I am an adult speech and language therapist working in specialist palliative care. My Fellowship looks at how people with communication difficulties are supported to make decisions at the end of life. It is not common for speech and language therapists to work within specialist palliative care teams. This means that there is an unmet and often unknown need for those who have difficulties communicating to receive the specialist support they require in order to participate in conversations about their wishes and care.

I hope to take inspiration from other countries in how they support people with communication difficulties due to life limiting diseases to partake in and make choices about their care, with an aim to improve participation, services and awareness within the UK.