Vanessa Abraham, MS, CCC-SLP, author and ICU survivor, joins host Sarah Baar for a powerful conversation that bridges clinical practice with lived experience. Together, they explore how communication access in the ICU can shape recovery and why trauma-informed care is essential across all rehab disciplines. Vanessa shares her personal journey with Guillain-Barré Syndrome and Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), offering practical strategies and poignant insights for clinicians like you. You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how communication can reduce trauma, and why it just might be the most important intervention you provide.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the evidence around trauma-informed communication practices to reduce the mental and emotional impacts of Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) in critically ill individuals and their families
• Apply evidence-based, practical strategies to actionably address communication barriers in individuals in the ICU setting, including the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools to enhance communication access and informed decision-making
• Solve patient case scenarios involving individuals at risk for PICS by identifying unmet communication needs, selecting appropriate interventions, and constructing care plans that align with trauma-informed and ethical clinical practice

Timestamps

• (00:00:00) Welcome
• (00:00:05) Introduction to executive functions and neurodiversity
• (00:02:23) The executive function express program
• (00:06:54) Understanding interoception and executive function
• (00:12:16) The train model: visualizing executive function
• (00:16:32) Recent research on executive functions
• (00:20:31) Practical applications for therapists
• (00:30:23) Supporting children with varying needs
• (00:52:53) Parting thoughts and actionable steps

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