Have you ever wondered how much you can actually do as an SLP when it comes to dementia care? One of the most common misconceptions about dementia care in general is that not much can be done. It’s a progressive disease after all, right? This is where medical SLPs can shine, and Adria Thompson, MA, CCC-SLP is here to talk about it! Adria is a dementia consultant who teamed up with an OT to create a dementia program and traveled around to different facilities to teach this program. In this week’s episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast, Theresa and Adria explore the importance of understanding dementia stages and supporting caregivers. They address misconceptions about therapy for patients with dementia and cover recent changes in billing that allow for caregiver training without the patient present, including the potential for caregivers to receive financial support for their services.  If you support individuals with dementia and their caregivers in any capacity, you won’t want to miss this episode! Get the show notes at: https://syppodcast.com/312 Timestamps: The need for better dementia care (00:02:36) The role of speech therapists in dementia care (00:07:01) Understanding dementia staging (00:10:10) Caregiver support and collaboration (00:14:27) Challenges of caregiver role (00:19:01) Therapist-patient communication (00:19:22) Billing for caregiver time (00:21:25) Caregiver payment and reimbursement (00:23:09) Medicare and Medicaid services program (00:24:54) Support for caregivers (00:25:18) Speech-language pathologists in hygiene ADLs (00:27:19) Communication issues in hygiene ADLs (00:29:06) Training and competence for SLPs (00:32:07) Communication intervention in hygiene ADLs (00:33:49) Challenges and learning experiences (00:36:27) Role of SLPs in caregiving (00:37:09) Therapist Collaboration (00:37:22) Collaborative Care (00:40:20) Specialization Communication (00:42:26) Encouraging Learning (00:44:07)

“Wherever you're working, whatever setting you're working in, whatever profession you are, if you're working with humans, you should be trauma-informed.” Rachel Archambault, MA, CCC-SLP dropped ALL the mics within the first three minutes of our discussion in today’s episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast! Trauma-informed care, empathy, and just the human touch are all crucial in our profession, but there’s an obvious tension between meeting productivity standards and providing this level of care. It’s palpable. Does our current productivity model harm the quality of care we can provide? What does trauma-informed care look like, and what can we actually do to make it work without stressing over time-based codes and RVUs? Tune in to this week’s discussion and see what Rachel has to say about it and join her call to action! Get the show notes: https://syppodcast.com/311 Timestamps: Introduction (00:00:02) Discovering Trauma-Informed Care (00:01:33) Challenges in Implementing Trauma-Informed Care (00:04:23) Advocating for Change (00:06:01) Impact of Trauma-Informed Care (00:09:14) Six Pillars of Trauma-Informed Care (00:13:35) Looking at the conversation through a trauma-informed lens (00:14:15) Trust and transparency in provider relationships (00:15:23) Fostering trust and transparency with clients (00:16:58) Peer support, collaboration, and mutuality (00:17:26) Empowerment, voice, and choice in therapy (00:20:21) Consideration of cultural, historical, and gender issues (00:23:09) Personal experiences with trauma-informed care (00:24:50) Trauma-informed care (00:28:03) Cultural and religious considerations (00:29:33) Resources for trauma-informed care (00:31:38) Training and implementation (00:34:14) Connect with Rachel (00:35:38)

Raise your hand if you’ve ever received orders to see a patient with head and neck cancer AFTER they’ve started (or completed) radiation and/or surgery. A million times yes. It’s one of those common cases where speech-language pathology is an afterthought. But in reality, we should be brought into the discussion before any treatment begins! Katie Moore is all too familiar with this, which is why she passionately advocated for a head and neck cancer program in her department AND for specialized training to address complex impairments (like post-radiation fibrosis and lymphedema.) Tune in to this week’s episode of The Swallow Your Pride Podcast to hear how Katie implemented a new program and rallied for support for SLPs to achieve the level of training they deserve. Oh, and get ready to feel a surge of inspiration! Download the show notes at: https://syppodcast.com/310 Timestamps: Challenges in Healthcare Administration (00:02:01) Implementing Speech Therapy Services (00:03:21) Advocating for Inclusion (00:05:32) Self-Initiative and Research (00:08:06) Building Trust and Collaboration (00:11:42) Continuing Education and Funding (00:13:24) Advocating for Specific Training (00:14:51) Navigating Financial Approvals (00:16:16) Understanding Business Administration (00:17:29) Calculating Results for Proposals (00:22:34) Patience and Career Trajectory (00:26:37) Foundation Funding and Program Development (00:28:34) Financial Assistance for Patients (00:29:17) Learning from Interdisciplinary Conversations (00:30:27) Challenges in Patient Care (00:31:23) Team Collaboration in Patient Care (00:32:40) Unforeseen Surgical Procedure (00:34:11) Overcoming Challenges in Patient Care (00:35:48) Culmination of Professional Journey (00:40:04) Final Thoughts on Professional Growth (00:40:37)

