Guest: Gillian Boudreau, PhD - Join Erin and Dr. Boudreau to discuss the intricacies of the psychosocial component of pediatric feeding disorders and how a caregiver’s relationship with food can impact the overall dynamics of mealtime. Dr. Boudreau and Erin dive into the neurobiology of safety to help guide our understanding of what a child and caregiver truly need. We hope this episode helps you take a step back and better understand the importance of relationships and how the intimacy of eating can play a large role in how those relationships play out at mealtime.

Guest: Taylor Anderson, MS, CCC-SLP - Erin is joined again by her wonderful colleague, Taylor Anderson, to discuss a topic near and dear to their hearts: autonomy, trauma-informed care, and DIR/Floortime. Erin and Taylor have worked with many medically complex kids and found the value of utilizing these strategies to promote their self-advocacy and feel like they have a say in the world around them. This is critical for building communication as well as opening their world to promote imagination and new ideas. Erin and Taylor will dive into what trauma-informed care is and its collaboration with DIR/Floortime strategies to best serve our patients and their families.

Guest: Jenn Rubenstein, MS CCC-SLP - Have you ever stood in AWE watching an eye-gaze user navigate their communication device to express joy but were left scratching your head and wondering, “But how does it work?” In this episode, the ladies of “First Bite” are joined by Jenn Rubenstein, MS CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist and Clinical Account Executive for Eyegaze, to unlock the mysteries behind the machine. Jenn starts with explanations of the anatomy and physiology, transitions into how the device works to “read” the eye, and then offers an explanation of some diagnoses that could prohibit access for a potential user. Jenn concludes the first of her two-part episode by guiding colleagues through a screening tool to determine if they could potentially benefit from an eye gaze communication device.

Guest: Brooke Beilman, MS, CCC-SLP - In this course, Brooke shares insight into different leadership styles, her favorite resources to learn how to grow as a leader, strategies for working through differences in leadership styles, and most importantly why leadership growth is important to the clinician in the field.

Guest: Renee Garrett, MSEd, CCC-SLP, CBIS - As clinicians in speech-language pathology and audiology, we are tasked with providing services to all ages, ethnicities, gender expressions/identifications, races, national origins, and disabilities. During the last decade, more awareness and emphasis has been placed on identifying and understanding health disparities. Renee is here to inspire us to better understand how we as clinicians can support and foster change, by first defining health disparities and then identifying what our active role looks like. By providing resources for further education and policy impacts, we can move towards eliminating modifiable disparities: the things we can change.

Guest: Amy Graham, MS, CCC-SLP - Do you love the phonemic alphabet? Dream about deep analysis of speech sound error patterns? Or just love unlocking the mysteries behind the differences between articulation disorders versus phonological disorders versus motor speech disorders? If you said “Yes” to all of the above, then this is the hour for you! If you said “No” to all of the above, (maybe panic slightly and break out into a cold palm sweat), but you still need to know the most current evidence-based practice for speech sound disorders (SSD), well then join us for this informative course.

Guest: Megan Branham, LMSW - In this episode, Michelle is joined by her favorite child advocate and social worker, Megan Branham LMSW, to discuss a topic near to both their hearts, that is, community support for caregivers. If our caregivers are in crisis or even in a time of need, they cannot be fully present and engaged in speech therapy for the little ones we are called to serve. So, where does that leave us? What can we do? Megan and Michelle spend this precious hour discussing strategies for holding a crucial conversation to determine what needs are at critical mass, community partners that are available to support food and shelter needs, and community partners to help with educational and medical conditions.

Guest: Angie Neal, MS, CCC-SLP - In this episode, Michelle is joined by the dynamic Angie Neal, MS CCC-SLP, for an hour to discuss the intersection of language and literacy. Angie, who keeps every audience on the edge of their seat with laughter and love, shares her extensive knowledge on how an SLP can become involved in a child’s journey in literacy. In addition, she explains how phonological awareness can impact literacy, who to refer to in an academic/medical setting and why their role is critical when a child presents with concerns for dyslexia.

