Guests: Jessica Conn and Hilary Cooper - One of our favorite topics is the SLP’s role in advocacy, and today we are joined by some of the fiercest advocates around. Jessica Conn is a Visiting Clinical Instructor at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate coursework, including dysphagia and neurogenic communication disorders. She also owns East Texas Swallow Diagnostics, a mobile FEES company serving the broader East Texas area. She is currently the Director of University Relations for the Dysphagia Outreach Project as well. Hilary Cooper, our second guest, is a self-proclaimed dysphagia nerd who has extensive experience with pediatrics and adults in a variety of settings. She owns North Louisiana Swallow Solutions, a mobile FEES company, and is the President and CEO of the Dysphagia Outreach Project. In today's episode, after hearing about how Jessica and Hilary became SLPs, we dive into advocacy. We talk about how it differs from education, the importance of getting involved at state and national levels, and why advocacy needs to be a part of curriculums. We also get into some specific ways that you, as an SLP, can advocate for your patients and their families, who are constantly faced with the injustice and systemic inequality in our healthcare system. To hear more from these inspiring women, tune in today!

Guest: Caitlin Saxtein MS, CCC-SLP, BCSS, CBIS: For this episode of the Understanding Dysphagia Podcast, we are joined by Caitlin Saxtein to talk about end-of-life care and palliative care. Caitlin Saxtein MS, CCC-SLP, BCSS, CBIS is a medical speech-language pathologist currently working in the acute care setting and has experience in subacute, rehabilitation, outpatient, and home health. She also has an extensive background with East End Hospice, having volunteered with them for nearly 15 years. In our conversation, we talk with Caitlin about how she became passionate about end-of-life care during her many years of volunteering and what she has learned working in the field of
palliative care. Palliative care is sometimes assumed to mean end-of-life care, even among
some health workers, but this is not necessarily the case. Caitlin unpacks the term and
explains how palliative care is distinct from hospice care, describing palliative care as
specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness to improve the quality of life for
patients and their families. We discuss alternate means of nourishment and why feeding a
loved one who is ill is so significant for a family. Later, we discuss advance directives, outlining
what they are and how they impact your medical choices when you can no longer make them
yourself. We wrap by hearing from Caitlin about how she practices self-care, especially during
the COVID-19 pandemic. For all this and much more, join us today for a wonderful
conversation about Caitlin's experiences with palliative care!

Guest: Sarah Breshears, MA, CCC-SLP: Today we continue our special series in collaboration with the Dysphagia Outreach Project in honor of Dysphagia Awareness Month, this time to speak about strokes with Sarah Breshears. This amazing woman is an SLP in her sixth year of practice working in an acute hospital setting, is the creative powerhouse behind Short and Sweet Speech, and on top of it all, she is the Instagram Manager for Dysphagia Outreach Project. She leads a team of five women who work to create content that is engaging, informative, and reaches those who would benefit from
DOP’s mission. We kick things with the moment of divine intervention that set Sarah off on her
track to becoming an SLP before chatting about how she got involved with DOP. From there, we
wind our way into the heavy topic of strokes, beginning with what happens to the brain when
somebody has one, the effects it can have on their life, and how to recognize early symptoms.
We also get into how strokes can result in dysphagia, and then move onto best practices for
intervention and recovery, where we highlight the necessity of PT and OT. Our conversation
covers the importance of instrumental assessment for dysphagia and the dangers of
recommending the chin tuck swallow wholesale as well. Before wrapping up, Sarah gives us all
her top tips for lowering the risk factors for strokes, so be sure to listen along with us today and
learn all that Sarah has to share.

Guest: Kristen West, MS, CCC-SLP - Everything is connected within the realm of SLP; nutrition, education, family dynamics, environmental factors, to name but a few. Our guest today works at the intersection of all of these. Her name is Kristen West, and she is an expert on all things related to Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD). One in 37 children under five in the United States struggle with PFDs, and we are thrilled that there is soon to be an ICD 10 code that accurately captures PFDs for the first time. Alongside numerous other roles, Kristen is the Director of Education for the Dysphagia Outreach Project (DOP), and the work she is doing through this organization is what forms the basis of our conversation today. Kristen is passionate about equipping communities with the skills and resources they need in order to ensure the best possible outcomes for children with feeding and swallowing issues. The lack of continuity of care, overarching feeding programs, and funding, make this a difficult task, but Kristen is well prepared for the challenge. Kristen shares with us today what she has learned over many years about bridging the gap between knowledge and action, sharing resources, transition meetings, and the importance of getting everyone on board with the mission to help children who are struggling with PFD’s. Feeding is a paramount life skill, and the interventions that DOP is implementing, are changing lives!

Guest: Brooke Beilman, MS, CCC-SLP - Today’s episode is dedicated to the SLP’s role in head and neck cancer and we invite Brooke Beilman, MS, CCC-SLP, to speak about this important subject. Brooke is an SLP with experience in acute care, inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab, and skilled nursing settings. With certifications in manual interventions like myofascial release, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, NMES, and the Mcneill Dysphasia Therapy Program, Brooke is as brilliant as she is kind. We kick things off by hearing about how Brooke got the idea to become a speech pathologist and then bring this proactive intervention to patients with head and neck cancer, thereafter helping to develop a rehabilitative program for these patients during her CF. From there, we discuss the rise of the role of HPV in the development of head and neck cancer in younger patients and the implications of this. We get into the signs and symptoms of head and neck cancer, common treatment forms used by oncologists, and how this differs from those used by an SLP. Next up, we take a deep dive into the role of lymphatic impairment in head and neck cancer. Brooke helps us understand the lymphatic system and the role it plays in the body, and also weighs in on the condition of lymphedema and the role of myofascial release in treating it. We wrap things up with a conversation about functional aspiration as well as scope of practice and the role of the SLP in treating head and neck cancer patients. Tune in today!

Guest: Jessica Lasky, MS, CCC-SLP - For this episode of the Understanding Dysphagia Podcast, we are joined by Jessica Lasky to talk about trauma and ARF (not to be confused with adult ARFID)! Jessica is a medical SLP that specializes in dysphagia in the adult geriatric population. She is the founder of Mobile Scope and Evolutionary Education Solutions, and also co-founded the Dysphagia Outreach Project. We talk about the issue of patients having no access to resources after discharge and how this led to the founding of the Dysphagia Outreach Project. Our conversation then takes a deep dive into the many misconceptions and outlying cases that Jessica has experienced in her time working in outpatient neuro-rehabilitation, stroke, and trauma one hospitals, acute rehab facilities, and more. We hear about the discovery of foreign objects as well as atypical presentations from stab wounds and withdrawal, hardware in the cervical spine, and more. Jessica talks about a few of the times she has been in public and noticed that a person was presenting with symptoms and how she took action. In the last part of our conversation we get into the important issue of the utilization of interprofessional practice in our patients’ care, hearing Jessica weigh in on the other clinicians who help her bolster her practice and understanding of the respiratory system every day. Tune in for a brilliant conversation about the wide scope of Jessica’s experiences with dysphagia patients today!