First Bite: A Speech Therapy Podcast

Fed, Fun, Functional Resources for the Pediatric Speech Pathologist

About the show

Join Speech-Language Pathologist: Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S for First Bite - Fed, Fun and Functional Resources for the Pediatric SLP. Each episode is available for 0.1 ASHA CEU through SpeechTherapyPD.com.

If you're a SLP who has more questions than answers when it comes to treating your medically complex/fragile pediatric patients, this podcast is for you! Michelle offers her own unique insights and interviews colleagues who are experts in their respective fields with the goal of inspiring and illuminating all aspects of diagnosing and treating this unique population.

First Bite: A Speech Therapy Podcast on social media

Episodes

  • 157: The Bridge: Research to Practice for PFD

    August 11th, 2021  |  1 hr 1 min
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Dr. Georgia Malandraki, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S - As we continue this amazing journey through our tricky yet important field, we are joined today by a real leader from the field! Dr. Georgia Malandraki, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is an associate professor of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences at Purdue University and a Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. In her research, she focuses on investigating developmental swallowing neuroplasticity and developing rehabilitative and telehealth interventions for dysphagia. In addition to this, she is the research director of the Purdue I-EaT Swallowing Research Laboratory and Clinic and has served on editorial boards for ASHA journals, as an editor for the American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, and is the current president-elect of the Dysphagia Research Society. In this awesome conversation, we get to really go deep with Dr. Malandraki, talking about her most recent work on the developmental stages of the nervous system, some very helpful papers and resources that she recommends, muscle tone issues in infants, and the gaps that she has noticed in the pediatric care systems, that still persist today. For all this, and a whole lot more great insight, where it is so badly needed, listen in with us to hear what Dr. Malandraki has to say!

  • 155: The Ethics of Evolving Your Scope of Practice

    July 28th, 2021  |  1 hr 8 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Renee Garrett, MSED, CCC-SLP, CBIS - After watching her father struggle through the after effects of a stroke, Renee Garrett’s passion for SLP was awakened, and she has spent the past 12 years working in a range of medical settings. In today’s episode, our discussion focuses on the ethical challenges that arise when an SLP moves from one type of care to another. For example, an SLP working in a school requires a very different set of skills compared to an SLP working in an ICU, and assuming that the skills are transferable can be dangerous for you as the professional, as well as for your patients. Among other things, we talk about the elements that you need to take into consideration before switching settings, how regulations differ between states, and where you can access a range of resources that will help you with your transition.

  • 154: Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes: An Institute for Change

    June 30th, 2021  |  1 hr 3 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Marsha Dunn Klein, OTR/L, MEd, FAOTA - Having a child with feeding challenges can be anxiety-inducing for parents and children alike. Feeding strategies and interventions are synonymous with pressure, which only perpetuates the discomfort around eating. Marsha Dunn Klein OTR/L, Med, FAOTA, joins us to share her Get Permission Approach, and to talk about the newly-founded Get Permission Institute. In this episode, Marsha talks about Get Permission Approach's principles and shares the impetus for creating it. She saw from her work in feeding that the relational aspects of food and eating were often neglected despite how important they are to healthy feeding habits. We hear about responsive feeding and how she fosters children's autonomy while building confidence, connection, trust, and consistency. An incredibly important part of helping children with these challenges is providing opportunities, and Marsha walks us through two case studies of children she has worked with. Rather than leading with a heavy therapeutic approach, she helped parents provide organic opportunities to pique children's interests and let them explore for themselves. As the conversation wraps up, Marsha also highlights the value of letting children mouth, and she also shares some of the exciting events Get Permission is hosting in the months to come.

  • 153: Respectful Healthy Boundaries in Early Intervention

    June 23rd, 2021  |  1 hr 13 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Natasha McNeill, MCD, CCC-SLP - SLPs are ethically bound to practice within their area of expertise, but some often don’t and this can have drastic effects on patients. Today we invite Natasha McNeill to discuss this issue of scope of practice encroachment and hear her weigh in on how it is often early interventionists who are guilty of this. Natasha is an SLP specializing in pediatric feeding disorders and our conversation begins with a story about how she fell in love with this area of expertise. She lays out the context for our discussion next, highlighting the problem of non-licensed members of individual family service plan teams, often early interventionists, giving recommendations that are outside their roles and responsibilities. Natasha makes the important point that while this is irresponsible across the board and often steps on the toes of SLPs who play a role later in the treatment process, if an ill-informed recommendation is made about feeding treatment particularly, this can cause serious harm to the patient. We then take a deep dive into the types of things that early interventionists should be doing, while also getting into different examples of problems that can arise when they start to practice outside of their fields. Our conversation also covers the issue of lack of regulation whereby the qualifications required to become an early interventionist are too broad and there is no overarching governing body in many states. Tune in for this urgent conversation today.