Michelle and her favorite co-host Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC, relive the best parts of the 2021 ASHA Convention: Rising United related to all things pediatric feeding disorder. To celebrate the inaugural pediatric feeding and swallowing disorder track, Michelle and Erin attended several courses and are bringing their favorite new facts directly to you! So, whether your current clinical setting is working in the NICU, Early Intervention, or even a local public school, the ladies of First Bite have you covered. To start, they’ll share the highlights of ethically implementing the newish PFD ICD-10 codes, then discuss how the differences between our settings can be overcome through open dialogue, and round out with ethical considerations for implementing a treatment plan PFD in the LEA. Let Michelle and Erin share the inspiration they received from the great minds and hearts at ASHA 2021 with you.

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC - Today on the First Bite Podcast we are running through some very important information for our community and listeners! We will be tackling the subject of ethics for Pediatric Feeding Disorders and going over some of the new PFD codes that have been introduced. We also offer some helpful examples and implications, as well as the best resources for you to get on top of this important stuff! Even with the best intentions, you can find yourself in some tricky situations if the regulations are not adhered to, and putting in the time and energy to stay abreast of the field's standards is very necessary. We talk about the best practices to using the codes, including coding backward from what you are officially and specifically treating, to concerns around communication and confidentiality, and much more! So to hear all about where to start with staying HIPAA compliant and offering the best service to those special small clients, join us on the show today!

Guest: Memorie Gosa, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S - Seven weeks after we obtained access to the new PFD ICD-10 codes, the annual ASHA Convention will host its very first PFDs Feeding and Swallowing track. To honor this monumental event, today we are joined by Memorie Gosa who served as the chair of the inaugural 2021 Pediatric Normal and Disordered Feeding and Swallowing Topic Committee. Memorie Gosa is a world-renowned Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist, Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders, and Associate Professor and Chair of the Communicative Disorders Department at the University of Alabama. In this episode, she joins us to walk us through the history of PFDs and dysphagia. She explains how the PFD world came to be, the progress of clinical training programs on dysphagia at a university level in recent years, and the evolving trends in evidence-based treatment. Tuning in you’ll hear why treating pediatric dysphagia has to be multidisciplinary, expert advice for anyone wanting to engage in IPP, and insight into where you can find helpful resources for evidence-based treatments. With the ASHA 2021 Convention upon us, find out what you can expect and what master classes you should not miss. Tune in for all this and more!

Guests: Cup of Councel - Today we have a special roundtable conversation dealing with helpful case studies, and are joined by the three wonderful hosts of the Cup of Council Podcast! Amy Gundlach, MA, CCC-SLP, Katie Joyner Robinson, MA, CCC-SLP, and Brittany Schultz, MA, CCC-SLP sit down with us and share some enlightening experiences that you are not going to want to miss. These three speech-language pathologists have a combined total of over 30 years of experience in a number of settings and we get to speak about the importance of thinking outside the box and developing new types of therapy while shining a light on their most important moments of professional growth. The conversation covers examples of new types of innovative approaches, and we also get a taster for their amazing podcast, which we recommend you check out as soon as you finish listening to this! So if you want to hear this open-hearted and enlightening chat, dealing with our strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between, join us and catch it all!

Guest: Lindsay Stevens, MA CCC-SLP - Join Michelle and guest Lindsay Stevens, MA CCC-SLP, who brings her years of experience as a clinician and caregiver to help grow your evidenced-based practice regarding infant dysphagia. Are you unsure of what potential positional strategies you can employ to see little ones have joyful and successful feeds? If you have observed behaviors, signs, and symptoms that made you think the infant may need a thickening agent to assist, then this episode is for you. Lindsay is here to guide your clinical decision-making process by providing you with dynamic facts and resources to treat the littlest ones on your caseload!

Guest: Breanne Dalton - Complications that arise from issues in the gut are plentiful and complex, something that we in the world of feeding disorders are all too familiar with. Here on the show today to share about her work and own journey with digestive problems is Breanne Dalton from the University of Southern Mississippi! The life-altering first-hand experiences that Breanne has had have enabled her to connect with little ones on a very deep level, and serve them with a real understanding and empathy. We celebrate Breanne and her heroic work, how she has turned her own needs around feeding tubes into a way to help others! In our conversation, we get to hear from Breanne about J-Tubes and G-Tubes, the important steps on her path to where she is today, her attitude towards normalizing feeding issues, and why food and eating are so central to the human experience and building relationships. So, to hear it all from our great guest, be sure to listen in with us today!

