ASHA Voices

It's more common than autism, but is developmental language disorder being overlooked? Our guest today says so, and in her award-winning research, she explains why. Researcher and advocate Karla McGregor joins this episode to discuss identification, intervention, and advocacy.

In this episode, two presenters from the upcoming ASHA 2021 Convention Research Symposium on Hearing discuss how hearing loss connects to dementia and depression. Columbia University psychiatry researcher Bret Rutherford says depression is one of the main drivers of disability in older adults, linking the condition to cognitive decline, dementia, and hearing loss. He explains what role hearing hea...

In July, President Biden signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to draft regulations for over-the-counter hearing aids this fall. The OTC devices will accommodate mild to moderate hearing loss. The nature of those regulations, and what they may mean for audiologists, is up for speculation. Some may see these devices as an opportunity to increase awaren...

We’re taking on a subject that is timely, but not new. Guests explain how the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn public attention to disparities in care that have always existed. And they say everyone has a role to play in confronting these inequities. Often associated with race and socioeconomic status, the impact of health care disparities can be devastating. The disparities affect everything from fina...

This conversation was originally published in February 2020. African American English, or AAE, is a language variation. Maybe you've heard it called a dialect. It sounds different from Mainstream American English. It has its own rules and its own grammar, and it comes from a long language tradition. But when AAE is not recognized, it can be misdiagnosed as a language disorder. Covering everything...

We continue our conversation with SLP Greg Robinson (L’GASP, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences). Greg runs TLC - Gender Affirming Communication Group, a clinic offering gender-affirming voice services. Robinson relates how the group highlights the deep connection between the voice and identity. And, Robinson shares how their clients are influencing the careers of the CSD students working...

Clients need to feel that they are valued and respected, and for gender-diverse clients, this often begins with the language we use. The consequences of not showing this respect can be large. They can even lead to negative client outcomes, as our guest today shares. SLP Greg Robinson is a faculty member at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and the chair of L’GASP, ASHA’s LGBTQ+ cauc...

During Rachel Archambault’s first year as an SLP at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the school became the site of the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history. The Parkland, Florida. students who were freshmen during that shooting are now graduating, and in the years since the shooting, Archambault became an advocate for trauma-informed practice, sometimes called trauma-informed care....

This interview was originally published in January 2021. SLP Alicia Fleming Hamilton joins the podcast to discuss the new book "Exploring Cultural Responsiveness: Guided Scenarios for Communication Sciences and Disorders Professionals." Hamilton worked as an editor on the book from ASHA Press, which features stories and examples curated for, and from, audiologists and speech-language pathologists....

Call it the cochlear implant’s cousin—A new device is stimulating the inner ear and allowing some patients to regain a sense of balance. We speak to Charley Della Santina, the director of the Johns Hopkins Vestibular NeuroEngineering Lab. Plus, we hear from a recipient of the device, A’ndrea Elyse Messer, and an audiologist who is the director of the USC Balance Center, Alaina Bassett.

It’s our second batch of stories featuring SLPs sharing stories about the unexpected places their careers have taken them. First, Shulunda Gibson takes us from burnout in private practice to a trip around the world. Hear the lessons she learned while moving from “fear to freedom.” Then, the authors of Speech-Language Pathologists as Expert Witnesses, Brenda Seal and Lissa Power-deFur, demonstrate...

The podcast was recognized with industry awards in four categories. In this special short episode, we're bringing you clips from some of the winners.

SLPs share stories where, for one reason or another, they decided to make a big change in their career and ended up in places they never would have predicted. First, Kristin King’s story takes her from a trauma center in North Carolina to her role as vice president of clinical education and research at Passy-Muir. Then, Suzanne Coyle goes from being a clinician working in outpatient rehab to her r...

On this episode of ASHA Voices, Lindsay Riegler, an innovation specialist and research SLP with the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, shares her perspective on telepractice from inside the VA, where she’s seen many barriers to telepractice removed. At the center of the conversation are questions about access. What can the VA teach us about what’s possible through telepractice? And how is...

In health care, clinicians’ productivity is measured closely via requirements intended to manage labor costs and ensure patients are receiving care. Simply put, these expectations often have tremendous influence on SLPs as they treat clients every day. On the podcast, we’re joined by a panel of health care administrators who represent a wide range of settings to discuss this subject. We talk about...

After a traumatic brain injury, someone may experience wide-ranging difficulties related to their emotions, cognition, and their ability to communicate. When it comes to cognitive rehabilitation, it takes a team to help patients meet their goals. Neuropsychologist Brigid Waldron-Perrine and SLP McKay Moore Sohlberg help us take a patient-centered look at where psychology and speech-language pathol...

Audiology practice consultant Mike Dougherty shares a short list of what's helping audiologists grow their practice's patient base. He tells us how strategies like digital advertising and self-referral work, and why they're proving successful during COVID. Plus, as states and businesses continue to reopen, Dougherty discusses what the future looks like. He also explains why your vaccine status mig...

In just a split second, a traumatic brain injury can turn your life upside-down. SLP Alaina Davis takes us from the basketball court to the boxing ring to talk about traumatic brain injury (TBI) and rehabilitation. Through her podcast and thoughtfully crafted social media posts, Davis brings attention to TBIs and what they mean for cognition. Davis is faculty member at Howard University where she...

When the pandemic sent much of higher education into the virtual world last spring, Siva priya Santhanam wondered whether the autism support program she runs at Metropolitan State University of Denver could continue. The peer-support program brings students studying speech, language, and hearing sciences together with university students with autism. Now, a year later, Santhanam joins ASHA Voices...

The Academy Award nominations are in, and one of this year’s contenders examines the emotional toll of sudden hearing loss. On this episode of ASHA Voices, we discuss how the movie “Sound of Metal” fits into a long history of hearing loss and tinnitus portrayals on the silver screen -- and what this can tell us about societal views. Joining our panel are audiologists Peter Ivory and Michelle Hu, a...

SLP Joshuaa Allison-Burbank began working for the Indian Health Service in his Navajo Nation home in February of 2020. What happened next changed how he thought about his community and his profession. When the pandemic began, Allison-Burbank found himself working in an outdoor triage center at Northern Navajo Medical Center, witnessing the devastating effects of Dikos Ntsaaígíí, or COVID-19. Faced...

Friends since high school, audiologist Nicholas Stanley and social worker Samuel Bradley never expected they'd be working together. But here they are, collaborating on a series of presentations on disrupting racial bias after the idea came up during causal breakfast conversation The duo joins ASHA Voices to discuss their work to bolster culturally responsive care in audiology. Listen in as they sh...

You may have seen data saying hearing aid use is on the rise. When audiologist Nick Reed took a deeper dive into some of those numbers, he saw a troubling story. We discuss what that data reveals-- including racial and economic disparities. Also, Reed draws a line from a difficult event in his personal life to the research he’s producing today—research about hearing aid access and patient health o...

You may have seen stuttering in the headlines over the past year—due, in part, to the election of President Joe Biden, who has spoken openly about his experience as a person who stutters. Stuttering is having a moment, and we’re taking this occasion to talk about it. We hear from speech-language pathologist Chris Constantino, a faculty member at Florida State University who studies the experiences...

SLP Alicia Fleming Hamilton joins the podcast to discuss the new book "Exploring Cultural Responsiveness: Guided Scenarios for Communication Sciences and Disorders Professionals." Hamilton worked as an editor on the book from ASHA Press, which features stories and examples curated for, and from, audiologists and speech-language pathologists. Hamilton describes the book as a tool for self-reflectio...