The Brainy Speech Therapist Podcast
Two speech therapists discuss everything related to brain injury, sharing insights and experiences from their professional practice.
Episodes
Headway and Action on Brain Injury Week
Helen speaks to members of her local Headway about their experiences after brain injury. For more information on Headway, the ways they can support you, and how you can support them, go to www.headway.org.uk
The Brainy Speech Therapists meet Dysphagia Matters
Recorded to link in with Nutrition and Hydration Week, Helen and Jan speak to the hosts of Dysphagia Matters, Julia and Jule. Both are specialist researchers in the field of dysphagia, and we had an interesting and enlightening conversation. A huge thanks to them giving up some of their time!
Beatiful Voice with Andre Hallack
In this episode, Helen speaks to Andre Hallack about Beautiful Voice. This is a web-based platform to support clinicians and clients in neurorehabilitation. Sign up for an account at https://beautifulvoice.co.uk Andre can be contacted for a demo and to answer any questions: andre@beautifulvoice.co.uk
Follow us on Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists
Journal article: atypical symptoms post-concussion
Jan and Helen discuss an article by Bishay et al (2025) that provides a systematic review of atypical symptoms recorded post-concussion. The article is open access and available at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12540245/
Journal article: stroke clinical guidelines to inform aphasia management
Tune in to listen to Jan and Helen discuss the main points of the 2023 article "An updated systematic review of stroke clinical practice guidelines to inform aphasia management" by Burton et al. This is a free-to-access article: https://doi.org/10.1177/17474930231161454
Each of the guidelines referenced in the discussion can be accessed by in-article links.
We would love to hear your thoughts
The role of SLT
Jan and Helen discuss the role of SLT when working with people who have a brain injury, based on information provided in a course run by Sheila MacDonald.
Primary Progressive Aphasia
In this episode, Helen speaks with Rosemary Townsend from the charity Dyscover. Rosemary gives an insight into what this diagnosis means, the role of SLT, and information about the first ever PPA Awareness Day. This is happening on 4th April, with Rosemary and Dr Anna Volkmer hosting a webinar. Sign up at: Primary Progressive Aphasia Awareness Day 2025 Tickets, Fri 4 Apr 2025 at 12:00 | Eventbrite
INCOG Guidelines 2.0
Claire Farrington-Douglas joins Jan and Helen to discuss the INCOG Guidelines 2.0. We focus on Part IV: Cognitive-Communication and Social Cognition Disorders, these are freely available online, along with the other sections of the guidelines. Part IV can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.1097/htr.0000000000000835
Motor speech disorders: case studies
Jan and Helen discuss their experiences of working with dysarthria and apraxia of speech. Share your experiences and tips for therapy via X @BrainySLT and Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists.
Journal article: motor speech disorders
Jan and Helen discuss a journal article that focused on how accurate SLTs are at rating the severity of dysarthria. We discuss the article content and have a debate about the usefulness of such ratings. You can read the article at:
Monika Wright, motor speech
In this episode, speech and language therapist Monika Wright talks about how she approaches working with people with motor speech (and voice) difficulties influenced by her previous professional career as an actor.
Dyscover Aphasia
In this episode, Helen speaks with Julie Samuel from Dyscover Aphasia, a charity based in Surrey. We chat through the range of services they offer, with more details on their website www.dyscover.org.uk. If you have any comments or suggestions, do let us know via our social media. Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists X @BrainySLT
Say Aphasia
We chat with Colin Lyall, founder of the charity Say Aphasia. Check out their website for information and resources at www.sayaphasia.org
They are part of the Aphasia Alliance, another excellent resource: www.aphasiaalliance.org
Journal article: Wernicke’s aphasia
Jan and Helen are back with another journal article discussion. This time, we talk through a study that explored the potential use of medication and intensive therapy in treating Wernicke's aphasia. Do share your thoughts and experiences of this form of aphasia.
S4 Ep 3 Eating, drinking, and swallowing changes after brain injury
Jan and Helen discuss their experiences of managing eating, drinking, and swallowing changes in their brain injury caseload. We also chat about guidance available in managing EDAR- eating and drinking with acknowledged risk.