Guest: Sucheta Kamath - As SLP’s, we tend to focus on our specific area of expertise; language or speech production or cognition, for example. However, our guest on the show today, the wonderful Sucheta Kamath, believes that this lack of a big picture perspective is problematic and that there is a better way to do things. Sucheta has focused her career on the functioning of the brain as a whole, and the intersection between brain functioning, psychology, sociology, and education. After listening to this episode, you’ll have a better understanding of executive functioning, metacognition, and the variety of factors that impact these. Sucheta shares the strategies that she utilizes to help children master executive functioning, how to determine whether a child has executive dysfunctions, as well as a few stories which highlight what can go wrong when our executive function isn’t operating at its full capacity.

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC - This is our 164th episode and until now we have not had an episode dedicated to our backstory, and some of the silly things that also make up who we are, so we decided to spend today answering some of your questions and helping our audience getting to know us a little better! We still find some time for some serious thoughts on the life of an SLP but you can expect some talk about movies, our favorite character from Friends, which podcasts get us the most excited, and much more! Other questions we answer include how we first met, dealing with the demands of work and finding time for family, alternative career paths, and the best memories from our careers in speech therapy. So, if you have ever felt like you would like to get to know Erin and Michelle just a little bit better, and fill in some of the gaps, this is the show for you!

Guest: Kimberly Delude, MA, CCC-SLP - As SLPs, there is only so much that we can do in the short weekly sessions we have with our patients. That is why the activities that kiddos do outside of our therapy rooms are so important to their speech and language development. The research on this is clear, but there is a major time lag between research and implementation. Fortunately, some SLPs are ahead of the curve, and in today’s episode, we are joined by one of them. Kimberly Delude, MA, CCC-SLP, realized early on in her career the importance of involving caregivers in their children’s SLP journeys. This realization inspired Kimberly’s second series of award-winning books, Fairy Tales 2.0 (her first was Freddie the Fly, which she was motivated to write when she noticed the lack of child friendly resources targeting social skills). In our discussion, we cover a variety of examples of how parents can incorporate speech and language activities in their pre-existing routines; a concept called functional carryover. Kimberly also shares some of the strategies she uses in her own sessions, including her take on narrative retelling and her use of self-rating feedback sessions.

Guest: Dr. Kelly Farquharson - Scientists now know more than ever about dyslexia, but there are still a lot of misconceptions about this common learning difference. In this episode of the First Bite Podcast, we are debunking some popular myths surrounding dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities with today’s special guest, Dr. Kelly Farquharson! Kelly is a speech-language pathologist, associate professor, and director of the Children’s Literacy and Speech Sound (CLaSS) Lab at Florida State University. She studies the cognitive, linguistic, orthographic, and environmental factors that influence how children with speech and language disorders acquire literacy skills. Specifically, her research examines the intersection between speech sound production and literacy acquisition and, in this episode, she shares her unique insight with us about the very real intersection between speech sounds and dyslexia. Believe it or not, dyslexia is a phonological impairment disorder, not a visual one, which means that SLPs can and should play a very important role in its assessment and treatment! Listen in to learn more about why phonetics matter to clinicians, the importance of taking a code-based approach, and why strategies like eye tracking exercises aren’t necessarily helpful. We also touch on the value of both real word and non-word assessments, phonological input, and collaboration between SLPs and teachers, and Kelly emphasizes the need for patience, persistence, and advocacy when it comes to addressing dyslexia in your institution. This is a fascinating discussion that you won’t want to miss, so make sure to tune in today!

Guest: Brianna Emanuel, MC, CCC-SLP - Children who use personal AAC devices face a unique challenge on the playground. When playing outside with their classmates, taking an AAC device with them means that device can easily get broken or lost but, without it, they have no means to communicate with their friends or teachers. Today’s guest set out to address this challenge in her local community. Brianna Emanuel is an inspiring SLP working in the Appleton Area School District in Wisconsin who is passionate about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Together with Talk To Me Technologies (TTMT), she created a custom AAC board and had it installed at her local adaptive playground. This incredible action gives countless children a voice while they're playing with their peers, allowing nonverbal children to easily communicate without the use of personal AAC devices. In today’s episode, Brianna shares her journey to becoming an SLP and gives us a glimpse into the process of working with TTMT to design a custom AAC board with inclusion in mind. She also highlights the importance of coaching for parents and teachers and the benefits of long-term loans and trials when finding the right AAC device for yourself, your students, or your children, as well as how she handles the daily challenges that come with working with nonverbal children and children with special communication needs. Tune in today for a conversation full of passion, inspiration, and functional guidance with real-life superhero, Brianna Emanuel!

