Stay informed as a
speech–language
pathologist

Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). What a tangled web of confusion this condition is, right? Is it aphasia? Is it dementia? Well, for starters, it’s both. Before we dive deep into this tangled web, let’s start with some very basic reminders to help us, you know, not have web all over our faces and in our hair: Aphasia = loss of receptive and expressive language Dementia = loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to make living independently impossible or dangerous. With PPA, we eventually have both. 

You walk into a home for your first EI session with a family and you immediately notice characteristics of autism. A child is displaying subtle characteristics consistent with autism. You want to write a detailed referral report so that the parents have something to bring with them to their pediatrician. You’re holding a free screening day at a local daycare and want to choose a tool that’s appropriate for the occasion. Those of us working in home health, early intervention, or private practice play a role in identifying children who would benefit from a diagnostic evaluation. Having a variety of screening and assessment tools can help us make informed referrals and support dialogue with caregivers.  The volume of autism assessments can be confusing and overwhelming, though. What age range is this one good for? Are there any available in Spanish? What’s the difference between a level one and two screener, and does it matter? We’ve put together this review (and a big fancy table) to go over why we care about early diagnosis in the first place, our role in this process, tools to help us, and considerations for communicating with parents. Note: Educational settings typically have their own criteria and processes for educational autism assessments, so this information may be less relevant to you all working in those settings.  Let’s dig in…

Debates about screen time and its effects on kids are far-reaching, and everyone comes to them with their own experiences, perspectives, levels of worry or shame, and biases. Because of this, it’s (perhaps ironically) really difficult to discuss screen time and its related issues online via social media with people we don’t know personally.  Thankfully, when working with families directly, we have the unique opportunity to listen to where caregivers are coming from, hear what anxiety or experiences they are bringing with them, and then speak to what they specifically may need to hear. In light of that, let’s go over the current recommendations, what we know (and don’t know!) about screen time and language development, a framework for evaluating children’s media, and some ways we can approach this loaded topic with families…

Millie is 10 months old and has a genetic syndrome that affects her motor development. She and her parents, Trish and Mike, present to your clinic for support with eating and drinking after a history of tube feeding, possible aspiration on thin fluids, and difficulty transitioning to solids. The family has recently attended an intensive therapy block where they were instructed in oral motor exercises and stretches to complete before each mealtime. Millie used to cry when Trish did the exercises, but now she just seems ‘tuned out.’ Trish is completing these exercises as instructed, but she confides that it’s hard to fit them in amongst Millie’s other therapies and medical procedures. Nonetheless, she and Mike are determined to leave no stone unturned. If it might help Millie, they’ll do it. They want to know what you recommend to progress Millie’s eating and drinking.

You may have had to memorize the ASHA Code of Ethics (or your country’s equivalent) in school, but how many times have you consulted it since then? In our line of work, ethical quandaries are bound to come up. Leaders from ASHA recently published a series of papers to give you the tools you need when confronted with an ethical dilemma. The full texts (five papers in all) are very readable, with a connecting storyline about “María,” a lead SLP for a school district. But for those of you who enjoy the CliffNotes version, this review is for you. 

We know it’s best practice to use a specific study protocol and a standardized approach for analyzing and reporting VFSS results (see here and here). It provides guidelines to ensure we’re doing the same thing each time we conduct a swallow study (also called a modified barium swallow study) and holds us to a higher standard in our analysis and report writing. This benefits everyone: the patient,  the physician reading our reports, and us getting our patients to the next level of care.