S4 Ep2 Journal article: predictors of aspiration pneumonia
Jan and Helen discuss a recent article focused on identifying factors significant in predicting aspiration pneumonia. The article by Ball, Meteyard and Powell can be accessed at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00405-023-08153-z (institution login required).
We also discuss the relevance of the paper in light of RCSLT's position paper on the use of thickened fluids. Listen to the authors
Ep 1, S 4: My Story - Matt Barker
Matt Barker talks with Jan McIntosh-Brown about his life with a brain injury.
S3 Ep11 Article discussion: communication partner training
Jan and Helen discuss an article exploring communication partner training for healthcare staff in a subacute setting. Read the full article:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02699052.2022.2158224
S3 Ep10 Prolonged disorders of consciousness
Jan and Helen discuss the topic of prolonged disorders of consciousness. We talk about how this diagnosis can be made, the role of speech and language therapy, and supporting families. Resources: RCP guidelines https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/guidelines-policy/prolonged-disorders-consciousness-following-sudden-onset-brain-injury-national-clinical-guidelines
SLT guidelines https://www.rhn.org.uk/conten
S3, Ep9: My brain injury: Guido Corvi
In this episode hosted by Jan McIntosh-Brown we hear Guido Corvi talking about his injury and his life beyond this.
S3 Ep8 Richard Cave
Helen speaks to Richard about his reasons for becoming a Speech and Language Therapist, and his work on Project Relate. This is an Android app for individuals with non-standard Speech. More information can be found at https://sites.research.google/relate/ Richard can be found on Twitter @speedoftrust27
Dr Catriona McIntosh: Sexual capacity
In this episode, Jan and Helen discuss sexual capacity after brain injury with Dr McIntosh, a Clinical Neuropsychologist. Please note this episode includes the use of explicit language. If you wish to contact Dr McIntosh, her email is catriona@yorkshireneuropsychology.com, or follow her on Twitter @Catrionamcinto1.
Further reading: www.bild.org.uk
Access the and Brain Injury conference via www.a
S3 Ep6 Aphasia Awareness: Jan and Carly Davey
Helen speaks to Jan and Carly to mark Aphasia Awareness Month. Jan had a stroke which resulted in aphasia, and her daughter Carly now works for The Stroke Association. Follow them on social media: Twitter @carlystroke Instagram a_life_after_stroke and Facebook A Life After Stroke. Check out The Stroke Association site for great information https://www.stroke.org.uk/what-is-aphasia. Watch the docum
S3 Ep5 2023 Aphasia Awareness: Julie and Raymond
Julie and Raymond share their journey with Jan McIntosh-Brown. Julie had a brain injury in 2020 as a result of an aneurysm
and she lives with aphasia.
S3 Ep4 Dr Hashir Aazh: Hyperacusis
Jan and Helen are joined by Dr Aazh, an audiologist with expertise in hyperacusis, tinnitus, and misophonia. Information about his practice can be accessed at https://hashirtinnitusclinic.com/
If you would like more information about his tinnitus masterclass go to https://tinnitustherapy.org.uk/
Dr Aazh has resources he discusses with us: questionnaires are at https://tinnitustherapy.org.uk/asse
S3, E3: Mr Douglas Gentleman, Rehabilitation Medicine Specialist
Mr Douglas Gentleman talks with us about his reflections on his time working with people with brain injuries and changes within the field.
S3 Ep 2 Dr Giles Yeates
In this episode we speak to Dr Giles Yeates, a Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist. Dr Yeates works with couples and families following brain injury, is a researcher at Oxford Brookes University, and integrates his expertise as a T'ai Chi and kung-fu master to rehabilitation.
