Aphasia Access Conversations

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with neurogenic communication disorders. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Jessica Obermeyer about group treatment for aphasia. Guest info Jessica Obermeyer, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her area of specialization is acquired adult neurogenic language disorders. Dr. Obermeyer's research interests include discourse production in aphasia, treatment efficacy, and the cognitive requirements of language production. Prior to earning her doctorate, she worked in a variety of clinical settings where she specialized in assessment and treatment of adult neurogenic populations. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: ● Recognize the role of written communication in clients' daily activities, including texting, email, and online tasks. ● Adapt ARCS-W treatment components to match each client's preferred writing modality (handwriting vs. typing). ● Identify candidates with aphasia who are well-suited for discourse-level writing treatment. Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Jessica Obermeyer, who was selected as a 2024 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia, Distinguished Scholar, USA and Canada. Dr. Obermeyer is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her area of specialization is acquired adult neurogenic language disorders. Dr Obermeyer's research interests include discourse production and aphasia treatment efficacy and the cognitive requirements of language production. Prior to earning her doctorate, she worked in a variety of clinical settings, where she specialized in assessment and treatment of adult neurogenic populations. Jessica Obermeyer, welcome to the podcast, and thanks for being here. Jessica Obermeyer Thank you. It's a pleasure. Lyssa Rome So I wanted to get started with a question we often ask, which is: How did you get into this? Was there an aha moment for you and what led you to research aphasia? Jessica Obermeyer That's a great question. I think it was more of a slow awakening and journey to realizing that this is how I wanted to spend my days. When I started studying speech language pathology, I knew I wanted to work in adult rehab with people with traumatic brain injury, stroke, and aphasia. But as an undergraduate and a masters student, I worked on a lot of research related to traumatic brain injury and cognition. But then I had some exposure to aphasia research, and as a clinician, I just loved working with people that had aphasia. I loved running aphasia groups. I started aphasia groups, and when I decided to go back for my PhD, that is what I wanted to focus on. I also had the opportunity to work in adult outpatient, so I got to see a lot of people that had aphasia and were at different points in their rehabilitation journey. And those experiences just made me want to continue and especially do research that could develop and evaluate different treatment approaches for people that had aphasia. Lyssa Rome One of the sort of through lines in your research has been discourse. And I'm curious about how you landed on that as the focus of your work, why discourse? Jessica Obermeyer It's how we talk. It was always, you know, something I was interested in. I think, as a clinician, I felt really daunted by discourse, because it is laborious, you know, it takes a lot of time to think about how you're going to analyze it. But I was always so fascinated by all the linguistic components that make up discourse as a clinician. And then I think as a researcher, I really appreciate how important it is. Everything we do in our day to day lives is often at a discourse level, and that looks so different depending on the type of discourse. So your text exchange is discourse, your emails, your conversations, the interaction with a barista. You know, every kind of functional way that we communicate is often at

This episode features Mark Harder, an individual with aphasia who has developed numerous programs to engage individuals with aphasia in returning to meaningful life activities. Mark shared his personal experience with aphasia following a stroke and heart attack, discussing his recovery journey and the role of poetry in his healing process. He described his involvement in various aphasia support initiatives, including poetry groups, conferences, and advocacy work. Mark's efforts to raise awareness and support others with aphasia have led to the creation of multiple programs and events, demonstrating his commitment to the aphasia community.

Lyssa Rome talks with Dr. Mackenzie Fama about the experience of inner speech for people with aphasia.

In this episode you will discover: Diversity Means Everyone - Race is just one piece. Consider how age, language, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, and geography intersect to shape each person's experience with aphasia. Go Into the Community to Build Trust - Sustainable partnerships require leaving your institution and showing up consistently. Visit centers, share meals, and invest time where people gather. Trust develops gradually through authentic presence. Listen to Real-Life Struggles First - Before starting therapy protocols, hear what families actually face: shifted gender roles, children as language brokers, lack of community aphasia awareness, and disrupted family dynamics. Train Future Clinicians Differently - If you're building or revising academic programs, front-load diversity with a foundational intersectionality course in semester one, then integrate these principles across every subsequent course and clinical practicum. If you've ever wondered how to better support multilingual families navigating aphasia, or felt uncertain about cultural considerations in your practice, this conversation will give you both the framework and the practical insights you need. Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong, a faculty member at Central Michigan University where I lead the Strong Story Lab, and I'm a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that tackles one of the most important conversations happening in our field right now - how do we truly serve the increasingly diverse communities that need aphasia care? We're featuring Dr. Jose Centeno, whose work is reshaping how we think about equity, social justice, and what it really means to expand our diversity umbrella. Dr. Centeno isn't just talking about these issues from an ivory tower - he's in the trenches, working directly with communities and training the next generation of clinicians to do better. Before we get into the conversation, let me tell you a bit more about our guest. Dr. Jose Centeno is Professor in the Speech-Language Pathology Program at Rutgers University. What makes his work unique is how he bridges the worlds of clinical practice and research, focusing on an often overlooked intersection: what happens when stroke survivors who speak multiple languages need aphasia care? Dr. Centeno is currently exploring a critical question - what barriers do Latinx families face when caring for loved ones with post-stroke aphasia, and what actually helps them navigate daily life? His newest initiative takes this work directly into the community, where he's training students to bring brain health activities to underserved older adults in Newark's community centers. As an ASHA Fellow and frequent international speaker, Dr. Centeno has made it his mission to ensure that aphasia research and care truly serve diverse communities. His extensive work on professional committees reflects his commitment to making the field more inclusive and culturally responsive. So let's get into the conversation. Katie Strong: As we get started, I love hearing about how you came into doing this work, and I know when we spoke earlier you started out studying verb usage after stroke and very impairment-based sort of way of coming about things. And now you're doing such different work with that centers around equity and minoritized populations. I was hoping you could tell our listeners about the journey and what sparked that shift for you. Jose Centeno: That's a great question. In fact, I very often start my presentations at conferences, explaining to people, explaining to the audience, how I got to where I am right now, because I did my doctoral work focused on verb morphology, because it was very interesting. It is an area that I found very, very interesting. But then I realized that the data that I collected for my doctorate, and led to different articles, was connected to social linguistics. I took several linguistics courses in the linguistics department for my doctorate, and I needed to look at the results of my doctoral work in terms of sociolinguistic theory and cognition. And that really motivated me to look at more at discourse and how the way that we talk can have an impact on that post stroke language use. So, I kept writing my papers based on my doctoral data, and I became interested in finding out how our colleagues working with adults with aphasia that are bilingual, were digesting all this literature. I thought, wait a minute. Anyway, I'm writing about theory in verb morphology, I wonder where the gaps are. What do people need? Are people reading this type of work? And I started searching the literature, and I found very little in terms of assessing strengths and limitations of clinical work with p

Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with neurogenic communication disorders. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Liz Hoover about group treatment for aphasia. Guest info Dr. Liz Hoover is a clinical professor of speech language and hearing sciences and the clinical director of the Aphasia Resource Center at Boston University. She holds board certification from the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences, or ANCDS, and is an ASHA fellow. She was selected as a 2024 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar, USA and Canada. Liz was a founding member of Aphasia Access and served on the board for several years. She has 30 years of experience working with people with aphasia and other communication disorders across the continuum of care. She's contributed to numerous presentations and publications, and most of her work focuses on the effectiveness of group treatment for individuals with aphasia. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Describe the evidence supporting aphasia conversation groups as an effective interventions for linguistic and psychosocial outcomes. Differentiate the potential benefits of dyads versus larger groups in relation to client goals. Identify how aphasia severity and group composition can influence treatment outcomes. Edited transcript Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Elizabeth Hoover, who was selected as a 2024 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar, USA and Canada. Liz Hoover is a clinical professor of speech language and hearing sciences and the clinical director of the Aphasia Resource Center at Boston University. She holds board certification from the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences, or ANCDS, and is an ASHA fellow. Liz was a founding member of Aphasia Access and served on the board for several years. She has 30 years of experience working with people with aphasia and other communication disorders across the continuum of care. She's contributed to numerous presentations and publications, and most of her work focuses on the effectiveness of group treatment for individuals with aphasia. Liz, welcome back to the podcast. So in 2017 you spoke with Ellen Bernstein Ellis about intensive comprehensive aphasia programs or ICAPs and inter professional practice at the Aphasia Resource Center at BU and treatment for verb production using VNest, among other topics. So this time, I thought we could focus on some of your recent research with Gayle DeDe and others on conversation group treatment. Liz Hoover Sounds good. Lyssa Rome All right, so my first question is how you became interested in studying group treatment? Liz Hoover Yeah, I actually have Dr. Jan Avent to thank for my interest in groups. She was my aphasia professor when I was a graduate student doing my masters at Cal State East Bay. As you know, Cal State East Bay is home to the Aphasia Treatment Program. When I was there, it preceded ATP. But I was involved in her cooperative group treatment study, and as a graduate student, I was allowed to facilitate some of her groups in this study, and I was involved in the moderate-to-severe group. She was also incredibly generous at sharing that very early body of work for socially oriented group treatments and exposing us to the work of John Lyons and Audrey Holland. Jan also invited us to go to a conference on group treatment that was run by the Life Link group. It's out of Texas Woman's University, Delaina Walker-Batson and Jean Ford. And it just was a life changing and pivotal experience for me in recognizing how group treatment could not be just an adjunct to individual goals, but actually be the type of treatment that is beneficial for folks with aphasia. So it's been a love my entire career. Lyssa Rome And now I know you've been studying group treatment in this randomized control trial. This was a collaborative research project, so I'm hoping you can tell us a little bit more about that project. What were your research questions? Tell us a little bit more. Liz Hoove

In this episode you will discover: Math IS Language - It's in Our Wheelhouse Math has syntax (order of operations), semantics (number meanings), and involves memory and executive function - all areas SLPs already assess and treat. If you can help with language, you have transferable skills for math therapy. Start Simple with What You Have You don't need special materials or extensive math training. Use a deck of cards, dice, and real-life examples like restaurant receipts. Make numbers "friendly" (round $18.72 to $20) and let clients show you multiple ways to solve problems. Address Your Own Math Anxiety First Most SLPs feel uncomfortable with math, but clients need this support for life participation (paying bills, calculating tips, telling time). Acknowledge your discomfort, start with basics you DO know, and remember - if you avoid it, you can't help your clients who want to work on it. If you've ever felt your palms get sweaty when a client asks for help with numbers, this conversation is for you. Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong, a faculty member at Central Michigan University where I lead the Strong Story Lab. I'm today's host for an episode that might just change how you think about math anxiety - both your own and your clients'. We're featuring Tami Brancamp and Dave Brancamp, who are doing pioneering work at the intersection of aphasia and mathematics. Before you hit pause because you're having flashbacks to algebra class, stay with me! This research shows us that the language of math is exactly that - language - which puts it squarely in our wheelhouse as SLPs. We'll explore how to support our clients with aphasia who are struggling with everyday math tasks like counting change, telling time, or balancing a checkbook. And yes, we'll tackle the elephant in the room: addressing our own math insecurities so we can show up confidently for our clients. Let me tell you about our guests. Tami Brancamp is an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and founder of the Aphasia Center of Nevada. Her research focuses on identity in aphasia and rehabilitating everyday math skills. Dave Brancamp spent over 15 years as a junior high math teacher and later became Director of Standards at the Nevada Department of Education. Together, they co-founded Aphasia + Math, where they're exploring how language and mathematics intersect for people with aphasia. Okay now let's get this Aphasia + Math conversation started! Katie Strong: Tami and Dave, welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited for you to be here today. Dave Brancamp: Thank you. Tami Brancamp: We are both super excited to have a chance to talk about things that are different, right? Katie Strong: Right. I do have to say, I don't know if it was a rash, but I did get a little bit nervous coming into the conversation, because I think I may be one of those SLPs that feel a little bit uncomfortable with math. Tami Brancamp: Well, this SLP also is uncomfortable with math, so we can be uncomfortable together. And we'll let the math dude guide us through some of the things. Dave Brancamp: And it will be fun. By the time you're done, I want to see that smile that you have on your face. Katie Strong: Well, let's jump in and have you share a little bit about how you came to researching aphasia and math. Tami Brancamp: Well, I have loved working with people who have aphasia since the beginning of my graduate studies. And then probably, like most of us, there's a few clients who've really hit your heart. One of them, I don't recall her name, and that's okay, but she had a stroke, had aphasia. She had had great recover physically, and her language was quite good, some anomia. But she's a banker, and she could not process numbers, and she was angry. I'm a newbie, I didn't understand the emotional piece of stroke survivor, aphasia. can't do my job well. But she was angry, and I felt so helpless. I didn't know what to do to help her. You know, I could pull a workbook off the shelf or something, but it didn't feel right. You know, she could do calculations, but couldn't do her job. And I always felt so very, very helpless over the years. And the other part that came to start looking at this was teaching in a speech pathology program, undergrad and grad. And in class, maybe we're doing an averaging or something to get a score. I'm not sure if we start talking math, and I would see these students, and their eyes would just like, pop up, like, "Oh my gosh, she's asking me to do math." And like, deer in the headlights. So I'm like, "What is this?" Every semester, I would do kind of an informal survey when we would do a little bit of math, and I say, "Okay, so how many of you don't do math? Raise your hand or are afraid of math?" And it would be at least two thirds to three quarters of the class every single semester, and I'm like, "Okay, there's something here." Like, if I'm afraid of math, how am I going to h

Take aways: Learn about Hilary and Steve's journey to enhance care for people with aphasia. Learn about communication access as a health equity issue. Identify systematic gaps and the disconnect between training and real world needs of people with aphasia. Learn about the development of the MedConcerns app. Get sneaky! Learn how the MedConcerns app can serve four functions simultaneously: 1) meeting the needs of someone with aphasia 2) serving as a tool that providers can use to communicate with people with aphasia 3) providing education to providers who learn about aphasia as they use the app 4) bringing SLPs and other providers together to meet the needs of people with aphasia Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, Young Person's Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Hilary Sample and Dr. Steven Richman to discuss their app, MedConcerns. We're really excited to share this with you, so I'll jump into introducing them. Hilary G. Sample, MA, CCC-SLP Hilary is a speech-language pathologist, educator, and co-creator of MedConcerns, a communication support app that helps people with aphasia express medical concerns and participate more fully in their care. The app was born out of her work in inpatient rehabilitation, where she saw firsthand how often individuals with communication challenges struggled to share urgent medical needs. Recognizing that most providers lacked the tools to support these conversations, she partnered with physician Dr. Steven Richman to create a practical, accessible solution. Hilary also serves as an adjunct instructor at Cleveland State University. Steven Leeds Richman, MD Dr. Steven Richman is a hospitalist physician and co-creator of MedConcerns, a communication support app that helps people with aphasia express medical concerns and participate more fully in their care. With nearly two decades of experience in inpatient rehabilitation, he saw how often communication barriers prevented patients from being heard. In partnership with speech-language pathologist Hilary Sample, he helped translate core medical assessments into an accessible tool that supports clearer, more effective provider-patient communication. Transcript: (Please note that this conversation has been auto-transcribed. While we do our best to review the text for accuracy, there may be some minor errors. Thanks for your understanding.) Jerry Hoepner: Well, Hello, Hillary and Steve. Really happy to have you on this aphasia access conversations podcast. With me, I'm really looking forward to this conversation. It's maybe a year or 2 in the making, because I think this was at the previous Aphasia Access Leadership Summit in North Carolina. That we initially had some discussions about this work. And then life happens right? So really glad to be having this conversation today. Hilary Sample: And we're really glad to be here. Jerry Hoepner: Absolutely. Maybe I'll start out just asking a little bit about your background, Hillary, in terms of how you connected with the life participation approach and aphasia access and how that relates to your personal story. Hilary Sample: Sure, so I haven't been in the field long. I graduated in 2019 and began my career immediately in inpatient rehab. I have to remember. It's talk slow day, and I'm going to make sure that I apply that as I speak, both for me and for listeners. So I began on the stroke unit, primarily in an inpatient rehab setting, and I've worked there for the majority of my career. I came in as many, probably in our field do, trained and educated in more of an impairment based approach but quickly when you work with people, and they let you know who they are and what they need. The people that I worked with on the stroke unit, the people with aphasia let me know that they needed more of a life participation approach. You know I learned how vital it was to support communication and to help him, you know, help them access their lives, because most of the time I entered the room. They had something they wanted to communicate, and they had been waiting for someone who had those skills to support communication in order to get that message across. So it wasn't about drills it was about. It was about helping them to communicate with the world, so that I spent more and more time just trying to develop my own skills so that I could be that professional for them and that support. And then that took me. You know that it just became my passion, and I have a lot of room to improve still today, but it'

In this episode you will: Discover how transitioning from participant to facilitator can accelerate personal recovery while creating meaningful support for others living with aphasia, demonstrating that helping others is often one of the most powerful ways to help yourself continue growing. Learn practical strategies for building and sustaining aphasia support communities both online and in-person, including how to adapt materials for different communication abilities, recruit co-facilitators with complementary strengths, and grow through word-of-mouth rather than formal advertising. Understand how creative activities like movie groups, singing and dancing, and talk of the town (current events) serve as powerful therapy tools for participation and language recovery. Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, Young Person's Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Cindy "Yee" Lam-Walker. We'll be talking about her programming for individuals with aphasia by individuals with aphasia. This is the second episode in a two-part series featuring remarkable individuals who discovered that one of the most powerful ways to support their own recovery was by creating spaces to help others. We're continuing our June celebration of Aphasia Awareness Month, where we're highlighting the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia by featuring people who are living successfully with aphasia. Earlier this month, we heard from Sherry Lovellette, who started several online opportunities for individuals with aphasia, including Aphasia Gatherings, Online Book Club, sewing, and an in-person support group. We also heard from Dr. Lori Gray about her groundbreaking work integrating mindfulness into stroke recovery. Before we begin today's conversation, I'd like to share a bit about today's guest. Cindy "Yee" Lam Walker is a person with aphasia from Atlanta, Georgia. She was a Treasury Officer before her stroke and was great with numbers and money. On March 19th, 2019, she experienced a ruptured brain aneurysm. It caused bleeding in her brain, which required brain surgery. After the surgery, she didn't remember what happened for the first 3 months. She began to speak, but it was difficult. She couldn't walk. She had to use the wheelchair, and she was in the hospital for 5 months. She wouldn't eat. She couldn't go back to her job, a job that she loved but she could no longer do math. Her whole life changed! ​ In winter, she was depressed and didn't want to live. She wanted to die so she could see God and my parents in heaven. In spring, her doctor prescribed some new medications, and she began to feel better. She met her speech therapist, Emily. With her help, she started to talk, to read, and to learn simple math. ​ After her stroke, she didn't care about money anymore. She has many new friends and makes origami to give to people. When she is folding origami, she feels like her mother is teaching me how to fold. ​Now she writes poetry and leads groups for other people with aphasia. Transcript: Jerry Hoepner: Well, I'm really excited to have a conversation with you. Katie Strong said that she connected you with you when she was in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and. Yee Cindy Lam Walker: Yeah, we had a great time. Jerry Hoepner: Yeah, sounds like it. And she had this idea for a conversation with you about your experience starting an aphasia group for people with aphasia by people with aphasia. And we just think it's a wonderful idea. And I didn't even realize how much you were doing until I saw some of the things that you sent me, and I've heard a little bit here and there from others. But wow! It's really. It's really impressive. Yee Cindy Lam Walker: The number of people in those classes. Scott did that. I couldn't add up things like he does, so he took care of that I don't even know he was doing it for my classes, but he spent time doing that. But I'm the one who likes to organize it among people and I. I pick some of my other friends to be the host. I'm not always the host for all these classes, so. Jerry Hoepner: See that. That's really a great idea on your part. People with interest or expertise in those different areas. And yeah, it's quite the lineup of activities that you have kind of across the whole range of interests and topics. So, I'm excited to talk about it. Yeah. Those numbers that Scott put together are really impressive. 2,400 people. Wow. Yee Cindy Lam Walker: Not at different times, you know, it's not like, yeah. He did the math. Jerry Hoepner:

Dr. Katie Strong of Central Michigan University has a vibrant conversation with Sherry Lovellette about how transitioning from participant to facilitator can accelerate personal recovery while creating meaningful support for others living with aphasia. They explore practical strategies for building and sustaining aphasia support communities both online and in-person, including how to adapt materials for different communication abilities and grow through authentic word-of-mouth connections. Sherry also shares how creative activities like quilting and sewing have served as powerful therapy tools for her cognitive rehabilitation and fine motor skills, while providing opportunities to teach others and build additional community connections. This inspiring conversation demonstrates that helping others is often one of the most powerful ways to continue your own recovery journey, embodying the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia by showing how meaningful roles as a leader, teacher, and community builder can flourish alongside ongoing recovery.

