What I Say to New Participants to Set Up Treatment

Full transcript

Hi, it's Nicole from the NYU Motor Speech Lab. I took a little bit of a break at the end of August, and I'm really happy to be back.

One of the things I wanted to quickly share this week is what I'm telling my potential new research participants, or the ones I know are coming on, as we're just starting treatment. I'm about to start a new cohort of participants. So what am I saying initially to plant these seeds, and water them, for successful future treatment?

When I'm doing the assessment, I always say, "I love the way you're looking at me," because the crux of DTTC is integral stimulation: watch me, follow me, and do as I do.

I always say something like, "Wow, did you see how we said that word together? That was awesome." That way they understand that simultaneous production is actually expected, because it can feel a little strange at first.

I always make sure I say something to the effect of, "I don't expect you to be able to say everything perfectly, but I am here to help you." So they understand that they can be vulnerable, and they can try, and that that's okay.

Many times I'll say something like, "I know you are working so hard, and I know you have amazing things to say. I want everybody to understand you. That's why we are working so hard together." That just validates that I know there's a lot going on in there that isn't always accessible.

And lastly, I like to say, "I know it can seem weird that we're saying the same word over and over again, but LeBron James didn't perfect his jump shot by doing it just once." I try to bring that sports analogy in so they can understand that we need to do repetitive practice.