Talking Healthy Hearing with Special Olympics

Just ahead of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we’re bringing you a conversation with speech-language pathologist Kristin Szymanek, director of rehabilitation at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.Through her “Pediatric Oncology SLP” account on Instagram, Szymanek often shares information on topics like pediatric feeding and palliative care.In this conversation, Szymanek talks about what interdisciplinary collaboration looks like, how SLPs can assist in navigating transitions, palliative care, working with families of pediatric cancer patients, and more.TranscriptLearn More:ASHA Voices: SLPs on Understanding What Matters at the End of LifeASHA Voices: Supporting Patients With Head and Neck Cancer in Rural KentuckyHelping Children With Cancer Communicate at End of LifeASHA Voices: Audiologists Address Ototoxicity in Cancer Care

Although a patient’s communication and swallowing goals may change as they progress through their cancer treatment, today’s podcast guests say the speech-language pathologist’s presence can be one of the most consistent aspects of a patient’s journey.When SLP Keely Bill identified patients who needed head and neck cancer services in the region where she worked—hours away from the large academic medical centers or university hospitals where the patients originally had surgery or received radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and specialized cancer care—she began taking steps to meet their needs locally.Bill and her mentor Jen Lutes tell a story of enabling access to care when delivering services to this population in rural northeast Kentucky.TranscriptLearn More:The Value of Prophylactic Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Services in the Treatment of Head and Neck CancerASHA Practice Portal: Head and Neck CancerHead and Neck Cancer in a Rural U.S. Population: Quality of Life, Coping, Health Care Literacy, and Access to ServicesASHA Evidence Map: Head and Neck CancerSupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes from AMN Healthcare.

As children with congenital heart disease (CHD) begin living longer lives, today’s guests say there is a growing need for speech-language pathologists and interdisciplinary collaborators to work with these patients.SLP Nashifa Momin and pediatric nurse practitioner Nicole Coolidge join the podcast to discuss their work delivering services to young patients with complex CHD-related needs at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. They share what CHD means for these patients’ lives, and how it connects to development and feeding.Also, we hear from a caregiver who describes life as the mother of a son with CHD.TranscriptLearn More:ASHA Voices: Overcoming Barriers on Families’ Journey From NICU to HomeImproving Self-Efficacy of Speech-Language Pathologists Who Provide Feeding Interventions for Infants With Congenital Heart Disease Through Targeted EducationASHA Voices: How A Spinal Muscular Atrophy Breakthrough Created a Greater Need for SLPs

Speech-language pathologist Lesley Sylvan (Montclair State University) joins the podcast for a conversation on multi-tiered systems of support, or MTSS. It’s a subject she’s passionate about; she has centered her career and research on the educational framework. Sylvan shares how MTSS includes a focus on prevention, proactive instruction, and increasingly targeted support for those students who need it most.The second edition of Sylvan’s book, “Multi-Tiered Systems of Support: Implementation Tools for Speech-Language Pathologists in Education,” was published in June 2026. In a conversation focusing on accessibility and technology, Sylvan shares what she’s learned from talking to SLPs about the three-tiered framework and what she added to her book to reflect recent changes in perspectives and uses of MTSS.Learn More:Replacing Scarcity With Universal Access in SchoolsA Balancing Act: How School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists Navigate Their Efforts Related to Individual Education Plans and Multi-Tiered Systems of SupportMulti-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI)Teletherapy and Multi-Tiered System of Support: Synergies and Challenges for School-Based Speech-Language PathologistsTranscript