Dr. Katie Strong has a conversation with Dr. Lori Gray about her work which focuses on mindfulness and aphasia. During this episode you will • Learn how mindfulness practices can help manage daily communication challenges including neuro fatigue, word-finding difficulties, and the frustration that comes with living with aphasia. • Discover why recovery "plateaus" should be reframed as "nonlinear pause points" and how challenging traditional beliefs about recovery limitations can open new possibilities for continued growth. • Hear about an adapted Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program for stroke survivors and the positive outcomes from Dr. Gray's pilot study, including improved sleep, reduced stress, and enhanced quality of life. • Experience a guided mindfulness practice designed specifically for people affected by aphasia and learn practical ways to integrate mindfulness into both daily life and clinical practice.

Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic conditions. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Dr. Suma Devanga about collaborative referencing, gesture, and building rich communicative environments for people with aphasia. Guest info Dr. Suma Devanga is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, where she also serves as the director of the Aphasia Research Lab. She completed her PhD in Speech and Hearing science from the University of Illinois. Urbana Champaign in 2017. Dr. Devanga is interested in studying aphasia interventions and their impacts on people's everyday communication. Her recent work includes investigating a novel treatment called the Collaborative Referencing Intervention for Individuals with aphasia, using discourse analysis methods and patient reported outcome measures, studying group-based treatments for aphasia, and studying the use of gestures in aphasia. Additionally, she is involved in teaching courses on aphasia and cognitive communication disorders to graduate SLP students at Rush. She also provides direct patient care and graduate clinical supervision at Rush outpatient clinics. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Understand the role of collaborative referencing in everyday communication. Learn about Collaborative Referencing Intervention. Describe how speech-language pathologists can create rich communicative environments. Edited transcript Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Suma Devanga, who is selected as a 2024 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar, USA and Canada. In this episode, we'll be discussing Dr. Devanga's research on collaborative referencing, gesture, and building rich communicative environments for people with aphasia. Suma Devanga is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, where she also serves as the director of the Aphasia Research Lab. She completed her PhD in Speech and Hearing science from the University of Illinois. Urbana Champaign in 2017. Dr. Devanga is interested in studying aphasia interventions and their impacts on people's everyday communication. Her recent work includes investigating a novel treatment called the Collaborative Referencing Intervention for Individuals with aphasia, using discourse analysis methods and patient reported outcome measures, studying group-based treatments for aphasia, and studying the use of gestures in aphasia. Additionally, she is involved in teaching courses on aphasia and cognitive communication disorders to graduate SLP students at Rush. She also provides direct patient care and graduate clinical supervision at Rush outpatient clinics. Suma Devanga, thank you so much for joining us today. I'm really happy to be talking with you. Suma Devanga Thank you, Lyssa, thank you for having me. And I would also like to thank Aphasia Access for this wonderful opportunity, and the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia and the Duchess of Bedford for recognizing my research through the Distinguished Scholar Award. Lyssa Rome So I wanted to start by asking you how you became interested in aphasia treatment. Suma Devanga I became interested in aphasia during my undergraduate and graduate programs, which was in speech language pathology in Mysore in India. I was really drawn to this population because of how severe the consequences were for these individuals and their families after the onset of aphasia. So I met hundreds of patients and families with aphasia who were really devastated by this sudden condition, and they were typically left with no job and little means to communicate with family and friends. So as a student clinician, I was very, very motivated to help these individuals in therapy, but when I started implementing the treatment methods that I had learned, what I discovered was that my patients were showing improvements on the tasks that we worked on in therapy.

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, Young Person's Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature my friend and colleague, Dr. Warren Brown. I've been fortunate to work with Dr. Brown for the past two years and I'm excited to share the work he's been doing in service of the LPAA. Warren C. Brown, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communicative Disorders at Jackson State University. His research explores the intersections of traumatic brain injury (TBI), aphasia, and healthcare disparities, with a focus on cultural and linguistic diversity in clinical care. He serves as a facilitator for the Black Aphasia Group at the Aphasia Center of Acadiana and has published on topics related to brain injury, intersectionality, and patient-provider communication. Dr. Brown is an active member of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), National Black Association for speech Language Pathology (NBASLH), the Academy of Neurogenic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS), and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Take Aways: Learn about health disparities faced by Black Americans. Learn about the perceptions of Black Americans towards their healthcare providers. Dr. Brown will continue to facilitate the Black Aphasia Group affiliated with the Aphasia Center of Acadiana. Dr. Brown and his team to are hoping to publish an anthology project featuring entries from Black Americans with aphasia by fall of next year. Dr. Brown plans to organize a symposium on aphasia at Jackson State University with a focus on diversity. Dr. Brown plans to present a poster on the anthology project at the upcoming Aphasia Access Conference. Interview Transcript: Jerry Hoepner: Alright. Well, Warren, it's good to see you today. I'm fortunate to see you on a regular basis. So, I think this is the second time we've connected today. For different reasons. But I'm glad to have you here as a part of the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm hoping you can share a little bit about yourself. I know that some aphasia access affiliates will know you and know a little bit about your work. But I'd like others to get to know you and your work as well, so can you share a little bit about yourself? Warren Brown: Yes, sir. Well, thanks for having me. For sure, this is an honor. I'm a recent graduate from the University of Louisiana and Lafayette. With my PhD. I studied under multiple folks. There. I studied under Anthony Salvatore, Dr. Judith Oxley, and Dr. Jamie Azios. My main areas of interest are traumatic brain injury, aphasia, and all neurogenic disorders related to marginalized populations. Prior to my doc program, I was a practicing clinician for 11 years or so I practiced in mainly acute care hospitals long term, acute care, hospitals, home health, and predominantly in Southern Louisiana. So, and I did a little bit of private practice. I did everything but child language disorders. So I prided myself when I started my doc program as being a clinician first, and thinking about clinical issues, first, because I was gracious enough to get a lot of great experience in my timeframe, so I kind of had a better idea about, you know the areas that I was most mostly interested in prior to going into my doc program. So, I'm married. I have 3 kids Wes, Evie, and Wells, which is my newborn and a lovely wife, Tatiana. I'm a new faculty member at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, and I love my job, and I love my students, and I love my research endeavors that I've done thus far. So, you know I'm fortunate enough to work with you, Dr. Hepner, Dr. Louise Keegan, Dr. Jamie Azios Dr. Judith Oxley. Still Dr. Anthony Salvatory. Still Theresa Gray, a few other folks. I'm just happy that Dr. Brandy Newkirk-Turner as well at Jackson State. I'm happy that I have a great group of mentors to ask questions to and bother from time to time. So, I'm just grateful. So yes, sir. Jerry Hoepner: Well, yeah, it's been really fun working with you and getting to know you. And certainly, that really strong, diverse group of mentors is something to build upon for sure. That's a great group of people. So privileged to be a part of that a couple of things that we were going to talk about today. I want to get to your work with the black Americans with aphasia group, and I want to get to some of the new work that you've been doing on an anthology. I'll kind of leave it at that, for now you were gracious enough to share a manuscript. That you and Dr. Azios

Dr. Janet Patterson: Welcome to this Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast, a series of conversations about the LPAA model and aphasia programs that follow this model. My name is Janet Patterson, and I am a research speech-language pathologist at the VA Northern California Healthcare System in Martinez, California. Today, I am delighted to be speaking with Dr. Elizabeth Madden, an Assistant Professor at Florida State University in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and an affiliate of the Institute for Successful Longevity. Liz also leads the FSU Aphasia Research Laboratory. Liz's research, teaching and clinical interests focus on rehabilitation of aphasia, and specifically on understanding the relationship between spoken and written language abilities in individuals with aphasia and developing behavioral treatments to address reading and writing disorders post stroke. Her work also addresses the impact of aphasia on the friendships and social well-being of people with aphasia and their care partners. These Show Notes accompany the conversation with Liz but are not a verbatim transcript. In today's episode you will hear about: the power of friendship and what people with aphasia and care partners think about how aphasia can affect the ability to create and sustain friendships, the definition of literacy and its behavioral components, and behavioral treatments for reading comprehension deficit in aphasia. In 2024, Liz was named a Distinguished Scholar USA by the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia UK. The Tavistock Trust aims to help improve the quality of life for those with aphasia, their families and care partners by addressing research capacity related to quality-of-life issues in aphasia. Congratulations on receiving this honor, Liz. Aphasia Access collaborates with the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia in selecting the awardees and is pleased to have the opportunity to discuss their work and the career influence of the Tavistock Award. Welcome Liz, to Aphasia Access Conversations. Dr. Liz Madden: Thank you, Janet. I'm really happy to be here today. I also say thank you to Aphasia Access and to the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia. I'm very grateful for this award and excited to have this conversation. Janet: I'm excited to be talking to you, my friend and research partner in several endeavors that we've been working on over the last few years. Liz, as we've said, you were named a Tavistock Trust Distinguished Scholar USA for this year, and you join a talented and dedicated group of individuals. How has receiving the Tavistock Award influenced your clinical and research efforts in aphasia, Liz: I first wanted to extend that thank you to the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia, and specifically Henrietta, the Duchess of Bedford and the honorable Nicole Campbell, and just a very gracious, sincere thank you for all the time and effort and support they give to aphasia researchers. I would say, I'm just delighted and very humbled to be recognized this year. I would say further that this award motivates my work that is focused on trying to really make an impact on the lives and quality of life and successful living for people who have aphasia and continuing my work. My beginning work was really more impairment focused, which some of that we will talk about, and I really value that. But having this award, and the more I stay in the field, it is extending that and making sure that everything I'm doing always is directly related to helping the lives of people with aphasia. Janet: That leads right into the question I'd like to begin with Liz, which is about your recent work investigating the role of friendship for persons with aphasia. I believe in the power of friendship and community during joyful times and also during the sad times in one's life. In Aphasia. Access podcast episode number 119, Finding the person in front of aphasia, I talked with your friend and colleague, Dr Lauren Bislick, with whom I believe you collaborate to investigate friendship and aphasia. How did you become interested in this aspect of aphasia, and what can you tell us about your work in this area and your collaboration with Lauren? Liz: Lauren and I did our Ph.D.'s together. We both were mentored by Diane Kendall at the University of Washington, so Lauren and I are Ph.D. sisters. Also, we were both at Project Bridge, led by Dr. Jackie Hinkley in 2018. That's really where my interest in friendship began. That conference brought together researchers, speech-language pathologists, people with aphasia, and their friends and family. I was the researcher at a table, and we ended up being Team Friendship. Lauren was also at this meeting, but she was at Team Yoga; Lauren does a lot of work with friendship, but also with yoga. My other colleague who does a lot of friendship work with me is Dr. Michelle Therrien here at FSU. She primarily works with children who use AAC, but her main research is friendship. She and I had already had some conversat

In this episode you will: Learn about how the Aphasia-Friendly Reading Approach was developed. Hear about the importance of actively engaging care partners in therapy through this storytelling approach. Learn the importance of celebrating stories and how to host your own version of a Waffle Night. Katie Strong: Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong, a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. I'm also a faculty member at Central Michigan University where I lead the Strong Story Lab. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Harold Regier and Dr. Erin O'Bryan. We'll be talking about the Aphasia-Friendly Reading Approach that Harold developed for his wife, Rosella, who had aphasia and how Dr. O'Bryan took this approach into the lab to refine it for clinicians to use in sessions. Before we dive into the conversation, let me share a few details about our guests. First a bit about Harold. Harold R. Regier, B.S. Ed., BDiv. Theol., is a retired minister with a career path in programs addressing social justice issues. In retirement, his spouse, Rosella, had a stroke resulting in aphasia. His passion shifted to becoming an aphasia care partner focused on helping to recover language and communication skills. He is the author of "A Decade of Aphasia Therapy," subtitled "Aphasia-Friendly Reading: A Technique for Oral Communication," published in 2021. Our second guest is Dr. Erin O'Bryan. Erin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Wichita State University, in Wichita, Kansas. Her major research, teaching, and clinical interests focus on helping people with aphasia communicate through scripts, stories, and phrases and teaching students and care partners how to support communication. Dr. O'Bryan directs the Wichita Adult Language Lab whose current projects focus on supported storytelling and Melodic Intonation Therapy. Welcome Harold and Erin. I'm looking forward to our conversation today. Erin O'Bryan: Thank you, Katie! I've been listening to Aphasia Access Podcasts for years, and so many of my heroes have been interviewed in this series. It is really an honor that you invited Harold and I to be on the podcast today! Katie Strong: I am so excited for our listeners to hear about how the Aphasia-Friendly Reading Approach was developed and expanded. This work is near and dear to my heart – particularly in this unique way of developing and telling stories. I feel compelled to disclose to our listeners that I am grateful to have been involved in this work as it was refined for clinical environments. So, I am going to come right out and say, this is my bias. Harold, I'm a big fan of yours and the Aphasia Friendly Reading Approach and of you Erin for how you brought this approach into the lab and studied it so that clinicians can use this approach. So, now let's get started! Harold, can you share a bit with us about how the Aphasia-Friendly Reading Approach came to be? Harold Reiger: Sure. Thank you so much, Dr. Strong, for the privilege of being here to share just a bit of our story. You know, Rosella and I would have celebrated our 65th wedding anniversary if she had stayed with us just a few weeks longer. We had a very long and very happy marriage. She used to kid me, "We've been together so long we know what the other person will say before he or she says it." Well, actually, aphasia kind of shattered that theory. But maybe there was a little bit of that was true. Well, anyway, Rosella was a retired public-school teacher with part of her career also involving children's curriculum development. She led many workshops, was a storyteller, and was a frequent guest speaker. Communication and broad coalitions were a strong suit for her. So, aphasia, loss of language was a huge loss for her. Perhaps that sets the stage for working so hard to restore some major storytelling. But I'm sure this is the same kind of feeling that every person who is a care partner with the person with aphasia has. How did we discover a technique for storytelling through oral reading? Really, I think I just stumbled into it. The cues came from Rosella. She could say many words. She had a strong voice, but she did not put words together in a way that made it possible for a listener to understand what she meant to communicate. So, I was highly motivated, wishing there was a way to help her tell her stories. Looking back, I now can see three of what I call 'indicators' that led me to the technique that I eventually called Aphasia-Friendly Reading. They were painting, reading, and church liturgy. So let me explain. Indicator number one, completely on her own, Rosella began to paint. Just shy of two years after her stroke, Rosella began to paint. She painted for four years. She paint

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic conditions. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Elissa Larkin about her work to increase communication access within her hospital system via communication partner training programs and her dual role as a speech-language pathologist and bioethicist. Guest info Elissa Larkin, M.S., CCC-SLP, HEC-C is a Bioethicist and Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Elissa earned her Master of Science in Communication Disorders with bilingual certification (Spanish) at Arizona State University and completed advanced training in bioethics at Northwestern Medicine Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, subsequently earning national certification as a Healthcare Ethics Consultant. Elissa's areas of professional focus include applications of ethical frameworks to promote patient rights and shared-decision making in rehabilitation practice, Life Participation Approach to Aphasia-centered research and treatment, and interprofessional education models to increase communication access and equity for all patients. Elissa received the 2023 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement for her work in communication access education and advocacy. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Understand the theory behind implementing communication access strategies at the institutional level in a variety of practice settings. Learn about some techniques to effectively teach supported communication to colleagues from different disciplines. Describe the impact on patients and rehab professionals of communication access. Edited Transcript Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech-language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Elissa Larkin. Elissa is a bioethicist, certified healthcare bioethics consultant, and research speech language pathologist at the Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. She's also certified as a bilingual English/Spanish SLP. Her areas of professional focus include applications of ethical frameworks to promote patient rights and shared decision-making in rehabilitation practice, Life Participation Approach to Aphasia-centered research and treatment, and interprofessional education models to increase communication access and equity for all patients. Elissa received the 2023 American Speech Language Hearing Association Louis M. DeCarlo award for recent clinical achievement for her work in communication access education and advocacy. Elissa, I am so glad to be talking to you today. I'm really excited for this conversation. Elissa Larkin Thank you so much. Lyssa, I'm very excited too. Lyssa Rome I thought we could start by having you introduce yourself a little bit more. Elissa Larkin Okay, sure, as you said, my name is Elissa Larkin. My pronouns are she/her/hers. In terms of positionality, I am a white, cisgender, middle aged woman, and before we really jump in, I also want to acknowledge and describe the context I work in—as a very resourced research and rehabilitation hospital. I want to explicitly recognize that because a number of things I'll share were made possible by very generous mentors and institutional resources that I know are unique and not necessarily available everywhere. I'll try to offer examples from my experiences, and really hope there will be things people can pick and choose pieces from that may fit where they practice. Lyssa Rome Yeah, and having spoken with you about this, I think that there are things that clinicians in a variety of contexts will be able to take away. So you have this really interesting background in bioethics. It's unusual for people in our field, and I'm curious, how did you get there? Why did you decide to do that bioethics training, and how has that informed your practice? Elissa Larkin Thank you. What a wonderful question to start with, and I'm grateful for the way that path unfolded. In my clinical practice, as an S

