Guests explore the ways in which conversation can play a role in fighting social isolation for people with aphasia, as well as provide an important way to experience community and connection.

First, the hosts of the Brain Friends podcast – Angie Cauthorn, an advocate for people with aphasia, and SLP Seles Gadson. The duo discusses their aphasia-centered podcast and address the critical role of conversation groups, such as the Black American Aphasia Conversation Group, in fostering that community and connection. Angie also shares her experience with the language disorder.

Later in the episode, we’re joined by poet and founding member of the Black American Aphasia Conversation Group, Michael Obel-Omia.

The University of Memphis’ Sarah Warren says studying public health allowed her to reimagine her career as an audiologist and connect her work to larger communities. She shares why and how she is incorporating public health concepts into the education of the next generation of audiologists.

Plus, does it feel like you've been hearing more about public health in recent years? Warren explains the reason for that. She shares a brief history of health care trends in the U.S, including how the COVID-19 pandemic affected awareness of public health.

SLP Emily Kornman discusses her work as a part of Team Gleason, a nonprofit supporting people with ALS. When ALS erodes someone’s ability to speak, many turn to augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, to find their voice. Kornman discusses her work with AAC devices and voice and message banking.

Plus, we’ll hear a first-hand account from a family Kornman assisted with message banking in her work for Team Gleason.

This conversation was originally published in September 2022.

How do society’s expectations of people who stutter affect those speakers’ experiences?

As a person who stutters and as an SLP specializing in stuttering, Chris Constantino of Florida State University discusses how concepts like neurodiversity and the social model of disability can influence and inspire intervention. He shares what these ideas mean to him and how they might look if they’re applied in practice.

Plus, Constantino highlights some of the positive moments he’s gained in his life from being a person who stutters.

This conversation was originally published in July 2022.

People with disabilities affecting speech, language, and voice are at higher risk for avoidable health care errors and negative health care outcomes, says SLP Megan Morris, a faculty member at the University of Colorado. Her work addresses health care disparities experienced by people with disabilities and disabilities related to communication.

She discusses the role that CSD professionals play in reducing barriers associated with health care disparities for people with disabilities—particularly disabilities affecting communication.

Look for the transcript for this episode online at on.asha.org/podcast

This conversation was originally published in October 2022.

Amanda Piper is one of just a few audiologists in her home country of Trinidad and Tobago. Inspired by a personal connection, Piper traveled to the U.S. to study audiology, and today, she works as a clinical audiologist for the Trinidad and Tobago Association for the Hearing Impaired.

In recounting her education at UNC Greensboro and Vanderbilt University and career path back to her home country, Piper highlights some of the differences between working inside and outside of the U.S.

This conversation was originally published in July 2022.

How can a blow to the head result in difficulties with hearing and listening?

Audiologist Gail Whitelaw discusses what clinicians may want to consider when assessing or treating a person who's had a brain injury. She tells the story of one patient's long road to hearing care after acquiring a TBI during the Boston Marathon bombing.

Plus, author and researcher Nina Kraus (“Of Sound Mind”) takes us into the brain to reveal what she’s learning about how TBIs can affect the brain’s ability to make sense of the sounds in our lives.

These conversations were originally published in August 2022.

SLP Edythe "Edy" Strand joins the podcast for a conversation on apraxia of speech--the focus of her decades-long career. When it comes to differential diagnosis, the work of SLPs in this area can be challenging, she acknowledges. Hear her discuss its distinguishing characteristics and explain the difference between treating apraxia of speech and other disorders.

Strand also describes how she approaches discussions of this motor speech disorder with families. Plus, with a storied career, she shares memories of patients and experiences that inform her professional life, including the valuable lessons she took from those interactions.

With the arrival of a new student who uses hearing aids and American Sign Language, two University of Memphis audiologists began looking into hearing accessibility in the university setting. On the podcast, Lisa Lucks Mendel and Jennifer Taylor share how they sought creative accommodations in the classroom and the clinic.

Our guests share their personal experiences and address subjects such as accessibility in education, audism, and the strengths that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) audiologists contribute to the profession.

First, educational audiologist Sarah Sparks relates her story, including what she’s witnessed as a Deaf audiologist empowering clients.

And, audiologist Stacey Lim of Central Michigan University provides her take on what future audiologists may consider when looking for employment.