Speech-language pathologist Amy L. Donaldson returns to the podcast with two fellow members of Portland State University’s Autism and Social Communication Lab, SLP Brandon Eddy and AAC research lead Alyssa Hillary Zisk.When Donaldson was most recently on the podcast, she spoke about normalizing and destigmatizing AAC use. In this episode, Donaldson, Eddy, and Zisk continue with a conversation on AAC, communication access, and agency.Guests discuss what it means to use a participatory research model in their lab, and they share updates on the work they are doing in their lab around topics like internal speech experiences, “expensive speech,” and universal access.TranscriptLearn More:ASHA Voices: An SLP’s Path to Leading a Neurodiversity-Affirming ClinicASHA Voices: A Neurodivergent SLP on Creating Affirming Spaces for Clients, Colleagues, and HerselfAutistic Communication: A Survey of School-Based Professionals “Everyone Deserves AAC”: Preliminary Study of the Experiences of Speaking Autistic Adults Who Use Augmentative and Alternative CommunicationDisability in Speech and Hearing Sciences: Reflections on RepresentationCommunication Participation Item Bank — A tool that measures how communication affects participation in everyday life situations.National Outcomes Measurement System (NOMS) — ASHA’s data collection system that incorporates patient-reported outcomes measures, including the CPIB, to help evaluate functional communication outcomes and participation in real-world settings.

Speech-language pathologist Sandra Hogsed is changing the way Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital is screening for and addressing delirium. In 2020, she saw patients entering the critical access hospital who were developing delirium. Soon after, she dedicated herself to gaining a greater understanding of the condition and how to recognize it.She shares what delirium looks like in its varying forms, how she is engaging with patients with delirium, and the personal story driving her care.Learn More:Speaking Up for My Father Shaped Me as a ClinicianCommunication Partnering to Support Patients With DementiaUniversity Develops a Cognition-Building Workshop for Older AdultsCommunication AccessEvidence Map on DeliriumAmerican Delirium SocietyTranscript

Just ahead of the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota, we discuss hearing health care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDD.Along with competing in events like track and field, swimming, and basketball, many athletes work with volunteers to receive hearing screenings, among other types of health screenings through attending Special Olympics Healthy Athletes®.Listen to conversations with two audiologists—Denise Cardona Barnes, of Special Olympics International, and Eric McCabe, a volunteer clinical director in Minnesota.Learn More:An Audiologist Brings Healthy Hearing to Special OlympicsSupporting Care Partners of Adults With Dysphagia and IDDRecognizing National Public Health Week: A Collection of Articles, Podcasts, and ResourcesASHA Voices: Pediatric TBI—Transitioning from Hospital to SchoolASHA Voices: Overcoming Barriers on Families’ Journey From NICU to HomeTranscript

Speech-language pathologist Iván Campos joins the podcast to discuss multilingual assessment and intervention in the schools. Campos brings stories from his time delivering school services to students speaking Mayan languages, and he shares what he learned from that.In our conversation, he talks about dynamic assessment, collaborating with interpreters, and what the concept of translanguaging means to him professionally and as a multilingual speaker.Learn More:ASHA Voices: What Might Translanguaging Mean for Multilingual Services?Considerations in Utilizing Translanguaging Practices to Meet the Language Needs of Maya Children in U.S. SchoolsASHA Voices: A Personal and Professional Look at Multilingualism and CSDSimple Steps to Support Multilingual Students in SchoolsTranscript

As the professional world grows increasingly mobile, hear how the Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact is making it easier for CSD professionals to deliver services across state lines. Guests discuss how the compact works, who may benefit from it, how it creates greater access to services, and the story behind what they did to make it happen.Learn More:The Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact WebsiteUpdate on Interstate Compact Launch (2025)ASHA Voices: Student Advocacy and a Win for People Who StutterTranscript

From comfort feeding to communication access, two SLPs discuss the important ways speech-language pathologists deliver services as part of palliative care teams.Sharing personal and professional stories, Brittany Horvath and Marissa James address informed consent, how SLPs can integrate themselves into palliative care teams, and more.Learn More:Dysphagia Management: Strengthening Skills, Overcoming ObstaclesASHA Voices: Changes and Trends in Dysphagia TreatmentAJSLP: Palliative Care Training for Medical Speech-Language Pathologists: A Multiple Baseline DesignOffering Comfort Feeding in Palliative CarePrioritizing Patient Voice and Choice in Dietary DecisionsTranscriptSupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes from Ambu and Zanda.