COVID-19 is changing the way we work, but is it also changing the way SLPs bill? With ASHA Connect 2020 just around the corner, presenter, SLP, and billing and coding expert Dee Nikjeh joins the podcast to share three of the most interesting questions she’s received since the pandemic began.

ASHA Voices

Three Surprising COVID-Related Questions about Billing and Coding

SLP and NYU faculty member George Castle says one of his mentors, the late Kenyatta Rivers, taught him to live his life helping others advance in their careers while pulling himself up at the same time. He calls this the one-hand-up and one-hand-down philosophy. Castle joins ASHA Voices for a conversation about what mentorships mean in his life and career, and he shares memories of Rivers, who died last month. At a time when much of the country is reflecting on race, we discuss the role mentorships can play in creating diversity in the field of speech-language pathology.

George Castle Talks Mentoring and Race in Speech-Language Pathology

In the latest episode of ASHA Voices, we talk to two audiologists making their way through unexpected experiences and circumstances--one with COVID-19 and the other with a new cochlear implant. (1:15) First, we explore what happens when an audiologist gets a cochlear implant. If you're Carrie Spangler, 2020 sounds different from 2019. Spangler was diagnosed with hearing loss at age four, and, after over 20 years working as an educational audiologist, she decided to receive a cochlear implant. The Ohio-based educational audiologist shares her cochlear implant journey with us--and what she’s learned from the experience. (15:48) Next we talk about what's on so many of our minds--going back to the office. Safety is the obvious concern as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Joining us is audiologist Ryan Kennard, who discusses his weighing of curbside, telepractice, and in-clinic options as he made plans to reopen the practice he directs, the San Luis Obispo Hearing Center. He shares how he adjusted his services to reopen safely.

So You Want to Reopen? An Audiologist Shares How He Did It

From  telepractice to staff meetings to social commitments, we’re all interacting online in often back-to-back engagements. And  today’s guests say this can  take a toll on our  voices.(1:15) First, SLP Jennylee Diaz shares strategies for maintaining the voice health of ourselves and our clients in this new all-online world--based on her own experiences with voice strain while singing.(9:49) Then… Water aerobics for the voice? SLP Elizabeth Banaszak guides us through a series of vocal exercises to keep the voice fresh throughout the day.

During COVID-19, Protecting Our Voices in a Virtual World

Timing is critical when it comes to serving children birth to three and their families. Now, COVID-19 is making the process even more challenging for audiologists and speech-language pathologists. (1:45) Audiologist Karen Munoz shares three common COVID-19-related EI difficulties she’s hearing about from audiologists--and strategies you can use now to handle them. (14:06) Then speech-language pathologist Arlene Stredler Brown joins us to talk telepractice in early intervention. We discuss the good and the bad: the technical challenges but also the opportunity to promote family-centered care and coaching.

It's a Critical Period: COVID-19 and Early Intervention

In his latest book, “Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World,” author and journalist David Owen (The New Yorker) writes, “Deafness is expensive. Earplugs aren’t.” ASHA Voices speaks with Owen about his recent book, and what he’s learned about our noisy world. Then, we’re joined by audiologist Vickie Tuten to discuss occupational hearing hazards and how fit-testing hearing protection can help ensure that hearing protection is used correctly. Plus, we’ll hear from public health expert Rick Neitzel, principal investigator in the Apple Hearing Study. As part of this research partnership between Apple and the University of Michigan, he's collecting data on noisy environments and headphone volume. The hope is this research could influence policies that one day change how our world makes noise.

Our Noisy World's Toll on Our Ears

This week on the podcast: We’re joined by author and SLP Barry Prizant. He’s the author of "Uniquely Human," an acclaimed book that conceptualizes autism as a difference, rather than a disability. In honor of Autism Awareness Month, Barry joins us to discuss the parent-clinician relationship, and the evolving roles families are playing in autism intervention. In the second half of the episode, we’ll talk with Denise Underkoffler and her daughter Abby Diaz about speech-language treatment and family. Denise is an author and SLP. Her new children’s book "Everybody Needs a Turn" considers the role of siblings in speech-language treatment. Hear the personal inspiration behind her book.

