Episodes

Three SLPs share a vision for where stuttering therapy may be headed. It’s part of a larger collection of ASHA Leader content being published in recognition of the ASHA Centennial. As a group, the guests—Farzan Irani from Texas State University, Hope Gerlach-Houck from Western Michigan University, and Nan Bernstein Ratner from the University of Maryland—will be presenting on the past, present, and future of stuttering therapy at the 2025 ASHA Convention in Washington, D.C. Learn More: • ASHA ...

On this short episode, we talk ASHA Convention, our podcast archive, and how you can propose ideas for 2026. Thanks for listening, and I’m looking forward to sharing more conversations with you soon. Learn More: ASHA Voices: Researchers Discuss Speech in Noisy Environments, Spatial Awareness, and Bilateral Cochlear Implants ASHA Voices Podcast Proposal Guide Transcript

For critically ill patients, what are some practical ways speech-language pathologists can address barriers to communication? Today on the podcast, we talk effective communication between critically ill patients and providers in the ICU, emphasizing the role of augmentative and alternative communication. Guests include speech-language pathologist Tami Altschuler and nursing professor Mary Beth Happ, who describe practical ways SLPs and others working in the ICU can collaborate to create greate...

As an audiologist, what do you say when a patient or client asks to receive gene therapy? The headlines are certainly grabbing public interest, but what does it mean for your practice? Clinical trials and media coverage are driving interest in this novel approach to hearing loss intervention. As our guests share, so far only one gene has received clinical trials. But patients and their families may seek this treatment or ask you questions about what it means for them. To provide background and...

When your career or your current role leaves you seeking a new challenge and something fresh, how do you make a change? Speech-language pathologist Rinki Varindani Desai joins the podcast for a conversation about nontraditional and nonclinical roles open to SLPs. And she shares how SLPs can use their skills and strengths to find new professional opportunities. Varindani Desai’s background is in medical speech-language pathology. She has expanded her work into nontraditional spaces, such as dig...

From patient decision-making to diet modification to interdisciplinary collaboration, guests share their experience and the trends they’re seeing shape and change dysphagia treatment. Featuring three SLPs from ASHA’s Online Conference, “Dysphagia Management: Strengthening Skills, Overcoming Obstacles,” this panel discussion addresses shifting practices related to SLPs’ role in making dietary recommendations. What do these changes mean for your service delivery? And most importantly, how do you...

Patients receiving burn care have dynamic and complex needs, and SLPs can provide key communication and swallowing support during the recovery process. Speech-language pathologist Tiffany Mohr of Orlando Regional Medical Center joins the podcast to discuss SLPs' growing role in burn care and improved patient outcomes. Mohr is one of the first two SLPs to join the American Burn Association’s Rehabilitation Committee. She shares what she’s learned over nearly a decade of treating patients with b...

What information do we receive from the sound around us? Hear thoughts from Matt Goupell (University of Maryland) and Brian Monson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), who join the podcast to discuss their research, along with findings on speech in noisy environments and spatial awareness. Goupell and Monson are presenting at the 2025 ASHA Research Symposium on Hearing at the ASHA Convention. As part of ASHA Voices’ annual coverage of that symposium, they join the podcast to discuss thei...

Guests on this podcast episode characterize work with pediatric disorders of consciousness as a "marathon, not a sprint." Through long stretches of rehabilitation, speech-language pathologists work closely with these young patients’ families, who may be in a process of grieving. Two SLPs from a children’s hospital in Texas discuss counseling families in this second of two episodes exploring disorders of consciousness. They tell us about collaborating with families during assessment and treatme...

Disorders of consciousness, often associated with brain injuries, vary in severity and can include patients who are unresponsive or experiencing confusion. What comes next for these patients and their families and care partners can be a long, emotionally difficult journey through uncertainty. SLP Emily Silverberg of Spaulding Rehabilitation shares her insights from treating patients all along the disorders of consciousness spectrum. She explains how SLPs look for subtle signs of responsiveness....

Two SLPs share how they arrived where they are today and what they learned along the way. First, Kelly Peña (Rutgers University/former president of ASHA’s Hispanic Caucus) shares a story of the people who brought her into the profession and what she’s passing on to the next generation of multilingual practitioners. Later in the episode, hear from Anusha Sundarrajan (San Francisco State University/president of the South Asian Caucus of ASHA). When her colleague suggested Anusha open a gender-af...

In our second episode recognizing Disability Pride Month and the 35th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Eileen Nordmeyer shares a personal story about the influence of disability on her career. Nordmeyer has worked in many different settings and practiced as a speech-language pathologist for more than 30 years. When her son was born with a genetic disorder, it changed the way she viewed service delivery. She shares her insights. Learn More: ASHA Voices: Recognizing ADA at 35...