Imagine walking into a room where a team of physicians, physical therapists, and dietitians are sitting at the table discussing wound care. Would you pause and slowly back out the door, hoping no one noticed? Or would you pull up a seat at the table and join the discussion? Ashley Muñoz López not only pulls up a seat, but she builds a bigger table! In this episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast, host Theresa Richard and guest Ashley Muñoz López, MBA, MS, CCC-SLP, BCSS, discuss the importance of integrating speech-language pathology into the broader healthcare ecosystem. They focus on wound care prevention in the ICU, with Ashley sharing her experience of being nominated for a team quality and safety award for her efforts in this area. Tune into this episode to understand your roles as an SLP when it comes to preventing wounds in the ICU, interdisciplinary considerations, and HOW you can snag that seat at the wound care table. [powerpress] Get the show notes: https://sypodcast.com/309 The award for team quality and safety (00:02:17) Speech therapy's role in preventing wounds in the ICU (00:03:39) Realizing the impact of SLPs on wound care (00:07:22) Collaborating with Other Professionals (00:11:03) Speech-Language Pathologists on Wound Care Teams (00:12:49) Using Innovative Approaches in Nutrition (00:14:18) The importance of a multidisciplinary approach (00:21:03) Addressing length of stay concerns (00:21:59) Advocating for a role in wound care teams (00:23:04) The award-winning wound care project (00:31:13) The importance of sharing achievements (00:32:10) Encouraging change in practice (00:32:38)

You know when a patient complains about swallowing difficulty and you do an instrumental, but everything looks fine? Excuse my lack of eloquence here, but…what the heck? This is often referred to as functional dyspahgia, and in this week’s episode of The Swallow Your Pride Podcast, I had the absolute joy of talking about it with Jaimie Anderson MS, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS. Together we discuss the challenges that come with significant swallowing complaints that don’t align with swallow studies, what functional dysphagia is, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options. Jaimie even throws in an analogy to help us better understand this mystery. Tune in and let us know what you think! Get the show notes: https://syppodcast.com/307 Timestamps: The challenges of diagnosing and treating patients with significant swallowing complaints (00:03:11) Introduction to functional dysphagia and its criteria (00:07:44) Excluding other potential causes of dysphagia before considering functional dysphagia (00:08:46) The challenges of limited treatment options (00:09:50) Diagnosing functional dysphagia (00:10:33) Inclusionary criteria for functional disorders (00:11:41) The challenges of diagnosing and treating patients with functional dysphagia (00:18:18) The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in treating patients with functional dysphagia (00:19:45) The role of education and counseling in treating functional dysphagia (00:26:01) The software vs hardware analogy (00:26:49) Functional paralysis and neurological manifestations (00:28:15) Importance of education and counseling (00:31:49) The history of functional dysphagia (00:35:51) The challenges of diagnosing and treating dysphagia (00:37:09) Treatment options for functional dysphagia (00:39:47) The contact information and webinar announcement (00:44:58)

So you want to work in the NICU. First of all - cheers to that! You have a major goal to help some of the most fragile (but also resilient) tiny humans we can help, which is exciting and inspirational! But how the heck do you do it? What does the journey of a non-NICU SLP look like while becoming a NICU SLP? Khaki Brown, MS CCC-SLP, CNT is here to help! Khaki is an SLP and NICU infant feeding specialist who dedicates part of her time supporting new SLPs in their journey towards helping medically fragile infants through her business, Khaki Feeds Babies. In this episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast, you’ll learn about the challenges and rewards of working in the NICU, the importance of continuing education, and the significance of building relationships within the field. Brown shares her journey from wanting to be a teacher to becoming an SLP and provides tips for those interested in working in the NICU. This episode leans hard into the importance of self-learning, mentorship, and understanding the developmental needs of infants in the NICU. Get the show notes at: https://syppodcast.com/308 Timestamps: Khaki's Journey to the NICU (00:02:27) Learning in the Externship (00:06:00) Tips for Getting into the NICU Setting (00:08:00) The importance of building connections with NICU professionals (00:09:18) Limited coursework on pediatric feeding in graduate programs (00:10:25) The multifaceted approach to feeding in the NICU (00:14:38) The importance of involving the entire team (00:17:58) Partnering with parents for feeding goals (00:19:12) Building rapport with nurses in the NICU (00:20:35) The importance of direct care in the NICU (00:27:32) Tips for breaking into the NICU (00:28:01) Closing remarks and call to action (00:28:17)

Calling all pediatric MedSLPs who want to grow their therapy skills! The FREE MedSLP Summit is just around the corner, and we’re dedicating an entire DAY to pediatric MedSLP therapy approaches on Sunday, December 3rd! Curious about myofunctional therapy? Want to improve your pediatric AAC skills? Maybe you want to see what MedSLPs are doing today for feeding therapy from NICU to toddlerhood (and beyond). Today’s Swallow Your Pride Podcast episode will introduce you to four of the speakers you’ll be learning from on Sunday! I’ve interviewed them in the past because I knew they were making massive impacts on our field, so today I’ll be replaying portions of those episodes. Get to know them a bit! Find out what they specialize in, what their experience has been like, and what they’ve been up to. Don’t forget to register for the FREE MedSLP Summit at www.medslpcollective.com/summit so you can absorb up to *seven* hours of pediatric medical SLP therapy brilliance! Go to https://syppodcast.com/306 to get the links to the full episodes of all these speakers.

