Have you ever asked yourself, “What do you mean I need a consent form? We are just presenting on a project we did with our community aphasia group.” Dr. Myrna Schwartz speaks with Dr. Janet Patterson about the important role of ethics and institutional review in clinical research activities in which community aphasia groups may wish to participate. It’s an important and often confusing topic that all people who are interested in either research or program evaluation should understand.

In this episode, you will:

• Hear Dr. Schwartz describe the human face of research and the importance of institutional review board activities and informed consent to clinical research happening in community aphasia groups;
• Learn how to differentiate inward focused research examining Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement of a community aphasia group from outward focused research designed to answer a clinical question;
• Learn strategies and techniques for your community aphasia group to develop an institutional review board or to partner with a university or hospital for clinical research activities.

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Ellen Bernstein-Ellis of California State University, East Bay interviews Dr. Elizabeth Hoover, a Clinical Associate Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and the Clinical Director of the Aphasia Resource Center at Boston University. They discuss Dr. Hoover’s work with aphasia groups at the Aphasia Resource Center at Boston University as well as the exciting research she’s undertaking.

In this episode, you will:

• Learn how to involve IPP elements in your aphasia program to address the increase in sedentary behavior and the need for nutritional counseling post stroke;
• Understand how to use the A-FROM to help develop and implement participation goals within an IPP framework;
• Gain an example of how to target specific verbs within a daily conversation group;
• Get an early glimpse into new research by Dr. Hoover and Dr. DeDe examining the impact of group size on outcomes for conversational group treatment.

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In this episode, Guest Interviewer Dr. Liz Hoover brings together three pioneers of LPAA, Dr. Roberta Elman, Dr. Aura Kagan, and Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie, to share their perspectives on some of the early roots of LPAA and to offer insights about each of its five tenets. Enjoy this lively exchange about LPAA core values.

A special thank you to Lyssa Rome, a new Cal State East Bay alumni, who is not only a new SLP and AA member, but who kindly put her previous job skills as a radio producer to work in helping with this episode.

In this episode, you will:

• Get the insider view of the history of the LPAA Statement of Values 
• Listen to a description of the five core LPAA values and their importance to providing patient-centered care
• Better understand how personal factors and the environment play critical roles within the LPAA framework
• Hear advice for the new clinician about how to make a limited number of speech therapy sessions “count”

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Dr. Katie Strong of Central Michigan University presents an episode on The State of Aphasia in North America. She interviews Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie about Aphasia Access' recent report on the State of Aphasia. 

Nina Simmons-Mackie Ph.D., BC-ANCDS is Professor and Scholar in Residence at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, LA. She is past president of Aphasia Access and serves on the current Aphasia Access board. She has received the Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders & Sciences and the Louisiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She received an Outstanding Clinical Achievement Award from the American Speech, Language and Hearing Foundation. Dr. Simmons-Mackie has many years of clinical, academic and research experience in neurogenic communication disorders and has published numerous articles and chapters in the area of adult aphasia. Interests include aphasia, qualitative research, and social model philosophies.

In today’s episode, you will hear:

• The story that inspired the State of Aphasia in North America Report;
• A guided tour of the organization of the report;
• A few of Nina’s highlights from the report including the Impact of Social Isolation and Services for Aphasia.

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Today, Janet Patterson will be speaking with Francie Schwarz about a unique partnership between library science and speech-language pathology. That partnership led to the first book group for persons with aphasia that is hosted at a public library.

In today’s episode, you will:

• Hear how creating a partnership with your local public library is a novel and unique way to embody the principles of LPAA by bringing a book group for people with aphasia to the community;

• Learn tips on developing a relationship with the adult programming librarian in order to navigate library regulations, locate resources to obtain books, and manage lending practices;

• Learn strategies to work with libraries to help them demonstrate their unique contribution to their communities and serve their mission of inviting residents into the library through hosting a book group for people with aphasia.