Welcome to the Aphasia Access, Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Ellen Bernstein Ellis, Director Emeritus of the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. Brief topic intro I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr Felicity Bright. We'll discuss her research looking at factors impacting wellbeing, engagement and hope. Guest bio Felicity Bright is a registered speech language therapist and associate professor in rehabilitation at Auckland University of Technology in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Her research examines cultures of care, and in particular, how the cultures and practices in rehabilitation respond to the needs and priorities of patients and those who support them. She has a particular interest in stroke and in the needs and experiences of those with communication impairment through her work, Felicity seeks to support practitioners services and rehabilitation organizations and to provide better person centered care. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Explore how qualitative research promotes the nuanced study of meaningful clinical practice Consider cultural differences in well-being and what this might mean for how we work with people with aphasia and their support networks Reflect on the importance of having discussions with patients about hope and well-being Discuss how culture and organizations impact healthcare practice for individuals with aphasia Show notes edited for conciseness Ellen Bernstein-Ellis Felicity, welcome to our show. Thank you for agreeing to be our guest today. Felicity Bright Thank you for having me. It's great to be here. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis Welcome Felicity. We're going to start today with an icebreaker question. The one you selected for today is, "Do you have a favorite book or movie about aphasia? Felicity Bright It was hard to choose one. Actually, I was just looking at my bookshelf and I went back to myself as a fairly new speech and language therapist quite a few years ago now. One that was really transformative for my practice was Talking about Aphasia by Suzie Parr and Sally Bing. It's a classic, but it was a beautifully written book that really opened my eyes to the experiences of people with aphasia beyond all the technical work that we'd learned in university and so on, but it brought to life the humanity of the people who have aphasia, and really helped me rethink why I do what I do, and what the real impacts of aphasia can be for people. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis Yes, that's a beautiful book that brings that all to the forefront. And I want you to say the title and author again, in case I spoke over you a moment ago, Felicity Bright The book is Talking about Aphasia and the authors are Susie Parr, Sally Bing and Sue Gilpin with Chris Ireland, Ellen Bernstein-Ellis We'll put that (i.e. citation) into the reference list on our speaker notes. So thank you. And as we start today's interview, I was wondering if you'd like to share your path from clinician to researcher, because we've had several guests who have started in clinical work and then came to their doctoral work and research a little bit later. So, I'd love it if you could share that with our listeners. Felicity Bright Sure. So I worked as a speech and language therapist in New Zealand. We are speech language therapists. I worked in a range of neurological settings, from acute stroke neurosurgery, did a little bit of ICU, did some rehab in inpatient services and in community, and really enjoyed that work, but I'd always had a long standing interest in research. I was a bit of a geek, you know, When I was in training, that was, that was me, I was the geek. And so I'd always kind of expected at some point I would go down the research track. It was prompted after I had my first baby, and my work required me to either go back full time or to not work. And so at that point, I chose to not go back to work full time, and a research job came up at Auckland University of Technology, and I'd followed their work for a while. We don't do speech therapy here, it was rehabilitation research, and I was offered an opportunity to be a research officer doing interventions as part of a randomized control trial with people with traumatic brain injury. And so that kind of gave me the space to bring together some clinical work, but also some research work. It gave me the opportunity to do my Masters alongside this with my fees paid. So that was fantastic. And it really solidified for me that I was quite happy and enjoyed being in that kind of clinical research space. And so I've been in the university now for 15, nearly 16 years Ellen Bernstein-Ellis Wow, that's a great story. So now you have a 15 year old, right? Felic

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic conditions. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Dr. Liss Brunner about how clinicians can incorporate social media into their work with people with acquired brain injuries. Guest info Dr Melissa 'Liss' Brunner is an early career researcher, lecturer at the University of Sydney, and a certified practicing speech pathologist with over twenty years of experience in supporting adults with swallowing and communication difficulties. Liss has clinical and research expertise in acquired neurologic disorders, particularly working with people who have experienced a stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Diverse research experiences have enabled Liss to build specialist skills in qualitatively driven social media and digital health mixed methods research. Liss's doctoral research laid the necessary groundwork in understanding the complexity of the issues surrounding people with TBI using social media and how it may (or may not) be addressed during their rehabilitation. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Understand how people with acquired brain injury use social media. Learn about barriers and facilitators for safe social media use after brain injury. Describe how speech-language pathologists can target social media use in rehab for people with acquired brain injury. Edited Transcript Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Melissa or Liss Brunner. Liss is an early-career researcher, lecturer at the University of Sydney, and a certified practicing speech pathologist with over 20 years of experience in supporting adults with swallowing and communication difficulties. Liss has clinical and research expertise in acquired neurologic disorders, particularly working with people who have experienced a stroke or traumatic brain injury. She focuses on qualitatively driven social media and digital health mixed-methods research. Her doctoral research laid the necessary groundwork in understanding the complexity of the issues surrounding people with TBI using social media, and how it may or may not be addressed during their rehabilitation. Dr. Liss Brunner, welcome to the Aphasia Access podcast, I'm so glad to be talking with you. Dr. Liss Brunner Thanks so much for having me. I'm really, really excited to be here and talk about one of my favorite things. Lyssa Rome Great. So I want to just start by asking you what made you want to study social media use among people with acquired brain injuries? And why is it important to study that? Dr. Liss Brunner I suppose I want to start by asking you a question, Lyssa, if that's alright. Okay. So, I mean, do you use social media? Lyssa Rome I do use social media. Dr. Liss Brunner And what are your favorite types of social media? And why do you use them? Hope you don't mind me asking. Lyssa Rome That's fine. So I primarily use two social media platforms. I use Facebook for professional reasons. There's a lot of networking amongst speech pathologists on Facebook. I also use it because I get some exercise classes there, so that's kind of nice. And then I also use Instagram, which I primarily go to to find out about knitting and sewing patterns, and to look for gardening ideas. So it's sort of more hobby-based for me. Dr. Liss Brunner Perfect. I love that. I mean, I use Facebook also, but it's mainly to stay in touch with like high school or uni friends and my family. And I also use Instagram, and like you lots of hobby-based stuff. I love watching videos around food. Always makes me hungry, but I still love it. But I also love seeing what people are reading. So I will also quite often post what I've just read and get ideas for books that I could be reading and things like that. And I use it a little bit professionally as well to share what I've been doing and what I've been working on. And I use Twitter or X, as it's now known, probably more so professionally. So I do a lot of sharing about the work that I'm doing in there. But I use a wh

Welcome to this Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast, a series of conversations about aphasia, the LPAA model, and aphasia programs that follow this model. My name is Janet Patterson. I am a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Healthcare System in Martinez, California, and a member of the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their efforts in engaging with persons with aphasia and their families through a variety of educational materials and resources. I am the host for our episode that will feature Lauren Bislick, in which you will hear about friendship, yoga, mental imagery and aphasia. These Show Notes accompany the conversation with Lauren but are not a verbatim transcript. In today's episode you will hear about: the value of friendship in our lives and Mission SPEAK, ideas for creating an accessible yoga program for person with aphasia, and the value of mental imagery. Dr. Janet Patterson: Welcome to this edition of Aphasia Access Conversations, a series of conversations about the LPAA model and aphasia programs that follow this model. My name is Janet Patterson, and I'm a research speech language pathologist at the VA Northern California Healthcare System in Martinez, California. Today I am delighted to be speaking with Dr. Lauren Bislick, a newly minted Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida, in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Lauren is also the director of the UCF Aphasia House, and the director of the Aphasia and Related Conditions Research Lab. Across her work efforts, Lauren investigates the diagnosis and treatment of acquired apraxia of speech and aphasia, the value of mindful body practices such as yoga, friendship development, and interprofessional education and practice. In 2023, Lauren was named a Distinguished Scholar USA by the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia UK. The Tavistock Trust aims to help improve the quality of life for those with aphasia, their families and care partners by addressing research capacity related to quality-of-life issues in aphasia. Congratulations on receiving this honor, Lauren. Aphasia Access collaborates with the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia in selecting the awardees and is pleased to have the opportunity to discuss their work and the influence of the Tavistock award. Welcome Lauren, to Aphasia Access Conversations. Dr. Lauren Bislick: Thank you, Janet, and thank you Aphasia Access for having me. Also thank you to the Tavistock Trust for the review team for nominating me and for selecting me. I'm truly very honored to be a recipient of this award. Janet: It's a well-deserved award. Lauren, as we said, you were named a Tavistock Trust, Distinguished Scholar USA for 2023. You join a talented and dedicated group of individuals in this award. How does receiving the Tavistock award influence your clinical and research efforts in aphasia? Lauren: First, I'll say again, I was truly honored to receive this award and was definitely surprised. The nomination announcement occurred at the Clinical Aphasiology Conference, and they didn't give us a heads up that the announcement was coming through, so I was very surprised. I think in terms of how this has influenced my clinical and research efforts as an academic, and as a clinician. I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling of imposter syndrome, and so receiving this award has helped me push that feeling to the side a little bit in some aspects of my work and of what I do. It's also allowed me to feel very proud about what I've been able to do. but more so through my collaborations and my students and the community that we have at UCF. It's allowed me to grow connection. Since receiving this award, people have reached out to me to talk about collaboration or wanting my help in terms of more of a consultant role. It's allowed myself and my lab to reach a larger group of people and has definitely supported that emphasis on quality-of-life work, which is not necessarily the training that I focused on when I was in my doctoral program. That's been something that I've come into in my time as an assistant faculty member or a junior researcher. It feels very good to be acknowledged for that and for these lines of work being supported. Janet: And well deserved, for certain. Lauren, I would like to begin by asking you about your recent work investigating the role of friendship for persons with aphasia. I believe in the power of friendship and community during joyful times, and also during sad times in one's life. One of the unfortunate consequences of aphasia can be the loss or diminishing of friendships, or the communication skills important to developing and sustaining friendship and community. How did you become interested in this aspect of aphasia? And what conclusions have you drawn from your research? Lauren: Thank you for this question. One

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature three voices, one of a partner of an individual with primary progressive aphasia, CeCelia Zorn, who also happens to be a former professor in the department of nursing at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire; along with Tania Riske, an SLP at the Mayo Clinic Health Systems Eau Claire, and Nancy Petersen, a social worker with expertise in grief and bereavement from Ability KC in Kansas City. Each of them have both professional and personal experience and expertise with grief and loss. June is aphasia awareness month, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share the lived experience directly. Today's episode will address grief, death, and loss: leaning into a much-needed discussion. Biosketch: Our first guest, CeCelia Zorn, Ph.D., met her husband Wayne in high school in rural northeastern Wisconsin. Wayne died from the consequences of primary progressive aphasia last August, 2023. Since that time, CeCelia has continued her work as an advocate for families living with primary progressive aphasia and more recently about grief, death, and loss as a care partner. Cecelia brings multiple perspectives to our conversation about grief, death, and loss. She is a registered nurse and a lifelong writer. She has been an award-winning university professor for 32 years. CeCelia reads voraciously, plays pickleball, and is relearning how to play the flute – taking individual lessons, playing in community bands and auditing university music history class. She volunteers at the local free clinic and is an active member of the Board of Directors for Wayne's former memory choir. On a daily basis, CeCelia strives for a life enriched by kindness, joy, perseverance, curiosity, patience, and collaboration. But she will be the first to tell you, "some days are easy but some days you just crash. Yet everyday it counts because I remind myself, life isn't waiting for the storm to pass it's about learning to dance in the rain." Tania Riske, MS, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist at Mayo Health Systems – Eau Claire. She initially entered the speech language pathology field through her volunteer work with the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Group and graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Communication Sciences and Disorders program. Currently, she serves as an adjunct faculty member at UW Eau Claire, teaching undergraduate courses such as anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism. Tania continues to enjoy treating patients with aphasia and their families within the LPAA Paradigm. Developing plans of care, counseling individuals' unique lifestyles, goals, interests, and priorities. Tania is an avid trail runner and equestrian. CeCelia, Wayne, and Tania were my guests for Episode 49 – Primary Progressive Aphasia: A conversation with Wayne Zorn, CeCelia Zorn, and Tania Riske. Nancy Petersen, MSW. Nancy grew up just outside Tulsa, OK and has an undergraduate degree in Speech Language Pathology from Oklahoma State University. She received a Master of Social Work from Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she worked in urban hospitals and neighborhoods. Nancy is currently a Community Liaison for Ability KC, assisting patients as they transition from acute care to an intensive outpatient complex neuro-trauma rehab program. Her job also involves providing conferences and education to the medical and general Kansas City community. In her 30 years in the helping professions, she has learned much working in a variety of areas including nursing homes, hospice care, a suicide hotline, senior home care and case coordination. She has served on both the local and national Board of the Funeral Consumers Alliance providing education and advocacy relating to consumer protections in the funeral industry. Nancy is also involved with the Children's Mercy Hospital Rare Disease Patient Family Advisory Council, as well as the Ethical, Legal, and Social Integration (ELSI) Committee for the CMH Genome Project. Nancy has been married to Jimmy for 24 years and has an 18-year-old son with a rare disease, 21-year-old daughter, a cat, a dog and many wonderful friends. Take aways: Avoidance. We avoid difficult conversations and miss opportunities to engage our clients and their families in important discussions about loss and grief. Culture. There is a culture in the US of avoiding or sugar coating conversations about grief, death, and loss; using e

Dr. Janet Patterson: Welcome to this Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast, a series of conversations about aphasia, the LPAA model, and aphasia programs that follow this model. My name is Janet Patterson. I am a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Healthcare System in Martinez, California, and a member of the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their efforts in engaging with persons with aphasia and their families through a variety of educational materials and resources. I am the host for our episode that will feature Robin Pollens, in which you will hear about the transformative power of mentoring. These Show Notes accompany the conversation with Robin but are not a verbatim transcript. In this episode you will hear about: 1. the presentation of the Aphasia Access, Sandra O. Glista Excellence in Mentoring award to Robin Pollens, 2. stories about mentoring from Robin's career as a speech-language pathologist, and 3. the power of a mentoring relationship to affect the relationship with people whom you mentor, from whom you receive mentoring, and with whom you share mentoring opportunities. I am delighted to be speaking with my dear friend and longtime LPAA colleague, Robin Pollens. Robin is an ASHA certified speech language pathologist and held the positions of adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Western Michigan University, and clinical supervisor and coordinator in the Aphasia Communication Enhancement program. She also provided clinical speech-language pathology services through home health, and skilled nursing outpatient clinics. In addition to her focus on LPAA, Robin is passionate about graduate education in speech-language pathology, palliative care, interprofessional collaboration and ethics, and has written and lectured nationally and internationally on these topics. In 2023 Robin was awarded the Sandra O. Glista Excellence in Mentoring award from Aphasia Access. 2023 marks the inaugural award given to both Robin and Leora Cherney from the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago. The "Sandy" is awarded by Aphasia Access and recognizes an exceptional mentor who has demonstrated unwavering commitment, unparalleled guidance, and profound impact on the professional and personal development of others working in the aphasia community. The award is named in honor of Sandy Glista, one of the founders of Aphasia Access, and is a testament to her enduring legacy, and a reminder of the transformative power of mentorship. Welcome Robin, to this edition of Aphasia Access conversations. Ms. Robin Pollens: Janet, thank you. Thank you so much for all that intro, and it's nice to be here to talk with you today. I want to also right now, thank Aphasia Access for this honor. It was especially meaningful, towards the end of my career, to receive a mentorship award and to hope there's something that I did, or I said, or I wrote over the years that was meaningful to somebody else. I also appreciate that I'm sharing this inaugural award with a wonderful friend, Leora Cherney, and that this award is named for my close friend and collaborative partner, Sandra Glista. It's a real honor to have received it and an honor to talk with you today, Janet. Janet: The feeling is mutual about talking with you, Robin, and the honor is certainly well deserved. Robin, as I mentioned earlier, you were honored with the Sandra O. Glista Excellence in Mentoring award. This award recognizes your commitment to mentoring individuals who are part of the aphasia community, including clinicians, researchers, persons with aphasia, and their care partners, students and others. Through Sandy Glista and this award, we are reminded of the transformative power of mentoring. Robin, how do you envision the value of mentoring to individuals and to the Aphasia community? Robin: When I received this award, it set me on the road to reminiscence. I remember being in, I think, undergrad, studying Speech and Hearing Sciences and I had not yet done any clinical work. I had the opportunity to sit and observe a grad student doing an aphasia assessment with a patient. I was sitting behind this two-way mirror and I'm watching, and my mind is going, "okay, she holds up this card; and then she writes something down; and then she has someone point." That's what my mind was doing. Sitting behind the two-way mirror with me happened to be a visiting professor from Australia named Anne. She turned to me and said, "Look at all of that empathy". And I went, in my mind, "Empathy, what does that have to do with it?" Then I looked through the mirror, and I saw that this grad student was talking softly and looking kindly in her eyes, and kind of patting the client when she got frustrated. I thought, "Oh, I guess that's part of this." So I'm thankful for her (Anne) and I feel like sh

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia and other neurogenic communication impairments. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Dr. Janet Patterson about evaluating and treating auditory comprehension deficits for people with aphasia. Guest info Janet Patterson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Health Care System in Martinez California, where she was formerly the Chief of the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Service. Janet has also held leadership positions in the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences, and ASHA Special Interest Group 2, Neurogenic Communication Disorders. She is an ASHA Fellow.

