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First Bite: A Speech Therapy Podcast
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First Bite: A Speech Therapy Podcast

Author: SpeechTherapyPD.com

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Join Speech-Language Pathologist: Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S for First Bite - Fed, Fun and Functional Resources for the Pediatric SLP. Each episode is available for 0.1 ASHA CEU through SpeechTherapyPD.com.
If you're a SLP who has more questions than answers when it comes to treating your medically complex/fragile pediatric patients, this podcast is for you! Michelle offers her own unique insights and interviews colleagues who are experts in their respective fields with the goal of inspiring and illuminating all aspects of diagnosing and treating this unique population.
241 Episodes
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Guest: Emily Starling, MA, CCC-SLP - In this episode, Michelle and Erin are joined by Emily Starling, the host of the Neurotwist podcast, who shares her experience being an SLP who was later identified as autistic. Emily, Michelle, and Erin have an honest, authentic discussion of neurodiversity-affirming practices and what that means in the context of EI. Erin, Michelle, and Emily share their experiences navigating the world of clinical practice and how they have implemented neurodiversity-affirming practices, reiterating the importance of listening to autistic voices.
Guest: Stephanie Michelle Sweigart, MS CCC-SLP - In this episode, Michelle is joined by none other than the “Golden State SLP,” aka Stephanie Michelle Sweigart, MS CCC-SLP, to cover all things of Therapeutic Presence. If you’ve met Stephanie, then you know that a conversation with her feels like a warm hug. Why? Because she has spent years cultivating her emotional intelligence, regulation, and therapeutic presence to be fully engaged and present in those moments. Stephanie provides her new take on the three “C’s”: “Center,” “Connection,” and “Communication." The outcome is improved therapeutic presence with those that we serve.
Guest: Jennifer Ruckner, MS CCC-SLP, & Beth Cooper, MOT, OTR/L - Michelle, Jennifer, and Beth encourage you to don your detective cap, procure your magnifying glass, and let the sensory detective training begin. Jennifer and Beth offer foundational guidance on why an SLP needs to understand the unique sensory needs of the little ones we are called to serve. They offer strategies on how to create a dynamic transdisciplinary team, then go in-depth on the roles and responsibilities of the occupational therapist.
Guest: Jenn Rubenstein, MS CCC-SLP - Have you ever stood in AWE watching an eye-gaze user navigate their communication device to express joy but were left scratching your head and wondering, “But how does it work?” In this episode, the ladies of “First Bite” are joined by Jenn Rubenstein, MS CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist and Clinical Account Executive for Eyegaze, to unlock the mysteries behind the machine. Jenn starts with explanations of the anatomy and physiology, transitions into how the device works to “read” the eye, and then offers an explanation of some diagnoses that could prohibit access for a potential user. Jenn concludes the first of her two-part episode by guiding colleagues through a screening tool to determine if they could potentially benefit from an eye gaze communication device.
Guest: Lindsay Stevens, MA CCC-SLP - Join Michelle and guest Lindsay Stevens, MA CCC-SLP, who brings her years of experience as a clinician and caregiver to help grow your evidenced-based practice regarding infant dysphagia. Are you unsure of what potential positional strategies you can employ to see little ones have joyful and successful feeds? If you have observed behaviors, signs, and symptoms that made you think the infant may need a thickening agent to assist, then this episode is for you. Lindsay is here to guide your clinical decision-making process by providing you with dynamic facts and resources to treat the littlest ones on your caseload!
Guest: Taylor Anderson, MS, CCC-SLP - In this episode, Erin is joined by friend and colleague Taylor Anderson, MS, CCC-SLP, to discuss mentor and mentee relationships when it comes to pediatric feeding disorders. In this niche of the speech pathology world, young and seasoned clinicians are constantly looking for support and mentorship to grow their skills for treating this specific population. Erin and Taylor discuss how they build their relationship as mentor and mentee early on, but how that can become very fluid and shift to learn from each other. This episode will dive into what they both knew from working with different mentors, what they found most valuable in their growth with PFD, and how they continue to grow their leadership and mentor skills.
