

Over 3 Million Downloads And Counting…
START HERE: LISTEN TO OUR NEWEST PODCASTS:
266 – The Dysphagia Pathways Program: Palliative Dysphagia Management – Mechelle Motsinger, MA, CCC-SLP
How many times have you had a dysphagia patient that is at the end of their life and someone suggests a PEG? Maybe they still want to eat, because food makes their life enjoyable, but they don't want to be a DNR? What's the SLP's role in the decision-making process in palliative dysphagia management? And where do we even begin to tackle these issues? My guest this week is answering ALL of these questions and dropping some major inspiration while she's at it!
In this episode of SYP, I have a conversation with Mechelle Motsinger, MA, CCC-SLP about her experience in creating The Dysphagia Pathways Program, a decision-making guide for palliative management of dysphagia. She discusses her experience from her literature review to submission for publication and everything in between. Mechelle shares so many real-life situations in this conversation that SLPs will resonate with and find comfort in knowing they're not in this fight alone. Our field will be grateful for the guidance of The Dysphagia Pathways Programs for years and years to come.
In this episode, you'll hear about:
-What is The Dysphagia Pathways Program?
-What is the SLP's role in palliative care?
-Does a patient have to be a DNR if they don't want to follow the recommended diet?
-How can SLPs have difficult conversations, hold space for their patients, and help their physician colleagues in the same breath?
Get the show notes at https://syppodcast.com/266
265 – Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome and the SLP – Erin Redle Sizemore PhD, CCC-SLP
Looking to get into the NICU or EI settings? My guest this week is sharing her experience working with these populations and some of the newer challenges they're facing. As the opioid epidemic continues to devastate far too many lives, our youngest patients unfortunately are included in that. Erin Redle Sizemore, PhD, CCC-SLP is sharing how SLPs can help these children in the NICU and EI to set them up for success long term.
She is a wealth of knowledge about Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) and what development looks like for these children. Erin shares ideas for providing the best care for this population and how we can best prepare SLP grad students to work with these patients.
Dr. Sizemore also gives us a peek into what it's like to start a brand new master's program for SLPs (the tough and rewarding parts!) when she's not serving her patients in the NICU! She's making such a massive impact on the future of our field, the patients we see, and the practices used. This conversation will leave you nothing short of awe-struck and inspired!
In this episode, you'll hear about:
-Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS)
-Speech, language, and feeding development in children with NOWS
-Ideas for alleviating long-term difficulties for children with NOWS
-Trauma-informed care
-What it's like to be the program director for a brand new Master's program
-The challenge of teaching all that SLPs need to know in grad school
Get the show notes at syppodcast.com/265
264 – Pediatric Feeding in Real Life: From the NICU to the Schools – Lauren Pontoppidan Straughan MA, CCC-SLP
Are you a medical SLP or a school SLP? What if I told you that you don't have to choose? Sure, many SLPs work in schools and PRN in a medical facility on the weekends or during school breaks… But what about the SLPs who work in the schools and help their PFD kids in the academic setting? My guest this week is sharing how she's paving the way for PFD to be treated in the school setting in her community after seeing a need left unmet!
After all, these kids are eating at school and don't get to check their PFD at the door…
In this episode of SYP, I have a conversation with Lauren Pontoppidan Straughan, MA, CCC-SLP about pediatric feeding disorders, the weight PFD parents carry, and the many settings in which SLPs can help PFD patients (hint: it's not just for “medical” SLPs!)
Lauren is deeply passionate and incredibly knowledgeable about PFD, but what I admire most about her after this conversation is her ability to meet families where they are and consider the entire picture of not just the patient, but their entire family when making recommendations and walking through the PFD journey with them. She's an asset to every family she encounters, her school team, and the entire field of speech-language pathology!
In this episode, you'll hear about:
-Getting into feeding/dysphagia when your CF was done in a school and the false dichotomy of the “medical SLP” vs “school SLP”
-Challenges and benefits of each setting (school, clinic, home health)
-Key differences in assessment and treatment of babies versus adults
-Valuable courses for pediatric feeding
-The role of the SLP for sensory feeding disorders
Get the show notes at syppodcast.com/264
Dive Deep Into The Issues That Speech-Language Pathologists Face When Working With Patients With Swallowing Disorders.

We’ll discuss many controversial topics in order to provide the LATEST evidence-based treatment strategies, and create a community of dysphagia clinicians who want to consume incredibly valuable insight and information.
Our goal is to allow you to #swallowyourpride, and be open and willing to try the latest in evidence based treatment approaches by learning from experts and researchers in our field in order to create the best outcomes for our patients who need it most!
Episodes
266 – The Dysphagia Pathways Program: Palliative Dysphagia Management – Mechelle Motsinger, MA, CCC-SLP
How many times have you had a dysphagia patient that is at the end of their life and someone suggests a PEG? Maybe they still want to eat, because food makes their life enjoyable, but they don't want to be a DNR? What's the SLP's role in the decision-making process in...
265 – Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome and the SLP – Erin Redle Sizemore PhD, CCC-SLP
Looking to get into the NICU or EI settings? My guest this week is sharing her experience working with these populations and some of the newer challenges they're facing. As the opioid epidemic continues to devastate far too many lives, our youngest patients...
264 – Pediatric Feeding in Real Life: From the NICU to the Schools – Lauren Pontoppidan Straughan MA, CCC-SLP
Are you a medical SLP or a school SLP? What if I told you that you don't have to choose? Sure, many SLPs work in schools and PRN in a medical facility on the weekends or during school breaks... But what about the SLPs who work in the schools and help their PFD kids in...