Pssst...did you know that the FREE MedSLP Summit is happening this weekend? It's online...up to 14 hours of education...and 100% dedicated to today's therapy approaches (the what, the how, the why, the wow). And YES, a recording WILL be available to catch the replay! But who the heck is speaking? What's their background? Are they like...cool and knowledgeable? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! In today's episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast, I'm going to introduce you to 5 of the brilliant and kind MedSLPs who will be speaking for this weekend's MedSLP Summit. I'm bringing back clips from prior discussions I've had with them on the show so you can get a sneak peek into their background and their passion. Today's episode will focus on some of our adult-focused speakers who will be presenting on Saturday, December 2nd. You'll quickly learn why the MedSLP community loves them! Don't forget: you can grow your therapy skills with them this weekend when you register for the MedSLP Summit at https://medslpcollective.com/summit Visit https://syppodast.com/305 for full episode links to these podcasts.

So you have a patient with dysphagia…what do you immediately start considering? Diagnosis…comorbidities…past medical history…past surgical history…current diet recs… ☝️Those are the typical go-to “textbook” checklist items, but there are other incredibly important considerations that will affect how you evaluate and treat your patient. These considerations impact your clinical recommendations and what matters most to your patients - and they deserve to be honored. I’m talking about cultural and religious considerations in dysphagia - which is exactly what Michelle Weber Dehgan MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-S & Kiana Gardner MA, CCC-SLP dive into this on this week’s episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast! Together, we discuss the importance of cultural sensitivity in managing dysphagia. Michelle and Kiana highlight the significance of considering patients' cultural preferences, dietary restrictions, and access to food during evaluations and treatment recommendations. They share the results of a survey conducted among SLPs that highlight the challenges in accommodating nutritional preferences and religious and cultural beliefs. Tune in, take notes, and talk about what you learn with colleagues! Get the show notes at https://syppodcast.com/304 The importance of considering cultural preferences (00:04:34) Considering access to food and alternative options (00:06:50) Considering allergies and dietary restrictions (00:07:52) The Cultural Acceptance of a Simple Food (00:08:55) Impact of Hospital Menus on Patient Preferences (00:10:25) Survey Results on Speech Pathologists' Practices (00:12:20) Fasting during Ramadan and cultural rituals (00:17:56) Food preferences and cultural barriers (00:19:11) Patient-centered approach and cultural humility (00:22:06) Assumptions and Perspective (00:28:59) The therapy scheduling challenge (00:36:56) Catering to different cultural groups and partnering with food nutrition corporations. (00:46:41) The psychological impact of not being able to honor cultural or religious practices in the hospital. (00:47:44)

Is it ever “normal” for infants to cough during feeding? Does it make a difference whether they’re breastfed or bottle-fed? What should med SLPs actually understand and implement when it comes to infant feeding? Infant feeding and our role as med SLPs is one of my FAVORITE topics to discuss, and my heart practically did a break dance when I got to sit down with Katlyn McGrattan, PhD, CCC-SLP, to discuss THIS very topic! Katlyn is an SLP and a researcher at the University of Minnesota. She lives, eats, and breathes the world of pediatric feeding and swallowing (seriously, as a hobby, she and her husband are developing a medical device to better diagnose infant feeding goals). Tune in to this week’s episode of the Swallow Your Pride Podcast where Katlyn discusses research on infant feeding and swallowing disorders, the importance of understanding the physics behind milk flow, and what med SLPs should understand when it comes to working in this corner of our field! Get the shown notes at: https://syppodcast.com/303 Timestamps The Normal Cough Study (00:02:05) Feeding Metrics of Healthy Term Babies (00:08:08) Comparison of Breastfed and Bottle-fed Infants (00:04:59) Immature Feeding and Stress Cues in Infants (00:09:58) Challenges in Identifying Normal Infant Feeding Behaviors (00:13:31) Hydrostatic Pressure and Milk Flow (00:19:49) Influence of Bottle Nipples on Milk Flow (00:22:44) Global Accessibility of Bottle Nipples (00:25:32) The Bottles and Nipples Dilemma (00:26:26) Research on Infant Swallowing in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (00:29:09) Non-Invasive Method to Evaluate Swallowing Integrity (00:34:32) The need for speech pathologists in neuromuscular clinics (00:35:24) The importance of training in working with pediatric populations (00:36:03)