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC and Karen McWaters, MOT, OTR/L - In today’s show, Erin and Michelle are joined by Karen McWaters to discuss the very important topic of interprofessional collaboration. Healthcare professionals generally tend to silo themselves in their own disciplines, and according to the Autism Research Journal, there are four main barriers to communication which exist. This disconnect is very unfortunate because, as you will hear in this episode, collaboration across professions has the potential to be a very powerful force. Erin, who is an SLP, and Karen, who is an OT, worked concurrently with a child who, when he first started therapy, was communicating using signs. A year into his sessions, he was asking to be dressed up like the Pixar lamp and trying to find a dark room he could “light up!” With palpable joy, Karen and Erin share the story of this boy’s progress, which highlights the benefits that arose from their commitment to working together and learning from each other, and they offer valuable advice for anyone interested in doing the same.

Guest: Dr. Kristen West, M.A., CCC-SLP - In today’s episode of First Bite, we are delighted to welcome back Dr. Kristen West, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss her work as an SLP in public schools. Kristen is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania and is currently also pursuing her educational doctorate at Slippery Rock University. In our conversation with Kristen, we delve into the challenges of setting up a program in public schools and how her journey led her to work in that space. We spend some time appreciating the role that advocacy plays when it comes to special education services in schools and how our host Michelle Dawson, in collaboration with Angie Neal, was able to pass a proposal that countless children in South Carolina will benefit from for years to come. Listening in, you'll hear Michelle break down the many aspects of working as an SLP in public schools and what she has learned throughout her career. She expands on the inextricable relationship between nutrition and learning, why cafeterias pose a unique challenge to children with PFDs, and why teamwork between nurses, teachers, and parents is essential. We loved having Kristen back on the show and we know you’ll find the conversation as informative and inspiring as we did! For all this and much more, join us today!

Guest: Megan Branham, LMSW - In the past thirty years, our knowledge of trauma and its effects have progressed significantly, but there is still plenty of research that needs to be done to further deepen our understanding. In today’s episode of First Bite, we get together with Megan Branham to discuss adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs. We unpack how our knowledge of trauma is integrated into the field of SLPs, pediatrics, specialists, and social workers and the many challenges inherent to that mission. Megan holds a Master's in Social Work and is a graduate of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Leadership for State-Based Advocates. She currently serves as VP Strategy for North, a media company based out of South Carolina. In our conversation with Megan, we discuss how ACEs first gained attention in the 1990s after new research found that these experiences led to a myriad of adverse health outcomes from learning disabilities to mental health problems, to chronic health conditions. We also discuss new insights into intergenerational trauma and how its biological impact alters human physiology on a cellular level, increasing the likelihood of adverse health outcomes and other issues. We cover a variety of topics that practitioners are confronted with regularly when it comes to dealing with trauma, like how to protect yourself when your personal trauma is triggered, and engaging in advocacy when you recognize policy failures. Join us for this fascinating and in-depth discussion on ACEs and how to be trauma-informed!

Guest: Dr. Georgia Malandraki, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S - As we continue this amazing journey through our tricky yet important field, we are joined today by a real leader from the field! Dr. Georgia Malandraki, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is an associate professor of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University and a Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. In her research, she focuses on investigating developmental swallowing neuroplasticity and developing rehabilitative and telehealth interventions for dysphagia. In addition to this, she is the research director of the Purdue I-EaT Swallowing Research Laboratory and Clinic and has served on editorial boards for ASHA journals, as an editor for the American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, and is the current president-elect of the Dysphagia Research Society. In this awesome conversation, we get to really go deep with Dr. Malandraki, talking about her most recent work on the developmental stages of the nervous system, some very helpful papers and resources that she recommends, muscle tone issues in infants, and the gaps that she has noticed in the pediatric care systems, that still persist today. For all this, and a whole lot more great insight, where it is so badly needed, listen in with us to hear what Dr. Malandraki has to say!

Guest: Taylor Anderson, MS, CCC-SLP - In this episode, Erin is joined by friend and colleague Taylor Anderson, MS, CCC-SLP, to discuss mentor and mentee relationships when it comes to pediatric feeding disorders. In this niche of the speech pathology world, young and seasoned clinicians are constantly looking for support and mentorship to grow their skills for treating this specific population. Erin and Taylor discuss how they build their relationship as mentor and mentee early on, but how that can become very fluid and shift to learn from each other. This episode will dive into what they both knew from working with different mentors, what they found most valuable in their growth with PFD, and how they continue to grow their leadership and mentor skills.

Guest: Renee Garrett, MSED, CCC-SLP, CBIS - After watching her father struggle through the after effects of a stroke, Renee Garrett’s passion for SLP was awakened, and she has spent the past 12 years working in a range of medical settings. In today’s episode, our discussion focuses on the ethical challenges that arise when an SLP moves from one type of care to another. For example, an SLP working in a school requires a very different set of skills compared to an SLP working in an ICU, and assuming that the skills are transferable can be dangerous for you as the professional, as well as for your patients. Among other things, we talk about the elements that you need to take into consideration before switching settings, how regulations differ between states, and where you can access a range of resources that will help you with your transition.

Guest: Marsha Dunn Klein, OTR/L, MEd, FAOTA - Having a child with feeding challenges can be anxiety-inducing for parents and children alike. Feeding strategies and interventions are synonymous with pressure, which only perpetuates the discomfort around eating. Marsha Dunn Klein OTR/L, Med, FAOTA, joins us to share her Get Permission Approach, and to talk about the newly-founded Get Permission Institute. In this episode, Marsha talks about Get Permission Approach's principles and shares the impetus for creating it. She saw from her work in feeding that the relational aspects of food and eating were often neglected despite how important they are to healthy feeding habits. We hear about responsive feeding and how she fosters children's autonomy while building confidence, connection, trust, and consistency. An incredibly important part of helping children with these challenges is providing opportunities, and Marsha walks us through two case studies of children she has worked with. Rather than leading with a heavy therapeutic approach, she helped parents provide organic opportunities to pique children's interests and let them explore for themselves. As the conversation wraps up, Marsha also highlights the value of letting children mouth, and she also shares some of the exciting events Get Permission is hosting in the months to come.

Guest: Natasha McNeill, MCD, CCC-SLP - SLPs are ethically bound to practice within their area of expertise, but some often don’t and this can have drastic effects on patients. Today we invite Natasha McNeill to discuss this issue of scope of practice encroachment and hear her weigh in on how it is often early interventionists who are guilty of this. Natasha is an SLP specializing in pediatric feeding disorders and our conversation begins with a story about how she fell in love with this area of expertise. She lays out the context for our discussion next, highlighting the problem of non-licensed members of individual family service plan teams, often early interventionists, giving recommendations that are outside their roles and responsibilities. Natasha makes the important point that while this is irresponsible across the board and often steps on the toes of SLPs who play a role later in the treatment process, if an ill-informed recommendation is made about feeding treatment particularly, this can cause serious harm to the patient. We then take a deep dive into the types of things that early interventionists should be doing, while also getting into different examples of problems that can arise when they start to practice outside of their fields. Our conversation also covers the issue of lack of regulation whereby the qualifications required to become an early interventionist are too broad and there is no overarching governing body in many states. Tune in for this urgent conversation today.

Guest: Tessa Gonzalez, MD - Today’s episode centers around an intense and personal conversation with a very special guest who speaks candidly from the perspective of both a pediatrician and the passionate parent of a child who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that contributed to pediatric feeding disorder (PFD). Dr. Tessa Gonzalez is a close friend, a pediatrician with over 10 years of experience, and a mother to two beautiful girls, the eldest of which has been on a long journey with PFD. Tessa is also a volunteer with Feeding Matters, where she shares her invaluable experience with families navigating their way through the often confusing and difficult world of PFD. She is a fierce advocate for her daughter and is passionate about helping other families advocate for their loved ones too, which she explains in this episode. Tuning in, you’ll learn more about the importance of inter-professional education, collaboration, and communication, and Tessa shares her personal journey with PFD and why she believes that a feeding tube was the best possible solution for her family at the time. Make sure not to miss this episode!