263 – The SLP Field of Dreams: If You Build It, The Patients Will Come – Katie Moore, MS, CCC-SLP
As SLPs, we often have BIG dreams of how we can improve our field, our facility, and the care our patients receive. All too often, these big dreams are suffocated by red tape and never come to fruition despite SLPs' most valiant efforts. It's certainly an uphill...
262 – Acute SLPs: Prepping Patients for the Next Steps – Alicia Brooms, MS, CCC-SLP
Your patient is set to discharge at the end of the week, but you know their needs are high and their level of support at home won't be. How do you help ensure they're going to be prepared to go home and not get lost in the shuffle? How can SLPs best care for our...
261 – Competency, Critical Review, and Critique: Obstacles or Opportunities for Today's SLP? – R. Jordan Hazelwood Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CCRE
You have a new patient coming in with a diagnosis you’ve never heard of and you’ve got a whopping 12 minutes to prep. So, to Google you go! But, how do you know if that blog post or even podcast episode you found is actually credible or unbiased? Anyone can publish...
260 – Venturing into Private Practice Voice Therapy – Ashley Michaelis MS, CCC-SLP
Have you ever let yourself daydream about having it all? A fulfilling career that empowers you to change lives on your own terms, a flexible schedule that allows you plenty of family time, AND enough energy to take care of yourself at the end of the day? It's not...
259 – Safety, Growth, and Nourishment: The Truth About Baby-Led Weaning with Jill Rabin
Looking for a way to help your tiniest clients with PFD now AND prevent food aversion in the future? It’s not just a dream… That’s exactly what my guest this week is doing with the EI clients she sees and the parents and providers she empowers. In this episode of SYP,...
258-Advocacy, Flexibility, and Mental Health: Supporting Today's SLP Grad Students with Sam Walker MS CCC-SLP, TSSLD
When you think back on your grad school experience, does it stir up happiness and joy or anxiety and stress? Most SLPs will lean towards the latter, but does it have to be that way? It’s highly competitive to get into grad school and the competition and quest for...
257 – Palliative Care and the SLP: Closing the Practice Gap – Bianca Coulson M.S., CCC-SLP
What exactly is the SLP’s role in palliative care patients? And what’s the deal with waivers, AMA, non-compliance, and informed consent? Which patients are good candidates for PEG tubes? Which ones aren’t? And who decides who gets one? These are all questions that...
256 – Multidisciplinary Dysphagia Board: One Place, One Day, One Purpose, One Team
How many times have you wished you could call the laryngologist or esophagologist that your patient is going to see to talk with them and share your insights? Or maybe they referred the patient to you but you aren’t quite sure why… Wouldn’t it be nice if you could...
255 – Bridging the Clinician-Researcher Gap for SLPs with Vanessa Neal
Do you ever feel like the research you find on PubMed or ResearchGate was conducted in a different world? It can’t possibly have been done in a real SNF or hospital with productivity demands, budget restrictions, and the many unexpected events that come your way in a...
254 – Motor Speech Disorders and the MedSLP
If you get an eval order with the indication of “dysarthria, apraxia, slurred speech?” are you prepped and ready to take on the eval and make the differential diagnosis? You’re probably able to discern that you’re looking at a motor speech disorder from the consult...
253 – Combating Burnout and Elevating Patient Experience with One Tool: Compassion
With the craziness of the past few years, especially for medical professionals, burnout has become more than just a buzzword. It’s an all too common reality for many. What if there was a way to combat it that also improved your patients’ experiences AND company...
252 – The Fresh SLP: Stepping Into Your Best SLP Self – Mattie Murrey Tegels MA, CCC-SLP
In this episode of SYP, I have a conversation with Mattie Murray Tegel, whom you may know as The Fresh SLP, about elevating our field to leave it even better for the next generation of SLPs, building confidence in new clinicians, and stepping into the impassioned SLP...
251 – Interprofessional Collaboration: The Soft Skill You Didn't Know You Needed – Catherine Andrea PT, MPT, EdD
You’ve got a patient that you really need to discuss with the ENT and the MD, but just the thought of approaching them to give your recommendations has you shaking in your scrubs. Wouldn’t it be great if you worked together like peanut butter and jelly instead of oil...
250 – The Team Sport of PFD with Melissa Gonzalez Ph.D., HSP BCBA-D; Clinical Psychologist
Why would a BCBA treat PFD?! Isn’t that an SLP’s job? If you're interested in PFD and believe in treating the entire patient through the evidence-based triad, you will thoroughly enjoy this conversation that shows us that PFD really is a team sport! In this episode of...
249 – All Things Pediatric Feeding
Want to learn more about pediatric feeding disorders? Or maybe improve your clinical confidence and competence? You won’t want to miss this weeks episode (and you’ll probably want to grab the show notes too!) In this week’s episode of SYP, I have a conversation with...
248 – SLPs Scrubbing In: Awake Craniotomy from the SLP Perspective – Joel Starner, MA-SLP
Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall during neuro surgeries? Or maybe even scrub in on an awake craniotomy? My guest this week does exactly that, and is looking to teach SLPs how to integrate into their OR team as well! In this episode of SYP, I have a...
247 – NMES: What it is and what it isn't – Matthew Dumican Ph.D., CCC-SLP
If you've ever felt a little boggled by the talk of parameters, and placement, and the nitty-gritty of NMES, you will love this conversation where Dr. Matthew Dumican clears the muddied waters. In this episode of SYP, I have an enlightening conversation with Matt...