Overview

The ASHA Code of Ethics requires individuals to provide all services competently, which includes documentation of services rendered. Research from a range of professions and educational establishments in the communication sciences and disorders across the USA has clearly indicated the shortcomings and fallibilities of students and clinicians in their ability to write formally,correctly and clearly. Whether medical reports, chart notes, or diagnostic evaluations--even a piece written for an oral presentation--much of what you write can become a legal document that may be used in court. Furthermore, if documentation is incomplete or incorrect, then third party payers, such as insurance companies, may withhold payment.

This book helps you to understand what to do, what not to do, what to avoid, and how to address various writing problems encountered. It aims to show that learning to be a better professional writer does not have to be drudgery, and uses humor and anecdotal material, plus self-test questions to help illustrate issues under discussion.

The authors commence with coverage of aspects of language from punctuation, through abbreviations, to cultural issues, going on, in a chapter on evidence-based writing, to provide strategies to answer the "why?" (rather than just the "what?" and the "how?") questions about professional writing. A review of the ASHA Code of Ethics precedes the important issue of uses and abuses of the Internet resources, as well as library resources, from collections to copyright and plagiarism.

Comprehensive coverage is given to the diagnostic report, in which the authors specify and describe five rules for diagnosis, continuing with guidelines for writing diagnostic reports in speech-language pathology and audiology that include specific instructions and examples for diagnostic protocols and report formats. Coverage of clinical reports and referrals includes templates and samples of a treatment plan, progress report, and chart note, as well as forms of professional correspondence. Also reviewed are issues in clinical writing related to terminology, ethics, and software.

The book concludes with strategies for developing a professional portfolio, preparing a resume, and writing a cover letter, and features an analysis of multiple-choice tests, those used in the Praxis II exam as well as those prepared by course instructors. Unique and much needed, this is the only book to cover the whole spectrum of the communication sciences and disorders in a modern and approachable form. For any clinician, student, or instructor, it delivers a template for personal/professional self-development. Furthermore, it will prove to pay for itself many times over in aiding time-saving, accuracy, expediency in claims, and avoidance of damaging legal actions.

Audience

Primary Subject: Speech and Language Pathology / Clinical Practicum & Professional Issues
Audience Level: Professional/Textbook - Desk Copy

