I had to do my research and ask a lot of questions throughout my time as a volunteer in order to gain some understanding of the communication difficulties that the clients face daily.

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To help me understand clients with speaking difficulties, I used my active listening skills and observed each clients unique communication patterns. For instance, my client had a stroke and therefore got diagnosed with aphasia and struggled with pronouncing the letter 'T,' saying 'tomorrow' as 'ammarow.' I knew that this difficulty came from her brain damage, as injury to certain brain areas can lead to various speech and language impairments (Bullain et al., 2007).

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Towards the end, although I felt exhausted trying to understand certain things, I knew that it wasn't my job to understand every small thing, I also felt relieved knowing that I could make a difference in their lives. I'm glad that I wasn't afraid to ask questions to expand my knowledge.

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Initially, I didn't know how I could make sessions enjoyable and productive, as I am not a very confident person, I was nervous to meet new people and form new connections. During the sessions, the speech and language therapist provided every client with an Ipad, this was helpful as it allowed me to engage with clients more effectively. I found new apps on the iPad, which the clients found enjoyable, as there were different activities and these were tailored to their individual needs.

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At the end, I felt a sense of relief as my clients had enjoyed using the iPads. The language app that I had frequently used was 'Cuespeak' this app was helpful as it allowed me to create personalised exercises for every client. Over time, one of my clients had regained her confidence thanks to Cuespeak. I was especially pleased to hear that she had enjoyed our sessions and was gutted that I was leaving soon. Her husband also downloaded onto their own iPad at home.

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I found report writing to be difficult at the start, as I didn't know what I was doing due to it being so complex and there being a lot to write. I struggled to capture every detail of the first couple of sessions because of how nervous I was at the start.

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To help me, I had bought a notebook to make notes during the session and then wrote up the reports on the portal in my free time. This helped me as I wasnt stressed trying to remember what happened in every session. This was also helpful for the client and their caregivers as I was able to give them a detailed report after each session, which made me feel great as well as them. Furthermore, writing clear and accurate reports also show a persons ability of good communication skills (Bogg, 2014).

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initially, I was unsure on how I could provide reassurance to someone with a disability that I didn't understand fully, but I set this objective as it was the main reason I chose to volunteer for Aphasia support, to reassure and empathise with people who were struggling.

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Sometimes, it was difficult to reassure clients as much as I wanted to. for example, one of my clients was really struggling and nothing I could say would make him feel better, due to the doctors telling him he may not be able to recover as quick as he wanted to. However, I used my counselling skills and provided him with empathy. This helped as empathy allows us to build close relationships, as well as understand and connect with others (Genzer et al, 2023).

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At the end I felt exhausted as I found it mentally draining at times but it also felt very rewarding and I made good connections with some clients.

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I was given permission to share some session notes that I had made on my last day of placement.