  • 152: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

    June 16th, 2021  |  1 hr 9 mins
    asha, ceu, child development, continuing education, early intervention, feeding, pediatric feeding disorders, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy, swallowing

    Guest: Erin Forward, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC - Sir Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”, and these are words that ring true for both Michelle and Erin. Join the Ladies of “First Bite” as they spend this hour sharing their favorite evidenced-based courses, taught by the giants in our interprofessional practice pediatric feeding disorder world, such that we can all see farther for the betterment of our patients. If you have ever wondered which courses will grow your EBP triangle for assessment and treatment with patients in the NICU, infants, toddlers, early child, or which courses focus on interprofessional practice for PFD, then this is the hour for you.

  • 151: PFD from the Perspective of a Passionate Pediatrician Parent with Dr. Tessa Gonzalez

    June 10th, 2021  |  1 hr 4 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Tessa Gonzalez, MD - Today’s episode centers around an intense and personal conversation with a very special guest who speaks candidly from the perspective of both a pediatrician and the passionate parent of a child who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that contributed to pediatric feeding disorder (PFD). Dr. Tessa Gonzalez is a close friend, a pediatrician with over 10 years of experience, and a mother to two beautiful girls, the eldest of which has been on a long journey with PFD. Tessa is also a volunteer with Feeding Matters, where she shares her invaluable experience with families navigating their way through the often confusing and difficult world of PFD. She is a fierce advocate for her daughter and is passionate about helping other families advocate for their loved ones too, which she explains in this episode. Tuning in, you’ll learn more about the importance of inter-professional education, collaboration, and communication, and Tessa shares her personal journey with PFD and why she believes that a feeding tube was the best possible solution for her family at the time. Make sure not to miss this episode!

  • 150: Dysphagia Awareness with Dysphagia Outreach Project

    June 2nd, 2021  |  1 hr 6 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Dysphagia Outreach Project - The Dysphagia Outreach Project is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide meaningful assistance to individuals affected by dysphagia. Today on the show we invite Allie Mataras, Amanda Weissberg, Allison Boyer, Jessica Lasky, Hillary Cooper, and Michelle Coffaro from the Dysphagia Outreach Project’s Board of Directors to talk about how they have come together to work on this project as volunteers and the great things they are doing for the community. The original idea came from Hillary and she kicks things off by talking about how she was disturbed by a general lack of access to supplies experienced by patients and how she wanted to take the initiative to fix this. Hillary teamed up with Michelle and Jessica and our next two guests weigh in on the contributions they made to get the idea off the ground. Jessica speaks about the role she plays in the organization in the fields of education and advocacy and the Michelle shares her responsibilities as VP of operations. Michelle runs the food bank in Cincinnati and we hear about the incredible wealth of supplies they distribute. From there, we hear from Allie and her work as Director of Fundraising before getting to know Amanda and the contributions she has made on the social media front as Captain of Instagram for the public relations team. Wrapping up, we meet our final guest, Allison Boyer, who manages the DOP Facebook page where she helps assemble literature reviews of the most current research in the field to be distributed freely to all who are interested. So for all this and more about an amazing project that stands testimony to the power of purpose-driven teamwork, tune in today!

  • 149: Acute Care for the PFD Patient with Dana Entwistle MS, CCC-SLP

    May 26th, 2021  |  1 hr 2 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Dana Entwistle MS, CCC-SLP - Today we are really lucky to have an amazing person and fantastic clinician join us on the show! Dana Entwistle is a pediatric feeding clinical specialist at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we get to hear from her all about what that entails. She goes into her personal journey in the profession and the college years that proceeded it. From there, our guest shares the important elements of her current role at Levine, touching on building trust, patient assignment, the hospital space, patient variation and so much more. Dana underlines the importance of the right kind of communication, especially around the tricky and confusing technical side of feeding problems. She has spearheaded the inclusion of more data into the processes she is involved in, something she believes is vital in the constant improvement of healthcare. Listeners can expect to gain some real insight into Dana's philosophy as well as some inspiration for how to be influential and understanding in the feeding space too! This conversation with Dana promises to lead into many more, so make sure to stay tuned for those too!

  • 148: Pediatric Dysphagia and Progressive Disorders - Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC

    May 21st, 2021  |  51 mins 54 secs
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC - In this episode Michelle is joined once again by her favorite cohost Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, CLC, as they tackle the tricky topic of progressive disorders and pediatric dysphagia. Palliative Care and Hospice are two words that are often avoided in the world of pediatrics, however, in honor of Pediatric Feeding Disorder Month, Michelle and Erin are going to have the crucial conversation regarding what a progressive pediatric disorder is, discuss three more prevalent progressive disorders, and then discuss our role in the evaluation and treatment process. While the topic may be a difficult one to address, remember, we are called to serve the least of these and infuse joy and evidenced based-practice into their care.

