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: