January 12, 2022 - EyeClarity Podcast
Lisa Dymond is a Registered Speech & Language Pathologist in Private Practice with a passion for supporting the integration of speech/language skills into conversational competence that supports relationships & social-emotional well-being. She is passionate about integrating speech/language skills into conversations that support social-emotional well-being & relationships.
Since 1997, Lisa has been a practicing speech/language pathologist, with experience across the broad scope of practice. Lisa enjoys working with clients to integrate speech & language skills into conversational competence that supports sustaining relationships & enhancing psychological health & well-being.
You can reach Lisa at lisadymondslp@gmail.com or through her social channels: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter
Be sure to save your seat for the Whole Health Summit: https://www.drsamberne.com/summit/
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SUMMARY KEYWORDS
lisa, sensation, question, debbie, people, language, relationship, drew, speech, featured speakers, chelsea, speech language pathologists, part, attachment, point, emotion, hearing, health, impact, communicating
00:04
Hey everybody. Good afternoon. Good morning. Good evening, wherever you are. This is Dr. Sam. And I want to welcome you to my EyeClarity podcast. As part of our Summit Series, you know, the health hole health summit is coming up very soon, we’ve got a few spots left, the dates are January 14 to the 16th 2022, you can register on my website on all my social media sites. Anyways, today, we have one of the featured speakers, and I love what she is putting out her name is Lisa Dymond. And just a little bit of backstory about Lisa. She’s a speech language pathologist. And she’s passionate about the impact of communication and supporting healthy relationships. So I want to bring her on leet. Lisa, welcome to the program. How are you today? How’s it going?
01:01
Hi, Sam, thanks so much for having me on, it’s going going really well.
01:08
So, you know, I work with a lot of speech language pathologists in the field of autism and add and so, but you’re, you’re kind of an amazing practitioner, and I want to introduce you to my community, because we want to know, how you got into this. And you know, what is your philosophy and perspective, because it’s, it’s, it’s really quite unique, I really love what you’re you’re doing. So, share with us how you got into this. And you know, what your philosophy is?
01:44
Well, thank you so much for that feedback. So starting with how I got into this, my, my original background, excuse me, was in anthropology and sociology, and just being interested in human behavior and human relationships on a bigger scale. And I always maintain this interest in languages. And so after that, I travelled a bit, saw the world and, you know, explore different cultures. And it was my mum, who said, What about speech and language therapy? So sure enough, I looked into that, and the nature of the work on a relation, relationship based way of working with people, and it was a perfect way to apply that interest in human relationships with languages and communication. So that’s how it all started.
02:39
Yeah, so relationship, this is like, critical, right? So can you say a little more about how you spotlight relationship? And what you’re doing with people?
02:53
Yeah, um, there’s so many different ways I can answer that question. And what comes to mind, at least for purposes of our conversation today is, you know, language and communication is there’s there’s receptive language and expressive language, sort of two sides of the same coin. And from a receptive point of view, what we understand, right, how we listen, how we, how we use our talking to listen to other people actually, in so that, so that, so that, as we’re listening, the other person feels seen and heard. That’s one part of it, the expressive part, you know, it’s everybody is expressing themselves, whether it’s a child in the womb, whether it’s an infant that’s babbling, whether it’s somebody who’s using a device to communicate, or I gaze, or whether it’s people using spoken language, we’re all expressing ourselves, and are we really communicating? And are we really communicating with each other in a social way, so that we ourselves feel seen and heard. So this, this way of looking at communication of receptive and expressive language, seeing and hearing the other, seeing and hearing ourselves that ties together the reciprocity of that experience, supports relationship in a way that that brings this reciprocal dynamic to, to the relationship that supports that the health of the relationship, the nurturing of the relationship and how the relationship can be sustained over time. What is it that makes us want to come together again, and again and again, and and keep that relationship going so that we have shared memories, we have shared stories, we can reminisce over time, when We’re in a classroom group, whether we’re in a family unit, and considering the summit that’s coming up the relationships we have with our health care providers, you know, they’re amongst amongst the relationships that are very important. Especially when we consider when we consider that the people who are helping us maintain optimal health well being, we want them to be our allies in that. Yeah. So that’s grossly speaking. That’s the that’s the foundation for how does language fit in to support that and and the development of that?
05:42
Oh, yeah, totally. So thank you for that. That clarifies it for me. And I think for the audience, I just want to say again, this is Lisa diamond, she’s a speech language pathologists, he’s gonna be one of our featured speakers, and my whole health summit. And so I want to, I don’t know whether you can do this, but I know you work one on one with people. So what’s your first session? Like? What What? Are you doing an analysis? Are you just listening? What what goes into how you figure out how you’re going to help somebody?
06:22
Well, I love that question. I love that question. Because it’s orienting to the whole path really. Often, when somebody is seeking services, they might be self referring, they might come because of a parent, they might be referred through a teacher, for example. And initially, there, initially, there’s an assessment process, right to figure out what what’s our path going to be? What are the goals? What are the intentions? What’s our purpose for working together? And informing that is? It’s a there’s a very broad way of informing it. Yes, there are standardized tests that are often used, because they provide concrete measurements. And in some instances, that’s helpful and useful. But more to the point, the context is really important. If it’s a child in a family, what are the family’s goals as well with that child? What’s the bigger picture that we’re going towards when we’re looking at the parts of a therapeutic plan? And most importantly, is the dinette in my mind is the dynamic piece of where is an individual’s starting with the skills that they have? And where are they going from session to session? Like it within a session, like from beginning to end? How did we achieve that, that success? What did it take to achieve that success? And then from session to session? What are we doing to maintain that? So that’s the dynamic part of an assessment where a person is compared to themselves? And in my mind, that’s where the most validity is, really to. Yeah, to to benchmark progress that way, as a starting point down progress that way?
08:14
Of course, yeah, that’s wonderful. And when you when you take on, say, a family or, you know, an individual, what, what is the arc of, you know, how long you’re going to work with them? What are some of the benchmarks you’re using to see if they’re making progress? How do you how do you see that?
08:37
Again, again, it’s it. There’s a broad way of answering that. Part of that depends on the setting for service delivery, some speech paths, there are, you know, specific constraints for how long of course, some people work in blocks, for example, so that more students can receive the opportunity of having therapy and it can get complex when it gets into sort of systems of delivery that way, ideally, though, it’s when those goals are set the progress towards those goals, are we meeting those? meeting those goals more of the time? And, you know, what would be the next step? Where are we going with the next step in that part of my own practice, too, is a lot of self rating scales. So a person’s own subjectivity, their own subjective point of view on their skill sets, and their progress because, you know, from the inside out, is really how we build the quality of our lives is what am I bringing to this and how do I feel about what I’m bringing to this? More so then, you know, external validation or an external reward He’s got to come from the inside out. And so really leaning into the conversations that indicate, indicate ease, indicate success indicate accuracy, according to that person’s own point of view and the broader application of skills in their relationships. So your speech and language is very bottom up and top down, meaning we’ve got the nuts and bolts of the mechanics of speech production, the mechanics of swallowing, the mechanics of acoustics, and you know, how we use those to build vocabulary and sentence structure and complex sentences, and put those together into narratives and conversations. But then we’ve also got the top down, which is, again, what’s my purpose here? What are my hopes and dreams for this conversation? What are my hopes and dreams for this relationship? And, right, and so then, then, we’re applying those nuts and bolts skills to the arc as you used in the, in your, in your question to the bigger picture, the bigger purpose and intention.
11:10
Sure, that makes sense. And, you know, it’s partly the way I work as well. And you bring in a really great point of healing from the inside out. And so many times, you know, I get frustrated with the rehabilitation field and the some of the therapist therapists out there, where it’s so external learning a splinter skill, or a certain outer technique, and then looking at it from a developmental point of view or holistic perspective. And also self awareness and self discovery, where you get people to start becoming aware through, you know, a checklist, or however you’re doing it. That’s so important, because how are they going to know there’s changes? If they’re not, you know, reflecting on themselves and where they want to go and what they want to do. So it’s, it’s, it’s a, it’s one of the reasons why I wanted to bring you on to the summit, because it is very much in line with how I think about things when I’m helping people with their vision. And so it’s, it’s really great to, to hear somebody out there like you doing that. So I just want to say to my audience, this is Lisa diamond. She’s a speech language language pathologist, and she is featured speaker at our upcoming home health summit. So now we’re going to get into q&a. And some of my listeners and followers have sent us some questions. This is gonna be fun. And so the first question is actually from a mom who I work with in Albuquerque, New Mexico, her name is Debbie. And she has an eight year old Asperger’s boy named Drew, I know Drew, worked with him. And she says, I have been told that I am very emotional about my son and his condition. Lisa, how do you think my emotional health affects Drew?
13:14
That’s a beautiful question. Remind me son, how old is Drew?
13:20
He is eight years old. He’s been diagnosed with Asperger’s. And, you know, he’s got some developmental delays going on.
13:28
And what’s nothing? Debbie, Debbie Debbie? Yes. I love Debbie’s question because she really is dialing into the experience of CO regulation, so to speak, or, or another way of saying that is her own emotions in the field with her son, and how, you know, this dance that’s happening. So. So when we are communicating, to shoot to communicate in a way that that helps us feel like we’re communicating in a way that brings our nervous system to a place of, of rest or in a zone of rest impacts the people that we’re communicating our communication partners, right. And so, and so Debbie’s question is, did you repeat her question for me specifically?
14:35
Yes, she she, she’s makes a comment. I have been told that I am very emotional about my son and his diagnosis. How do you think my emotional health affects Drew?
14:48
Right? Yeah, yeah. So So Debbie’s emotional health is part of what drew would be picking up on so to speak. It’s part of this This co regulation dynamic. So the more Debbie can notice what she’s noticing in herself, and the more, the more Debbie can use her own strategies, again, from the inside out, the more that will have a regulatory impact on you as well. Does that make sense?
15:24
Yeah, that’s gonna be really helpful to her that kind of thing. It validates what I’ve said to her and others. So that’s really great feedback for her so great.
15:36
I think one more thing. Okay. Sure. Well, fundamentally, fundamentally, the the outward perspective of, of course, this incredible care and concern for Drew, and compassion for Drew and how I’m How am I impacting Drew is, is sort of the tip of the iceberg. Right? That’s, that’s, that’s the external reflection of what could be going on for Debbie so to to just pause for a moment for Debbie to just pause for a moment and give herself the compassion and the self love to bring her perspective back inside. And before looking at the impact on Drew, look at the impact the impact on herself. And that’s where, you know, learning some strategies or taking a path of learning to figure out what it is for Debbie’s own self that helps her soothe and calm her nervous system. And then think about the reflection that will come back. True, true. Does that make sense?
16:49
Yeah, thank you. That’s great. Okay, we’re gonna move to our next question. This is Chelsea from London, England, from the UK. And so she’s been following me for a while. And I told her about you. So this is Chelsea. I’m quoting, I saw one of your posts, your posts. You talked about how we are creatures of attachment. And it gets formed in early child development. Chelsea goes on, she says, I’m an adult now. But I was a premature baby spent two weeks in an incubator before I could bond with my mom. What how do you think this is affected me?
17:35
Oh, wow.
17:38
That’s a big question.