  • 147: All Things SOFFI® with Dr. Erin Ross, PhD, CCC-SLP

    May 12th, 2021  |  1 hr 4 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Dr. Erin Ross, PhD, CCC-SLP - Today we have an extra special episode that we are so excited to share with all of our listeners! Dr. Erin Ross, the brains and heart behind the SOFFI course, joins us today to talk about her amazing career in feeding therapy, her work developing the SOFFI method, thoughts moving forward, and so much more! We get into a deep and impactful discussion on the lessons that Dr. Ross has learned and continues to share through her work, covering misconceptions, diagnoses, the research that backs up her work, and her favorite parts of her job. Dr. Ross makes a special point to underline the centering of the parents and the time they spend with infants, showing why we should focus on this chunk of experience as the most impactful entry- point to helping children. We also get into some thoughts on specialization, the quality versus quantity debate, and some of the mistakes that seem to often crop up in the pediatric space. Listeners can expect to come away with a sense of purpose, as well as a renewed enthusiasm for this work; Dr. Ross' passion is contagious and her commitment to joyful, research-backed strategies is truly inspiring. So join us on the show for all this and more!

  • 146: Interprofessional Practice for the NICU - Casey Lewis MS CCC-SLP, CNT, NTMTC

    May 5th, 2021  |  1 hr 11 secs
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy
  • 145: The Power of Gratitude and Parent Coaching - Marie Muratalla, MS, CCC-SLP

    April 28th, 2021  |  1 hr 7 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    In this episode, the presenter who works with preschool aged patients, shares her keen insight into how to embrace parent coaching with school aged little ones, the benefits of focusing on gratitude with routines based intervention for EI and preschoolers, and how embedding acts of gratitude with these ages and their caregivers can bring joy to the entire team. Get your pencils and journals ready… Michelle and Maria are ready to roll!

  • 144: Connecting the Dots Between PFD and Neurogenic Conditions - Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP

    April 14th, 2021  |  1 hr 1 min
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Have you ever noticed a trend on your pediatric feeding disorder caseload in which you see a couple of patients with similar GI complaints, or similar cardiopulmonary complaints, but there is an unknown etiology? Michelle and Erin spend this hour reviewing the technical details of what a pediatric feeding disorder is, various types of neurogenic conditions that you may commonly encounter, and how all those bits and pieces connect together, and your role in all of it.

  • 143: Self-Care for the SLP in a Hurry - Kayla Duncan, MS

    April 6th, 2021  |  1 hr 2 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Michelle is joined by the effervescent Kayla Duncan, MS in Applied Psychology, Francis Marion University’s Assistant Director of Counseling and Testing, adjunct professor, and advocate for student and clinician’s mental health. The presenters spend an hour getting into the details on signs and symptoms of caregiver fatigue and burnout, quick functional strategies that you can implement lying in bed in the morning or in the afternoon school carline pickup. But what about when those functional strategies are just not covering it? Kayla shares her resources on how to obtain professional resources for yourself and Michelle shares resources on support teams and groups for our patient’s caregivers.

  • 142: Cultural Conversations with ‘Made in India SLP' - Rabab Rangwala, MS, CCC-SLP and Kinnari Satra, MS, CCC-SLP

    March 30th, 2021  |  1 hr 3 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    In this hour, Michelle is joined by Rabab Rangwala, M.S.,CCC-SLP & Kinnari Satra, M.S.,CCC-SLP, cohosts of the “Made in India SLP” Podcast! Rabab and Kinnari share experiences and evidence for improving cultural competency when completing assessments and treatments for individuals with both language and swallowing disorders even including details on how to create a dynamic and authentic assessment for data collection and report writing. The ladies then share strategies for how to make teletherapy more inclusive for the children and their families that we work with specifically targeting the early intervention and school-aged child.

  • 141: The Case for Pediatric Chronic Cough - Andrea Storie, M, ClSc, CCC-SLP

    March 24th, 2021  |  1 hr 4 mins
    asha, ceu, continuing education, slp, speech language pathology, speech pathology, speech therapy

    Guest: Andrea Storie, M, ClSc, CCC-SLP - In this episode Michelle is joined by Andrea Storie, MCLSC CCC-SLP, a professional whose focus is on evaluation and treatment of pediatric chronic cough and voice disorders. Whenever a pediatric feeding disorder SLP hears a child cough, instantly our ears perk up and we start wondering, “What is going on in there?” But did you know that some children develop a habit cough that is not triggered by penetration/aspiration? Andrea will educate and inspire us as to the signs and symptoms of pediatric habit cough, the interprofessional team that is needed to diagnose it, and the current evidenced based practice strategies to help treat a pediatric cough.