• 1: Getting Started
• Introduction
• Beginnings of Speech-Language Pathology
• Beginnings of Audiology
• Writing Rules
  • Target skills:
    apostrophes, possessives, and plurals;
    euphemisms, political correctness, use of adjectives as nouns
    About The Deaf Community And “Hearing Impairment”
  • Target skills:
    punctuation, capital letters;
    s/he and [s]he, gender neutral;
    archaic and stilted usage, American spelling;
    noun-pronoun, subject-verb, and tense agreement;
    relative or nonessential clauses;
    reducing redundancy and hyperbole; parallelism;
    abbreviations;
    definite, specific, concrete language;
    numbers and numerals, Arabic and Roman numerals;
    say what the client does, not what the client is
  • Exercises
• 2: Evidence Based Writing
  • Scientific Method
    Empirical Verification
    Operational Definition
    Controlled Observation
    Statistical Generalization
    Empirical Confirmation
  • Scientific Method vs. Common Sense
    Psychological Verification
    Verbal Definition
    Uncontrolled Observation
    Overgeneralization
    Psychological Confirmation
  • Scientific Method and Pseudoscience
    Evaluation of Students’ Evidence-Based Writing in Speech-Language Pathology
  • Exercises
• 3: Ethics of Professional Writing
  • The ASHA Code of Ethics
  • Principle of Ethics I
    Individuals shall honor their responsibility to hold paramount the welfare of persons they serve professionally
  • Principle of Ethics II
    Individuals shall honor their responsibility to achieve and maintain the highest level of professional competence.
  • Principle of Ethics III
    Individuals shall honor their responsibility to the public by promoting public understanding of the professions, by supporting the development of services designed to fulfill the unmet needs of the public, and by providing accurate information in all communications involving any aspect of the professions
  • Principle of Ethics IV
    Individuals shall honor their responsibilities to the professions and their relationships with colleagues, students, and members of allied professions. Individuals shall uphold the dignity and autonomy of the professions, maintain harmonious interprofessional and extraprofessional relationships, and accept the professions’ self-imposed standards.
  • Health insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
  • The Institutional Review Board IRB)
    The Belmont Report
    National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Course
  • Appendix: IRB Research Review Forms
  • Exercises
• 4: Using Internet Resources
  • What Is the Internet?
  • Syntax, Semantics, and Jargon
  • Uses and Abuses
  • Citing References from the Internet
  • Evaluating Internet Sources for Professional Writing
  • Exercises
• 5: Using Library Resources
  • History of the Library
  • Collections
    Books
    Scholarly Journals
    Audio-Visual Materials
    Microforms
    Services
    The Organization of Information: Catalogs and Databases
    Conducting a Search
    Interlibrary Loans / Reciprocal Library Privileges
    Reference Services
    Librarians
    Reference Tools
    Research Guides
    Reserve Items
    Course Packs
  • Copyright Material
  • Plagiarism
  • Citing References from Print Books and Journals
  • Exercises
• 6: Writing for Oral Presentation
  • Preparing the Oral Presentation
    Developing the Speech
    Outlining the Presentation
  • Delivering the Oral Presentation
    Computer-Generated Presentations
    Creating Computer-Generated Presentations
    Factors in Effective Speech Delivery
    Tips for Delivering the Speech
  • Sample Computer-Generated Presentation
  • Exercises
• 7: The Diagnostic Report
  • Diagnostic Labeling
  • Threats to Accurate Diagnosis
  • Rules for Diagnosis
    RULE #1: Say What The Client Does, Not What The Client Is. In other words, report behaviors and limit the number of diagnostic labels.
    RULE #2: Be an Educated Consumer Of Tests And Measures. While the doctorate is generally seen as the degree associated with the production of research, all audiologists and speech-language pathologists must understand research methodology.
    RULE #3: Beware of ‘Clinicese’. Clients may exhibit behaviors in the clinic which they do not generalize outside of the speech and hearing center.
    RULE #4: Do Differential Diagnosis When Appropriate. Diagnostically related groups (sometimes abbreviated as DRGs) often present similar audiometric and/or language profiles.
    RULE #5: Obey the Limits of Our Scope of Practice. Provide diagnostic labels that relate to the communicative disorder, not the medical cause.
  • Writing the Diagnostic Report
    The Logic of Report Writing
    The Diagnostic Report Format
  • Guidelines for Writing Diagnostic Reports in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
    Writing Aspects
    Format
    Sections of the Diagnostic Report
    Report Drafts
    Writing the History
  • Diagnostic Report Format —Speech and Language
  • Diagnostic Protocol Worksheet — Speech and Language
  • Diagnostic Report Format — Audiology
  • Diagnostic Protocol Worksheet — Audiology
  • Exercises
• 8: Clinical Reports and Referrals
  • Informed Consent and Permission
    Justification
    Informed Consent Form
    Permission Form
  • Types of Professional Reports
    Treatment Plan
    Progress Report
    Guidelines for Writing Progress Reports in Speech-Language Pathology
    Progress Report: Writing Style Worksheet
    Edited Progress Report in Speech-Language Pathology
    Audiogram Form Report
    Example of Audiogram Report Form
    Medical Chart Logs/Reports
    Log Note in Speech-Language Pathology
    Log Note in Audiology
  • Professional Correspondence
    Professional Referrals/Sending Reports
    Letters to Professionals
    Cover Letter Format
    Example Cover Letter for Speech-Language Pathology Report
    Example Cover Letter for Audiology Report
    Example Letter Report: Audiology
    Correspondence via Electronic Media
• 9: Writing For Professional Advancement
  • Resumes
    Resume Example for Speech-Language Pathology
    Resume Example for Audiology
  • Cover Letters for Resumes
    Resume Cover Letter Format
    Sample Resume Cover Letter
  • Portfolios
    Checklist of Clinical Work in Audiology
    Checklist of Clinical Work in Speech-Language Pathology
  • Multiple Choice Tests
  • Exercises: Examples of Multiple-Choice Questions

About The Authors

Robert Goldfarb, Ph.D.

Robert Goldfarb, Ph.D., is Professor and Program Director of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Adelphi University and Emeritus Professor and former Executive Officer of the Ph.D. Program in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the CUNY Graduate Center. He has published over 30 journal articles and book chapters in speech, language, and swallowing disorders of aphasia, dementia, and schizophrenia; edited Ethics: A Case Study from Fluency; and is also co-author of Professional Writing in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Techniques for Aphasia Rehabilitation Generating Effective Treatment (TARGET), and The Stocker Probe for Fluency and Language (3rd ed.). An ASHA Fellow, Dr. Goldfarb has received the Professional Achievement Award from the New York City Speech, Hearing, and Language Association and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

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Yula Cherpelis Serpanos, Ph.D.

Dr. Serpanos, is Associate Professor of Audiology in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program at Adelphi University and the Long Island Doctor of Audiology (AuD) Consortium. She has over twenty years of clinical experience and fourteen years of university teaching experience at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Dr. Serpanos has several publications in the areas of behavioral loudness growth assessment and estimation using electrophysiologic auditory measures, and in preschool audiologic screening.

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