Guest: April Helper, LPC - Michelle is joined for this truly powerful episode by April Helper, LPC, Founder and Executive Director of Adagio House. The Adagio House “exists to provide high-quality, trauma-informed, attachment-based services to all types of caregivers and their loved ones, regardless of their ability to pay.” They engage in comprehensive care through psychotherapy, holistic wellness, mentoring, sustainable gardening, medical and psychiatric services, and psychological testing for neurodiverse individuals from toddlers to adults and their caregivers. April spends this hour talking about the various interprofessional practice partners that make this dream a reality and how to support their clients and caregivers ethically, and she offers strategies to make this a possibility.
Michelle and her favorite co-host Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC, relive the best parts of the 2023 ASHA Convention: Igniting Innovation as it relates to all things neurodiversity-affirming care and pediatric feeding disorder. Michelle and Erin, who both volunteer in convention planning, as well as at the convention, attended several courses and are bringing their favorite new facts directly to you! So, whether your current clinical setting is working in the NICU, Early Intervention, or even as a full-time or adjunct faculty member, the ladies of “First Bite” have you covered. To start, they’ll share the exciting ASHA Advocacy news, then discuss neurodiversity-affirming trends and applications to intervention, the value of personal/professional growth to learning new evidenced-based approaches, and round out with the role of implementation science in pediatric feeding disorder.
Guest: Lillian Thompson Brown, MS CCC-SLP - Lillian's current research undertakings have been driven by passion from her personal experiences as a younger sibling to an autistic brother. If you, too, have been despairing over the extensive wait times that little ones and their caregivers have to endure in the process of obtaining an ASD diagnosis, then despair no more. If you have been frustrated that children of color tend not to receive an ASD diagnosis until years after their white male counterparts, again, we say, despair no more. There is hope. “The Reduce the Wait” project in Illinois is currently training over 1,000 early intervention SLPs on how to conduct virtual ASD assessments. Lillian is conducting qualitative research with the caregivers on their experiences to grow our cultural understandings and improve our caregiver coaching with families from different backgrounds.
Guests: Juliet Ochura, MS CCC-SLP, CLC, Kerry Pearl, MS CCC-SLP, CLC, & Jennifer Perez, MS CCC-SLP, CLC - In this episode, Michelle is joined by Juliet, Kerry, and Jennifer, a fabulous trio of colleagues from Boston Medical Center, to discuss all things “Breaking Down Barriers to PFD Care." These brilliant leaders have witnessed first-hand the health equity barriers that numerous patients have encountered in their attempts for evaluation and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders. They share the successful strategies that they have implemented at their facility.
Guests: Rebekah Wada, ABD, CCC-SLP and Megan Israelsen-Augenstein, PhD, CCC-SLP - In the last few years, the field of speech-language pathology has increased its attention on the understanding and use of implementation science. But what is implementation science? And how is it useful for practicing speech-language pathologists? In this hour, Michelle hosts Dr. Rebekah Wada and Dr. Megan IIsraelsen-Augenstein to discuss all of the above and how an implementation science framework can be applied to AAC assessment and intervention. P.S. Catch Rebekah and Megan at ASHA sharing more on the beautiful scientific marriage between AAC and Implementation Science.
Guest: Jerrold Jackson, MA, CCC-SLP - In this episode, Michelle is joined by Jerrold Jackson, who embodies the meaning of servant-led leadership. His compassion for colleagues and students is abundant. This heartfelt conversation, which definitely exceeds our hour-long average, gets to the core of what it means to serve one another and our field as advocates, mentors, and sponsors and how to do so with joy and hope. Jerrold shares his personal walk as a black male speech-language pathologist, how mentors shaped his life, how, through their representation in the field and now his, conversations have been held, advocacy has occurred, and desperately needed policy changes have resulted.
In this episode, Michelle and Erin are back together to discuss one of Erin’s favorite topics, “Neurodiversity Affirming Feeding Therapy.” The term “Neurodiversity Affirming” has grown in frequency of usage; as such, it should. However, many of us went through graduate school before this phrase became part of our everyday lexicon. We probably did not have explicit instruction on how to embrace and implement it in therapy sessions, especially regarding feeding therapy. Evidence-based practice evolves with the addition of new projects becoming published, listening and learning from the lived experiences of our patients, clients, and students, and our clinical extrapolation of different interprofessional education activities. So, grow your PFD EBP with this episode and learn why embracing neurodiversity-affirming care into feeding therapy is invaluable, strategies to implement this successfully, and resources to continue your growth journey.