Talking Autism Treatment and the Family

This week on the podcast: What happens when health care workers are exposed to the coronavirus? We hear from two SLPs who share their experiences with potential exposure and self-quarantine. And, we continue our look at health care with a check-up. It’s been six months since the Patient Driven Payment Model went into effect. We ask what this new payment system has meant for those in skilled nursing facilities.

SLPs in Quarantine, and a Look at PDPM Six Months Later

COVID-19 is turning many lives upside down. We talk with audiologists and SLPs throughout the country about the pandemic's immediate and drastic effects on their work. From the Seattle area to New York City, they are facing significant challenges, but they are also rising to those challenges. Featuring voices of professionals in schools, private practice, academia, and health care, this late-breaking episode delivers snapshots of their current experiences during this fast-moving, unpredictable national crisis.

Update: How COVID-19 is Changing Our Work Lives

We all experience work stress, so let's talk about it. Maybe you’re feeling depleted or experiencing burnout in some way. Once that cycle starts, it can get harder to step back and revitalize. On this episode of ASHA Voices, we talk with Sarah Lockhart and Sarie Wu, the hosts of the podcast SLP Happy Hour, about how to get some of that headspace back. They share what they've learned from producing a show about healthy work and personal lives for SLPs for more than two years. Plus, we’re joined again by our featured voice on tech, Sean Sweeney. He shares how to use apps that help with mindfulness in your sessions or treatment plans.

Talking Work Wellness With the SLP Happy Hour Hosts

In our second of two episodes in honor of Black History Month, today we’re addressing African American English, or AAE. 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 from misdiagnosis in the classroom to the connection between language and identity, our panel of experts discusses the language variation known as African American English.

Language and Identity: Shifting Away from a Deficit Perspective on African American English

“It's really important to recognize that things are called microaggressions, but it doesn't mean the impact of them is small.” - author Ijeoma Oluo Oluo is the author of the best-selling book "So You Want to Talk About Race." In it, she addresses complex issues—from history to intersectionality to hair—to start a conversation about race and racism in America. At the ASHA Convention, she joined ASHA Voices host J.D. Gray and 2018 ASHA President Elise Davis-McFarland for a discussion after Oluo gave the ASHA Office of Multicultural Affairs’ 50th Anniversary Address.

Author Ijeoma Oluo on Race, Communication, and Microaggressions

 We talk to dysphagia expert Lori Burkhead Morgan. With a background in exercise science, the speech-language pathologist brings an interdisciplinary lens to dysphagia treatment. Next, Purdue University’s Georgia Malandraki describes the new tool she’s developed so SLPs don’t have to send bulky, expensive machinery home with patients. And, consultant Emily Homer offers guidance on building strong feeding and swallowing services in school districts.  

New Insights on Strengthening Feeding And Swallowing Services

Today’s guests help us rethink what’s possible in hearing treatment. We talk with Jeff Holt and Tina Stankovic, scientists on the forefront of hearing research. Jeff discusses an unexpected discovery that tied a specific gene to a genetic form of hearing loss. And Tina describes her investigations into ways to reverse sensorineural hearing loss—the most common type. What are the obstacles and possible solutions? Both talked with me at the 2019 ASHA Convention, where they presented at the Research Symposium on Hearing.    Then, we hear from Bob Hillman, recipient of the 2019 Alfred K. Kawana Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publications. We talk about the twist in his path that changed everything in his work with the voice and voice disorders.

What If Permanent Hearing Loss Could Be Reversed?

Join us for a preview of what you'll hear on ASHA Voices in the new year!

Preview: ASHA Voices in 2020

A show about how we communicate and how that communication changes our lives.

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ASHA Voices

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