Resources:
UKABIF https://ukabif.org.uk/
AnchorPoint https://ukabif.org.uk/page/AnchorPoint
Article on the therapeutic
S3, E1. Duran Hunt: Motivational Speaker
Tonight we hear from Duran Hunt, a motivational speaker and survivor of a traumatic brain injury. He speaks about his journey and his desire to help others. He is joined by his speech and language therapist Matthew Nakonesky. If you would be keen to have Duran come and speak at any of your events, please contact Matthew matthew@speechtherapynortheast.co.uk, website: www.speechtherapynortheast.co.u
S2: Ep 13: Rehab Mantras
In the final episode of season 2, Jan and Helen speak to Dr Sara de Ramos about Rehab Mantras, a concept recently introduced across The Disabilities Trust. Sara mentions the Research Digest that the Trust produces, to read more head to https://www.thedtgroup.org/research/research-digest?page=1
S2, Ep 12: SLT student placement
In this episode Saskia Whitford and Lucy Beckett, 3rd year speech and language therapy students at Strathclyde University share their reflections of their recent placement working with people with brain injuries.
S2: Ep 11
We speak to Dr Lesley Scobbie about her work on goal setting in therapy. To read more about Lesley's work and get in touch with her, head to her research profile at https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/persons/lesley-scobbie
The specific paper mentioned on making goal setting accessible for people with aphasia can be accessed here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2022.2085331
S2 Ep 10: Music therapy
Helen, Jan and Fiona talk with music therapy student Johnny Barr about music therapy and about Fiona's personal experiences.
S2 Ep 9: Professor Jenny Kitzinger
Professor Jenny Kitzinger is the Co-Director of the Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre, and Director of Research: Impact and Engagement at Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Culture. In conversation with Helen, she discusses the role of SLT in disorders of consciousness, media representation of brain injury, and the importance of having a conversation with loved
Believe in Yourself
This episode features Stephen Rowat talking about his life before and now with a brain injury.
S2 Ep 7: Assessment
Jan and Helen discuss the wide range of assessments they use with their caseloads. Here's where to access many mentioned: Brisbane evidence-based language https://brisbanetest.org/ Quick Aphasia Battery https://aphasialab.org/qab/ Aphasia Impact Questionnaire https://www.aiq-21.net/ TASIT-UK https://www.assbi.com.au/Sys/Store/Products/39998 Cognitive-Communication Checklist for Acquired Brain Inju
S2 Ep 6: Aphasia Awareness
June 2022 is Aphasia Awareness Month, so Jan and Helen took this as a cue to chat about aphasia, how speech and language therapists identify areas of difficulty, ways to support a person with aphasia, and a couple of key intervention strategies. There's lots of further resources to access: Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland https://www.chss.org.uk
The Stroke Association https://www.stroke.org.uk
B
S2: Ep 5 A conversation with Dr Nicholas Behn
Dr Nicholas Behn from City, University of London joins Jan and Helen for a conversation about cognitive communication and project based interventions. We cover lots of ideas in this episode, if you'd like to learn more about running projects, Nick is starting an online course in June: https://www.city.ac.uk/prospective-students/courses/city-health/social-communication-after-brain-injury Examples o
S2: Ep4 Compassionate Leadership
Jan and Helen are joined by Pauline Downie. Pauline speaks about her varied role as a manager, the challenges of being in a leadership role during Covid-19, and the need to bring greater diversity to the profession. Information on the leadership skills course mentioned is here: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/18217/leadership-and-management-programmes NHS Lanarkshire's Children and Young People SLT ser
Managers behind the scenes
Jan and Helen are joined by Louise Steer, a Speech and Language Therapist who is developing a group programme focused on helping families understand communication difficulties. Louise presented on this programme at the 2021 RCSLT Conference, which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp4ZnU__G_g&feature=emb_imp_woyt
Social Stories
Jan speaks to Helen about her experience of using Social Stories with those who have had a brain injury. For more information head to https://carolgraysocialstories.com/ As always, comments and suggestions are welcome via Twitter @BrainySLT and Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists.
What is Cognitive-Communication?
Welcome to the second series of The Brainy Speech Therapist Podcast. In this episode, Jan and Helen discuss cognition and how it effects communication. We talk about the Model of Cognitive-Communication Competence by Sheila Macdonald, more information can be found in her paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29064304/ If you are keen to undertake specific training in this area, head to courses.br
Episode 13: A chat about speech therapy
Featuring a conversation between Alan, a survivor of a brain injury, and Megan, a speech and language therapist. They talk about the role of speech and language therapy, diversity in the profession, and misconceptions of rehabilitation. Huge thanks to them both for taking the time to chat.