Show Notes - Episode Next STEPS: In conversation with Professor Ian Kneebone Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Professor Ian Kneebone from the University of Sydney Technology. Biosketch: Ian Kneebone Professor and Head of Discipline (Clinical Psychology) at the Graduate School of Health at the University of Technology Sydney. He is a chief investigator at the Aphasia CRE and has led and co-facilitated much of the work on optimizing mental health and wellbeing for individuals with aphasia. His work on illuminating the stepped care model as a guide for clinicians working with individuals with stroke has helped speech-language therapists and other rehabilitation disciplines to better understand their roles in psychological care after stroke and specifically aphasia. He previously joined the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast with me for Episode #34. We're excited to have Ian joining us again, as so much work has taken place in the area of psychological and psychosocial interventions for individuals with aphasia in the past five years since that previous podcast conversation. Professor Kneebone and his colleagues have been at the center of that work, including developing and evaluating the ASK trial, the Kalmer relaxation program, collaborative goal setting, Reducing Emotional Distress in Stroke (REDS)and low intensity psychotherapeutic interventions, among others. In addition to Professor Kneebone's large-scale investigations about psychological interventions, Ian is a clinician at heart, also very engaged in hands-on clinical work, where he directly collaborates with speech-language pathologists and other disciplines. I'm privileged to discuss these topics with Ian today. Take aways: Need for psychological care for people with aphasia: People with aphasia have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and other psychological needs. People with aphasia are twice as likely to be anxious or depressed as someone with a stroke without aphasia. Stepped care model provides direction: The stepped care model helps us to define scope of practice and where we fit in, based upon our level of training. It also provides guidance for psychological care that all speech-language pathologists/speech-language therapists are trained to implement. Behavioral activation: This is a direct connection to the Life Participation Approach for Aphasia (LPAA). Increasing engagement in personally relevant activities is at the heart of both approaches. Ian discusses where solution-focused brief therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy fit into the stepped care levels: With additional training, good evidence is developing for these approaches. There is a need for ongoing psychological supports in the chronic phase of recovery: Increased mood state is associated with better physical and communication outcomes AND dealing with the physical and communication issues can improve mood state. Shifting to "compensation" can make people with aphasia feel like they're not going to recover further: We need to make sure that we have conversations about those shifts so that people don't misperceive that shift as the end of progress. SLPs/SLTs need to train mental health professionals to use supported communication techniques to support their interactions: SLPs/SLTs may need training on how to teach other disciplines to support communication. People with aphasia should be involved in co-design work to address psychological interventions. From a research perspective, we need to involve people with aphasia and from an intervention standpoint, we need to involve individuals with aphasia. Interview Transcript: Jerry Hoepner: Today, it's my pleasure to introduce Professor Ian Kneebone. In Kneebone, is professor and head of discipline in clinical psychology at the Graduate School of Health at the University of Technology Sydney. He is a chief investigator at the Aphasia care and has led and co-facilitated much of the work on optimizing mental health and wellbeing for individuals with aphasia. His work on eliminating the step care model as a guide for clinicians working with individuals with stroke has helped speech language pathologist and speech language therapist and other rehabilitation disciplines to better understand their roles in psychological care after stroke, and specifically aphasia. He previously joined the Aphasia access conversations podcast with me for episode 34. We're excited to have Ian joining us again. As so much work has been don

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic conditions. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Teresa Gray about creating equitable services for people with aphasia who are bilingual, non-English speaking, and historically marginalized groups. Guest info Dr. Teresa Gray is an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at San Francisco State University, where she directors the Gray Matter Lab. Teresa's research aims to improve aphasia health care outcomes for historically marginalized populations. Her research interests include bilingual aphasia, the mechanisms of language control in aphasia, and the role of language rehabilitation and its short-term and long-term effects on functional communication. Her team is working to develop evidence-based treatment methods for non-English speaking persons with aphasia, as well as bilingual persons with aphasia. In addition, the Gray Matter Lab hosts identity-based conversation clubs. The goal of these groups is to increase quality of life for the participants, and the lab is starting to examine why these groups are so meaningful to the participants. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Understand why careful listening is important when working with bilingual and non-English-speaking people with aphasia and their families. Describe how speech-language pathologists can tailor their treatment to meet the needs of bilingual people with aphasia. Learn about identity-based aphasia groups. Edited transcript Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication conditions in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Teresa Gray, who was selected as a 2023 Tavistock trust for aphasia Distinguished Scholar, USA and Canada. In this episode, we'll be discussing Dr. Gray's research on aphasia treatment for bilingual and non-English speakers with aphasia, as well as identity-based aphasia conversation groups. Dr. Teresa Gray is an associate professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at San Francisco State University, where she directs the Gray Matter Lab. Teresa's research aims to improve aphasia health care outcomes for historically marginalized populations. Her research interests include bilingual aphasia, the mechanisms of language control and aphasia, and the role of language rehabilitation and its short-term and long-term effects on functional communication. Her team is working to develop evidence-based treatment methods for non-English-speaking persons with aphasia, as well as bilingual persons with aphasia. In addition, the Gray Matter lab hosts identity-based conversation clubs. The goal of these groups is to increase quality of life for the participants. The lab is starting to examine why these groups are so meaningful to the participants. Theresa Gray, welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm really glad to be talking with you. Teresa Gray Thanks so much, Lyssa. It's great to be here today. Lyssa Rome So I wanted to start by asking you what led you to study bilingualism and aphasia? Teresa Gray Sure, that's a great question. So, you know, really it was about curiosity. And so when, when I finished my master's in speech language pathology, I was working in Los Angeles at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. And I was working alongside a phenomenal group of speech language pathologists and a rehabilitation team, and it was just a wonderful experience. And a lot of our patients were bilingual. Some people were monolingual, non-English speakers. And it was just a situation where I was learning more and more about how to treat this population that may not speak English, even though a lot of our aphasia materials are based on English speakers. And in addition to that, I was curious to know more how does language present after stroke? If someone is a simultaneous bilingual versus a sequential bilingual, does that affect life after stroke? What about proficiency? What about language dominance? What about age of acquisition, all of these issues that g

I'm Ellen Bernstein-Ellis, Director Emeritus of the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Jocelen Hamilton and Theresa Yao from Stanford Healthcare. We will discuss how adapting the A-FROM to swallowing disorders can offer a person-centered approach to assessing and treating a person with dysphagia. Guest Bios Theresa Yao is a licensed speech language pathologist at Stanford healthcare and a lecturer at San Jose State University. Her clinical and research interests include head and neck cancer rehabilitation, voice disorders, dysphagia, and aphasia. She is passionate about serving people from diverse backgrounds with communication and swallowing disorders. She was a fellow for life of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship program, and co-founded the Bay Area's Swallowing Support group. She has been actively volunteering in community groups for stroke survivors who need communication support. She has always been a strong advocate for her patients and profession. Jocelen Hamilton has practiced as a licensed speech language pathologist for 19 years. She specializes in management of communication and swallowing disorders in adults with head and neck cancer. She began her career at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and then joined the Stanford Outpatient Head and Neck Clinic in 2020. She also previously served as a clinical assistant professor for the University of Iowa's Communication Sciences and Disorders department with a focus on supervising graduate students and helping individuals with strokes and brain injuries. Her current clinical interests center around the development of frameworks to facilitate whole person care for individuals with swallowing disorders. Listener Take-aways Think creatively about how to apply the A-FROM to other communication disorders, like swallowing Learn how dysphagia can impact the participation, environment and personal domains Consider some PROs that help to capture the impact of dysphagia on quality of life of both the patient and the caregiver Explore some ways to adapt EMRs to incorporate A-FROM or Swal-FROM into your daily notes Show notes edited for conciseness and clarity Ellen Bernstein-Ellis So I'm excited to have both of you here today. Thank you and welcome, Theresa. Theresa Yao 00:55 Thank you, Ellen. I'm glad to be here. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 00:57 And Jocelen you too. Jocelen Hamilton 00:59 Yes. Thank you so much for having us. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis (Interviewer) Welcome both of you, again, to this podcast. And as our listeners get to know you, we like to open with a fun icebreaker question. I'm going to pose two different questions that you've selected for today. So, Theresa, let's start with you. I guess for full disclosure, I want to admit that, I will share--I don't have to admit, I am sharing that I had the honor and pleasure of being your supervisor at Cal State East Bay in the Aphasia Treatment Program (ATP). So I know that may come up today. I just want to let our listeners know that we've known each other for a while. I have been really fortunate in that relationship and seeing you emerge and thrive as such a wonderful contributor to our field. So Theresa, could you please share one experience or role that has been meaningful to you as an aphasia ambassador? Theresa Yao 03:22 Thank you, Ellen. It was great experience when I was in the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay. So that's actually one of the experiences I wanted to share as an opening, because I was at the Aphasia Treatment Program as a co-director for the choir, Aphasia Tones. And that was one of the best memory in my life. And I remember one time, one of our members who had more of a severe expressive aphasia, and usually has minimum verbal output, and we all know him. But whenever he starts singing, Can't Help Falling in Love, this particular song, you can hear that those beautiful words just came out right out from his mouth, fluently, beautifully. He was always so happy every time that he heard the music, and he just enjoy singing along. That was just a really amazing moment for me to realize that people with aphasia with minimum verbal output, they can still enjoy and participate in choir, and can still communicate that way. It's just showed me how powerful it was to use the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia. And in our choir at that time, we have all different levels of severity. All members join together, and then they all enjoy and engage in this choir experience. So that's really meaningful. Whenever I think of LPA, I think of him, I think of this song, and I think of Aphasia Tones. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 04:54 Thank you for sharing that. And Theresa, it was wonderful to have y

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Paula Valente and Dr. Assunção (Maria) Matos from the Portuguese Institute of Aphasia (IPA). In this episode, we'll be discussing Paula and Maria's role in building three dimensional social, LPAA in Portugal from the ground up. Biosketch: Paula Valente is a Speech and Language Therapist, social entrepreneur and responsible for the creation of IPA. She realized that there are important gaps in the therapeutic interventions that are offered to the person with aphasia in Portugal. With the support of partners in Portugal and in another countries, and with a team consisting of a speech therapist, a psychologist, a social worker and volunteers, Paula is convinced that the path will not be easy, but it's possible. Dr. Assunção (Maria) Matos is a Lecturer at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. Her work is grounded in the WHO-ICF model and social, LPAA approaches to aphasia rehabilitation. As one of Paula's teachers, she influenced the development of the IPA and is a crucial partner in the innovative programming that they offer. Take aways: Shift to Social Approach: SLPs in Portugal moved from a medical model to a social approach in aphasia intervention, realizing the limitations of traditional speech therapy alone. Comprehensive Support Program: EPA in Portugal offers a wide range of services, including therapy, psychology, and caregiver support, aiming to enhance the lives of people with aphasia and their families. Limited Services in Portugal: EPA is the sole organization providing such extensive aphasia support in Portugal, serving the entire country, with an emphasis on online services to reach distant regions. Professional Training Focus: Assunção Matos emphasizes holistic training for speech-language pathology students, preparing them for diverse practice settings by exposing them to various intervention approaches. Fundraising Challenges: EPA faces fundraising challenges in Portugal due to limited access to funds and philanthropic support. To sustain their services, they generate revenue through clinical services, therapy programs, online courses, and book sales. They also have associates who contribute annually. Despite challenges, they are working to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach to gain government support for sustainable funding. Interview Transcript: Jerry Hoepner: Well, it is my privilege today to have a conversation with Paula and Maria. So, we're going to just begin talking about the programming that they've started within Portugal. And I'm just really excited to have this conversation. I think this is a unique conversation for aphasia access. Because we're really get to talk about the process of building a program within a country from the ground up from scratch. So, I think we're used to stepping into this process partway through and again. This will be a really fun conversation. So welcome, Maria and Paula. And yeah, welcome to Aphasia Access. Assunção Matos: Okay, thank you. Thank you, Jerry, for the great opportunity of being here with you, sharing our experiences and our dreams. It's an honor to be here with you. Honestly, thank you. Paula Valente: I make my [unintelligible]. It's the same. Thank you very much. Jerry Hoepner: Absolutely. I have to say I was really privileged to have some conversations with Maria and Paula at the IARC Convention in Philadelphia last spring. So got the opportunity to meet there. And obviously really interested in learning more about your work and programming that you started in Portugal. So. we were talking just before this podcast about your name, and then you call it the EPA or the I.P.A. I was saying that in a in English we'd probably call that the Portuguese Institute of Aphasia. But I'll let you explain the name a little bit from the Portuguese standpoint. Assunção Matos: So, IPA is Instituto Português da Afasia the so it's exactly what you were saying in in in English. I.P.A. is known as EPA all over all over the country and it was decided to call the association like this? It was actually it was Paula's decision. Paulo, do you want to say something about it? Paula Valente: No, we just at a name to our legal name is another one, because in when we did the registration of the organization, we had to choose another name. So, our name is Afasia. It's like, if IPA. Afasia Epaphazia. So, our organization of the legal name is Epaphazia. But the trademark Is Instituto to Portuguese Epaphazia. That was

I'm Ellen Bernstein-Ellis, Program Specialist and Director Emeritus for the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. AA's strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Kelly Knollman-Porter, who is a 2023 recipient of a Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar Award, USA and Canada. She will discuss how her interest in auditory comprehension and severe aphasia led to her work on reading comprehension. Guest bio Dr. Kelly Knollman-Porter is an associate professor in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at Miami University. She directs the Neurogenic Language and Cognition lab, where her clinical research focuses on the development of supports and strategies for adults with aphasia to facilitate reading and auditory comprehension. Her research also explores the subtle reading processing differences exhibited by adults with aphasia through eye tracking technology. Dr. Knollman-Porter directs the Miami University Concussion Management Program, where her secondary research focuses on the development of assessment measures and treatments to manage the cognitive and communication challenges often associated with mild traumatic brain injury. She has over 30 years of experience working directly with adults with acquired brain injury. Listener take-aways In today's episode you will: Learn about how wanting to help clients with severe auditory comprehension challenges motivated our guest to pursue her doctoral degree after 15 years in clinical practice Consider some of the challenges SLPs face in assessing reading in clinical practice using current standardized measures and learn about some advantages of incorporating a reading questionnaire and close observation for getting a better understanding of your client's individual reading style, preferences, and needs. Explore the contribution of text to speech (TTS) to the dual modality model for supporting reading success at the book level and some of the critical factors to consider when implementing this strategy with clients. Investigate how eye-tracking technology can help us gain insight to an individual's reading strengths and patterns. Show notes edited for conciseness and clarity Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 00:10 Kelly, let me just pause and say welcome! Thank you for being here. Kelly Knollman-Porter 01:02 Thank you for having me on the podcast. I'm so happy to be here. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 01:05 I am so excited you're here today. And as we talked, we always have a pre-meeting where we get to plan what we want to talk about in these podcasts, and as you know, I'm so excited to talk about book clubs and reading strategies. Thank you so much for being our guest today. Kelly Knollman-Porter 02:23 Thanks again, Ellen. And I have to thank you for your foundational work in the area of reading. You can look back at a lot of the articles that myself or my research team have published and we reference you quite a bit. So thanks for your work also. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 02:39 Thank you for that kind, kind mention. I was very fortunate to partner with Dr. Roberta Elman to create the Book Connection at the Aphasia Center of California and be part of that body of work. We like to start with an icebreaker to give our listeners a chance to get to know you. I will open by asking you to share how the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar Award has or you think will impact your work? Kelly Knollman-Porter 03:06 First of all, I'd like to just take a moment to thank the Duchess of Bedford and Nicole Campbell from the Tavistock Trust for giving me this honor. I was just so surprised and excited to hear when I was given this award. I had the lovely opportunity a couple of years ago at a Clinical Aphasiology Conference to meet both of these amazing women. I've been so impressed by the work of the Tavistock Trust. It's not just work in the UK, they have spread this out across the globe. They really have done so much to not only help people with aphasia, but also help educate the public about aphasia, help us as clinicians get connected, and as researchers get connected in order to stay abreast of more recent research that's coming out in terms of helping people with aphasia. I am just so thankful and appreciative of receiving this honor from this great organization. But how will it help me? I can honestly say that right now we're in the process of starting a new study and through the support at the Tavistock Trust, we are going to be able to provide funding to help support these research studies and hopefully get some of these funds back into the hands of our participants. I'm excited to keep that research moving through their support. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 04:42 That's great. That was a really nice and gracious recognition. Yes, we

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Lauren Schwabish. In this episode, we'll be discussing Lauren's work on groups for parents with Aphasia and person-centered approaches to primary progressive aphasia interventions. Biosketch: Lauren Schwabish M.S., CCC-SLP is the owner of Neuro Speech Services, a private practice based in Northern Virginia, specializing in person-centered assessment and treatment of cognitive-communicative disorders related to stroke, brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, ADHD, and other neurologic and neurodegenerative conditions. Lauren received her Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master's degree in Communication Sciences from Hunter College of the City University of New York. She is licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and state of Maryland and is a certified member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. She has over 23 years of experience working in hospitals and acute rehabilitation centers and is passionate about providing meaningful and accessible health education about the brain to patients, families, and health care professionals. Lauren is committed to empowering communities with evidence-based information and best practices in brain health behaviors. Take aways: LPAA is vital to understanding what the client wants and needs from you as a clinician Parents with aphasia encounter many of the same challenges that all parents experience as they're raising small children but this is further complicated by aphasia While work and other community obligations may go on hold after aphasia, parenting doesn't go on hold People with aphasia who are in the process of raising children benefit from peers who understand what they're going through People with PPA are still connected to their family and kids and need support in navigating everyday conversations that are necessary to parenting and participating in their children's lives Group therapy provides a safe and supportive environment for people with PPA to find supports or relate to others that have similar experiences as them Learn how to be "a purveyor of hope" for individuals with PPA and their families Interview Transcript: Jerry Hoepner: Well, welcome, Lauren. I'm really excited to have this conversation with you today. And I thought maybe it would be a good thing. If we kind of begin by introducing our readers to your experience as a speech language pathologist, and kind of what led you along this life path of participation approaches to Aphasia and that person centered approach which is really central to what it sounds like you do in your in your workplace setting. Lauren Schwabish: Yes, thank you so much for having me. I'm a big fan of aphasia access and the podcast is on my it's on my feed routinely. So it's really an honor to be here. I am like I said, a speech language pathologist for 23 years. I started out in I worked in New York City in a really big city hospital. There was, you know 2 campuses, a thousand beds each. It was literally everything under the sun, and I think that was my first experience. In really getting to the heart of what a what drives a person, what a person is all about because I was so different from the population. I came from a different place. I had a different educational trajectory. You know, this was a city hospital that had, mostly an underserved population, and it was in New York City. So it was tremendously, culturally diverse and one of the things I recognized instantly was that the way I would sort of drive compassionate and effective care was to really understand who I was working with and so I think from the from the jump, you know, just really having the humility to say, I need to sit and listen and understand this individual so that I can support their recovery from you know stroke, trauma you know, sort of acute illness. That was something that really just ended up making sense. So that was sort of my foundation. And then I moved into acute rehab into a hospital in Northern Virginia, where I am now and really just found, even though I was in a sort of a very medical setting, that connecting with the individual was absolutely the most important thing, and it was how I really felt that I could you know, show others how to do effective therapy. So I didn't know that it was life participation approach, but it was just really about understanding what the person needed to communicat

