First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional SLP Insights

*** This episode is not available for ASHA CEUs.****

Guest: Brianna Emanuel, MC, CCC-SLP - Children who use personal AAC devices face a unique challenge on the playground. When playing outside with their classmates, taking an AAC device with them means that device can easily get broken or lost, but without it, they have no means to communicate with their friends or teachers. Today’s guest set out to address this challenge in her local community. Brianna Emanuel is an inspiring SLP working in the Appleton Area School District in Wisconsin who is passionate about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Together with Talk To Me Technologies (TTMT), she created a custom AAC board and had it installed at her local adaptive playground. This incredible action gives countless children a voice while they're playing with their peers, allowing nonverbal children to communicate easily without personal AAC devices. In today’s episode, Brianna shares her journey to becoming an SLP and gives us a glimpse into the process of working with TTMT to design a custom AAC board with inclusion in mind. She also highlights the importance of coaching for parents and teachers, the benefits of long-term loans and trials when finding the right AAC device for yourself, your students, or your children, and how she handles the daily challenges that come with working with nonverbal children and children with special communication needs. Tune in today for a conversation full of passion, inspiration, and functional guidance with real-life superhero, Brianna Emanuel!

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC and Karen McWaters, MOT, OTR/L - In today’s show, Erin and Michelle are joined by Karen McWaters to discuss the very important topic of interprofessional collaboration. Healthcare professionals generally tend to silo themselves in their own disciplines, and according to the Autism Research Journal, there are four main barriers to communication which exist. This disconnect is very unfortunate because, as you will hear in this episode, collaboration across professions has the potential to be a very powerful force. Erin, who is an SLP, and Karen, who is an OT, worked concurrently with a child who, when he first started therapy, was communicating using signs. A year into his sessions, he was asking to be dressed up like the Pixar lamp and trying to find a dark room he could “light up!” With palpable joy, Karen and Erin share the story of this boy’s progress, which highlights the benefits that arose from their commitment to working together and learning from each other, and they offer valuable advice for anyone interested in doing the same.

*** This episode is not available for ASHA CEUs.****

Guest: Dr. Kristen West, M.A., CCC-SLP - In today’s episode of First Bite, we are delighted to welcome back Dr. Kristen West, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss her work as an SLP in public schools. Kristen is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania and is currently also pursuing her educational doctorate at Slippery Rock University. In our conversation with Kristen, we delve into the challenges of setting up a program in public schools and how her journey led her to work in that space. We spend some time appreciating the role advocacy plays in special education services in schools and how our host, Michelle Dawson, in collaboration with Angie Neal, was able to pass a proposal that will benefit countless children in South Carolina for years to come. Listening in, you'll hear Michelle break down the many aspects of working as an SLP in public schools and what she has learned throughout her career. She expands on the inextricable relationship between nutrition and learning, the unique challenges cafeterias pose for children with PFDs, and the essential role of teamwork among nurses, teachers, and parents. We loved having Kristen back on the show, and we know you’ll find the conversation as informative and inspiring as we did! For all this and much more, join us today!

*** This episode is not available for ASHA CEUs.****

Guest: Megan Branham, LMSW - In the past 30 years, our knowledge of trauma and its effects has advanced significantly, but there is still much research to be done to deepen our understanding. In today’s episode of First Bite, we sit down with Megan Branham to discuss adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs. We unpack how our knowledge of trauma is integrated into the field of SLPs, pediatrics, specialists, and social workers and the many challenges inherent to that mission. Megan holds a Master's in Social Work and is a graduate of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Leadership for State-Based Advocates. She currently serves as VP of Strategy for North, a media company based in South Carolina. In our conversation with Megan, we discuss how ACEs first gained attention in the 1990s after new research found that these experiences led to a myriad of adverse health outcomes, from learning disabilities to mental health problems to chronic health conditions. We also discuss new insights into intergenerational trauma and how its biological impact alters human physiology on a cellular level, increasing the likelihood of adverse health outcomes and other issues. We cover a variety of topics that practitioners are confronted with regularly when it comes to dealing with trauma, like how to protect yourself when your personal trauma is triggered, and engaging in advocacy when you recognize policy failures. Join us for this fascinating and in-depth discussion on ACEs and how to be trauma-informed!