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Dr. Nidhi Mahendra (San Jose State University) interviews Dr. Esther Kim.

Dr. Kim is a speech-language pathologist, aphasia researcher, and Associate Professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Alberta in Canada. In addition to her research program examining treatments for aphasia and acquired reading disorders, Esther is the co-founder of the Alberta Aphasia Camp and has an interest in examining outcomes related to aphasia camp participation and LPAA programming in general. Beyond this, she also teaches an aphasia class and supervises graduate student clinicians.

In today’s episode, you will learn about:

• The importance of utilizing multiple avenues for high impact when raising awareness about aphasia;
• The critical importance of recreational and therapeutic activities for people with aphasia with a special emphasis on offering these activities in a supportive communication environment;
• Program design with an eye to bringing people with aphasia together while also providing a rich training environment for speech pathology students.

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Listen to this episode as Ellen Bernstein-Ellis (California State University, East Bay) speaks with Dr. Jerry Hoepner about programming for the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp.

Dr. Hoepner is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He teaches numerous courses including neurogenic disorders, neuroanatomy, and counseling. Jerry's teaching research focuses on non-course-based learning, pedagogy, and training CSD students as educators. His clinical research includes outcomes of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, social networking applications, videos self-modeling, interventions, and communication partner training.

In this episode, you will:

• Learn about how the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp got its start 14 years ago and how its mission to increase social interaction and communicative success guides its programming;
• Hear more about how the concepts of therapeutic landscapes and environmental press dovetail with the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA);
• Learn how the student volunteer experience is guided at camp from the initial training to the daily de-briefing. 
• Learn how Snapchat -  a photo-based social media app - can increase social interactions among campers. 

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In this episode, Dr. Katie Strong (Central Michigan University) speaks with Dr. Audrey Holland who shares her insights from the trenches, recalling her most significant “Aha!” moments.

Dr. Holland is an internationally-renowned expert in the area of aphasia assessment and intervention. She is the Regents’ Professor Emeriti of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at The University of Arizona and she continues to consult and write in the area of aphasia during her retirement. She's the author of several assessments and three books, numerous book chapters, and over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles. 

In this episode, you will:

• Hear the story of how a plane trip with business magazine article led to Dr. Holland’s ‘aha moment’ of thinking about coaching in communication disorders; learn the difference between coaching and counseling; and how to use elements of positive psychology in LPAA practice
• Learn the value of talking about ‘us’: Tips on building a relationship-centered experience with your client 
• Be inspired to make an impact on your community one starfish at a time
• Learn the power of post-traumatic growth

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Dr. Janet Patterson (VA Northern California Health Care System) interviews Dr. Candace Vickers. Dr. Vickers is with the College of Allied Health at California Baptist University in Riverside, California. Formerly, she was part of the outpatient neuro rehabilitation team at the St. Jude Medical Center where she was the creator of the communication recovery groups program.

In this episode, you will:

• Learn two benefits to providing a person with aphasia with the opportunity to share a conversation with a non-obligated communication partner. 
• Learn about the value of supporting opportunities for both exercise and conversation with people with aphasia.
• Hear Dr. Vicker's describe how being part of an aphasia group can decrease the risk for social isolation.

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Today, Ellen Bernstein-Ellis (California State University - East Bay) speaks with Dr. Darla Hagge.

Dr. Hagge is an assistant professor at California State University - Sacramento and a speech language pathologist at St. Jude Medical Center. She's the founder of the NeuroService Alliance which is a collection of life participation approach programs for adults with acquired communications disorders. She's the co-founder of the California Interprofessional Education Research Academy and the Sac State's CHHS Interpersonal Education Center of Innovative Teaching and Learning. In today’s episode you will:

• Learn the key elements that define professional education;
• Understand the four domains that need to be part of any professional education learning experience
• Get tips on how to start a professional education or an interprofessional practice collaboration in both university and medical settings
• Hear tips for introducing colleagues to communication partner training in a professional practice setting.

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