The Dysphagia Outreach Project is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide meaningful assistance to individuals affected by dysphagia. Today on the show we invite Allie Mataras, Amanda Weissberg, Allison Boyer, Jessica Lasky, Hillary Cooper, and Michelle Coffaro from the Dysphagia Outreach Project’s Board of Directors to talk about how they have come together to work on this project as volunteers and the great things they are doing for the community. The original idea came from Hillary and she kicks things off by talking about how she was disturbed by a general lack of access to supplies experienced by patients and how she wanted to take the initiative to fix this. Hillary teamed up with Michelle and Jessica and our next two guests weigh in on the contributions they made to get the idea off the ground. Jessica speaks about the role she plays in the organization in the fields of education and advocacy and the Michelle shares her responsibilities as VP of operations. Michelle runs the food bank in Cincinnati and we hear about the incredible wealth of supplies they distribute. From there, we hear from Allie and her work as Director of Fundraising before getting to know Amanda and the contributions she has made on the social media front as Captain of Instagram for the public relations team. Wrapping up, we meet our final guest, Allison Boyer, who manages the DOP Facebook page where she helps assemble literature reviews of the most current research in the field to be distributed freely to all who are interested. So for all this and more about an amazing project that stands testimony to the power of purpose-driven teamwork, tune in today!

Guest: Dana Entwistle MS, CCC-SLP - Today we are really lucky to have an amazing person and fantastic clinician join us on the show! Dana Entwistle is a pediatric feeding clinical specialist at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we get to hear from her all about what that entails. She goes into her personal journey in the profession and the college years that proceeded it. From there, our guest shares the important elements of her current role at Levine, touching on building trust, patient assignment, the hospital space, patient variation and so much more. Dana underlines the importance of the right kind of communication, especially around the tricky and confusing technical side of feeding problems. She has spearheaded the inclusion of more data into the processes she is involved in, something she believes is vital in the constant improvement of healthcare. Listeners can expect to gain some real insight into Dana's philosophy as well as some inspiration for how to be influential and understanding in the feeding space too! This conversation with Dana promises to lead into many more, so make sure to stay tuned for those too!

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC - In this episode Michelle is joined once again by her favorite cohost Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC, as they tackle the tricky topic of progressive disorders and pediatric dysphagia. Palliative Care and Hospice are two words that are often avoided in the world of pediatrics, however, in honor of Pediatric Feeding Disorder Month, Michelle and Erin are going to have the crucial conversation regarding what a progressive pediatric disorder is, discuss three more prevalent progressive disorders, and then discuss our role in the evaluation and treatment process. While the topic may be a difficult one to address, remember, we are called to serve the least of these and infuse joy and evidenced based-practice into their care.

Guest: Dr. Erin Ross, PhD, CCC-SLP - Today we have an extra special episode that we are so excited to share with all of our listeners! Dr. Erin Ross, the brains and heart behind the SOFFI course, joins us today to talk about her amazing career in feeding therapy, her work developing the SOFFI method, thoughts moving forward, and so much more! We get into a deep and impactful discussion on the lessons that Dr. Ross has learned and continues to share through her work, covering misconceptions, diagnoses, the research that backs up her work, and her favorite parts of her job. Dr. Ross makes a special point to underline the centering of the parents and the time they spend with infants, showing why we should focus on this chunk of experience as the most impactful entry- point to helping children. We also get into some thoughts on specialization, the quality versus quantity debate, and some of the mistakes that seem to often crop up in the pediatric space. Listeners can expect to come away with a sense of purpose, as well as a renewed enthusiasm for this work; Dr. Ross' passion is contagious and her commitment to joyful, research-backed strategies is truly inspiring. So join us on the show for all this and more!

Guest: Casey Lewis MS CCC-SLP, CNT, NTMTC - As SLPs, we are always going to be a part of a team, and it is so crucial that we learn from those we collaborate with to ensure that we provide our patients with the best care. We cannot offer the best treatment if we do not know what our other team members are doing. Not only do we have to learn from professional fields, but we can gain so much from other SLPs. Casey Lewis is an SLP who works in the NICU, and she joins us today to offer insights into the work she does. We talk about her journey to working in the NICU and the fulfillment she feels being there for her patients at such a crucial stage in their development. We hear about the multidisciplinary teams she is a part of and some of the very real challenges she faces advocating for her patients. The reality is that other professions do not understand the value of the SLP, so communicating your role is vital, even if it can be frustrating. We also talk about the conversations between NICU SLPs and outpatient SLPs and where the issues lie, why you need to be involved with your state association, and the importance of bridging communication gaps. Even though it can be hard to remember, we are all on the same team, and we want what’s best for our patients.