Guest: Dr. Georgia Malandraki, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S - As we continue this amazing journey through our tricky yet important field, we are joined today by a real leader from the field! Dr. Georgia Malandraki, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is an associate professor of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University and a Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. In her research, she focuses on investigating developmental swallowing neuroplasticity and developing rehabilitative and telehealth interventions for dysphagia. In addition to this, she is the research director of the Purdue I-EaT Swallowing Research Laboratory and Clinic and has served on editorial boards for ASHA journals, as an editor for the American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, and is the current president-elect of the Dysphagia Research Society. In this awesome conversation, we get to really go deep with Dr. Malandraki, talking about her most recent work on the developmental stages of the nervous system, some very helpful papers and resources that she recommends, muscle tone issues in infants, and the gaps that she has noticed in the pediatric care systems, that still persist today. For all this, and a whole lot more great insight, where it is so badly needed, listen in with us to hear what Dr. Malandraki has to say!

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC - In this episode Michelle is joined once again by her favorite podcasting cohost, Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC…to tackle all things job hunting from the SLP’s perspective. So, if you’re on hunt for your dream clinical practicum, dream CF, or a dreamy job switch, then tune in as Michelle and Erin share functional advice on what clinical considerations you should consider for that coveted interview. From case study questions to have prepared, common clinical questions that you could be asked, and even social skills to demonstrate…or not demonstrate in the interview, Michelle and Erin are going to cover it all from the SLP’s perspective! Bonus round…stay tuned next month for a follow-up episode with the one and only Morgan Mitchell with Elevation Healthcare to tackle all the HR details too!

Guest: Renee Garrett, MSED, CCC-SLP, CBIS - After watching her father struggle through the after effects of a stroke, Renee Garrett’s passion for SLP was awakened, and she has spent the past 12 years working in a range of medical settings. In today’s episode, our discussion focuses on the ethical challenges that arise when an SLP moves from one type of care to another. For example, an SLP working in a school requires a very different set of skills compared to an SLP working in an ICU, and assuming that the skills are transferable can be dangerous for you as the professional, as well as for your patients. Among other things, we talk about the elements that you need to take into consideration before switching settings, how regulations differ between states, and where you can access a range of resources that will help you with your transition.

Guest: Marsha Dunn Klein, OTR/L, MEd, FAOTA - Having a child with feeding challenges can be anxiety-inducing for parents and children alike. Feeding strategies and interventions are synonymous with pressure, which only perpetuates the discomfort around eating. Marsha Dunn Klein OTR/L, Med, FAOTA, joins us to share her Get Permission Approach, and to talk about the newly-founded Get Permission Institute. In this episode, Marsha talks about Get Permission Approach's principles and shares the impetus for creating it. She saw from her work in feeding that the relational aspects of food and eating were often neglected despite how important they are to healthy feeding habits. We hear about responsive feeding and how she fosters children's autonomy while building confidence, connection, trust, and consistency. An incredibly important part of helping children with these challenges is providing opportunities, and Marsha walks us through two case studies of children she has worked with. Rather than leading with a heavy therapeutic approach, she helped parents provide organic opportunities to pique children's interests and let them explore for themselves. As the conversation wraps up, Marsha also highlights the value of letting children mouth, and she also shares some of the exciting events Get Permission is hosting in the months to come.

Guest: Natasha McNeill, MCD, CCC-SLP - SLPs are ethically bound to practice within their area of expertise, but some often don’t and this can have drastic effects on patients. Today we invite Natasha McNeill to discuss this issue of scope of practice encroachment and hear her weigh in on how it is often early interventionists who are guilty of this. Natasha is an SLP specializing in pediatric feeding disorders and our conversation begins with a story about how she fell in love with this area of expertise. She lays out the context for our discussion next, highlighting the problem of non-licensed members of individual family service plan teams, often early interventionists, giving recommendations that are outside their roles and responsibilities. Natasha makes the important point that while this is irresponsible across the board and often steps on the toes of SLPs who play a role later in the treatment process, if an ill-informed recommendation is made about feeding treatment particularly, this can cause serious harm to the patient. We then take a deep dive into the types of things that early interventionists should be doing, while also getting into different examples of problems that can arise when they start to practice outside of their fields. Our conversation also covers the issue of lack of regulation whereby the qualifications required to become an early interventionist are too broad and there is no overarching governing body in many states. Tune in for this urgent conversation today.

Guest: Erin Forward, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC - Sir Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”, and these are words that ring true for both Michelle and Erin. Join the Ladies of “First Bite” as they spend this hour sharing their favorite evidenced-based courses, taught by the giants in our interprofessional practice pediatric feeding disorder world, such that we can all see farther for the betterment of our patients. If you have ever wondered which courses will grow your EBP triangle for assessment and treatment with patients in the NICU, infants, toddlers, early child, or which courses focus on interprofessional practice for PFD, then this is the hour for you.