ASHA Voices

“Autistic masking” refers to concealing or changing aspects of oneself to fit in or generally avoid stigmatization. In her research and work with autistic students, SLP Siva priya Santhanam has seen the damaging effects stigma and masking can have on autistic students' mental health and well-being. An assistant professor at Bowling Green State University, Santhanam is a creator of neuro-affirming...

In the years before Jim Henry became an audiologist, he developed hyperacusis, hearing loss, and tinnitus while performing in surf rock bands and working in carpentry. Following more than 35 years as a research audiologist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Henry is now the author of The Tinnitus Book and several others about managing the condition. In anticipation of Tinnitus Awareness...

SLP Kim Murza visits the podcast with a message of strength. Murza often speaks on strengths-based service delivery. On the podcast, she shares the form that takes in the schools, and what it means for students and SLPs alike. Reflecting on her career, she shares the things she knows today that she wishes she knew early in her work in the schools. Later in the podcast, hear parent, consultant, and...

When dealing with a parent’s concern about their child's communication, a pediatric audiologist may face multidisciplinary issues and need to make referrals.   This episode's guests say pediatric audiologists may be the first step in a larger health care journey. They highlight the importance of delivering appropriate services to families at a critical time.   Hear from two pediatric audiologists...

In this panel discussion, guests address how SLPs can empower themselves to effectively provide their services cross-linguistically. The guests share stories of their personal and professional connections to multilingualism, demonstrating the link between language, identity, and their work. (This conversation was originally published in March 2024.) Learn More: Practice Portal: Multilingual Servic...

SLP Christina Bradburn once faced the challenge of a caseload exceeding 100 students. Hear what she learned from that experience and how, today, she empowers herself by putting a spotlight on the needs and successes of her students. Bradburn also shares three, specific ways school-based SLPs can advocate for themselves to help meet their students’ needs, including: ·     Asking for access to the c...

SLP Elissa Larkin shares three stories showing how communication strategies--like using communication boards and acknowledging patient competence--help patients access health care. A research speech-language pathologist and a bioethicist at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Larkin is the mind behind the Communication Champions interprofessional training program, where she leads courses aimed at improv...

In this second part of our conversation with SLP and health services researcher Jen Oshita, she expands on strategies people with communication disabilities can use to express themselves and more fully participate in their own health care. Hear why Oshita feels SLPs play a pivotal role in improving health care equity for these patients, and what organizations can do to increase communication acces...

SLP Jen Oshita provides strategies SLPs can share with people with communication disabilities to facilitate effective communication in health care. She discusses how communication access in health care interactions can contribute to health disparities, and she addresses barriers to care related to communication, such as rushed appointments with providers or the use of confusing medical jargon. Thr...

Hear the personal stories behind Medicaid advocacy, as SLPs share why and how they use their voices to increase reimbursement rates for their peers and secure resources for their clients and patients. From the telephone to the state house, they tell where they go to get their messages heard and how you can do the same. Also, ASHA’s Caroline Bergner drops by the podcast to discuss a new ASHA resour...

When Jennifer La Scala was diagnosed with breast cancer, she came face to face with just how overwhelming, dense, and inaccessible patient education materials can be. A graduate student at the University of Central Florida, La Scala explains how her personal medical journey inspired her to study health literacy. Her work, and parallel work by University of Central Florida faculty, ultimately led t...

SLPs share how mindfulness tools help people focus on the present moment and ease their communication with others. Michael Boyle (Montclair State University) is an SLP who uses these tools personally and professionally. He discusses what these tools offer people who stutter and addresses misconceptions about mindfulness. Plus, in an interactive element, Boyle guides listeners through a mindfulness...

Audiologist Sarah Kingsbury, is asking big questions about what happens to our vestibular system in extreme environments, like when piloting an aircraft or even traveling through space. Kingsbury works as a senior research technologist and assistant professor of audiology at the Aerospace Medicine and Vestibular Research Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. She's also pursuing a PhD in aerospace...

We catch up with researchers Jeff Holt and Karen Avraham about the state of gene therapy for addressing hearing loss and deafness. Both are part of the Research Symposium on Hearing at the 2024 ASHA Convention. Our guests explain what recent breakthroughs, including successful clinical trials, mean for the future of gene therapy. They comment on audiologists' potential role in treatment and assess...

In its most severe forms, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) was once thought to be unavoidably terminal. But recent developments are allowing those with the disorder to live longer, healthier lives, and today’s guest says this means a greater need for speech-language pathologists' services. SLP Katlyn McGrattan (University of Minnesota; Masonic Children's Hospital) says advances in treating SMA essent...

How do you foster an environment that is conducive to retaining students with a diversity of experiences and backgrounds? In this second of two parts, a panel of faculty members from CSD programs discuss recruitment and retention of diverse and under-represented CSD professionals. Learn More: ASHAWire Special Collection: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Perspectives Forum Highlights Hol...

A panel of faculty members from CSD programs discuss recruitment and retention of diverse and under-represented CSD professionals. In this first of two parts, guests share personal experiences with and insights on holistic admissions. Learn More: Perspectives Forum Highlights Holistic Admissions ASHAWire Special Collection: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Minnesota CSD Program Formaliz...

Hear career-origin stories from three CSD professionals. From a wooden boat crossing the South China Sea, to a mother’s unexpected suggestion, to a love of language … guests share the parts of their lives that inspired and shaped their careers. All of today’s guests are multilingual, and throughout each story, they discuss what it’s meant for them to incorporate multilingualism into their work. Le...

Hear a conversation with SLP Tovah Feehan, who specializes in pediatric feeding disorders, and the hosts of the Caffeinated Caregivers podcast. Through their podcast and website, Alyssa Nutile and Erica Stearns create community around, advocate for, and highlight the identity of caregivers. Guests discuss provider and caregiver interactions. Hear stories from their lives and work. Learn More: Caff...

What does it mean to have your voice heard as a part of the legislative process? We talk with a representative of the Kentucky Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and with a future SLP who spoke up this legislative session during a day for student advocacy at the Kentucky State Capitol. Guests discuss participation and highlight new legislation expanding insurance coverage for people who stutter—...

An SLP encounters an increase in speech-language delays following the COVID-19 pandemic. What she finds next is a trend that is larger than she realized, and it may be something you’ve noticed as well. Later in the episode, go behind the scenes of ASHA’s newly revised developmental milestones to hear how they were developed and why they were updated. Learn More: “Elusive Words: Confronting the Pos...

SLP Derek Daniels says stigmatizing actions, like imitating stuttering, can lead people who stutter to remove themselves from opportunities and create a diminished quality of life. Daniels unpacks an example from his own life to give a glimpse into three different ways people can experience stigma. He shares how SLPs can address stigma in their work, and later in the episode, discusses his researc...

Hear stories from home health SLPs working in three different regions across the country. As more patients choose to receive care at home, SLPs working in the city of Baltimore, the suburbs of Atlanta, and in a rural part of the Midwest share how the places they work influence the ways they provide services and care. Central to the conversation are social determinants of health, the sometimes unse...

In this panel discussion, guests address how SLPs can empower themselves to effectively provide their services cross-linguistically. The guests share stories of their personal and professional connections to multilingualism, demonstrating the link between language, identity, and their work. Transcript

SLP Jerry Hoepner discusses the ways SLPs can help patients address barriers to care and connection following a traumatic brain injury. A professor at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, Hoepner studies the experiences of people with TBIs and their interactions with health care providers. As a part of his research, he’s gathered and published observations from people who have experienced brain...