Guest: Valerie James Abbott - If you work as a pediatric speech-language pathologist with the birth through 8-year-old population on speech sound disorders and/or language acquisition, this is the hour for you. Valerie is here to educate us all on potential risk factors for late childhood onset hearing loss, including the dangers of the cytomegalovirus. Did you know that this virus can appear as a common cold for the mother during pregnancy, can only be tested for shortly after birth, but may lay dormant for years, then result in devastating hearing loss when the little one is entering school? Hold hope, though! Valerie will share the initiatives that are occurring by various organizations across the country to advocate for change to catch this type of hearing loss and intervene earlier.
Guest: Lauren Hastings, MS, CCC-SLP - For this passionate conversation, Lauren addresses common myths and roadblocks to setting up a private practice and then empowers us all to overcome them. So, if you need help with credentialing and have never heard of a “CAQH” or a “clearing house,” then don’t worry! Lauren will cover all these questions and more in this episode.
Guests: Caroline Brindo, MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-S & Steven Sireci, MD - Not all of us will have the professional opportunity to conduct video fluoroscopic instrumental swallow evaluations; however, most of us will encounter pediatric patients, clients, or students who are in need of one. When that happens, it is common for the caregiver to ask, “What’s going to happen?”, “Will the barium hurt?”, “Will they be radioactive?”. These questions can feel overwhelming for those of us in home health, early intervention, and schools because we may not have the answers readily available. But never fear, Caroline and Dr. Steven are here! They will answer these questions and more, such as, “What is barium?”, “Do different recipes for barium impact the swallow study?”, “What can my patient expect?”. So, if you want to know more about the nitty-gritty of barium, then tune in for this hour.
Guest: R. Danielle Scott, PhD, CCC-SLP - Dr. Dani shares the definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion in this hour and how they pertain to the CSD community as clinical practitioners and faculty. The conversation lays out specific steps that faculty members can utilize to engage in anti-racism instruction, as well as steps clinicians can take to center diversity, equity, and inclusion into their clinical speech-language pathology practice. Remember, cultural competency is never the goal. The goal is to engage in cultural humility and meaningful conversations to grow not only as an individual but also as a citizen of the world.
Guest: Karen McWaters, MOT, OTR/L - This course will integrate theories and ideas from the previous three courses to dive deep into what we are actually asking our patients to do in sessions. How do we truly analyze the task and work to find the just right challenge to help them grow within their zone of proximal development while also helping them feel successful? Karen and Erin will explore the beautiful tool of joy and play, which can uncover true learning in a child.
Guest: Karen McWater, MOT, OTR/L - As SLPs, we can often look at speech and language development in isolation, as our formal assessments encourage us to do; however, it is imperative that we learn from our occupational and physical therapy colleagues regarding motor learning principles and how they parallel those of language development. When we get out of our box, we can further understand the children we work with and their capacities. Erin and Karen will discuss their journey of collaborating within this context and how they learned from each other to help the children they worked with reach further potential.
Guest: Karen McWaters, MOT, OTR/L - With all the therapy tools we have access to, all the worksheets, toys, and bubbles, it is important to understand that you are your own best tool. Karen and Erin discuss the role of effect and attunement to truly connect with children and their caregivers in sessions. They discuss the intentional relationship model and how we clinicians can use it to truly identify and improve our relationships with our clients and their caregivers to further build our connection. They will discuss the evidence behind relationship-based therapy and the true heart and joy that comes with it.
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Comments (4)

Abigail Fertal

I needed this in my life! Fantastic content. It gets better the more I listen

Mar 12th
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Abigail Fertal

This is so good! Best nugget was "regulate, connect, then speak " .

Mar 2nd
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Abby Stuckey

Is there a possibility to get a transcript for this podcast? It is AMAZING

Mar 3rd
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Mariah Kanakia

Hi! I'm a SLP/feeding therapist and have an answer to your question about thrush, unfortunately from firsthand experience. The dye (it's purple, not blue) is called gentian violet. I don't know exactly how it kills yeast, but you just use a qtip to apply a thin layer to baby's tongue and mom's nipples. It's way faster and more effective than nystatin!

Apr 15th
Reply
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