Summary:This course contains four articles that address current demands in geriatric care, including impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shifting demographics reflecting an aging population.
Summary:In this SIG 3 activity, experts in pediatric voice disorders present a series of interactive
cases to help speech-language pathologists develop their knowledge and skills
completing voice evaluation and treatment planning for children with bilateral benign
vocal fold lesions, unilateral vocal fold paralysis, and sulcus vocalis.
Summary:This course focuses on best practices, perspectives, and challenges in the assessment and intervention of developmental language disorders in culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations. The articles discuss resources to interpret and use common standardized language assessments in English for CLD school-age youth; increasing Spanish-speaking caregivers’ use of language-promoting strategies in everyday activities with infants and toddlers; and treatment of bilingual children to promote progression in both languages.
Summary:This Perspectives activity focuses on communication choice and agency for individuals
on the autism spectrum. These individuals are the key informants in decisions around
the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of educational programming for
autistic learners. Speaking autistic adults encourage families, professionals, and society
to promote and accept all communication as equal.
Summary:This SIG 2 activity, participants explore aspects of service delivery and advocacy for people with aphasia that are innovative and/or unique. The first article describes the creation of community aphasia groups and includes guidance for creating aphasia-friendly materials for a variety of purposes. The second article describes the challenges of people with aphasia in navigating the justice system and discusses strategies to support their success within that unique environment. The third article describes the nature of verbal short-term memory impairment in people with aphasia, methods of assessment, and potential directions for treatment.
Summary:In this SIG 20 activity, Medina and Mead share a study of Hispanic/Latina SLP graduate
students’ perceptions of mindfulness. Participants in this study discuss the benefits of
mindfulness and their willingness to practice; however, stigmatizing beliefs and lack of
education about mindfulness within their cultural communities need to be addressed.
Readers of this article will gain a better understanding of how to promote mindfulness in
future speech-language pathologists.
Summary:This SIG 9 Perspectives course includes three articles from a forum on pediatric hearing health care disparities. The articles discuss barriers to follow-up in Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs; systematic evaluation of family barriers to care; and the principles and implementation of trauma-informed care in pediatric hearing health care.
Summary:The theme for this SIG 14 activity is bilingual parents’ experiences receiving advice regarding language use and perspectives related to multicultural training with SLPs. Topics include: examining the advice parents of bilingual children received from health care professionals and teachers regarding the language(s) their children should learn and use, as well as assessing whether SLPs feel adequately prepared to interact with, assess, instruct, or treat multicultural clients.
Summary:This trio of SIG 13 articles provides information regarding managing and treating
dysphagia with adult patients. First, Abrams and co-authors underscore the importance
of hydration and discovered that individuals consuming thickened liquids are often at risk
for dehydration. Factors to increase fluid intake through different strategies are
discussed. Next, Arguello and Kerr discuss the mechanism of a facial burn injury and
how it may cause functional impairments that can be directly impacted through early
intervention utilizing speech-language pathology services. Finally, Warner and
colleagues completed a pilot study investigating the prevalence of pretreatment
dysphagia in oncologic patients and individual factors influencing post treatment
dysphagia.
Summary:This collection of articles provides valuable information on clinical practice in the elderly, including the relationship between physical frailty and cognitive functioning in older adults, communication challenges in older adults in group care settings and the potential factors that contribute to meaningful interactions and engaged communication in these settings, and the importance of providing graduate students opportunities for skill development for end-of-life situations.