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic communication impairments. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Kate Meredith about using concepts from family and systemic psychotherapy to help people with aphasia and their families. Guest info Kate Meredith is a Family and Systemic Psychotherapist, working for the NHS and in independent practice in South Wales. She is completing a Professional Doctorate in Systemic Practice. Kate worked for 15 years as a Speech and Language Therapist, working with adults with acquired communication difficulties. Kate's dual training enables her to support families and individuals with the impact of these changes on family and social relationships. Kate has studied at University College London, King's College London and the University of Bedfordshire. Kate worked with Giles Yeates to publish Psychotherapy and Aphasia: Interventions for Emotional Wellbeing and Relationships (Meredith, Kate. H. and Yeates, Giles. N. 2020). Kate also presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association International Convention in November 2022. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Describe the importance of narrative for helping families cope with aphasia. Understand how speech-language pathologists can use genograms and ecomaps to support their LPAA care. Learn why the way speech therapists talk about aphasia matters. Edited show notes Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication impairments in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia access podcast working group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Kate Meredith. Kate is a family and systemic psychotherapist, working for the NHS and in independent practice in South Wales. She is completing a professional doctorate in systemic practice. Kate was a Speech and Language Therapist for 15 years, working with adults with acquired communication difficulties. Her dual training enables her to support families and individuals with the impact of these changes on family and social relationships. Kate has studied at University College London, King's College London, and the University of Bedfordshire. Kate worked with Giles Yeates to publish Psychotherapy and Aphasia: Interventions for Emotional Wellbeing and Relationships. Kate also presented at the ASHA convention in November 2022. Kate Meredith, welcome to the podcast. I'm so glad to be talking with you. Kate Meredith Thank you for having me. I'm really glad to be here. Lyssa Rome So to start with, I'm curious about your transition from speech language pathology, or speech language therapy, into family therapy. What led you to make that change? Kate Meredith So I loved working as a speech language therapist or a speech language pathologist, as you would say in the US. It was great. I mainly worked in a rehabilitation setting, and what that enabled me to see, from the off, was the changes to people's relationships. On a daily basis, I was witnessing people coming into the center, trying to figure out who they were in relationship to each other, and that got me really, really curious. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the ask that we put on partners and family members in those settings—so whether it's supporting people with toileting or washing, feeding or swallowing, there's so much change that takes place. And it really made me think: What about the relationships? Are we asking about the change in relationships? Are we asking what it feels like for partners to have different roles, to have different aspects to the way they do their relationships? And as a speech language therapist, I was thinking: Okay, what does this person need in terms of their communication skills, what do they need on the ward? Do they need to be able to indicate whether they're hungry or thirsty or in pain? And all of that was important. But it also kept me thinking: What would matter most to me? If I were in this situation, if I had aphasia, if I was having difficulties with my communication, what would be the biggest impact for me? And it just kept coming back to relationships for me. Now, I worked in the multidisciplinary

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong and I'm a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. I'm also a faculty member at Central Michigan University where I lead the Strong Story Lab. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Sabine Corsten. We'll be talking about her work which focuses on supporting people with aphasia in reconstructing their narrative identity. Before we get into the conversation, let me first tell you a bit about our guest. Dr. Corsten, Professor of Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences (Speech Therapy), employed at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences, Mainz, Germany, has focused her research on participatory and quality of life-oriented interventions for aphasia and in old age. Her research explores how identity changes after having aphasia. She has led the development of the biographical narrative approach 'narraktiv' in Germany. She is currently involved in the development of digital solutions to support peer biography work and social networking in aphasia and in old age. The app, BaSeTaLK, to support biography work in senior citizen facilities to improve quality of life and communication was awarded the Digital Health Award by Novartis. She has presented her work at international conferences and has published internationally. Dr. Corsten has been a visiting researcher at the Centre of Research Excellence in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation at La Trobe University in Melbourne and at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. In this episode you will: Learn about how identity and narrative are connected to quality of life. Hear about the development of the Biographic Narrative Approach. Learn about how an app, BaSeTaLK, was used for older adults in nursing home populations to improve their quality of life. Hear about how parking lot conversation in Philadelphia led to an international working group on narrative identity and that that group's vision is to train students and clinicians in gaining competence in narrative identity work. Katie Strong: Welcome. I can't tell you how excited I am to have this conversation with you today. Sabine Corsten: Yes, thank you for the invitation. I feel really honored to be invited. So yeah, I'm really excited too and I'm looking forward to our discussion today. Katie Strong: Fantastic. As we get started, could you tell our listeners exactly what is meant by 'narrative identity'? And why this is so important for our work with people who have chronic communication disabilities such as aphasia? Sabine Corsten: Thank you for this first question because I really think it's important to have a clear concept of identity and narrative identity to understand the biographic narrative approach and similar approaches like your approach about storytelling. And also, I think narrative identity is kind of a key objective in improving quality of life, so it's really necessary to understand it. When we started our work, we looked at sociocultural theories and we found that identity is constantly transformed through, for example, social interaction with other people. So, this means identity is renegotiated in dialogue with others. Therefore, you need narrative competencies, which means the competencies to talk about oneself and intersubjective exchange. So, I think these social interactions are necessary to interpret and integrate important life events in your life story. Important life events can be very positive things like a wedding, but also negative things like having a serious illness. And so, these processes to interpret and integrate these life events are crucial for optimal identity development and for psychological well-being. This means these kinds of life stories or life narratives facilitate the process of understanding what happens to you and your life, and they help you to make sense of these crucial or critical life events like a stroke, for example. By this, the sense of identity can be restored, or you can find a renewed meaning to life. And now, you can have this bridge to quality of life, because quality of life seems to depend on meaningfulness and optimal identity development gives this meaningfulness to your life. So, this is very closely connected. Maybe to sum it up, identity development or identity work can be seen as an ongoing process that forms a connection between the past, the present, and the future, and also between different roles you have in life as somebody in a professional role or in a family role. It also connects different life areas. And this narrative character of identity means the medium to do this narration is telling about yourself so that you can connect these different times in your life and areas. And also, I think this is really important, it gives you a feeling of coherence so that

"Black Americans Talking About Us" with Michael Obel-Omia, Donald Cunnigen, Denise Mendez, and Roy Hamilton Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic communication impairments. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. Michael Obel-Omia Michael Obel-Omia is a public speaker, writer, and educator who has aphasia due to a stroke in 2016. In his tireless efforts to improve, he has found poetry allows him to express himself in ways that speech cannot. An avid advocate for people with aphasia, Michael has published essays about experiences in the journal "Blood and Thunder: Musings the Art of Medicine; The Boston Globe; the Providence Journal; and Rhode Island NPR's This I Believe. Michael lives with his family in the beautiful town of Barrington, Rhode Island. Links: Boston Globe article about Michael Obel-Omia A Black Father Wonders: Is 'The Talk' Enough? by Michael Obel-Omia (Boston Globe article about disability and race) Finding My Words: Aphasia Poetry by Michael Obel-Omia (book) Ask the Expert with Michael and Carolyn Obel-Omia (National Aphasia Association video) Roy Hamilton Roy Hamilton, MD, MS, FAAN, FANA is a professor in the departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is the director of both Penn's Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation (LCNS) and the Penn Brain Science, Translation, Innovation and Modulation Center (brainSTIM). His research uses noninvasive electrical and magnetic brain stimulation to better understand the neural basis of language and to enhance aphasia recovery. Dr. Hamilton has also been recognized nationally for his work in diversity in neurology and academic medicine. He served as the inaugural Assistant Dean for Cultural Affairs and Diversity at the Perelman School of Medicine and is the inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion in Penn's Department of Neurology. Links brainSTIM Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation Instagram Twitter: PennbrainSTIM Donald Cunnigen Dr. Donald (Doc) Cunnigen is Professor emeritus of Sociology at the University Rhode Island, where he was the first Black full professor of sociology with tenure since the founding of the university in 1892. He was a member of the steering committee that started the Black Americans with Aphasia Conversation group and continues to be an active member of the group. Doc Cunnigen videos 2011 Harlem Book Fair panel on the Obama Administration Hands in Harmony: Aphasia Clefs Denise Mendez Dr. Denise Mendez is an educator who worked for 29 years as a teacher, administrator, and curriculum coordinator. In 2017, she suffered the first of four hemorrhagic brain bleeds (from an AVM) and was never able to return to her job. Her life-long passion for teaching and advocacy is still there. Aphasia just changed who she serves. She has a website, More Than Aphasia.com and a podcast called Still Something To Say. Denise is one of the leaders of the Mid Atlantic Aphasia Conference, and a facilitator of the Penn State Alumni Aphasia Group. She also participates in multiple aphasia groups, including San Francisco State's Black conversation group NAA's Black Americans with Aphasia Conversation Group. Denise's motto is "I have aphasia, but aphasia does not have me!" Links: https://morethanaphasia.com/ Twitter: MoreThanAphasia Podcast: Still Something 2 Say Podcast on Spotify Additional Notes: Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Episode 102: Researching Health Disparities in Minority Stroke Survivors with Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson EDITED TRANSCRIPT Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication impairments in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. June is Aphasia Awareness Month, and I'm excited to be today's host for an episode that will feature the National Aphasia Association's Black Americans with Aphasia Conversation Group. I'll be talking first with Michael Obel-Omia, a co-founder and co-host of the group. Michael is a public speaker, writer, and educator who has aphasia due to a stroke in 2016. In his tireless efforts to improve he has found poetry allows him to express himself in ways

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Jerry Hoepner. I'm a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and co-facilitator of the Chippewa Valley Aphasia Camp, Blugold Brain Injury Group, Mayo Brain Injury Group, and Thursday Night Poets. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Alyssa Lanzi. In this episode, we'll be discussing Dr. Lanzi's research on mild cognitive impairment and the role of the LPAA approach in serving individuals with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Biosketch: Alyssa M. Lanzi, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Delaware. She is an executive committee member of the Delaware Center for Cognitive Aging Research at the University of Delaware. Dr. Lanzi is the PI of a K23 award from the National Institute on Aging to investigate the effects of an intervention designed to improve the independence of older adults with mild cognitive impairment from probable Alzheimer's disease. She is also MPI of awards that develop, test and disseminate a large-scale online database to study the language and cognitive skills of older adults to help develop cost-effective biomarkers to identify adults at risk for dementia from Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Lanzi's research broadly focuses on investigating person-centered assessment and treatment approaches for individuals with mild cognitive impairment and dementia and prioritizes the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based practice to practicing health professionals. Take aways: The LPAA fits interventions for mild cognitive impairment too. We need to focus on training the next generation to understand the applications of LPAA to other disorders and contexts. You don't always need a standardized test, you can use goal attainment scales to measure anything. We need to be prepared to counsel individuals with mild cognitive impairment, as we are often the discipline having those conversations. When we intervene with individuals with mild cognitive impairment early, we can involve them as collaborators. There is a continuum of counseling needs that changes over time. See Alyssa's counseling plus paper in SIG 2 Perspectives. Interview Transcript: Jerry Hoepner: Hi Alyssa. Good to see you. Alyssa Lanzi: Hi, good to see you. I'm happy to have a conversation with you today. Jerry Hoepner: Likewise, I'm looking forward to this conversation. It's kind of tradition that at the beginning of podcast we talk a little bit about your journey in your path to the life participation approach. So, I'm hoping that you can share a little bit about why an LPAA approach is so crucial to your research and clinical interactions. Alyssa Lanzi: Yeah, Absolutely. Well, thanks for having me, and I'm excited to kind of give a glimpse into how we can start to think about the LPAA approach outside of aphasia, because I think I'm a little bit unique in that way. And I am clinically trained as a speech language pathologist, and I was fortunate that most of my master's training was in a really strong university-based life participation approach model for aphasia. So, I had a large amount of experience working with Dr. Sarah Wallace and Katerina Staltari, and really thinking about group-based approaches for aphasia care. And I really fell in love with the functional nature of that model and with my master's thesis really tried to think about, well, how can we do this with individuals at risk for dementia with thinking about group-based approaches and functional care. And then I went on to get my PhD at the University of South Florida with Michelle Bourgeois. With a really strong research focus on functional approaches for mild cognitive impairment and dementia but also had the opportunity to work clinically the entire time during my PhD at voices of hope for aphasia under Jackie Hinckley, really learning about the life participation approach for aphasia. So, I feel super fortunate in that I have a lot of clinical work and exposure with the life participation approach that really has driven my research. Although I don't clinically practice with the life participation approach anymore, it really is a key foundation and a key kind of framework to how I have conducted all of my research and run the lab at the University of Delaware, which I'm currently a research assistant professor at right now. Jerry Hoepner: Excellent. Yeah. And thanks for sharing that, I really believe there is not a lot of transferability and generalizability of the LPAA in the approach being someone who has one world or one foot in the traumatic brain injury world, and another foot in the aphasia world. There's defini

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong, a faculty member at Central Michigan University where I lead the Strong Story Lab. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Mary Ann Eller. We'll be talking about incorporating the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (better known as LPAA) in Acute Care Settings. Let me first tell you a bit about our guest. Mary Ann Eller, MA, CCC-SLP is the Assistant Manager for Rehab Services in the Speech and Language Pathology Department at Duke Regional Hospital in Durham, NC. She has worked in the Duke University Health Care System since 1989. She specializes in evaluating and treating adults with neurogenic and swallowing disorders in acute care and inpatient acute rehab. Her current professional passions are finding functional, practical, and patient-center approaches to the care of people with aphasia, dementia and all cognitive/communication problems. In this episode you will: Receive a permission slip to do secret therapy. Hear about how the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia Core Values can be implemented into acute care. Understand how implementing the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia supports the Joint Commission standards on health literacy. Be empowered to welcome interruptions and struggles and embrace the messiness and the creativity and the joy of using LPAA in acute care. Katie Strong: Welcome Mary Ann! I'm just so excited to have this conversation with you today! And we were just in Durham, at the Aphasia Access Leadership Summit, where you showcased your beautiful city. Thanks for hosting us. Mary Ann Eller: I'm really excited to be here and very honored that you asked me to do this podcast. Katie Strong: Well, I'm excited for people to hear about your thoughts. And as we get started, I wondered if you could share a bit about your own speech language pathology journey, and about the hospital setting you work in. Mary Ann Eller: I grew up in Pittsburgh. I went to the University of Pittsburgh for my undergraduate and graduate degree and then I went to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for my CFY. And that's where I fell in love with acute care, you can't get more acute than that. Then I moved to Durham, North Carolina and I have worked at Duke since 1989, which is 34 years if you're counting. And I started when I was five! It's been a great experience. I've worked mostly in acute care and acute inpatient rehab. When I was new in my career, I loved the excitement of acute care. And I think as I grew older, I fell in love with rehab because I have more personal experiences with being in the hospital and with myself and with my parents. I just saw how important effective communication was at that time in people's lives. And that's what I really want to talk about today. Katie Strong: Yeah, I'm excited for this conversation. And as we dig in a little deeper, tell me how you became interested in applying the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA) to acute care settings. Mary Ann Eller: Yeah, this is an interesting story to me. At the University of Pittsburgh, Audrey Holland was there at the time. As people who know her and her work, she is known for being extremely functional. So, I sort of grew up professionally knowing that being functional was the way to go. That was in the late 80s, so the LPAA had not been developed yet, which was around the year 2000, I believe when the impairment-based focus of therapy was recognized as not meeting the mark. It wasn't really helping people where they were at. And so, this LPAA not being a therapy approach, but more of an idea. LPAA is a philosophy of treatment, not a specific treatment approach. So, we could still use the treatment approaches that we knew and were evidence-based, but the philosophy of what we are using them for became more widely known in 2000. So, I didn't know about LPAA until about five years ago, even though I was familiar with being functional. So, in my little isolated world, I wasn't doing CEUs on aphasia because I needed to be a generalist. I had, by that time become a manager in the department and needed to stay up to date on swallowing and dysarthria and cognition. So, I wasn't really in the world of aphasia. So, I continued to do impairment-based therapy for a long time. But I did secret therapy, which I knew is what Audrey would want me to do. And it was, I would do the things that I knew the patient and the family needed me to do but I'd feel a little bit guilty doing it because I knew it wasn't "evidence- based." And I wasn't doing the, you know, Response Elaboration Training, or whatever it was that I had learned, but I would meet their needs. So when, about five years ago, I went to an Aphasia Ac

