Dysphagia, Communication, and the Challenges of Life in the ICU

SLPs Meg Lico and Kaitlin Hanley from NYU Langone Health share their story of working with Aaron James, the recipient of what’s being called as the first ever full-eye and partial-face transplant. They describe how they worked with James to reach his goals, such as eating solid foods with his family.Central to the story is their collaboration and the interdepartmental communication that made success possible. The SLPs provide details about approaching this unique case, as well as their victories, memorable moments, and the emotions they had along the way.At the end of the conversation, hear from James and his wife Meagan.(This conversation was originally published in February 2024.)Learn More:Swallowing Function After Pioneering Partial Face and Whole Eye Transplant: Clinical InsightsFacing the Unknown: An SLP treated a patient before and after his facial transplant surgery.Changes in Articulatory Control Pre– and Post–Facial Transplant: A Case ReportThe Effects of Lip-Closure Exercise on Lip Strength and Function Following Full Facial Transplantation: A Case ReportTranscript

When people with cancer are treated with ototoxic drugs and interventions, they may experience hearing loss and tinnitus. The audiologist's role in addressing the needs of cancer patients can be critical to fostering awareness and preventing hearing loss. On this podcast, a panel of three audiologists discuss the services they deliver, the interprofessional collaboration at the heart of their care, and what counseling can offer at a time of uncertainty for a patient. Plus, one of our guests shares a personal story of cancer survival and hearing loss. Learn more:ASHA Voices: Audiologists Take on Ototoxicity  A Communication Lifeline for Hospitalized ChildrenASHA Voices: What to Know About Opioids and Hearing LossWhat's New in Ototoxicity Management?Transcript

As we approach graduation season, we’re turning our attention to speech-language pathologists’ role in helping students move from high school to the next phase of their lives.Twyla Perryman-Brownlow (University of West Georgia) shares ways SLPs can equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate a meaningful transition to whatever comes next—such as employment, trade school, or college.Learn More:Postsecondary Transition PlanningCharting Paths: Supporting the Journey Beyond High SchoolASHA Voices: Embracing Your Students’ Strengths—and Your OwnSchool-based SLPs: Here’s a Virtual “Backpack” of School ResourcesThe Road Ahead: Postsecondary Transition Planning for Adolescents - ASHA StreamTranscript

SLP Derek Daniels says stigmatizing actions, like imitating stuttering, can lead people who stutter to remove themselves from opportunities and create a diminished quality of life. Daniels unpacks an example from his own life to give a glimpse into three different ways people can experience stigma. He shares how SLPs can address stigma in their work, and later in the episode, discusses his research into the intersectional ways people experience stigma.(This conversation was originally published in May 2024.)Learn More:Toward Stutter-Affirming TherapyRaising Stuttering Awareness and Reducing Stigma: A CollectionASHA Practice Portal: Stuttering, Cluttering, and FluencyASHA Special Interest Group 4: Fluency and Fluency DisordersASHA Condemns Public Mockery of StutteringTranscript

As a podcast host, husband, and occasional stand-up comedian, Jules Rodriquez uses his voice in many ways. But as a person with ALS, Rodriquez knew intonation was going to be a challenge until he tapped into the use of artificial intelligence.On this episode of the podcast, a panel of guests—including Rodriquez—discusses how AI and voice-cloning technology are changing the way AAC users communicate. Hear how the technology replicates his voice and accounts for control over prosody and inflection, allowing him to demonstrate his individuality and personality.Guests share how this technology affects Rodriquez’s life and relationships. Plus, he shares what he wants speech-language pathologists to know about voice cloning.Learn More:•              ASHA Voices: What Message-Banking Offers People With ALS•              ASHA Voices: Why Some Autistic People Choose AAC and Oral Speech•              From My Perspective/Opinion: Beyond Words: How Code-Switching in AAC Reflects Social and Cultural NuanceTranscriptSupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes from Zanda.

