An Opportunity to Learn About Coaching
Communication skills do not come naturally to everyone. When you enter into a new world such as paralysis, knowing what to say and how to say it, is often different than general interactions or previous life experiences. You may be a parent wanting to provide great communication with a child or teen, a spouse or caregiver that is interacting with an adult who has paralysis. As an individual with paralysis, you may want to be able to improve expressing your needs. The experience may be new or long-standing. Learning effective communication and coaching is a skill that can be developed.
Coaching is one method of utilizing great communication skills. A coach supports a learner in new or improving their skills. After paralysis, which can be from disease or injury, there are many skills to learn. It can be overwhelming. The use of coaching has been shown to help both the coach and the individual with paralysis learn skills, adaption, and use of communication.
Individuals may be interested in coaching but often wonder where to start. Asking your healthcare professional about coaching is a start. There are programs online and therapists that will help you. However, both finding ongoing care at an affordable cost are issues.
A program funded by the Craig H. Neilson Foundation provides an opportunity to learn about coaching. Developed under the guidance of M.J. Mulcahey, Ph.D., OTR\L, CHC, CLP, FASIA, a coaching program for individuals with spinal cord injury and caregivers is being studied. It is virtual so those interested can participate from home. You might remember M.J. from a webinar that we did in September 2021 with M.J. and Keri Morgan, Ph.D., OTR/L. The discussion was about multiple topics, but the coaching project was within that webinar. You can listen here.
Individuals with spinal cord injury and caregivers who are interested can join the study now. More information can be found here:
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This program consists of 12 virtual sessions. Contact Rachel Kim, OTD, OTR/L (rachelkim2@jefferson.edu) who will welcome your questions. Her contact information is also in the photo above.
If you have been recently injured (at least three months) or longer or perhaps you find yourself in a communications rut, this would be helpful. Perhaps you want to hone your skills or shift the dynamics of your relationship for each person to take on different tasks.
Separately, healthcare professionals can obtain a coaching educational certificate. This certificate program is not under study but an academic program.
Pediatric Consideration:
Coaching is effective especially if you are learning communication skills as a parent while learning how to motivate your child due to paralysis. This program in this blog is for individuals aged 18 and older. You might be a parent of a child in that age range that will both benefit.
For caregivers of children and children who are younger but interested in coaching, talk with your child’s healthcare professional who can direct you to someone in your community that can assist with developing and refining communication skills.