Welcome to this edition of Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. My name is Janet Patterson. I am a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Healthcare System in Martinez, California, and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their efforts in engaging with persons with aphasia and their families through a variety of educational materials and resources. I am today's host for today's episode that will feature Dr. Jacqueline Laures-Gore. These Show Notes accompany the conversation with Dr. Laures-Gore but are not a verbatim transcript. Dr. Jacqueline Laures-Gore Dr. Laures-Gore is a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she directs the Aphasia and Motor Speech Disorders Laboratory. Jacqueline's work spans topics in aphasia and motor speech disorders. For the past several years she has investigated the relationship between integrative health practices and aphasia rehabilitation. In today's episode with Dr. Laures-Gore you will hear about: the relationship among stress, resilience, and coping skills, recognizing and measuring physiological stress and perceived, self-reported stress, the interaction of stress, anxiety, and fear, and the role integrative health practices can have in daily life and in aphasia rehabilitation. Dr. Janet Patterson: Welcome to this edition of Aphasia Access Conversations. Today I am delighted to be speaking with my friend and colleague, Dr. Jacqueline Laures-Gore. Jacqueline is a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she directs the Aphasia and Motor Speech Disorders Laboratory. Jacqueline's work spans topics in aphasia and motor speech disorders, including investigating working memory in persons with aphasia. In motor speech disorders, she and colleagues examined topics such as intelligibility in people who have dysarthria, and speaker and listener perceptions of speech in persons with dysarthria. She is a co-creator of the Atlanta Motor Speech Disorders Corpus, which is a comprehensive spoken language dataset from speakers with motor speech disorders in Atlanta, Georgia. This collaborative project gathered speech samples from non-mainstream, American English speakers residing in the southeastern United States in order to provide a more diverse perspective of motor speech disorders. For over two decades, Jacqueline has been interested in how personal, physiological, and psychological factors affect people with aphasia, and aphasia rehabilitation. She has investigated topics such as stress, depression, mental health concerns, and how to assess their presence and influence. With her colleague, Ken Rice, she recently published the Simple Aphasia Stress Scale in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. The SASS is a single item self-report measure of acute stress in adults with aphasia. Dr. Laures-Gore's work also investigated the power of laughter, mindfulness, meditation, spirituality, yoga, and integrative health practices for persons with aphasia. I am pleased to welcome Jacqueline to Aphasia Access Conversations today and look forward to talking with her about her clinical and research experience considering how integrative medicine can influence a person with aphasia and their rehabilitation, and the powerful effects that mindfulness, laughter, and yoga can have on life outlook, participation, and rehabilitation. Welcome, Jacqueline. I appreciate your time today in talking with me about these fascinating and important topics. Dr. Jaqueline Laures-Gore: I am very happy to be here, Janet, and very honored. I look forward to a very lively and fun conversation with you today. Janet: Jacqueline I would like to start by asking you about the aspect of your aphasia research interests that includes important topics such as depression in persons with aphasia, stress, laughter, and spirituality. In fact, I believe you are among the first to write about the value of integrated health practice in aphasia. How did your career path and learning curve about aphasia take you to this line of inquiry? Jacqueline: There's quite a bit of time that I spent with people with aphasia through my clinical work, and even early on before I became a speech-language pathologist and worked in a geriatric setting. There was a gentleman there who had aphasia and we did not really know how to communicate with him. He was very isolated. He sat by himself most of the time, was very alone. That image of him and what he must have been experiencing, and our inability to really know how to communicate with him, stuck with me over the years and definitely drove me toward a career in speech-language pathology, and specifically working with people with aphasia. Then, after becoming a speech-language pathologist, and wor

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic conditions. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Kristin Schaffer Mendez about her work on counseling for people with primary progressive aphasia and their families. Gap Areas This episode focuses on Gap Area #6, insufficient attention to depression and low mood for people with aphasia across the continuum of care. Guest info Dr. Kristin Schaffer Mendez is a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor at the University of St. Augustine in Austin, Texas. Prior to entering academia, she worked in several clinical settings, including inpatient rehabilitation, home health, and private practice. Dr. Mendez's experience as a clinician has inspired her research, which is centered upon examining and addressing psychosocial factors in acquired neurogenic communication disorders through patient-centered and care partner-inclusive treatment paradigms, including counseling, support groups, and the use of telerehabilitation platforms. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Learn about some of the psychosocial factors that people with primary progressive aphasia may face. Understand how speech-language pathologists can provide both educational and personal adjustment counseling for people with PPA. Describe a cognitive behavioral approach to personal adjustment counseling for people with PPA. Edited show notes Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication impairments in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Kristin Shaffer Mendez. Dr. Schaffer Mendez is a speech language pathologist and assistant professor at the University of St. Augustine in Austin, Texas. Prior to entering academia, she worked in several clinical settings, including inpatient rehabilitation, home health, and private practice. Dr. Schaffer Mendez his experience as a clinician has inspired her research, which is focused on examining and addressing psychosocial factors in acquired neurogenic communication disorders through patient-centered and care partner-inclusive treatment paradigms, including counseling support groups, and the use of telerehabilitation platforms. In this episode, we'll be focusing on her research on counseling for people with primary progressive aphasia. Dr. Kristin Shaffer Mendez, welcome to the Aphasia Access podcast. It's great to have you here. Kristin Shaffer Mendez Thank you so much for having me. It's wonderful to be here. Lyssa Rome So I wanted to get started by asking you a question that we often start with, which is whether you have any "aha" moments, so experiences that were pivotal for you in your work as a clinician or as a researcher? Kristin Shaffer Mendez Yeah, you know, I think throughout my career, there have been a series of "aha" moments. If I think through my career, I've had several different stages. So initially working clinically, as a speech language pathologist, as I was partnering with patients with all different types of communication disorders and their families, I quickly realized that we weren't going to address the specific speech language goals if I didn't first acknowledge and check in with these individuals and get a sense of their general wellbeing, and a sense of if they were suffering, if they were grieving, if they were going through or processing something specific. I did have some didactic training as a student and counseling—not a lot—and I noticed when I would try to find evidence-based resources, I wasn't finding a lot of disorder-specific counseling information. Fast forward a few years later, I was working as a research speech language pathologist at the Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab in Austin, Texas. And I was working primarily with individuals with PPA, and sometimes I would notice, and in the midst of a speech language treatment session, they would say something maybe under their breath, or maybe in frustration, like, "Oh, my dumb brain," or " I'm such an idiot." And I was thinking, oh, goodness, if this is what's coming out of their mouth, I only wonder what what's happening beh

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Ellen Bernstein-Ellis, Program Specialist and Director Emeritus for the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. AA strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Davetrina Seles Gadson. We'll discuss her work involving how brain lesion characteristics may intersect with aphasia recovery, race, and psychosocial factors, as well as issues involving health-related quality of life assessments. Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson is the first Black-American to graduate with a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Georgia. She is a neuroscientist and certified speech-language pathologist with expertise in adult neurological rehabilitation and patient-centered outcomes. She currently is Research Faculty, in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, at Georgetown University. Dr. Gadson's research focuses on the influence of health disparities in minority stroke survivors with aphasia and the effect of such disparities on brain functioning, aphasia severity, and health-related quality of life. Most rewardingly Dr. Gadson is the co-host of "Brain Friends", a podcast for neuro nerds and stroke survivors to talk about aphasia advocacy, language recovery, and community. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Learn how health disparities may influence aphasia outcomes and why more research is needed Discover why "Brain Friends" is another podcast you'll want to add to your playlist. Gain practical tips on how to build confidence in intercultural interactions with your clients Hear how health-related quality of life (HRQL) measures can help inform your clinical practice We'd like to recognize Kasey Trebilcock & Amanda Zalucki, students in the Strong Story Lab at CMU, for their assistance with this transcript. Show notes edited for conciseness Ellen Bernstein-Ellis (EBE) EBE: I am so excited to have a fellow podcaster here today. Thank you for being here. And I just listened to the January Brain Friend's episode. It was great. So I hope our listeners will check it out too. I want to also give a shout out to your consumer stakeholder and co-podcaster, Angie Cauthorn, because she was a featured guest on episode 70, in June of 2021, as we recognized Aphasia Awareness Month, and you just spoke with her about aphasia types and aphasia conferences, and you gave a big shout out to CAC and you gave clinical aphasiology conference and you also gave a big shout out to the Aphasia Access Leadership Summit. So really important conferences, I think that stimulate a lot of discussion and values around patient centered care. And your Brain Friends podcast just has a great backstory. So why don't we just share about how that all started? Where's the backstory to that, Davetrina? DAVETRINA SELES GADSON: Thank you so much for having me. This is such an exciting opportunity. So, Brain Friends started with myself and Angie. We were on the National Aphasia Association's Black Aphasia group call and I just loved her energy. She reached out to me after we finished that group call, and we just started talking. Our conversations were so informative, and it just lit this passion and excitement in me. I said, "Hey, can I record some of these, and maybe we do like a podcast?", and she was totally down for it. It's just been such an innovative and fun way to disseminate science and engage many stakeholders. EBE: I want to thank Darlene Williamson, who's president of the National Aphasia Association for sending me a little more information. You told me about this group, and so I wanted to find out more. She provided this description by Michael Obel-Omia and his wife Carolyn, and I hope I said his name correctly, who provide leadership to this group. And they said that in this group, the Black American Aphasia Conversation group, "provides a place for Black people with aphasia to share their stories, provide support, meditation, and brainstorm ways to advocate and consider policies. We will discuss the unique challenges and gifts we share due to our experiences with disability and race." I found out that you can reach out to the National Aphasia Association (NAA) for more information and to get on the email list for a meeting notifications. And in fact, I put the registration link in our show notes today. So, sounds like that group has been a meaningful discussion forum for you, too. SELES GADSON: It's been so fun. I share how for me, I've been in the field practicing for a little over 16 years now, and this was my first time being in a room with so many people that look like me. And for many of the survivors on the call, I was one of their first Black SLPs that they had ever met. Just even having that connection, and being able to sp

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong and I'm a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Debra Meyerson and Steve Zuckerman. We'll be talking about their bike ride across the country, Stroke Across America, as well as the importance of identity and storytelling in a person's journey with aphasia. Before we get into the conversation, let me tell you a bit about our guests. Debra Meyerson was, until her stroke in 2010, a tenured professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University's School of Education. Debra's most significant contribution from that period was Tempered Radicals: How Everyday Leaders Inspire Change at Work (HBS Press, 2001). More recently, she authored Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2019) and is co-founder and co-chair, with her husband Steve Zuckerman, of Stroke Onward, a nonprofit working to ensure stroke survivors and their supporters have the resources needed to rebuild identities and rewarding lives. Steve Zuckerman is, along with Debra, co-founder and co-chair of Stroke Onward; he has been Debra's care partner since her stroke in 2010. He has held leadership roles at Self-Help, a nationally recognized economic justice nonprofit, since 2006 and still serves part time as a Senior Advisor. Before that, he was a managing director at a private equity firm. In the summer of 2022, Debra and Steve led Stroke Across America – a 100-day cross country bike ride, from Oregon to Boston, to raise awareness for stroke, aphasia, and the importance of the emotional journey in recovery. In this episode you will: be inspired learning about the bike ride, Stroke Across America, and its effort to raise awareness about the emotional journal of living with stroke and aphasia. learn about the power of story in reconstructing identity in people living with aphasia. become aware of Stroke Onward's mission to support the emotional journey of rebuilding identities and rewarding lives. Katie: Welcome Debra and Steve. I'm so happy that you are here with me today. Debra: Thank you so much, Katie. Steve: It's great to be here. Katie: Well, I'm just so excited for our listeners to be able to hear about what you've got going on, and I'd love to start with what you were up to last summer. You did an amazing bike ride across the U.S. called Stroke Across America. Congratulations! I mean it was a big deal! Can you tell us about it? Debra: Sure. Stroke Across America was a bike ride across the US and Canada to raise awareness about stroke, brain injury and aphasia. We wanted to spotlight the emotional journey after stroke. How do we rebuild our identities and live meaningful lives? We rode 4,500 miles over 100 days, traveling from Oregon to Boston. There was a core team of six riders and others who joined us for portions of the ride. We became a family. I didn't expect that. Katie: That's fantastic. Tell me about who rode with you and became family. Steve: As Deb said, we had six core riders most of the way across the country. In addition to the two of us, a woman named Whitney Hardy, who's actually a close family friend. She's a young woman in her thirties who unfortunately suffered a traumatic brain injury about four years after she graduated from college and suffers no ongoing physical disabilities but has some cognitive issues and memory issues. She rode with us from the beginning to the end. Another stroke survivor was Michael Obel-Omia, who I know is an active participant in Aphasia Access. Michael is a stroke survivor who also lives with aphasia. He joined us about 15 days late because his son was graduating from college, so he joined us in Missoula, Montana. We had two wonderful summer interns, Emily and Alex. We met Emily through her grandfather, who was a stroke survivor and hoped to ride with us but didn't end up riding with us. Emily and Alex are both students at Washington University, St. Louis. They traded off, one rode and one worked, every other day. We can't say enough about the wonderful, not just competent and great work they did, but the energy they brought. They really helped make it special. I guess our seventh team member was our then roughly one-and-a-half-year-old golden doodle named Rusty who was along for the ride. Sometimes she rode in a trailer behind our bike and sometimes in one of the support vehicles. We had a group called Bike Eternity, a gentleman named Arlen Hall, who really arranged all the on-road logistics and the route. He and his team were just fabulous in terms of just making everything work. That was our family. Katie: It's quite a crew. Fantastic. I was wondering if you could tell us about a favorite experience from the ride. Debra: We hosted sixteen c

I'm Ellen Bernstein-Ellis, Program Specialist and Director Emeritus for the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. AA strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resource I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Kathryn Shelley, former Aphasia Access President and co-founder and current Grant Director for the Aphasia Center of West Texas. Kathryn was our guest for episode #1 of the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast and we are delighted and honored to invite her back to be the guest on this 100th episode of our Aphasia Conversations Podcast. We'll discuss financial sustainability of Life Participation programs across a variety of settings, with a focus on best practices for fundraising. Guest bio Kathryn Shelley has over 30 years' experience in nonprofit management, board leadership, strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. She is co-founder, prior Executive Director, Marketing & Development Director, and currently the Grants Director for the Aphasia Center of West Texas, one of the earliest community-based nonprofits in the U.S. to incorporate the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia. Prior to her father's stroke in 2001 and his resulting aphasia, Kathryn was lead designer and co-owner of a marketing and graphic design firm in Austin Texas. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Hear how two events involving chocolate and rock and roll have grown awareness and funds. Find out how typical stages of organizational development might influence your fundraising capacity. Gain practical tips for sharing the impact of your aphasia program to help raise awareness and funding. Learn about some resources available for supporting your nonprofit know-how. Show notes edited for conciseness and clarity Ellen Bernstein-Ellis So, Kathryn, I want to give you a shout out and just a great big welcome. It took 100 episodes, but thank you for coming back. Kathryn Shelley Thank you so much for having me, Ellen. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 01:24 Absolutely, I was glad to introduce you. You've done so much and have worn so many different hats, Kathryn, and I'm excited to get to have a discussion with you today. So again, welcome. Kathryn Shelley 02:20 Thank you. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 02:21 We like to start off the episodes with a fun question. Can you share an Aphasia Access favorite resource? Kathryn Shelley 02:33 Well, it's a hard pick, there are so many. But let me tell you about the one that I'm involved in right now - top of mind. It's an online certificate and badge course, E-badge course, called Person Centered care, Life Participation Approach to Aphasia series. Aphasia Access just launched the first in that series called The Life Participation, Knowledge Course. It's so much more than a webinar. It's contemporary, and it's how you interact with each of eight modules. You earn .25 CEUs, and at the end you receive a clickable E badge which takes anybody, an employer, your peers, if you have that in your email signature, to a site that shows everything that you did to earn that badge. It's so contemporary and so comprehensive, and it will give someone a foundational understanding of the Life Participation Approach. I'm loving working with Melinda Corwin and Nina Simmons-Mackie, and just the entire team of subject matter experts. The reviews are coming in from both professors teaching the next generation and current speech pathologists that it is really fantastic and very, very helpful. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 04:06 We can also point our listeners to Episode 92 to learn more about this course, because we actually interviewed Melinda and Brooke Hallowell. So that's another place they can go to learn more. Can you explain to the listeners how they can access the course? Kathryn Shelley 04:27 On AphasiaAccess.org, you'll see the link on the homepage that will take you over to our new Academy, which is the platform where all of our interactive courses are. It's an easy sign up to be on that platform, and then you'll see the course right there. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 04:48 That's great. Thank you. I don't blame you for picking that today for a favorite. To celebrate this 100th episode, I was wondering, Kathryn, if I could ask you to share with our listeners the backstory to the start of this podcast. Just a little insider history. Kathryn Shelley 05:07 Sure. Let's see. It was Nina Simmons-Mackie and I in a daydreaming conversation wondering how to reach busy professionals with a free product to connect them to the wealth of practical tips and information that is available through all the people that make up Aphasia Access. It was Nina who said, "How about a podcast, people wouldn't have to carve out work time, they can listen in a car, or on a walk, anytime." And then we brainstormed who might entertain heading up this new endeavor and be the

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong and I'm a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Jytte Isaksen. We'll be talking about Making Communication about Healthcare Everyone's Responsibility: Communication Partner Training for Health Care Professionals Jytte Isaksen is an associate professor at the Department of Language and Communication, University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark. She has a background as speech and language pathologist. Jytte lectures in the speech-language pathology and audiology programs in evidence-based practice, qualitative research methodologies, neurogenic communication disorders including aphasia, and other clinical subjects. Jytte's research is centred around communication with people with aphasia, for example communication partner training of health professionals, but she is also interested in outcome evaluation of aphasia therapy, involvement of people with aphasia in research, and supporting access and services for people with aphasia in low- and middle-income countries. A current research project of hers is about families living with aphasia and how to make sure that they get support throughout the care pathway. Jytte is a part of the international research group Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists, where she serves in the executive committee and as chair of the working group Societal Impact and Reintegration. In this episode you will: Learn about the importance of trained healthcare providers who can communicate with people living with aphasia. Be introduced to the KomTil method of training developed in Denmark. Be inspired to consider how you might incorporate communication partner training with healthcare providers in your community. Katie: As we get started, I wondered if you could you tell our listeners exactly what is meant by communication partner training. And why is it so important for health care providers? Jytte: Thank you so much, first of all, Katie and Aphasia Access for inviting me to talk about this topic that is very close to my heart. I think that conversation communication partner training, CPT, is defined in different ways in literature. But one of the definitions that I usually stick to is that CPT is an umbrella term that covers different types of complex interventions for communication partners of people with aphasia, and possibly the person with aphasia themselves. And why is it important to healthcare professionals? I would say it's important for everyone working with a person with aphasia because you need to be able to communicate with them. No matter if you are a nurse, or a physiotherapist, or anyone in the healthcare system. The secretary on the ward that needs to communicate with people with aphasia. You need to be able to express yourself in a way that people with aphasia better understand you, but also support them in their expression so that they can say what they really want to say, or some of it at least. Katie: Absolutely. I completely agree. Being able to have conversations about your healthcare is just so important. So important. What role do speech-language pathologists play in the training of healthcare professionals? Jytte: We play a very important role. I think it's a way of opening up participation in life, including in healthcare, for people with aphasia. Since we are the professionals especially trained in being able not just to treat, but hopefully also to communicate with people with aphasia, I think we as a profession are a good way into that. But I will later in this podcast talk about how other healthcare professionals can also be CPT providers. We have tried to do that in the project I will tell you about later today. Katie: Yeah, that's so exciting. I'm really excited to talk about your work. I was wondering though if you could tell us how you got interested in the area of CPT. Jytte: Yeah, that's a good question. Mainly because so many clinicians in Denmark were interested and still are interested in CPT. I think it was back in early 2000, some of my clinical colleagues went to the Aphasia Institute in Toronto, Canada and got trained by Aura Kagan and colleagues in the Supported Conversation for Aphasia, or the SCA program. They got back to Denmark, wrote a little bit about it, told a little bit about it, but it didn't really get that traction in the beginning. Maybe we weren't ready for that. I was more or less newly qualified at that time. An evaluation of the Danish neurorehabilitation system was written up in 2011 and my now retired colleague, Lise Randrup Jensen from University of Copenhagen, was invited to evaluate and show the evidence around everything related to aphasia. What she enhanced in that evaluation was that there was moderate e