AAC users and their families stand to benefit from preparing for natural disasters—like a hurricane, or the recent fires that spread through parts of Los Angeles.On the podcast, two SLPs discuss disaster preparedness, specifically what this means for people who use AAC devices and their care partners. They discuss how SLPs can help AAC users be ready to navigate the unexpected.And hear a personal story from the mother of an AAC user. She has a message to share about her experience preparing for a potential evacuation during the LA fires.Learn More:Resources for Members Affected by the LA Fires—And Other DisastersHurricane Preparedness: Tips for People Who Use Hearing Aids, Assistive Communication DevicesHelping People With Aphasia Prepare for an EmergencyUSSAAC: Disaster Relief

Life in the intensive care unit can be overwhelming. Patients may be intubated, disoriented, and scared. Families may be looking for answers from any provider who enters the room. For SLPs, the environment is noisy and ever-changing, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.On the podcast, SLPs take us behind the scenes to share stories from the ICU. In a wide-ranging discussion, they tackle the significant role SLPs play in managing dysphagia and communication there.From the recent history that led SLPs to begin working in the ICU, to the SLP’s biggest ally in that environment, to what can happen to patients when they’re discharged, guests Marty Brodsky (Cleveland Clinic; Johns Hopkins) and Marta Kazandjian (Stony Brook Southampton Hospital; Stony Brook School of Health Professions) share their insights and expertise.Learn More:ASHA Health Care Summit 2025: Grand Rounds in the ICUASHA Voices: The Difference Patient Counseling MakesWheeling AAC Support for Aphasia Into the ICUASHA Practice Portal: Tracheostomy and Ventilator DependenceTranscriptSupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes from Medbridge.

Patients receiving intensive care may experience emotions that affect their care and services. After a traumatic brain injury or tracheostomy, for example, patients may face many unknowns.SLP Jasmine Keaney realizes this, which helps her navigate where to start and how to reach a patient. Counseling can be as important as direct intervention, she says.Keaney is an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati. She began her career working in long-term acute care, where she developed skills around counseling, and learned the value of building strong rapport with the people she treats.On the podcast, she shares stories from her career, and practical ways SLPs can help patients through counseling.Learn More:•              When Aphasia Affects the Communication-Intensive Job of Parenting•              A Communication Lifeline for Hospitalized Children•              New AHA Statement Supports Palliative Care Throughout Post-Stroke Recovery•              ASHA Special Interest Group 20, CounselingTranscript

Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, SLP Rebecca Boersma of George Washington University Hospital’s Long COVID Rehabilitation Clinic says patients with long COVID are often feeling “left in the dust” as they navigate cognitive concerns, including brain fog and fatigue.Boersma shares what she’s learned about the condition, and what she’s hoping to see next for the clinic and the people she serves there.Plus, Julie Dana, one of the first patients to visit Boersma in the clinic, tells her long-COVID story.Learn More:ASHA Evidence Maps: Summary of the Clinical Practice GuidelineASHA Voices: The Mysteries of Long COVIDElusive Words: Confronting the Post-Pandemic Skills Gap

Singers and other vocal performers can require complex care. As our guests explain, these “vocal athletes” may need a team of interdisciplinary providers on the sidelines.Speech-language pathologist and researcher Aaron Johnson (NYU Langone Health) and singing coach Tyley Ross (New York University Tisch School of the Arts) join the podcast to have a conversation on voice care.They discuss habilitation and rehabilitation of the voice. As Johnson puts it, “We oftentimes are not just bringing [clients] back to where they were … because what they were doing, sometimes, is what led them to being in our clinic in the first place.”They describe where their work overlaps and diverges, specific techniques they use, how patients respond to their work, and the insights this work has provided into their own voices.Learn More:Operatic SLP Treats Voice Disorders With SensitivityASHA Practice Portal: Voice DisordersCharacterizing the Roles of Professionals