Reading Clinic

Introduction

Reading difficulties are common after head injury. The loss of the ability to read can be very debilitating and can often mean that people are unable to participate in activities they once enjoyed, such as reading a magazine or a novel. However, there are limited specialised services available in London which address reading difficulties after head injury.

The City University London Reading Clinic provides an individualised assessment and therapy service for people who have reading difficulties as a result of language and/or cognitive changes after stroke or head injury.

The clinic offers both individual and group therapy sessions. The focus of the Reading Clinic is on reading for leisure. Functional therapy approaches are used, such as strategies and graded support for clients to read an item of their choice e.g. a novel or a magazine, in order for individuals to achieve their goals. The group session is an opportunity for members to share and discuss what they are currently reading, as well as pursue interests of their choice - such as authors, travel writers, and so on.

The clinic currently runs on a weekly basis between October and December, and again from end of January to beginning of April.

Research

There are limited assessment tools available which assess functional reading and the impact acquired alexia has on people who have had a head injury or stroke. Furthermore there is limited research which has investigated the effectiveness of functional reading therapy for these difficulties.

One of the aims of the City University London reading clinic is to develop and pilot some assessment tools which can be used to assess functional reading. We also hope to gather evidence for the effectiveness of functional reading therapy for people who have had a head injury or stroke.

The reading clinic now runs in-house at City University London, however, it first started out in the academic year of 2007 to 2008, as individual honours research projects. The university partnered up with local charity community group, and five final year undergraduate students delivered individually tailored assessment and therapy programmes to five group members.

Read (doc) the abstracts from each of the five honours dissertations.

From left to right: 2008 Graduates Niina Matthews, Joan Gregoire-Clarke, Lisa Barnett, Emma Phillips and Ruth Middleton, and staff, Drs Naomi Cocks and Madeline Cruice. Graduates now practice as speech and language therapists at various locations around London and South-East England.   

Student and Staff Involvement

The reading clinic is a student-run clinic. Third year undergraduate students or second year postgraduate students, under the supervision of qualified speech and language therapists, carryout the assessments and the therapy programmes.

Between September and December, the reading clinic also operates as a research clinic. During this time, final year undergraduate students also work in the clinic. With the consent of the clients, they collect data as part of a research project.

Comment From 2009 Graduates

In September 2008 City University London set up a reading clinic which provided treatment for adults with acquired reading impairments. It also provided an opportunity for third year Speech and Language Therapy students to experience a clinical placement with this client group and also a basis for a fourth year student's research project.

Fourth year students carried out weekly 1:1 sessions with clients as well as taking on the role of mentor for the third year students. The three clients who attended individual therapy sessions additionally attended a group session facilitated by the third year students.

As fourth year students we attended the clinic for 10 weeks in order to carry out single case study experiments. We found this unique opportunity both challenging and exciting. As well as collecting the data we needed it was a good opportunity for hands on clinical experience, which other fourth year projects do not always provide. It was rewarding to see the clients progressing in both their reading abilities and confidence as the weeks passed.

The role of mentor provided an important insight into the position of clinical supervision and good preparation for a role that is integral to our profession. As well as providing support to the third year the experience has also taught us other skills such as, rapport building, providing opportunities for learning and giving feedback.

We are grateful for the opportunity to have taken part in this innovative therapeutic intervention.

By Chloe Selby, Derryn Henning and Sarah Worgan 2009 Graduates.

Contact Us

If you would like more information about this clinic, please contact Dr Naomi Cocks on 0207040 8287 and naomi.cocks.1@city.ac.uk or Dr Madeline Cruice on 020 7040 8290 and m.cruice@city.ac.uk. More information about Naomi and Madeline can be found at http://www.city.ac.uk/lcs/academics.html