ABSTRACT
"SLP: Bridging the Communication Gap" is a theme which we have emphasized in several of our presentations at conferences. For speech clinicians, the title illustrates how we view our role in helping the communicatively impaired person who has experienced a stroke. The SLP addresses a variety of concerns stemming from a stroke, so our work extends beyond the traditional concept of the therapist who works on speech drills in a standard treatment room. To successfully help an individual, following a stroke, the SLP must also be a counselor and educator, resource person and patient advocate. The SLP determines how to help the person with a communication disorder, experienced after a stroke. She serves as a member of a professional therapeutic team, which involves above all, the individual and family who have experienced the stroke.