Welcome to this edition of Aphasia Access Conversations, a series of conversations about topics in aphasia that focus on the LPAA model. My name is Janet Patterson, and I am Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Health Care System in Martinez CA. These Show Notes follow the conversation between Dr. Chaleece Sandberg and myself, but are not an exact transcript of the conversation. Dr. Chaleece Sandberg is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State University. She directs the Semantics, Aphasia, and Neural Dynamics Laboratory (SANDLab), which focuses on finding ways of optimizing language therapy for adult language disorders, with a primary interest in aphasia. Specifically, work in the SANDLab explores the neuroplastic processes that take place during successful therapy and how to enhance these processes. Additionally, SandLab work explores how cortical reorganization due to aging affects the way we interpret the cortical reorganization that results from language therapy. In today's episode you will hear about: the importance of impairment-based treatment in a person-centered approach to aphasia therapy, the role of linguistic complexity in selecting treatment stimuli and supporting generalization, how speech-language pathologists can add aspects of counseling to treatment activities. Share Dr. Janet Patterson: Welcome to this edition of Aphasia Access Conversations, a series of conversations about community aphasia programs that follow the LPAA model. My name is Janet Patterson, and I am a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Health Care System in Martinez, California. Today, I am delighted to be speaking with my friend and research colleague, Dr. Chaleece Sandberg. Dr. Sandberg is associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State University. At Penn State, she directs the SANDLab, that is the Semantics, Aphasia and Neural Dynamics Laboratory. Efforts in the SANDLab are aimed at finding ways of optimizing language therapy for adults with language disorders, with a primary interest in aphasia. Specifically, the lab explores the neuroplastic processes that take place during successful therapy and how to enhance these processes. Additionally, the lab work explores how cortical reorganization due to aging affects the way we interpret the cortical reorganization that results from language therapy. In 2022, Chaleece was named a Distinguished Scholar USA by the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia, UK. The Tavistock Trust aims to help improve the quality of life for those with aphasia, their families, and care partners by addressing research capacity related to quality-of-life issues in aphasia. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Chaleece. Aphasia Access collaborates with the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia in selecting the awardees and is pleased to have the opportunity to discuss their work and the influence of the Tavistock award. Welcome Chaleece, to Aphasia Access Conversations, Dr. Chaleece Sandberg: Thank you so much for such a lovely introduction. I'm so glad to be here doing this with you and I'm so thankful to the Tavistock Trust for this recognition. Janet: Chaleece, as we said, you were named a Tavistock Trust Distinguished Scholar USA for 2022 and join a talented and dedicated group of individuals. How has the Tavistock award influenced your work, both your clinical and your research efforts in aphasia. Chaleece: So, first of all, I am so incredibly honored to be recognized as belonging to such an amazing group of scholars. These are definitely people that I admire, and I look up to and I want to be more like, and so receiving this award is not only supporting my ability to push some ideas forward that I've been having, but it's also giving me more confidence to go all in and make quality of life, an even larger focus in my teaching and research. Janet: That is terrific to hear, because I think quality of life is so very important for all of us. We sometimes forget that idea when we get focused on our treatment or specific treatment protocol. In preparing for this interview Chaleece, I read several of your publications, including your work in treatment for lexical retrieval, and the Theory of Complexity. Would you briefly describe this theory and your work in this area? Chaleece: I'd love to. The Complexity Account of Treatment Efficacy was introduced by Cindy Thompson, who is actually my research grandma, Lewis Shapiro and Swathi Kiran, who was my Ph.D. mentor. What they were finding was that while they were doing the Treatment of Underlying Forms, which is a treatment that supports sentence processing, when you train more complex sentence structures, like object class, something like, "It was the porcupine who the beaver hit", right, you're going to get generaliz

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic communication impairments. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Marie-Christine Hallé about her work on including significant others in aphasia rehabilitation, communication partner training, and knowledge translation. Gap Areas This episode focuses on Gap Area #4, markedly insufficient training and education of family or carers regarding aphasia and communication strategies; and Gap Area #9, lack of services specifically for family members of people with aphasia across the continuum of care. Guest info Dr. Hallé is a lecturer at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières and the coordinator of SAPPA, a service for significant others of people with aphasia in Quebec Province, Canada. She completed a PhD in speech language pathology at University of Montreal, and a postdoctoral fellowship in knowledge translation at McGill University. Her work aims to support the inclusion of significant others in aphasia rehabilitation, as well as communication partner training. To promote the uptake of these best practices, she studies professional competency development among speech language pathology students with respect to evidence-based practice and counseling, as well as professional practice changes among clinicians. She is a recipient of the 2022 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar Award. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Learn about changes in family relationships due to post-stroke aphasia. Understand how speech-language pathologists can support significant others of those with aphasia across the continuum of care. Identify barriers and facilitators to implementing communication partner training. Edited show notes Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication impairments in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Marie-Christine Hallé, who was selected as a 2022 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar, USA and Canada. In this episode, we'll be discussing Dr. Hallé's research on significant others' experiences of post-stroke aphasia, communication partner training, and knowledge translation. Dr. Hallé is a lecturer at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières and the coordinator of SAPPA, a service for significant others of people with aphasia in Quebec Province, Canada. She completed a PhD in speech language pathology at University of Montreal, and a postdoctoral fellowship in knowledge translation at McGill University. Her work aims to support the inclusion of significant others in aphasia rehabilitation, as well as communication partner training. To promote the uptake of these best practices, she studies professional competency development among speech language pathology students with respect to evidence-based practice and counseling, as well as professional practice changes among clinicians. Marie-Christine Hallé, welcome to the Aphasia Access podcast. It's great to have you here. Marie-Christine Hallé Thank you. Lyssa Rome I wanted to start, as we often do, with asking you about whether you've had any "aha" moments—significant experiences that were critical in your development as a speech language pathologist? Marie-Christine Hallé Great question. In fact, I have an "aha" moment, which is also kind of an "uh-oh" moment—like the perception of a problem. When I first began to work as a speech language pathologist in rehabilitation, I was very interested and motivated to work with people with aphasia and their significant others as well. I had completed my master's in speech language pathology, during which I had done a research project. I had read transcripts and analyzed interviews of significant others of people with aphasia. It raised my awareness regarding what significant others can go through—the challenges that they can have when communicating with the person with aphasia. So I was really motivated to try to make a difference in their lives, to help them to better communicate with one another. But in my clinical practice, I had the feeling that I didn't actually succeed to go there.

Welcome to this Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. My name is Janet Patterson. I am a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Healthcare System in Martinez, California, and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their efforts in engaging with persons with aphasia and their families through a variety of educational materials and resources. I am today's host for today's episode that will feature Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie and Dr. Jamie Azios. These Show Notes accompany the conversation with Dr. Simmons-Mackie and Dr. Azios but are not a verbatim transcript. In today's episode you will learn about: Lache Pas La Patate! and aphasia The importance of being mindful of gap areas in aphasia service and research Moving aphasia care best practices from knowledge to action Dr. Janet Patterson: Welcome to our listeners. Today I am delighted to be speaking with two individuals who are well known in the field of aphasia rehabilitation, Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie and Dr. Jamie Azios. Nina and Jamie authored the text, Aphasia in North America, which is also known as the State of Aphasia Report. The original State of Aphasia Report was published by Aphasia Access in 2018, and contains information describing, among other topics, the frequency and demographics of aphasia and its impact on individuals and society, and aphasia services and service gaps. The State of Aphasia Report is a valuable resource for clinicians, researchers, administrators, and third-party funding agencies as we seek to craft a rehabilitation atmosphere that balances the treatment evidence base, the resource support for community aphasia groups, and the principles of client centered care. An updated State of Aphasia Report is forthcoming. Each of our Podcasts in 2021 and 2022 highlighted at least one of the gap areas in aphasia care mentioned in the original State of Aphasia Report. For more information on the original State of Aphasia report, check out Podcast Episode #62 with Dr. Liz Hoover, as she describes these ten gap areas and their impact on aphasia rehabilitation. Our conversation today takes a broader view of the aphasia service gaps, crossing all ten gap areas. My questions for Nina and Jamie will ask them to reflect on the impetus for the original State of Aphasia Report, as well as the changes that appear in the updated State of Aphasia Report. My first guest is Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie, Professor Emeritus at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She has received the honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Louisiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences. She has published numerous articles and chapters and has had many years of clinical, academic and research experience in the area of adult aphasia. Also joining me today is Dr. Jamie H. Azios. She is the Doris B. Hawthorne Endowed Chair in the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. Her research interests include qualitative research methodologies, understanding perspectives of people living with communication disabilities, co-constructed conversation and aphasia, and the impact of communicative environments on social participation and inclusion. She has published articles related to client centeredness, communication access, and life participation approaches to aphasia. Welcome Nina and Jamie to Aphasia Access Conversations and our discussion about the State of Aphasia Reports. Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie: Thanks Janet, happy to be here. Dr. Jamie Azios: Really excited and honored to be here. Thanks for having us. Janet: Good, and I look forward to a great discussion and learning about the State of Aphasia Reports. Nina and Jamie, I would like to begin our chat today by asking about the original State of Aphasia Report. Many of our listeners are familiar with the book, which is a resource published by aphasia access, describing the social, financial and life quality consequences of aphasia. It contains current statistics, compelling stories, and a one-stop report to understand the state of aphasia care in North America. Nina, you were the impetus for this project and oversaw its production. How did you organize a team to think about the need for this project and envision the value it could provide to people with aphasia, clinicians, medical and rehabilitation professionals interested in aphasia, administrators, and organizations who fund aphasia research? Nina: Well Janet, when I started out in the field of aphasia, it wasn't all that difficult to review the literature on an aspect of aphasia. Now, the amount of information is just overwhelming. A kernel of an idea started forming as I was involved in a variety of projects that required a huge amount of effort gathering statistics and references to justify

Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic communication impairments. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Jasvinder Sekhon about her work on enabling SLPs to feel confident and competent in counseling people with post-stroke aphasia and their families. Gap Areas This episode focuses on on Gap Area 8: Insufficient attention to depression and low mood across the continuum of care. Guest info Jasvinder Sekhon is a speech-language pathologist currently working clinically in Melbourne, Australia. Since graduating from La Trobe University in the early 1990s, Jas has worked across the continuum of care in public health services in Victoria, Australia and briefly in Singapore. Jas has been involved in the aphasia community for many years and co-convened the inaugural online Australian Aphasia Association national conference in 2021. Jas has recently completed her PhD, where she investigated counselling education that enabled SLPs to feel confident and competent using counselling to support the psychological wellbeing of individuals with aphasia and their families after stroke. Jas' supervisors for her doctorate were Professors Jennifer Oates and Miranda Rose from La Trobe University and Professor Ian Kneebone from University Technology of Sydney. Her studies sit under the research program Optimising Mental Health and Wellbeing of the Aphasia Centre for Research Excellence and Rehabilitation. The director of this CRE is Professor Miranda Rose. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Learn about the stepped model for psychological care. Understand how speech-language pathologists can support psychological well-being for people with post-stroke aphasia. Identify the role of speech-language pathologists within an interdisciplinary team providing psychological care for people with post-stroke aphasia. Show notes edited for conciseness Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication impairments in my LPAA-focused private practice. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm pleased to be today's host for an episode featuring Jasvinder Sekhon. Jas is a speech language pathologist and PhD candidate at La Trobe University in Australia, and recently submitted her thesis. She currently works part time as the senior SLP at a not-for-profit community health organization in Melbourne. Her studies are part of the research program, Optimizing Mental Health and Wellbeing at the Aphasia Center for Research Excellence. She has been involved in the aphasia community in Melbourne for many years, and is a member of the Australian Aphasia Association. She co-convened the first online Australian Aphasia Association national conference in June, 2021. Today we'll be discussing Jas's research, which focuses on enabling SLPs to feel confident and competent in counseling people with post-stroke aphasia and their families. In the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast, we've been highlighting the gap areas identified in the State of Aphasia report by Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie. In this episode, we'll be focusing on Gap Area 8, insufficient attention to depression and low mood across the continuum of care. For more information about the gap areas, you can listen to episode number 62, with Dr. Liz Hoover, or go to the Aphasia Access website. So Jas, what led you to want to study counseling training for speech language pathologists? Jasvinder Sekhon Firstly, thank you so much to the listeners and to Lyssa for this opportunity. So my impetus for my PhD arose from observing a range of emotional issues occurring frequently in people with aphasia and their families. My clients had issues such as depression, worry, frustration, low confidence, and distress. And despite my many years of experience in the field, there were many times that I felt inadequate to respond adequately or effectively to my clients' emotions. So in doing this research, I found that I was not alone. Survey studies of SLP practice and post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation from Australia, the US, UK, and South Africa have found that the majority of speech pathologists feel that they have low knowledge, skills, and confidence to assess or manage emotional and psychological well-being in their clients with post-stroke

Welcome to this Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. My name is Janet Patterson. I am a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Healthcare System in Martinez, California, and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their efforts in engaging with persons with aphasia and their families through a variety of educational materials and resources. I am the host for today's episode that will feature Dr. Sarah J. Wallace from Queensland, Australia. These Show Notes accompany the conversation with Dr. Wallace but are not a verbatim transcript. In today's episode you will hear about: clinical meaningfulness and research wastage: defining and addressing, minimal important change: defining and measuring, four "Monday Morning Practices" to create clinically meaningful outcomes. Dr. Janet Patterson: Welcome to our listeners. Today I am delighted to be speaking with Dr. Sarah J. Wallace from the University of Queensland. In this episode we will be discussing the topic of operationalizing treatment success: what it means, the research efforts supporting this idea, why it is important to think about as we plan and deliver aphasia treatment, and suggestions for implementation in daily clinical practice. Dr. Wallace is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Queensland in Australia. She is also a Certified and practicing Speech Pathologist. Her research interests include communication disability in ageing and enabling and measuring meaningful change in language and communication impairment in individuals with post-stroke aphasia. She uses qualitative and mixed methods to explore the lived experience of communication disability and works in partnership with consumers and clinicians to co-produce clinical interventions and methodological approaches that support the production of meaningful outcomes. Among her interests in aphasia assessment and rehabilitation is a focus on measurement of aphasia and rehabilitation outcomes, in particular, outcomes that are real and are meaningful to persons with aphasia. Sarah led the ROMA group, Research Outcome Measurement in Aphasia, a group that has published three papers reporting efforts to identify standard outcome measures used in aphasia research. In addition, with colleagues across the world, she published a paper examining methods of operationalizing success in aphasia treatment in research and daily clinical practice. Foremost in this body of work is what I perceive to be Sarah's desire to bring together ideas from persons with aphasia and their family members, assist clinicians and researchers to identify effective and efficient rehabilitation techniques, and to measure treatment outcome in a relevant and scholarly rigorous manner. Welcome to Aphasia Access Conversations, Sarah, and thank you for joining me today. Dr. Sarah Wallace: Thanks, Janet, for this invitation. I would like to start today by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands from which I'm joining today, the Turrbal and Yuggera people, and pay my respects to their ancestors and their descendants who continue cultural and spiritual connections to country. Janet: Thank you very much. I appreciate that acknowledgement. Sarah, throughout your career, you have published papers focusing on aspects of aphasia rehabilitation, many of which explore the topic of measuring and standardizing outcomes in aphasia rehabilitation. How did you become interested in exploring this aspect of aphasia? Sarah: Before I completed my PhD, I worked first clinically, as a speech pathologist, and later in a government policy role in the area of aged care quality and safety. I really loved both of these roles for different reasons. As a clinician, I could make a difference at an individual level. But with the government role, I realized the huge impact you can have when you're influencing practice from a systems level. So, when I went on to complete my Ph.D., I really knew that I wanted to do something big picture. At the time, there had been a few big studies coming out with no results. There was a lot of talk about how important it is to get research design right. Then as part of my work at the time, I was reading the World Health Organization, World Report on Disability, and that's where I really started learning about this concept of research wastage and the importance of having a really considered approach to the way we measure outcomes when you want to use data efficiently beyond an individual study. That really appealed to me, particularly given that, within aphasia, we tend to have small sample sizes and really need to make the most of the data that we collect. Janet: Sarah, we often hear the term clinically meaningful in relation to aphasia outcomes. How would you define that term from th

Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Ellen Bernstein-Ellis, Program Specialist at the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm today's hosts for an episode featuring Dr. Arla Good and Dr. Jessica Richardson. We will discuss the SingWell Project and the role of aphasia choirs from a bio-psychosocial model. Today's shows features the following gap areas from the Aphasia Access State of Aphasia Report authored by Nina Simmons-Mackie: Gap area #3: insufficient availability of communication intervention for people with aphasia, or the need for services. Gap area #8: insufficient attention to depression and low mood across the continuum of care. Gap area #5: insufficient attention to life participation across the continuum of care. Guest Bios: Dr. Arla Good is the Co-director and Chief Researcher of the SingWell Project, an initiative uniting over 20 choirs for communication challenges around the world. Dr. Good is a member of the Science of Music, Auditory Research and Technology or SMART lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University. Much of her work over the last decade has sought to identify and optimize music based interventions that can contribute to psychological and social well-being in a variety of different populations. Dr. Jessica Richardson is an associate professor and speech-language pathologist at the University of New Mexico in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and the Center for Brain Recovery and Repair. She is director of the UN M brain scouts lab and the stable and progressive aphasia center or space. Her research interest is recovering from acquired brain injury with a specific focus on aphasia, recovery, and management of primary progressive aphasia. She focuses on innovations in assessment and treatment with a focus on outcome measures that predict real world communication abilities, and life participation. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Learn about the SingWell Project model of supporting choirs and research around the world Learn which five clinical populations are the initial targets of the SingWell Project Discover how the SingWell Project is challenging the stigma about disability and singing Learn about some of the biopsychosocial measures being used to capture choir outcomes Transcript edited for conciseness Show notes Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 02:58 I'm going to admit that aphasia choirs have long been one of my clinical passions. I'm really excited and honored to host this episode today. I'd like to just start with a question or two that will help our listeners get to know you both a little better. So Arla, is it okay, if I start with you? Would you share what motivated you to focus your research on music-based interventions? Do you have a personal connection to music? Arla Good 03:29 I feel like I could do a whole podcast on how I ended up in this field. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 03:33 That'd be fun. Arla Good 03:34 There's just so many anecdotes on how music can be a powerful tool. I've experienced it in my own life, and I've witnessed it in other lives. I'll share one example. My grandfather had aphasia and at my convocation when I was graduating in the Department of Psychology with a BA, despite not being able to communicate and express himself, he sang the Canadian National Anthem, perfect pitch-- all of the words. It's just an accumulation of anecdotes like that, that brought me to study music psychology. And over the course of my graduate studies, I came to see how it can be super beneficial for specific populations like aphasia. So, I do have a quote from one of our choir participants that really sparked the whole idea of SingWell. It was a Parkinson's choir that we were working with. And she says, "At this point, I don't feel like my Parkinson's defines me as much as it used to. Now that I've been singing with the group for a while, I feel that I'm also a singer who is part of a vibrant community." And that really just encapsulates what it is and why I'm excited to be doing what I'm doing-- to be bringing more positivity and the identity and strength into these different communities. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 04:49 Yes, the development of positive self-identity in the face of facing adversity is such an important contribution to what we do and thank you for sharing that personal journey. That was really beautiful. Jessica, I'm hoping to get to hear a little bit about why what your personal connection is to aphasia choirs and music. Jessica Richardson 05:12 Again, so many things. I grew up in a musical household. Everyone in my family sings and harmonizes and it's just beautiful. But a lot of my motivation for

