A Neurodivergent SLP on Creating Affirming Spaces for Clients, Colleagues, and Herself

SLP Stephanie Boron joins the podcast for a conversation on how she seeks and creates neurodiversity-affirming spaces through her work as a clinician, clinical instructor, and faculty member at Northwestern University.Boron describes herself as AuDHD—autistic and ADHD. On the podcast, she shares what neurodiversity-affirming spaces can look like and why they matter to clients.Learn More:ASHA Voices: What a CSD Professor Learned About Autistic Masking While Creating Neuro-Affirming SpacesPositively Disrupting Social Groups: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Glow-UpAssistive Technology in SchoolsTranscript

For young patients with TBIs and their families, challenges persist after hospital discharge.On the podcast, guests discuss how they address barriers associated with this transition. We’ll hear perspectives from both sides of that transition: Taryn Townsend at Texas Children’s Hospital, and Melaney Grenz, who worked for nearly three decades in the schools and as part of the Oregon TBI team. Grenz joins this conversation from the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training—or CBIRT—which is part of the University of Oregon.Townsend and Grenz discuss how clinicians may engage with schools, the role of brain injury management teams, and common questions from parents.Learn More:How Social Determinants of Health Shape TBI Recovery in ChildrenASHA Voices: Supporting Families of Children With Disorders of ConsciousnessASHA Voices: Overcoming Barriers on Families’ Journey From NICU to HomeASHA Practice Portal: Pediatric Traumatic Brain InjuryCBIRT: Return to School

Three SLPs discuss multilingual service delivery in light of “translanguaging,” a concept that’s been gaining attention recently. “Translanguaging” refers to the way a speaker, often multilingual, may incorporate the “entirety of their linguistic repertoire,” possibly pulling from two or more named languages.Guests share what translanguaging sounds like, how it differs from code-switching, and what it may mean for service delivery. Through personal stories, they highlight how their own linguistic backgrounds relate to the subject.Learn More:Multilingual Service Provider Resource CollectionWebinar: Translanguaging for Pediatric SLPs: Service Delivery With Multilingual ChildrenLSHSS: Functional Language Proficiency in Bilingual Children: A Conceptual Framework, Culturally Responsive Practice, and Measurement ApproachASHA Practice Portal: Multilingual Service Delivery in Audiology and Speech-Language PathologyTranscript

Audiologist Marcia Dewey started Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Program in 2011. Nearly 15 years later, she joins the ASHA Voices podcast to discuss the program’s origins and how chronic pain rehabilitation techniques have transformed her practice.Learn More:ASHA: TinnitusASHA Voices: From Surf Rocker to Research Audiologist, Jim Henry Knows TinnitusASHA Voices: What Tinnitus and mTBI Can Mean for Patients

When a child leaves the NICU, families and caregivers may face what’s called a “services cliff”—a point where it can be confusing or difficult to find needed services without the structure of a health care center.Hear from Sara Circelli and SLP Tiffany Elliott about their work to reshape that transition where they live and work. They share how they address barriers to services through the hospital-to-home care model in Washington state.Learn More:ASHA Voices: Supporting Families of Children With Disorders of ConsciousnessASHA Voices: Preparing Pediatric Audiologists Through LEND ProgramsASHA Voices: Exploring Caregiver-Provider InteractionsTranscriptSupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes Feeding Matters International Pediatric Feeding Disorder Conference.

Learn where to find the ASHA Leader's most popular stories from 2025, and revisit past episodes of the ASHA Voices podcast, in this short episode.Plus, we invite you to share what subjects you would like to hear discussed on ASHA Voices in 2026.TranscriptASHA Leader Highlights:Articles and Podcasts SLPs Read, Shared, and Listened the Most to in 2025Articles and Podcasts Audiologists Read, Shared, and Listened to the Most in 2025Podcast Proposal Guide2025 Highlights:ASHA Voices: 'This Too Is a Mask': A Neurodivergent SLP Confronts Autism and IdentityASHA Voices: AI Voices Helping AAC Users-On Stage and In LifeASHA Voices: Two Audiologists Take the Mic on Podcasting and Their CareersASHA Voices: Preparing the 'Vocal Athlete' for PerformanceASHA Voices: Changes and Trends in Dysphagia TreatmentASHA Voices: Supporting Families of Children With Disorders of Consciousness

When people acquire a brain injury, it can lead to difficulty with communication, including the language disorder aphasia.Hear SLPs share how they use podcasting as a tool to work with people with aphasia, helping them create, host, and produce their own ongoing shows.A panel of SLPs—including Tom Sather of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Melissa Richman of the Stroke Comeback Center in Virginia, and Bernadine Gagnon of Teachers College, Columbia University—describe the benefits they’ve seen from this approach. They also discuss the origins of the shows with which they’ve worked.Also hear from two additional guests. SLP Melissa Capo discusses project-based interventions. And Tim Carosi, a podcast host who has aphasia, discusses his show "Aphasia to Aphasia."Learn More:ASHA Voices: Benefits of Conversation in the Lives of People With AphasiaASHA Practice Portal: AphasiaUsing Project-Based Learning to Support a Middle Schooler’s Aphasia RecoveryTranscript

Their voices may be familiar to you. Dakota Sharp and Carrie Spangler are both audiologists who host podcasts exploring audiology and hearing through conversation.Dakota Sharp hosts the “On the Ear” podcast, featuring conversations with audiologists and interprofessional guests, like SLPs. On ASHA’s podcast, Sharp describes the origin of the podcast and tells the story of how an episode inspired a parent to create a device for cochlear implant processor retention.On the “empowEAR Audiology” podcast, Carrie Spangler talks with guests, such as audiologists and parents of children with hearing loss, about hearing loss and related topics. She brings a personal perspective, given her own journey with hearing loss and cochlear implantation. Hear Spangler share what she’s learned from podcasting and what’s next for her.Learn More:Early Cochlear Implantation Linked to Improved Outcomes and Cost SavingsASHA Voices: Researchers Discuss Speech in Noisy Environments, Spatial Awareness, and Bilateral Cochlear ImplantsCI Tech Guidance for SLPs: Troubleshooting DevicesTranscript

Three SLPs share a vision for where stuttering therapy may be headed. It’s part of a larger collection of ASHA Leader content being published in recognition of the ASHA Centennial.As a group, the guests—Farzan Irani from Texas State University, Hope Gerlach-Houck from Western Michigan University, and Nan Bernstein Ratner from the University of Maryland—will be presenting on the past, present, and future of stuttering therapy at the 2025 ASHA Convention in Washington, D.C.Learn More:•              ASHA Voices: Stuttering and Stigma With SLP Derek Daniels•              ASHA Voices: SLPs on Benefits of Incorporating Mindfulness Into Service Delivery•              ASHA Voices: How Do We Ensure Culturally Responsive Practice When Working With People Who Stutter?Transcript

On this short episode, we talk ASHA Convention, our podcast archive, and how you can propose ideas for 2026. Thanks for listening, and I’m looking forward to sharing more conversations with you soon.Learn More:ASHA Voices: Researchers Discuss Speech in Noisy Environments, Spatial Awareness, and Bilateral Cochlear ImplantsASHA Voices Podcast Proposal GuideTranscript