Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC
Co-Host of First Bite: A Speech Therapy Podcast
Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, serves as a speech-language pathologist with Wolfe Speech Therapy, LLC, in Staunton, VA, and adjunct professor with North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, NC. Additionally, she is the acclaimed host of “First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional,” a weekly speech therapy podcast that addresses “all thangs” of pediatric speech therapy and is presented by SpeechTherapyPD.com. Michelle authored "Chasing the Swallow: Truth, Science, and Hope for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders." She is an accomplished lecturer, traveling across the nation delivering courses on best practices for the evaluation and treatment of medically complex infants, toddlers, and children with respect to their pediatric oropharyngeal dysphagia, pediatric feeding disorder, as well as language acquisition within the framework of Early Intervention. She currently volunteers as the Topic Chair for the Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders committee for the 2024 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention and volunteers as the co-chair for the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia (SHAV) Dysphagia and Pediatric Feeding Disorder Group, as well as a convention committee for the 2025 annual SHAV Convention. She has served as the Treasurer for the Council of State Association Presidents (CSAP), is a Past President of the South Carolina Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (SCSHA), a graduate of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Leadership Development Program (ASHA LDP), a recipient of the Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Champion from Feeding Matters, a recipient of the Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Outstanding Clinical Achievement from the SCSHA, a recipient of the State Clinical Achievement Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Foundation, recognized as an ASHA Innovator in 2023, and eleven-time recipient of ASHA’s ACE Award for continuing education.
Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC has hosted 236 Episodes.
-
Sensory Integration for SLPs with Jesse L. Ginsburg
June 1st, 2022 | 1 hr 7 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Jessie L. Ginsburg, M.S., CCC-SLP - Jessie joins the ladies of First Bite and explores what sensory integration is and why speech-language pathologists need to understand its impact.
-
Cerebral Palsy: Impact for Functional Communication and Pediatric Feeding Disorder with Erin Forward
May 20th, 2022 | 1 hr 2 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
This course discusses how a little one’s diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) can impact functional communication and potentially result in a pediatric feeding disorder (PFD).
-
Investigating the Competency for Evaluation and Treatment of Dysphagia with Ed Bice
May 11th, 2022 | 1 hr 5 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Ed Bice, MEd., CCC-SLP - Have you ever taken a course and thought, “Wow! Yes! This is what my patients need!” and then felt a little embarrassed at how you were previously treating their dysphagia deficits? Why do we have those dysphagia competency concerns, to begin with? If you have ever asked the “why,” then join Michelle and Ed as they explore the limitations in professional preparedness.
-
Embracing the EBP Triangle for PFD Holistically with Rachel Hahn Arkenberg
May 4th, 2022 | 1 hr 3 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Rachel Hahn Arkenberg, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC - In this course, the guest shares a dynamic systems approach to studying the neurophysiological development of swallowing in the context of family, culture, language, and motor development. Rachel explains the barriers to obtaining high-quality evidence for treatment of pediatric feeding disorder (PFD), challenges us to critically assess the evidence that is available, and then explains how research from allied health fields can be effective in treatment.
-
IPP for Better Beginnings for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children with Cara Smithwick and Mary Reaves
April 27th, 2022 | 1 hr 7 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guests: Cara Smithwick, MLIS, BS, and Mary Reaves, MRC - If you have ever wondered how to improve your role as the SLP on the team for a deaf/hard of hearing child, then join Cara and Mary as they inspire us all with the functional support systems/strategies used for the thousands of lives they serve and impact and most importantly what steps we can take to improve our interprofessional practice for these little ones.
-
Embracing Interprofessional Practice for PFD with Jaclyn Pederson and Cuyler Romeo
April 20th, 2022 | 1 hr 14 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guests: Jaclyn Pederson, MHI, and Cuyler Romeo, M.O.T., OTR/L, SCFES, IBCLC - Feeding Matters is known internationally for placing the caregiver at the heart of the interprofessional practice (IPP) team for a little one with a PFD but do you know why this is so critical? Do you know why it is vital for each PFD IPP team to have an occupational therapist also involved in the little one’s care? Our guests will share current evidence-based practice for why these team members are critical in a patient’s care and offer functional strategies for engaging in interprofessional practice.
-
Messy Play, PFD, the Schools, and You with ToniAnn Gambella Loftus
April 13th, 2022 | 1 hr 12 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guests: ToniAnn Gambella Loftus, MS. CCC-SLP/TSSLD and Liza Bernabeo, MS, CCC-SLP/TSSLD - This course discusses the evidence behind implementing messy play for the treatment of pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) in schools. Are you a school-based clinician new to the world of PFD? Or are you a seasoned veteran who is new to the world of child-led and play-based therapy? If you said yes to either question or fall somewhere in between, then this is for you. Join ToniAnn and Liza as they share how they established a child-led, play-based PFD treatment program within their school and how it opened doors for dynamic and adventurous eaters to walk through.