17:39
It is a big question. I really thank Chelsea for noticing that information out there. And, and taking it inside and wondering about that. Certainly, again, this is this is a very broad topic. Two, I would really offer at the outset that that there have been two very influential teachers in my life. And of course Chelsea can contact me Of course, Debbie can contact me too if they want further conversation about their questions. But I do want to mention Myrna Martens. Who is a know her, you know her? Yeah, she’s been in DC and she’s just a marvel. She’s a family therapist. She integrates a lot of Cymatics. And what I what I’ve learned most through Myrna is the pre and Perinatal psychology piece. Oh, yeah. Right. Like it is. It’s huge, what is happening in the womb, and you know, the experience of the mother becoming the experience of the child in the womb, depending on right, depending on the mother’s reactions to all kinds of things and, and what that child inside sits with. And then once the child is out of the room, I would also really credit the work of Dr. Gordon Neufeld, who is a psychologist in Vancouver, BC. And he you know, a lot of people talk about attachment, attachment styles, but Dr. Neufeld has a way of he’s synthesized and you know, 40 plus years of clinical experience and all the theory that’s out there into his own characterization of the roots of attachments from from birth to six, how when those roots of attachment are really well formed, or when we get to develop those roots of attachment, we can actually come to rest in our relationships, learn to play. And then from there we emerge as you know, adaptive integrative adults in the world. So back to Chelsea’s question And and how that early experience impacted her. It’s, you know, there’s a very, there are many, many, many factors that would have to come into a conversation about that. Certainly, so, only to say, it’s worth it, it’s worth understanding, it’s worth understanding that, yeah,
20:22
absolutely, there’s just so much around the bonding, you know, at that, at that stage, especially when the newborn is so bonded with mom, and there’s oxytocin that’s produced, and there’s all kinds of hormones that are being, you know, energetically exchanged. So, I’m sure Chelsea will be contacting you, because it’s, it is a big imprint that probably is affecting her relationally.
20:52
Well, and, and given that early time, you know, that birth, birth to one is the time where we, you know, we have, we gain our attachment through proximity, right through hearing the sound of our caregivers from seeing our caregivers see us from smelling them from, you know, feeling their touch on us. And so to have the absence of that is something to consider at that point in time. And then how to move forward given that self understanding.
21:31
So we’re here with Lisa diamond, she’s a speech and language pathologist, and she’s going to be one of my featured speakers at the whole health summit. So we’re coming down to the end of our time today, it’s just flown by, we’re going to do one more question. And this is from Julie, who lives in the bay area of San Francisco. And she’s asking you, what is the difference between a sensation
21:57
and an emotion? I like Julie’s question to I would say and there may be, there may be many different points of view on this. So let me say that first. In my mind, just sensation can come from, you know, any of our body systems, first of all, and that sensation can drive us to emotion, emotion, as in to move the energy of that sensation. And then, from there, I think Julie’s Julie’s question lends itself well to sort of the next part of wondering, which is the meaning that we give that movement of energy that comes from the sensation, namely, of feeling, and that’s where language is the picture. Exactly, right. And then over that, how we use that language to name the feeling that might be coming from the emotion that came from the sensation of speaking that into conversation with the people that we’re with. So we’ve got a way of naming our experience and sharing that with another person through language that, that I mean, there’s incredible work out there on emotions. Lisa Feldman Barrett Barrett is somebody who comes to mind where when we really understand that we might call experience categories of emotions very differently. It allows us to get very curious about what somebody is experiencing on the level of feeling and emotion and sensation, without making assumptions that how I experience a sensation and the meaning that I give it would be the same as anybody else. And so in relationship, when we allow ourselves to speak, that allow whatever level of vulnerability is tolerable or can be cultivated in that relationship, to use our language to express that part of ourselves as well. There’s an incredible trust that can flow from that and a very deep way of being seen and heard. When we can use language apply language in that way. Started going right back to sensations.
24:27
Yeah, there you go. Yeah. Oh, thank you for that. So Lisa, how can people get in touch with you? Give us your contact info.
24:37
Right now people can get in touch with me with this my basic email address which is my full name, Lisa diamond, Li sa dy and o ND and then the letters S LP for speech language pathologist@gmail.com. That’s the best way to get in touch. There’s, I can also go to Instagram and it’s Lisa diamond speech. Just on Instagram, and send me a direct message there as well. It’s another way.
25:05
Great. Okay, I know people will. So I want to thank you so much for joining us today and I look forward to hearing your presentation listening to you at our health summit and I wish you the very best. Thanks so much for being with us today.
25:24
Thank you, Sam. Thanks for the opportunity and invitation and it’s been a pleasure chatting with you
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