How SLPs Can Support Executive Function

Jessica Cortez discusses her work delivering services to people who have experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are involved with the justice system in various capacities, including incarceration.A speech-language pathologist and founder of The Loom Connection, a private practice in Fort Collins, Colorado, Cortez shares the story behind her work, the connection between TBIs and the justice system, the functional goals her clients want to meet, and how SLPs can support people with limited access to services.TranscriptLearn More:ASHA Voices: When Communication Disorders and the Justice System IntersectPerspectives: Cognitive-Communication Disorders and Neurodisability in the Criminal Justice System: Emerging Roles, Responsibilities, and Opportunities for Speech-Language Pathologists

Speech-language pathologist Hallie Sherman shares three ideas for making sessions with students in grades 4–12 more enjoyable and engaging.The SLP behind the “Speech Time Fun” blog provides practical examples and describes why she started rethinking her approach to working with older students.TranscriptLearn More:Steps to Support Older Students’ Reading ComprehensionHow a Snack Cart Boosts Conversational Skills in Older StudentsUsing Play-Based Approaches to Build Language in Older Students

Speech-language pathologist Letizia Hendrickson joins the podcast for a conversation on how SLPs can support executive functioning skills through service delivery.Hendrickson brings a neuroaffirming approach to her work with clients, which often focuses on ADHD. She shares what she’s learned about helping clients accomplish tasks and meet their goals.Hendrickson is neurodivergent herself, and she also shares personal reflections on her experiences.TranscriptLearn More:ASHA Practice Portal: Executive Function DeficitsHelping Students With Executive Functions—What Is Our Role as SLPs?Relearning Work Skills … at Work After Brain InjurySupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes from Zanda.

Hear from Ryan McCreery and John Lee, two researchers working toward intercepting hearing loss early. Both will present on their work at the 2026 ASHA Research Symposium on Hearing, to be held at the ASHA Convention and streamed online.First, hear McCreery of Boys Town National Research Hospital talk about his research on intervention for children with mild hearing loss. Then, Lee of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals discusses a gene therapy clinical trial that’s seeing participants regain hearing.TranscriptLearn More:ASHA Research Symposium on HearingASHA Voices: How Do Audiologists Counsel Patients Interested in Gene Therapy?ASHA Voices: Researchers Discuss Speech in Noisy Environments, Spatial Awareness, and Bilateral Cochlear ImplantsSupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes from AMN Healthcare.

Just ahead of Balance Awareness Week, two University of Michigan researchers discuss their work on assessing infant vestibular systems.The audiologists address the questions they hope to answer, such as, what is the vestibular system’s critical period of development? They also describe how they developed a new rotational chair—designed specifically for infants—and the interdisciplinary collaboration that made it possible.Plus, hear an update on ways the researchers are leveraging artificial intelligence to develop more efficient care for patients with dizziness.TranscriptLearn more:Smarter Navigation: How AI Will Rewire Dizziness and Hearing Health Care The Value of Audiologists in the Assessment and Treatment of Balance and DizzinessASHA Voices: Audiology, Aerospace, and an Early-Career InnovatorSupport for this episode of ASHA Voices comes from Proliability.

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.