Vicki M. Anderson added the Communication Rings and other Ida tools to her clinic's group aural rehab program. The tools help participants identify their communication needs and develop shared strategies with their significant others.
Vicki uses the Communication Rings to encourage participants to think about their communication networks. The tool allows participants to identify the situations where communication is most important to them. The exercise also helps turn the participants "social circle" into something more concrete and present.
"I have the participants think about how easy or difficult it is to hear and communicate with the people they identified on their Communication Rings sheets. This helps them think about the factors that make communication easy or difficult with these different individuals," remarks Vicki M. Anderson. "Participants are then asked to be mindful of strategies that might improve their communication with people in different circles."
The Communication Rings should be used early on during a group AR course, according to Vicki. They help participants identify communication needs and set future goals. This provides a sturdy foundation for the participants as they continue their rehabilitation. Once they understand their needs, they are then ready to start learning strategies and tactics to meet those needs.
"My suggestion is to use the Communication Rings early and in combination with the other Ida tools, because everything we do is about helping people improve their communication with others in the circles of their lives," states Vicki M. Anderson. "In a clinic setting, we can use the Communication Rings to think about the patient's hearing and communication as related to their goals for the clinic visit, the findings of the audiological evaluation, and next steps toward amplification and environmental management. It might even be a tool or activity that patients could work on in the waiting room before their appointment."
Group AR courses at Vicki's clinic, Health Partners Audiology in Minnesota, are now in their second year. They are free of charge and participants do not get a discount on their hearing aids or free batteries for attending. This has not prevented the program from becoming a success. According to Vicki, offering group AR programs are a significant benefit to her clinic.
"There are very few, if any, group AR programs in our area. Offering an AR program can set your hearing clinic apart from the others, as it has ours," states Vicki Anderson.
Vicki has the following suggestions for clinics who want to overcome practical challenges and start their own group AR program:
- Start small, with just a two hour class. An intro course can be beneficial and fun even if only a few participants attend. This can help you develop an initial curriculum, create presentations, and get some practice teaching the program.
- Be sure to give advance notice and to advertise the class heavily. We keep an on-going list of patient who might be interested or who might benefit from the program. We just save one of their appointment labels and add them to the mailing list for future AR classes.
- Get administration on board with the program. Supply them with statistics about improved hearing aid retention and fewer returns. You can find many of these on the Ida Institute website.
Vicki M. Anderson is an audiologist with Health Partners Audiology clinics in Saint Paul and Saint Louis Park, Minnesota. She completed her clinical doctorate in audiology in May 2005 at Central Michigan University. In addition to her activities in aural rehabilitation, she has a special interest in hearing conservation for musicians and auditory processing disorders.