CCD chat!
Jan and Helen are joined by Vicky Mayer, Clinical Lead for SLT at the Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh. We focused our chat on the recent Cognitive Communication Disorders Symposium, which took place online.
You'll hear us reference various researchers and assessment tools, to check them out for yourself we've included all the links:
On Twitter: Dr Melissa Brunner @LissBEE_CPSP
Professor L
Episode eleven: iRest meditation
This is an episode led by Lucie McIntosh, who we spoke to in episode ten. She takes us through an iRest meditation, so aside from our pre-recorded jingles there is no other talking. Perfect for trying out meditation!
Episode ten: Healing with iRest meditation
Jan and Helen are joined by Fiona, who spoke about her journey of recovery from brain injury in the last episode. The three of us speak with Lucie McIntosh, who explains a form of meditation called iRest. This is the first of two episodes on this subject, with the second being a stand alone iRest session. More information can be found at www.irest.org and at https://vimeo.com/integrativerestoratio
Episode nine: Walk with us
In this episode, Jan and Helen are delighted to be joined by two people with lived experience of brain injury. Fiona and Alan take us through their journeys since their brain injuries, how they are doing now, and what they hope for the future. As always, we thank you for listening and welcome you to share your thoughts on Twitter @BrainySLT and Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists.
What’s happening in Tayside
In this episode Jan and Helen speak to Amy and Alex, Speech and Language Therapists in NHS Tayside. We chat about the highs and lows of working with the brain injury caseload, how we as therapists can support one another, and the thinking behind Words of the Week. If you've not signed up to Words of the Week, information can be found here: https://www.nhstayside.scot.nhs.uk/OurServicesA-Z/AdultAcq
Giving voice to family members
In this episode we talk to Anne, who's husband had a traumatic brain injury. We talk about their journey of recovery and rehabilitation together, how she processed what happened, and what helped her. For more on this subject, we recommend the book Family Experience of Brain Injury: Surviving, Coping and Adjusting; by Jo Clark-Wilson and Mark Holloway. Available from all good bookshops.
Nutrition matters
In episode 6, Jan and Helen collaborate with Sian Riley from Red Pepper Nutrition to discuss how speech and language therapists and dietitians work with people recovering from head injuries. Sian can be contacted via her website www.redpeppernutrition.com, and is on Twitter @RedPepperNutri, her podcast is called the Red Pepper Nutrition podcast. Communication Access training is mentioned, more inf
Episode five: Enabling Environments
In this episode, we speak to Jane Johnson, Speech and Language Therapist, on the subject of Positive Behaviour Support.
Jane highlights some resources for more information-
PBS Alliance webinars: https://www.bild.org.uk/resources/?fwp_resource_type=webinar
Restraint Reduction Network: https://restraintreductionnetwork.org/
The Facebook group for UK therapists interested in PBS can be found her
Episode four: Working Smarter
Welcome to the second part of our chat with Dr Brian O'Neill. For full show notes and links, please see the description from Part 1
Episode three: Working Smarter
Welcome to episode 3! This is the first of two parts in which we talk to Dr Brian O'Neill about research design. There were some technical issues with the recording, so we hope you will stick with the episode despite these. Couple of factchecks for both episodes - Brian mentions Robyn Tate, who is based at the University of Sydney, and also mentions heading to the NIHR site, which can be found at
Episode two: Focus on the Family
In this second episode of the Brainy Speech Therapists Podcast, hosts Jan McIntosh-Brown and Helen Maclean are joined by SLT, University Lecturer, and researcher Lynn Grayson. Lynn has recently published her first paper resulting from her research into the needs of communication partners following a traumatic brain injury: https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12555. Follow us on Twitter @BrainySLT or
Episode one: I’m not a Grinch, I’ve had a brain injury
Welcome to the first episode of the Brainy Speech Therapist podcast. We're Helen and Jan, and in this episode we talk a bit about ourselves and the ethos of the podcast. We also talk about the impact of a brain injury on executive functions and what this means for the festive season. See our Twitter page @BrainySLT or Instagram @brainyspeechtherapists for the executive function diagram referenced
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