In recognition of Disability Pride Month and the 35th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, two CSD professionals share personal stories of disability advocacy. Angela Evenich—who has previously written about the influence of cerebral palsy on her career as a speech-language pathologist—discusses the people and ideas that have changed her perspective on disability. Then, audiologist Jasmine Simmons tells us about her book series on Usher syndrome. Simmons herself has Usher syndro...

SLPs Meg Lico and Kaitlin Hanley from NYU Langone Health share their story of working with Aaron James, the recipient of what’s being called as the first ever full-eye and partial-face transplant. They describe how they worked with James to reach his goals, such as eating solid foods with his family. Central to the story is their collaboration and the interdepartmental communication that made success possible. The SLPs provide details about approaching this unique case, as well as their victori...

When people with cancer are treated with ototoxic drugs and interventions, they may experience hearing loss and tinnitus. The audiologist's role in addressing the needs of cancer patients can be critical to fostering awareness and preventing hearing loss. On this podcast, a panel of three audiologists discuss the services they deliver, the interprofessional collaboration at the heart of their care, and what counseling can offer at a time of uncertainty for a patient. Plus, one of our guests sh...

As we approach graduation season, we’re turning our attention to speech-language pathologists’ role in helping students move from high school to the next phase of their lives. Twyla Perryman-Brownlow (University of West Georgia) shares ways SLPs can equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate a meaningful transition to whatever comes next—such as employment, trade school, or college. Learn More: Postsecondary Transition Planning Charting Paths: Supporting the Journey Be...

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 research into the intersectional ways people experience stigma. (This conversation was originally publishe...

As a podcast host, husband, and occasional stand-up comedian, Jules Rodriquez uses his voice in many ways. But as a person with ALS, Rodriquez knew intonation was going to be a challenge until he tapped into the use of artificial intelligence. On this episode of the podcast, a panel of guests—including Rodriquez—discusses how AI and voice-cloning technology are changing the way AAC users communicate. Hear how the technology replicates his voice and accounts for control over prosody and inflecti...

AAC users and their families stand to benefit from preparing for natural disasters—like a hurricane, or the recent fires that spread through parts of Los Angeles. On the podcast, two SLPs discuss disaster preparedness, specifically what this means for people who use AAC devices and their care partners. They discuss how SLPs can help AAC users be ready to navigate the unexpected. And hear a personal story from the mother of an AAC user. She has a message to share about her experience preparing ...

Life in the intensive care unit can be overwhelming. Patients may be intubated, disoriented, and scared. Families may be looking for answers from any provider who enters the room. For SLPs, the environment is noisy and ever-changing, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. On the podcast, SLPs take us behind the scenes to share stories from the ICU. In a wide-ranging discussion, they tackle the significant role SLPs play in managing dysphagia and communication there. From the recent history that le...

Patients receiving intensive care may experience emotions that affect their care and services. After a traumatic brain injury or tracheostomy, for example, patients may face many unknowns. SLP Jasmine Keaney realizes this, which helps her navigate where to start and how to reach a patient. Counseling can be as important as direct intervention, she says. Keaney is an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati. She began her career working in long-term acute care, where she developed sk...

Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, SLP Rebecca Boersma of George Washington University Hospital’s Long COVID Rehabilitation Clinic says patients with long COVID are often feeling “left in the dust” as they navigate cognitive concerns, including brain fog and fatigue. Boersma shares what she’s learned about the condition, and what she’s hoping to see next for the clinic and the people she serves there. Plus, Julie Dana, one of the first patients to visit Boersma in the clinic,...

Singers and other vocal performers can require complex care. As our guests explain, these “vocal athletes” may need a team of interdisciplinary providers on the sidelines. Speech-language pathologist and researcher Aaron Johnson (NYU Langone Health) and singing coach Tyley Ross (New York University Tisch School of the Arts) join the podcast to have a conversation on voice care. They discuss habilitation and rehabilitation of the voice. As Johnson puts it, “We oftentimes are not just bringing [...

Speech-language pathologist Jennifer Cripps-Ludlum says her entire life is a mask. As an adult, she discovered she is neurodivergent. The revelation arrived at the 2023 ASHA Convention, during a presentation on recognizing the signs of autism in young girls. After a subsequent panic attack, Cripps-Ludlum asked the presenter this question: “What do you do if you spend so much time masking that you don’t know who you are anymore?” On this episode of the podcast, Cripps-Ludlum shares a personal ...