First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional SLP Insights

Co-Host: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP - In this episode Michelle is joined by everyone’s favorite First Bite co-host, Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, to address those confounding cranial nerves! On Old Olympus towering Tops A Finn And German Viewed Some Hops… well sure that quick mnemonic diddy helped you ace your anatomy test in grad school, but what did you really learn about the cranial nerves for speech and swallowing development? The Vagus, sure he wanders, but what about his implication in cardiac repair surger? The Trigeminal, sure he does sensation and motor innervation, but what about when the little one had a grade 4 bleed at week 32? Do you know what could be impacted? In this hour Michelle and Erin take on all 12 nerves and guarantee to toss in a funny bone too!

Guest: Will Farnham, MS, CCC-SLP - In this episode Michelle is joined by Will Farnham, MS, CCC-SLP, the tortured soul behind @hardtoswallowslp on Instagram. Will, who is an accomplished FEES trained Medically-Based SLP, spends this hour sharing his quick verbal whit while busting a series of commonly misplaced dysphagia myths! Ever wondered if the instrumental exam trumped what is seen during your regular ST sessions? Don’t wonder any longer; Will will shatter our preconceived notions. Ever worried that a patient’s dysphagia status was the sole indicator for aspiration status? Don’t worry any longer; Will’s got the answer! Ever considered if the UES, (Upper Esophageal Sphincter), is where our job stops? No longer need to consider, Will’s got this! This hour proves to be as inspirational as it is joyful!

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

In this episode, Michelle is joined by the accomplished lecturer Jill Eversmann, MS CCC-SLP, Academic and Clinical Faculty of Columbia College, and X instructor w/ ASDF. In this hour they challenge all the preconceived notions about incorporating American Sign Language into Early Intervention….in short, they will teach you how “talking with your hands” is an excellent strategy to increase acquisition of functional communication, the differences between Baby Sign and American Sign Language, and the best resources and references behind the beautiful intersection that is ASL and EI. Be sure to stretch before this hour because it will have you moving!

In this episode Michelle is joined by Natalie Marie Sfeir, National NSSLHA’s VP for Government Affairs and Public Policy…who is also a full time graduate student! Today they challenge your notions of what a millennial Audiologist and Speech Language Pathologist brings to our professions, by advocating, educating, and inspiring us all via NSSLHA! NSSLHA is definitely not what it use to be, (exhausted student clinicians hovering around coffee cups and stale pizza stressing about their next assignment), instead it is a powerhouse system built upon hardworking student clinicians and mentoring professors. A system that is making waves in Congress through their face-to-face and electronic advocacy efforts. A system that is pulling our profession forward through their scholarship and researching efforts. And, a system that is helping us grow locally, via their volunteerism at the state level. Be sure to share this joyful episode with your favorite student clinician and/or clinical supervisor!

Co-Host: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP - In this episode Michelle and Erin tackle when it is appropriate to say “NPO”. That’s right, sometimes it falls on us as the Feeding and Dysphagia experts to share with the rest of the Interprofessional Team that we have concerns for safety of PO intake. But, we need to be able recognize how the “Little One’s” Cardiac, Gastrointestinal, and Respiratory systems contribute or dictate that NPO status. Again, we need to be able to when the pleasure and quality of a feed are fading and our patients need advocacy and support. Baselines change often for our complex patients and this is the episode that differentiates the signs and symptoms of when we can say “NPO” and when we can joyously celebrate moving towards “PO” again.

In this episode Michelle is joined the award winning and innovative Dr. Reva Barewal! Dr. Reva graduated from the University of Toronto Dental School in 1992. From 1992 to 1993 she was in a General Practice Residency at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Following her residency, she practiced as a general dentist for six years. She completed a Prosthodontic Post Doctoral Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2002, winning first place in the John Sharry competition of 2002. In 2006 she was awarded the first implant award for research by Astra Tech and the inventor of dental implants. Her professional training, combined with her passion and further education as a culinary chef, gave her unique insight into her patient’s needs when it came to the satisfaction that was missing in altered diets and mealtime…so she combined her skills and created Savorease! The first product of its kind that has delicious dissolvable crackers and dips that not only meet IDDSI guidelines, but also give the pleasure of the sought after “crunch” and “taste” often missing in these diets. Your taste buds will be salivating, while your neurons are firing as she explains the science and research behind chewing, biting, crunching, and tasting!

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

In recognition of Black History Month, Michelle interviews the amazing Kia Noelle Johnson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP. Dr. Johnson, who serves on the ASHA Board of Directors as the National Advisor to the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, is also an 18-year member of the National Black Association for Speech, Language, and Hearing, where she currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors. She is also a proud alumna of the 2006 class of the ASHA Minority Student Leadership Program. This is a fast-paced hour that covers a lot of ground: everything from the history of African Americans' prevalence and growth within the world of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology how an SLP working in the world of Early Intervention needs to ethically assess and treat a child with a suspected language delay or impairment when a little one that we are working with has AAVE or resides with a family who speaks using a recognized dialect such as Gullah or Geechee, and how one could become involved in such groups as NBASLH and the Student Minority Leadership Program at ASHA. Enjoy the encouragement to encourage diversity within our field at a local grassroots effort!

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

In this episode, Michelle is joined by Elizabeth (Beth) Halpin, MHS, OTR/L, SCFES, from episode #60, “Ots and Feeding? Who knew!?!” and Rob Dempster, PhD, Pediatric Psychologist, from episode #7,1 Psyched about Psychology and Feeding!”. In this hour of “First Bite,” the dynamic duo opens up about their collaboration for a combined treatment approach for pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders. They share the good, the bad, the ugly: lessons learned about best practices for a team approach, etiologies that benefit the most from a team approach, as well as their favorite “do-overs”…as in, “welp if we had known this, then we would have done this”…and let’s be honest, the do-overs tend to be the best life lessons! Let this cheery episode warm you up this chilly winter day!

In this episode Michelle and Erin have fully recovered from the intensity that is the annual ASHA Convention from November 2019. Why is that great news? Easy! They are going to share their “Top 10 Takeaways” for adding functional evidence to your practice! They will take you on an EBP hunt in the exhibit hall, hit up Erin’s Top 3 Lectures, and wrap with Michelle’s Top 3 Lectures, and spread some joy that can be found by being surrounded by almost 14,000 colleagues. If you weren’t able to make to Orlando this past year, no worries, they are all set to bring the magic to you!

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

In this episode, Michelle is joined once again by Stephen Kneece, MA, CCC-SLP, who serves as the President-Elect-Elect of SCSHA (South Carolina Speech-Language-Hearing Association), the CEO/Founder of Speech and Language Songs, as well as a graduate of the ASHA LDP (Leadership Development Program). Today, Stephen, who works as an Assistive Technology Consultant for his local school district, discusses the concept of “Prompting Hierarchy” and how to use it effectively with AAC, as well as the pros and cons of utilizing a “Push-In” model for AAC in an Elementary School and a Daycare for Early Intervention. The guru behind “Speech and Language Songs,” found on YouTube and Instagram, packs quite the perky punch in this episode… bonus points… he can rock that guitar and solo vocals!