First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional SLP Insights

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

Guest: Tessa Gonzalez, MD - Today’s episode centers on an intense and personal conversation with a very special guest who speaks candidly from the perspective of both a pediatrician and the passionate parent of a child with a rare genetic disorder that contributed to pediatric feeding disorder (PFD). Dr. Tessa Gonzalez is a close friend, a pediatrician with over 10 years of experience, and a mother to two beautiful girls, the eldest of whom has been on a long journey with PFD. Tessa is also a volunteer with Feeding Matters, where she shares her invaluable experience with families navigating the often confusing and difficult world of PFD. She is a fierce advocate for her daughter and is passionate about helping other families advocate for their loved ones, too, which she explains in this episode. Tuning in, you’ll learn more about the importance of inter-professional education, collaboration, and communication, and Tessa shares her personal journey with PFD and why she believes that a feeding tube was the best possible solution for her family at the time. Make sure not to miss this episode!

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

The Dysphagia Outreach Project is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide meaningful assistance to individuals affected by dysphagia. Today on the show, we invite Allie Mataras, Amanda Weissberg, Allison Boyer, Jessica Lasky, Hillary Cooper, and Michelle Coffaro from the Dysphagia Outreach Project’s Board of Directors to talk about how they have come together to work on this project as volunteers and the great things they are doing for the community. The original idea came from Hillary, and she kicks things off by talking about how she was disturbed by the general lack of access to supplies experienced by patients and wanted to take the initiative to fix it. Hillary teamed up with Michelle and Jessica, and our next two guests weigh in on their contributions to getting the idea off the ground. Jessica speaks about her role in the organization in the fields of education and advocacy, and Michelle shares her responsibilities as VP of operations. Michelle runs the food bank in Cincinnati, and we hear about the incredible wealth of supplies they distribute. From there, we hear from Allie and her work as Director of Fundraising before getting to know Amanda and the contributions she has made on the social media front as Captain of Instagram for the public relations team. Wrapping up, we meet our final guest, Allison Boyer, who manages the DOP Facebook page, where she helps assemble literature reviews of the most current research in the field to be distributed freely to all who are interested. So for all this and more about an amazing project that stands testimony to the power of purpose-driven teamwork, tune in today!

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

Guest: Dana Entwistle, MS, CCC-SLP

Today, we are really lucky to have an amazing person and fantastic clinician join us on the show! Dana Entwistle is a pediatric feeding clinical specialist at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we get to hear all about what that entails from her. She goes into her personal journey in the profession and the college years that preceded it. From there, our guest shares key elements of her current role at Levine, including building trust, patient assignment, the hospital environment, patient variation, and much more. Dana underscores the importance of the right kind of communication, especially regarding the tricky, confusing technical side of feeding problems. She has spearheaded the inclusion of more data into the processes she is involved in, which she believes is vital to the continuous improvement of healthcare. Listeners can expect to gain real insight into Dana's philosophy, as well as inspiration for how to be influential and understanding in the feeding space! This conversation with Dana promises to lead to many more, so make sure to stay tuned for those, too!

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC

In this episode, Michelle is once again joined by her favorite cohost, Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC, as they tackle the tricky topic of progressive disorders and pediatric dysphagia. Palliative Care and Hospice are two words that are often avoided in the world of pediatrics; however, in honor of Pediatric Feeding Disorder Month, Michelle and Erin are going to have the crucial conversation regarding what a progressive pediatric disorder is, discuss three more prevalent progressive disorders, and then discuss our role in the evaluation and treatment process. While the topic may be difficult to address, remember that we are called to serve the least of these and to infuse joy and evidence-based practice into their care.

Guest: Dr. Erin Ross, PhD, CCC-SLP - Today we have an extra special episode that we are so excited to share with all of our listeners! Dr. Erin Ross, the brains and heart behind the SOFFI course, joins us today to talk about her amazing career in feeding therapy, her work developing the SOFFI method, thoughts moving forward, and so much more! We get into a deep and impactful discussion on the lessons that Dr. Ross has learned and continues to share through her work, covering misconceptions, diagnoses, the research that backs up her work, and her favorite parts of her job. Dr. Ross makes a special point to underline the centering of the parents and the time they spend with infants, showing why we should focus on this chunk of experience as the most impactful entry- point to helping children. We also get into some thoughts on specialization, the quality versus quantity debate, and some of the mistakes that seem to often crop up in the pediatric space. Listeners can expect to come away with a sense of purpose, as well as a renewed enthusiasm for this work; Dr. Ross' passion is contagious and her commitment to joyful, research-backed strategies is truly inspiring. So join us on the show for all this and more!

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

Guest: Casey Lewis, MS CCC-SLP, CNT, NTMTC

As SLPs, we are always part of a team, and it is crucial that we learn from those we collaborate with to ensure we provide our patients with the best care. We cannot offer the best treatment if we do not know what our other team members are doing. Not only do we have to learn from professional fields, but we can also gain a great deal from other SLPs. Casey Lewis is an SLP who works in the NICU, and she joins us today to share insights into her work. We talk about her journey to working in the NICU and the fulfillment she feels being there for her patients at such a crucial stage in their development. We hear about the multidisciplinary teams she is a part of and some of the very real challenges she faces advocating for her patients. The reality is that other professions do not understand the value of the SLP, so communicating your role is vital, even if it can be frustrating. We also talk about the conversations between NICU and outpatient SLPs, where the issues lie, why you need to be involved with your state association, and the importance of bridging communication gaps. Even though it can be hard to remember, we are all on the same team, and we want what’s best for our patients.

In this episode, the presenter who works with preschool aged patients, shares her keen insight into how to embrace parent coaching with school aged little ones, the benefits of focusing on gratitude with routines based intervention for EI and preschoolers, and how embedding acts of gratitude with these ages and their caregivers can bring joy to the entire team. Get your pencils and journals ready… Michelle and Maria are ready to roll!

Have you ever noticed a trend on your pediatric feeding disorder caseload in which you see a couple of patients with similar GI complaints, or similar cardiopulmonary complaints, but there is an unknown etiology? Michelle and Erin spend this hour reviewing the technical details of what a pediatric feeding disorder is, various types of neurogenic conditions that you may commonly encounter, and how all those bits and pieces connect together, and your role in all of it.

Michelle is joined by the effervescent Kayla Duncan, MS in Applied Psychology, Francis Marion University’s Assistant Director of Counseling and Testing, adjunct professor, and advocate for student and clinician’s mental health. The presenters spend an hour getting into the details on signs and symptoms of caregiver fatigue and burnout, quick functional strategies that you can implement lying in bed in the morning or in the afternoon school carline pickup. But what about when those functional strategies are just not covering it? Kayla shares her resources on how to obtain professional resources for yourself and Michelle shares resources on support teams and groups for our patient’s caregivers.

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

In this hour, Michelle is joined by Rabab Rangwala, M.S., CCC-SLP & Kinnari Satra, M.S., CCC-SLP, cohosts of the “Made in India SLP” Podcast! Rabab and Kinnari share experiences and evidence on improving cultural competency when completing assessments and treatments for individuals with both language and swallowing disorders, including details on creating dynamic, authentic assessments for data collection and report writing. The ladies then share strategies for how to make teletherapy more inclusive for the children and their families that we work with, specifically targeting the early intervention and school-aged children.