Interviewer info Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic communication impairments. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. Guest bios Melinda Corwin is a university distinguished professor and clinical supervisor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, where she has worked since 1994. Prior to her university position, she worked as a hospital speech-language pathologist. She directs the Stroke & Aphasia Recovery (STAR) Program, a community outreach program in Lubbock, Texas, for persons with aphasia and their families. Brooke Hallowell is professor and dean of health sciences at Springfield College. Brooke is a specialist in neurogenic communication disorders, and has been working clinically, teaching future clinicians, and engaging in research on aphasia for 25 years. She is known for transnational research collaboration, academic and clinical program development, and global health programming in underserved regions of the world. A pioneer in using eyetracking and pupillometry to study cognition and language in adults, she holds patents on associated technology. Professor Hallowell is the author of Aphasia and Other Acquired Neurogenic Language Disorders: A Guide for Clinical Excellence. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Identify key differences between clinician-centered care and person-centered care. Understand gaps in current training regarding the Life Participation Approach. Learn about the Aphasia Access knowledge course. Edited show notes Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication impairments in my LPAA focused private practice. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. I'm pleased to be joining the podcast as today's host for an episode that will feature Melinda Corwin and Brooke Halliwell. We'll be discussing Aphasia Access's new online project, Person-Centered Care: The Life Participation Approach to Aphasia Knowledge Course, which debuts this month, I had the pleasure of playing a small role in this project as the narrator for the course. Melinda Corwin is a University Distinguished Professor and clinical supervisor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, where she has worked since 1994. Prior to her university position, she worked as a hospital speech language pathologist. She directs the Stroke and Aphasia Recovery, or STAR, program, a community outreach program in Lubbock, Texas, for persons with aphasia and their families. Brooke Hallowell is a professor and dean of health sciences at Springfield College. Brooke is a specialist in neurogenic communication disorders and has been working clinically, teaching future clinicians, and engaging in research on aphasia for 25 years. She is known for transnational research collaboration, academic and clinical program development, and global health programming in underserved regions of the world. A pioneer in using eye tracking and pupillometry to study cognition and language and adults, she holds patents on associated Technology. Professor Halliwell is the author of Aphasia and Other Acquired Neurogenic Language Disorders: A Guide for Clinical Excellence, Second Edition. Thank you for joining me. I wanted to start with an "aha moment," anything that stands out for you in terms of the Life Participation Approach. Who would like to start? Melinda Corwin So, at our university, I got to meet a man who was in his 60s, he had survived a stroke two years prior, he was single and living in a long term care facility. He didn't have any family locally. He came to our university community outreach program for people with aphasia. And after about six months of being with us, he confided to his student clinician one day that he wondered if he could work out a payment plan to pay for throat surgery to fix his problems with speech and communication. And we realized that he did not understand the nature of aphasia. He actually thought there was a surgery available to fix or cure it, and that because he was low income, he didn't have the money to afford it. That was my aha moment, where I realized that we had failed him, our system had failed him. This man deserved to have access to his health information regarding his diagno

Welcome to this edition of Aphasia Access Conversations, a series of conversations about topics in aphasia that focus on the LPAA model. My name is Janet Patterson, and I am a Research Speech Language Pathologist at the VA Northern California Health Care System in Martinez, California. These Show Notes follow the conversation between Dr. Papathanasiou and myself, but are not an exact transcript. Dr. Ilias Papathanasiou is a Professor of Speech and Language Therapy at the Department of Speech and Language Therapy, University of Patras, and a Research Associate at the Voice and Swallowing Clinic, the First ENT Clinic of the Medical School of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens Greece. He is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and has received numerous awards and recognition for his tireless efforts on behalf of aphasia awareness and rehabilitation research in the international community. In today's episode you will hear about: considering LPAA values across social, cultural and international norms, increasing aphasia awareness through actions in the local community, mentoring speech-language pathologists who are learning about aphasia and LPAA in countries initiating aphasia rehabilitation services. Dr. Janet Patterson: As Ilias and I start this podcast, I want to give you a quick reminder that this year we are sharing episodes that highlight at least one of the gap areas in aphasia care identified in the Aphasia Access, State of Aphasia report, authored by Dr. Nina Simmons-Mackie. For more information on this report, check out Podversations episode # 62 with Dr. Liz Hoover, as she describes these 10 gap areas or go to the Aphasia Access website. This episode with Dr. Papathanasiou focuses on gap area number seven, insufficient or absent communication access for people with aphasia or other communication disorders, and gap area 10, failure to address family and caregiver needs including information, support, counseling, and communication training. I hope our conversation today sheds additional light on these gap areas. With that introduction, I would like to extend a warm welcome to my friend and noted aphasiologist, Dr. Ilias Papathanasiou. Welcome Ilias and thank you for joining me today on Aphasia Access Podversations. Dr. Ilias Papathanasiou: Thank you very much for this kind invitation. I'm thrilled to be with you and speak about aphasia from a rather international perspective. As you know, I have been trained in UK, I work in Greece, and have been active in many places around the world and working with developing countries, for people with aphasia. Janet: Ilias, I'm just thrilled to have you here, and as a side note to our listeners, Ilias and I have already been talking for about an hour sharing wonderful stories about aphasia and international aphasia. Sadly, most of that won't be caught on this particular tape, but I hope a good bit of it will, because Ilias, you are a fount of information, not only about aphasia, but also about aphasia and the international community. Let me start by saying that our listeners, Ilias, are likely very familiar with the LPAA model, which as we all know, places the person with aphasia at the center of decision-making, to support them in achieving their real-life goals and reduce the adverse consequence of aphasia. How do you think social and cultural norms play a role in understanding the LPAA model? Ilias: This is a very interesting question, which we'll have to answer. But first of all, I think we have to start with what is aphasia and how the implications of aphasia start in the community. I will say, aphasia is a language impairment, first of all, which is related from the focal lesion, which has, of course, great effects on the person with aphasia, on the quality of life, on the social network and the person, on the making friendships, on how the person functions, and the everyday environment. Now, how the person functions in the everyday environment, is related to many, many social norms. I have been working for 15 years in UK and then back to Greece. And I think that's changed my perspective. What is the social role? What the social model can offer in aphasia, because we have two different societies so they believe there are too many different societies around the world which can see aphasia as a different perspective. Taking the example from Greece, I think Greece has got a much-closed family network and supportive network comparing with other developing countries. I mean, the traditional Greece accepted that people will live with or very near their children, will have family nearby, they have their friends nearby, and they will try to - the family - to take the leadership support of the person with aphasia. This is something which might be a bit different with the USA. So in this way, the decision relies on the person and their LPAA approach of getting together and having a chat, which is not what it is for me. It is totally

Interviewer I'm Ellen Bernstein-Ellis, Program Specialist and Clinical Supervisor for the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group. AA's strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources. Today, I have the honor of speaking with Dr. Jaime Lee who was selected as a 2022 Tavistock Distinguished Scholar. We'll discuss her research interests and do a deeper five into her work involving the study of texting behaviors of individuals with aphasia and her efforts to develop an outcome measure that looks at success at the transactional level of message exchange. As we frame our podcast episodes in terms of the Gap Areas identified in the 2017 Aphasia Access State of Aphasia Report by Nina Simmons-Mackie, today's episode best addresses Gap areas: 5. Insufficient attention to life participation across the continuum of care; 6. Insufficient training and protocols or guidelines to aid implementation of participation-oriented intervention across the continuum of care; 7. Insufficient or absent communication access for people with aphasia or other communication barriers For more information about the Gap areas, you can listen to episode #62 with Dr. Liz Hoover or go to the Aphasia Access website. Guest bio Jaime Lee is an Associate Professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at James Madison University. Jaime's clinical experience goes back nearly 20 years when she worked as an inpatient rehab SLP at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now Shirley Ryan Ability Lab). She later worked for several years as a Research SLP in Leora Cherney's Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment. Jaime earned her PhD at the University of Oregon, where she studied with McKay Sohlberg. Her research interests have included evaluating computer-delivered treatments to improve language skills in aphasia, including script training and ORLA, examining facilitation of aphasia groups, and most recently, exploring text messaging to improve participation, social connection and quality of life in IWA. Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Learn about why texting might be a beneficial communication mode for IwA Explore the reasons it's important to consider the communication partner in the texting dyad Find out more about measures examining texting behaviors, like the Texting Transactional Success (TTS) tool. Consider how Conversational Analysis may be helpful in understanding texting interactions Edited show notes Ellen Bernstein-Ellis Jaime, welcome to the podcast today. I'm so excited that we finally get to talk to you. And I want to offer a shout out because you mentioned two mentors and colleagues who I just value so much, McKay Solberg and Leora Cherney, and I'm so excited that you've also had them as mentors. Jaime Lee 02:44 Thanks, Ellen. It's really great to talk with you today. And speaking of shout outs, I feel like I have to give you a shout out because I was so excited to meet you earlier this summer at IARC. We met at a breakfast. And it was exciting because I got to tell you that I assigned to my students your efficacy of aphasia group paper, so it was really fun to finally meet you in person. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 03:11 Thank you, that is the paper that Roberta Elman was first author on. I was really proud to be part of that. I was excited to get to come over and congratulate you at the breakfast on your Tavistock award. I think it's very, very deserving. And I'm excited today that we can explore your work and get to know each other better. And I'm just going to start with this question about the Tavistock. Can you share with our listeners what you think the benefits of the Tavistock Distinguished Scholar Award will be to your work? Jaime Lee 03:43 Sure, I think first off being selected as a Tavistock Distinguished Scholar has been really validating of my work in terms of research and scholarship. It's made me feel like I'm on the right track. And at least maybe I'm asking the right kinds of questions. And it's also really meaningful to receive an award that recognizes my teaching and impact on students. And I was thinking about this and a conversation that I had with my PhD mentor McKay Solberg. And it was early into my PhD when we were talking about the impact of teaching and how important it was, where she had said that when we work as a clinician, we're working directly with clients and patients were hopefully able to have a really positive meaningful impact. But when we teach, and we train the next generation of clinicians, you know, we have this even greater impact on all of the people that our students will eventually work with throughout their career. And so that's just huge. Ellen Bernstein-Ellis 04:51 It really is huge. And I have to say I went to grad school with McKay and that sounds like something she would say, absol

Thanks for listening in today. I'd like to welcome you to this episode of Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I'm Katie Strong, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Director of the Strong Story Lab at Central Michigan University and serving as today's episode host. Today I'm talking with Dr. Sameer Ashaie from the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. Before we get into our conversation, Let me tell you a bit about our guest. Dr. Ashaie is a Research Scientist in the Think and Speak Lab at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. He earned is PhD in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the Graduate Centre, CUNY. He is recipient of the 2022 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar Award. Dr. Ashaie was also a recipient of NIDILRR's Switzer Merit Fellowship and NIDILIRR's Advanced Rehabilitation Research and Training post-doctoral fellowship. His lab the Shirley Ryan Affective and Emotion Rehabilitation Lab (SAfER) focuses on aphasia rehabilitation, particularly identifying post-stroke depression and related psychosocial disorders. He employs a variety of techniques in his research including eye-tracking and heart-rate variability. In this episode you will: Learn about the value of having researchers integrated into clinical care. Be empowered to think about depression on a continuum and why how we measure depression matters. Hear how network models can be a more useful way to examine complex disorders. KS: Sameer welcome and thank you for joining me today. I'm really excited about this conversation with you, and having our listeners get to know you and your work . SA: Thank you for having me here. You know I listen to the podcast, and I wasn't expecting to be here one day. So, it's a privilege being here. I KS: Congratulations on receiving the Tavistock Distinguished Scholar Award. Can you tell us a bit about the impact of receiving this recognition? SA: It's a big honor. You know, oftentimes as an early career researcher in the field of physiology or I guess any field me especially I'm wondering like, if I'm doing whatever I'm doing, is it making sense? Is it making a difference? Are people noticing it? So getting this award especially and people that have gotten before me and the work they're doing? It really validates what I'm trying to do as an indication of where I'm trying to take my research program and I'm hoping that it has an impact on people with aphasia, and as well as the broader research community. KS: Absolutely! I'm excited to start talking about your research. But before we get to that, I'd love to hear a little bit about how you came into the field of speech language pathology, because it wasn't a direct line. Your story is in fact quite interesting. And I think you refer to it as a winding path. Could you tell us a little bit about how you came to be working in the area of aphasia? SA: I started my PhD in theoretical linguistics, looking at generative phonology. And then I ended up taking a class with Dr. Loraine Obler. It was a class on the historical debates on language localization. And that really got me interested in language. After two years in theoretical linguistics, I switched tracks to neuro linguistics, communication science disorders. Because I really got interested in just language, more than just a theoretical perspective that I had as a linguist. And then, of course, there are two people that really had an impact on my career and continue to have an impact on my career. One is that I did my PhD with Dr. Jamie Reilley at Temple. And that's how I got interested into sort of the semantic aspects of aphasia. And he was really supportive and was really great in how we think about science and how we do science. And then I would say that the person who's had the most impact and continues to have the most impact, and really has made me think about this field is Dr. Leora Cherney. And I'm really indebted to her in terms of how I think about this field, how I think about our participants, how I think about how aphasia impacts their life in totality. And just seeing that kind of dedication and thinking about research that is support to impact people's life. And getting that inspiration from Leora. She has been really critical for me to really falling in love with this field, because you're keeping your participants at the center of the work you do. I mean, you might not see the impact, but you're trying to keep them that that is what your aim is. And I guess that's how I kind of came to this field, you know, some from sort of theoretical linguistics and interested in semantics and then getting a postdoc with Leora. And being inspired by her and the support she's given me to explore things. And carry a different line of research, but always keeping the participants in mind. KS: So, you're a research scient

During this episode, Dr. Katie Strong, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Director of the Strong Story Lab at Central Michigan University talks with Dr. Jackie Hinckley from Nova Southeastern University about stakeholder engaged research and Project BRIDGE. Dr. Jackie Hinckley is Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Program at Nova Southeastern University. She is Board Certified in Neurogenic Communication Disorders by the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS) and Fellow in Person-Centered Care. Dr. Hinckley is currently a Board Member of Aphasia Access and the National Aphasia Association. She is Executive Director Emeritus of Voices of Hope for Aphasia. She is Project Lead for Project BRIDGE, formerly funded by two PCORI Engagement Awards and now supported by NSU. She is the author of two books, Narrative-Based Practice in Speech-Language Pathology, and What Is It Like to Have a Communication Impairment? Simulations for Family, Friends, and Caregivers. She is an Editor for The Qualitative Report, and on the Editorial Board of Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation and Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders. In this episode you will: Learn about the importance of including people with aphasia and clinicians in the research process to make the research better. Find out what stakeholder engaged research is and its importance in developing relevant evidence for clinical practice Hear how Project BRIDGE has enhanced stakeholder engagement in research related to aphasia. Be empowered to embrace your own expertise and the expertise of your clients and their family members. KS: Jackie, Welcome back to the Aphasia Access Conversations Podcast. I believe you were first interviewed on our podcast in 2016 – Episode #2! We now have over 86 episodes that are available! Who knew the series would have such staying power. It's really amazing! Thanks for joining me today. I'm really excited about this conversation with you and having our listeners hear about what you've been up to lately and how that is impacting our clinical practice and the people with aphasia that we work with. JH: Well, thank you, Katie, for the introduction, and thank you to you and Aphasia Access for the opportunity to be on this podcast. I'm really excited to talk about these issues and talk about them with you. KS: Well, let's dig in. So, today's topic is "everyone's an expert". How does that relate to our clinical work and our research? JH: Well, you know, Carl Rogers, the famous psychologist said that we are the best experts on ourselves. And I think that we all have that thought in our minds, but it really hits at the core of person-centeredness. An expert is someone with authoritative knowledge. So that has two parts, the authority and the knowledge. And an expert comes about when people agree that an individual has high performance or high knowledge in an area. I think that the idea of person-centered care in our clinical work is that we acknowledge that our clients are the best experts on themselves. And I think most of us who are practicing speech pathologists would certainly acknowledge that and agree with that. But in reality, in a normal clinical process, it's actually kind of hard to do. Because the clinician is, by definition, an expert, and has a certain degree of authority in the clinical interaction. So, for example, clinicians need to do an assessment and a diagnosis. And the client really can't self-diagnose, so there's an issue of authority and knowledge from the point of view of the clinician. But now that authority tends to seep into other areas like goal setting, where really the client needs to bring forward their own expertise about themselves. When we continue to exercise authority over what the goal should be, and yet, evidence shows that collaborative goal setting like goal attainment scaling significantly improves not just the immediate outcomes of therapy, but also how active the client is after they are discharged home. So, there's a tension around expertise. It has to shift back and forth during the clinical process. And a lot of times, it starts with the clinician having a lot of authority, but we have to know how to give our client that authority about themselves. So, it's only in the last decade or so that the idea of who's an expert and person-centeredness really has been applied to research. For example, if we think about a traditional research process, the researcher reads the literature and identifies the knowledge gap comes up with the experiment or whatever study that can contribute to that gap. And the researcher determines the design, the method, the measurement, does the research, publishes it and gets it out in a way that the researcher basically is crossing their fingers is going to have the impact that they hoped for. The problem is that it this ignores who is going to be affected by the research. So, aphasi