Guest: April Helper, LPC - Michelle is joined for this truly powerful episode by April Helper, LPC, Founder and Executive Director of Adagio House. The Adagio House “exists to provide high-quality, trauma-informed, attachment-based services to all types of caregivers and their loved ones, regardless of their ability to pay.” They engage in comprehensive care through psychotherapy, holistic wellness, mentoring, sustainable gardening, medical and psychiatric services, and psychological testing for neurodiverse individuals from toddlers to adults and their caregivers. April spends this hour talking about the various interprofessional practice partners that make this dream a reality and how to support their clients and caregivers ethically, and she offers strategies to make this a possibility.

In this episode, the presenter who works with preschool aged patients, shares her keen insight into how to embrace parent coaching with school aged little ones, the benefits of focusing on gratitude with routines based intervention for EI and preschoolers, and how embedding acts of gratitude with these ages and their caregivers can bring joy to the entire team. Get your pencils and journals ready… Michelle and Maria are ready to roll!

Have you ever noticed a trend on your pediatric feeding disorder caseload in which you see a couple of patients with similar GI complaints, or similar cardiopulmonary complaints, but there is an unknown etiology? Michelle and Erin spend this hour reviewing the technical details of what a pediatric feeding disorder is, various types of neurogenic conditions that you may commonly encounter, and how all those bits and pieces connect together, and your role in all of it.

Michelle is joined by the effervescent Kayla Duncan, MS in Applied Psychology, Francis Marion University’s Assistant Director of Counseling and Testing, adjunct professor, and advocate for student and clinician’s mental health. The presenters spend an hour getting into the details on signs and symptoms of caregiver fatigue and burnout, quick functional strategies that you can implement lying in bed in the morning or in the afternoon school carline pickup. But what about when those functional strategies are just not covering it? Kayla shares her resources on how to obtain professional resources for yourself and Michelle shares resources on support teams and groups for our patient’s caregivers.

In this hour, Michelle is joined by Rabab Rangwala, M.S.,CCC-SLP & Kinnari Satra, M.S.,CCC-SLP, cohosts of the “Made in India SLP” Podcast! Rabab and Kinnari share experiences and evidence for improving cultural competency when completing assessments and treatments for individuals with both language and swallowing disorders even including details on how to create a dynamic and authentic assessment for data collection and report writing. The ladies then share strategies for how to make teletherapy more inclusive for the children and their families that we work with specifically targeting the early intervention and school-aged child.

Guest: Andrea Storie, M, ClSc, CCC-SLP - In this episode Michelle is joined by Andrea Storie, MCLSC CCC-SLP, a professional whose focus is on evaluation and treatment of pediatric chronic cough and voice disorders. Whenever a pediatric feeding disorder SLP hears a child cough, instantly our ears perk up and we start wondering, “What is going on in there?” But did you know that some children develop a habit cough that is not triggered by penetration/aspiration? Andrea will educate and inspire us as to the signs and symptoms of pediatric habit cough, the interprofessional team that is needed to diagnose it, and the current evidenced based practice strategies to help treat a pediatric cough.

In this course, Michelle is joined by Erin Forward, and they’re back this month with functional strategies for language. They discuss how to embrace language acquisition within the framework of routines-based-intervention, the power of play, and how to encourage culturally competent language even with AAC.

Cari inspires colleagues with her P.I.E. analogy and offers functional strategies on what an appropriate parent-driven outcome really looks like with respect to goal writing. If you’ve ever worried about best practice for the dreaded data collection, breathe a sigh of relief, and brace yourself for side splitting laughter, while Cari and Michelle speak the truth on data for Early Intervention.

In this episode Michelle is joined by Lisa Bjelland MSW and Psy D, who works as a trauma therapist and Monte Torkelsen, M Div, President of Abba's Child Grief Camps for an hour dedicated to finding grace in grief. The caregivers of our little ones that we work with can struggle through the various stages of grief. We, the licensed SLP on the interprofessional practice team, can also struggle with grief, especially when the little ones that we work with pass on. What are we to do? How can we help our caregivers? How can we help ourselves? Maintaining our emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual health is critical. But simply finding the time to engage in the acts of self-care can in itself be a challenge for the busy SLP. Today, Michelle, Lisa, and Monte hold the crucial conversation to help you bring healing, comfort, and joy into your being, so you are better equipped to help others.