-
Embracing Neurodiversity-Affirming Practices with Meg Proctor
April 6th, 2022 | 1 hr 10 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Meg Proctor, MS, OTR/L - The guest shares her passion for what neurodiversity-affirming practice means and why it should matter to the pediatric speech-language pathologist. She guides us through a crucial conversation about what practice shifts we need to make when working with autistic kids, what barriers clinicians can face when implementing strengths-based neurodiversity-affirming practices, and, most critically, how we can overcome these barriers to make therapy functional and joyful while embracing and respecting each child we work with.
-
The DuBard Association Method for Dyslexia and Communication Disorders with Missy Schraeder
March 30th, 2022 | 1 hr 2 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Missy Schraeder, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, CALT-QI, C-SLDS - If you're an SLP who works with preschoolers and elementary-age children that have a severe and profound communication disorder and/or dyslexia, then this is for you. In this course, Dr. Missy Schraeder and Michelle spend time sharing functional strategies that can be implemented with your patients tomorrow.
-
The Purpose of Play in Treating Pediatric Feeding Disorder with Erin Forward
March 23rd, 2022 | 1 hr 5 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Michelle and Erin discuss the purpose of play in treating pediatric feeding disorders (PFD). Erin, who holds a Basic DIR® Floortime Provider Certification and a TBRI® Trained Practitioner, highlights the importance of play. Did you know that play has a therapeutic purpose and role in treatment, especially for pediatric feeding disorders? Join in to learn more about play and its therapeutic role.
-
Servant Leadership for the Speech-Language Pathologist with Brooke Beilman
March 16th, 2022 | 1 hr 7 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Brooke Beilman, MS, CCC-SLP - In this course, Brooke shares insight into different leadership styles, her favorite resources to learn how to grow as a leader, strategies for working through differences in leadership styles, and most importantly why leadership growth is important to the clinician in the field.
-
Addressing Disparities in Healthcare with Renee Garrett
March 9th, 2022 | 1 hr 7 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Renee Garrett, MSEd, CCC-SLP, CBIS - As clinicians in speech-language pathology and audiology, we are tasked with providing services to all ages, ethnicities, gender expressions/identifications, races, national origins, and disabilities. During the last decade, more awareness and emphasis has been placed on identifying and understanding health disparities. Renee is here to inspire us to better understand how we as clinicians can support and foster change, by first defining health disparities and then identifying what our active role looks like. By providing resources for further education and policy impacts, we can move towards eliminating modifiable disparities: the things we can change.
-
Evidence-Based Practice for Speech Sound Disorders with Amy Graham
March 2nd, 2022 | 1 hr 7 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Amy Graham, MS, CCC-SLP - Do you love the phonemic alphabet? Dream about deep analysis of speech sound error patterns? Or just love unlocking the mysteries behind the differences between articulation disorders versus phonological disorders versus motor speech disorders? If you said “Yes” to all of the above, then this is the hour for you! If you said “No” to all of the above, (maybe panic slightly and break out into a cold palm sweat), but you still need to know the most current evidence-based practice for speech sound disorders (SSD), well then join us for this informative course.
-
Community Engagement for Caregivers with Megan Branham
February 23rd, 2022 | 1 hr 4 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Megan Branham, LMSW - Megan discusses community support for caregivers in this episode. If our caregivers are in crisis or even in a time of need, they cannot be fully present and engaged in speech therapy for the little ones we are called to serve. So, where does that leave us? What can we do? Megan and Michelle spend this precious hour discussing strategies for holding a crucial conversation to determine what needs are at critical mass, community partners that are available to support food and shelter needs, and community partners to help with educational and medical conditions.
-
SLP Role in Language and Literacy with Angie Neal
February 16th, 2022 | 1 hr 8 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Guest: Angie Neal, MS, CCC-SLP - In this episode, Angie, who keeps every audience on the edge of their seat with laughter and love, shares her extensive knowledge on how an SLP can become involved in a child’s journey in literacy. In addition, she explains how phonological awareness can impact literacy, who to refer to in an academic/medical setting and why their role is critical when a child presents with concerns for dyslexia.
-
#CallitPFD Takeaways: ASHA 2021 Rising United Convention Highlights
February 9th, 2022 | 1 hr 8 mins
asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
Michelle and her favorite co-host Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC, relive the best parts of the 2021 ASHA Convention: Rising United related to all things pediatric feeding disorder. To celebrate the inaugural pediatric feeding and swallowing disorder track, Michelle and Erin attended several courses and are bringing their favorite new facts directly to you! So, whether your current clinical setting is working in the NICU, Early Intervention, or even a local public school, the ladies of First Bite have you covered. To start, they’ll share the highlights of ethically implementing the newish PFD ICD-10 codes, then discuss how the differences between our settings can be overcome through open dialogue, and round out with ethical considerations for implementing a treatment plan PFD in the LEA. Let Michelle and Erin share the inspiration they received from the great minds and hearts at ASHA 2021 with you.