ASHA Voices

An expert panel of audiologists and health researchers answer questions about the overlap between populations at risk for hearing loss and opioid misuse, guidance on how to address this sensitive subject with patients, and the role pandemic-induced isolation is playing in opioid misuse.

We speak to a mother who adopted a son with prenatal opioid exposure, and we hear from her Marshall University colleague, a researcher whose conversations with school-based speech-language pathologists reveal where the opioid epidemic may be showing up on caseloads.

They say that the effects of prenatal opioid exposure can last beyond infancy and early childhood, with children presenting characteristics that can sometimes be mistaken for other diagnoses.

As we look towards 2022, and 2021 ends, we hear from members sharing both gratitude and grief—from voices you may recognize.

Plus, in the spirit of reflection, retiring ASHA CEO Arlene Pietranton takes a bow. After 18 years leading the association, Pietranton shares stories and reflects on the mission that’s sustained her service.

Rachel Archambault was an SLP at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when the school became the site of the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history. The Parkland, Florida, students who were freshmen during that shooting are now graduating, and in the years since the shooting, Archambault became an advocate for trauma-informed practice, sometimes called trauma-informed care.

Archambault joins ASHA Voices to tell us about serving as an SLP at the school and shares the five principles of trauma-informed care she incorporates into her work. She also addresses what a trauma-informed approach might look like as students and staff deal with fallout from COVID-19.

This conversation was originally published in July 2021.

Recorded at the 2021 ASHA Convention, the NCAA men's basketball champion and NBA vet joins the podcast to share his personal story and experiences, including his decision to self-disclose his stutter during the NCAA Tournament.

Kidd-Gilchrist also discusses his advocacy work for people who stutter through his initiative Change and Impact. The nonprofit focuses on helping those who stutter access services from SLPs and, as a part of that, Michael creates greater awareness of stuttering and the lived experiences of those who stutter.

Hear three highlights from the podcast in 2021. From the Navajo Nation to the boxing ring to the silver screen, we revisit stories that stayed with us.

We take an in-depth look at accent modification and hear an array of perspectives on a service approach that's also a source of controversy. 

Central to this conversation are questions about the voice and identity: In the fight against linguistic discrimination, could accent modification be a tool to repel inequity, or could it instead perpetuate it? 

We’ll hear from an SLP who wrote a book on accent modification and another SLP who made waves with a provocative presentation in December of 2020. Plus, leaders of some of ASHA’s multicultural constituency groups share their thoughts.

Discerning speech in a noisy environment requires practice, and it can take years for children to hone their ability to maximize their auditory system.

Award-winning researcher Lauren Calandruccio joins the podcast to discuss auditory perception in noisy environments, like the classroom. She tells us about the experiments she conducted into how children perceive sound, and we hear the surprising turn her research took.

Plus, Lauren shares what she’s doing at Case Western Reserve University to facilitate communication in her university classroom during the pandemic.

This conversation was originally published in February 2021.

In honor of International Stuttering Awareness Day on October 22, we’re presenting an encore publication of our episode on stuttering representation and visibility.

We hear from SLP Chris Constantino, a faculty member at Florida State University. Constantino talks about what he’s heard from his clients and shares what the inauguration of President Biden, who has spoken openly about his experience as a person who stutters, means for him personally. Constantino is also a person who stutters.

Then, a panel of SLPs—Derek Daniels, Courtney Byrd, and Katie Gore—join the show. We discuss the importance of acceptance in assessing and treating stuttering, and we talk about how the experience of stuttering differs from person to person.

It's more common than autism, but is developmental language disorder being overlooked? Our guest today says so, and in her award-winning research, she explains why. Researcher and advocate Karla McGregor joins this episode to discuss identification, intervention, and advocacy.