In this hour, Dillen, OTR/L sheds light on the polyvagal theory and how this theory, that most of us haven’t heard of, impacts the patients that we evaluate. If you have a patient that has a past medical history of PTSD, ADD, ADHD, ASD, (and the list goes on), and they are struggling to attend and regulate, did you know that it could be a direct result of an impairment or delay in their fear response, emotional regulation, and social connection, as driven by the function of the vagus nerve? Dillen is here to enlighten and inspire while he gives you the evidence behind the polyvagal theory.

If you are working in the world of Early Intervention, or thinking about making the switch, but unsure of how to implement routines-based intervention within the framework of treating a pediatric feeding disorder (PFD), then this hour on functional feeding strategies for you. Michelle and Erin walk you through how routines-based intervention allows you to ditch that dread bag of toys and chewys for good, advise you on how to include caregivers and siblings in treatment, as well as discuss the positively powerful evidenced behind slow incremental changes via tapered weaning protocol and how it can guide our patients on their PFD journey.

Michelle and her favorite co-host Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC, relive the best parts of the 2023 ASHA Convention: Igniting Innovation as it relates to all things neurodiversity-affirming care and pediatric feeding disorder. Michelle and Erin, who both volunteer in convention planning, as well as at the convention, attended several courses and are bringing their favorite new facts directly to you! So, whether your current clinical setting is working in the NICU, Early Intervention, or even as a full-time or adjunct faculty member, the ladies of “First Bite” have you covered. To start, they’ll share the exciting ASHA Advocacy news, then discuss neurodiversity-affirming trends and applications to intervention, the value of personal/professional growth to learning new evidenced-based approaches, and round out with the role of implementation science in pediatric feeding disorder.

At least once in our careers, we have all struggled with the question, “But does this little one need an instrumental swallow evaluation?” Sometimes, we feel that we are over referring for instrumentals, other times, we may feel that we are not sending the patients out frequently enough. In this course, our presenters help answer this question with functional guidelines to help lead us in our evidence based decision making process.

Guest: Haley Jones, CAE - Michells is joined by Haley Jones, CAE, former manager of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Leadership Academy, which was the recipient of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Gold Circle Award. Haley, who has a unique talent for program development, is here today to discuss how we can be the source of permanent positive change through the creation of diversity and inclusion programs within our respective professional settings. If you too feel the call in your heart to see our field excel in cultural competency, but are unsure where to start, Haley offers the guidance on how to hold that first deep conversation with our colleagues and friends. If you are ready to take it another step, but are unsure of how to establish a program of accountability, Haley offers functional strategies to see it come to fruition.

Guest: Sonya Floyd, MEd, CCC-SLP - Michelle is joined by Sonya Floyd, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, immediate Past President of the Georgia Speech-Language-Hearing Association (GSHA). If you have ever considered in engaging in leadership activities for your state association, then this is the episode for you. As a profession, we are all aware of the importance of actively engaging in cultural competency with our patients, however, have we honestly had the crucial conversations regarding this topic with respect to leadership? It is past time to engage in that dialogue. Michelle and Sonya are here to inspire, uplift, and initiate this conversation on what needs to occur at a state level with respect to leadership in our profession to increase not only the diversity in our field, but also amongst our leaders.

Co-Host: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP - To kick off their first episode of 2021, Michelle and Erin, tackle one of their favorite topics, clinical case studies for evaluation and treatment of Pediatric Feeding Disorders. In this hour the ladies address some current clinical needs for individuals that have signs and symptoms of neurogenic based PFD, congenital heart defect (CHD) induced PFD, and esophageal dysphagia. Tune in as Michelle and Erin consult on the steps they have taken to engage interprofessional practice for the care of the little ones and how uncovering the new etiologies is shaping their plan of cares.

Guest: Rebekah Wada, ABD, MS CCC-SLP - In this episode, Michelle is joined by Rebekah Wada, ABD, MS CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor of Speech-Language Pathology at Francis Marion University, who is a Doctoral Candidate in Disability Disciplines with a specialization in Speech-Language Pathology at Utah State University. Rebekah is here to share her passion of Implementation Sciences. In a nutshell, this is the hour where we learn how to easily and effectively bridge research into clinical practice, all with ease and laughter.