The December issue of Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (Perspectives) contains a little something for everyone. Most notably, the issue’s forums contain articles on topics important to ASHA’s clinicians: language and literacy interventions for students with intellectual disabilities, and the Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES).

Language and Literacy Interventions for Students With Intellectual Disabilities

The issue opens with a forum from Special Interest Group (SIG) 1, Language Learning and Education. In their introduction to the forum, Guest Editors Leonard Abbeduto and Angela John Thurman write that the articles focus on helping individuals with intellectual disabilities communicate as they move from preschool through high school. “The research in these articles offers hope for improving their quality of life and capacity for self-determination through improved functional communication,” they write (Abbeduto & Thurman, 2022, p. 1584).

The next two articles in the forum focus on assessing language and literacy skills. First, Barton-Hulsey and colleagues explored how parents view literacy experiences with their children with developmental disabilities at home and in school compared to the children’s speech, language, and literacy skills. Then, McIntyre and colleagues urge clinicians to use an individualized approach when assessing literacy skills and offer a tutorial on how to use individualized assessment batteries.

The forum concludes with two articles focusing on language and literacy interventions. Neal and Brady discuss the need for research into narrative interventions for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and present a pathway forward. The forum ends with an article by Nelson Potter and colleagues exploring the effect that family and caregiver stress and mental health have on parent-implemented intervention for children with fragile X syndrome.

Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES): Practical Considerations for Performance and Interpretation

A later forum in the issue explores the Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES), a swallowing assessment that has been a standard and well-respected approach since 1988. The forum opens with an article by Pisegna exploring FEES research over the years. Pisegna writes that FEES “has been shown to be sensitive, predictive, and practical and will likely continue to have stronger support as research continues to enrich its potential” (Pisegna, 2022, p. 1941).

FEES can also be an important tool in a pediatric population. Harrington and Maybee surveyed professionals who perform pediatric FEES and provided a case study to highlight some additional supportive strategies.

Two articles in the forum offer tips for using FEES in the clinic. Guest Editor James A. Curtis provides an article that is part research review and part tutorial designed to help clinicians develop standard protocols for FEES assessments. Closing out the forum, Starmer reviews existing rating scales for FEES assessments and discusses how clinicians can incorporate these ratings into their clinical documentation.

One Issue: Three Forums

We’d like to thank Drs. Abbeduto, Thurman, and Curtis for their work bringing these forums to clinicians. You can check out the forums in the latest issue of Perspectives or read the individual articles in the forums below.

In addition, Perspectives includes one more forum on over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, as described in the Context blog post “Contemporary Viewpoints on Over-The-Counter Hearing Aids.” Articles from all three forums will be available for free until the end of 2022. The December issue contains 35 additional articles that are accessible to SIG affiliates.

Explore the Forums

Language and Literacy Interventions for Students With Intellectual Disabilities

Abbeduto, L., & Thurman, A. J. (2022).Language and literacy in students with intellectual disabilities: Assessment, intervention, and moderators of progress. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1583–1584. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00211

Barton-Hulsey, A., Sevcik, R. A., Romski, M., & Collins, S. C. (2022). Home and school literacy experiences in preschool-age children with developmental disabilities: Identifying relationships between speech, language, and early literacy skills. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1585–1605. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00026

McIntyre, N. S., Loughran, C., & Towson, J. (2022). Reimagining assessment of literacy skills for adolescents with intellectual disabilities: A tutorial for an individualized approach. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1606–1618. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00014

Neal, C., & Brady, N. (2022). Narrative interventions for children who use augmentative and alternative communication: A call and plan for future research. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1619–1629. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00007

Nelson Potter, S., Bullard, L., Banasik, A., Tempero Feigles, R., Nguyen, V., McDuffie, A., John Thurman, A., Hagerman, R., & Abbeduto, L. (2022). Family and caregiver characteristics contribute to caregiver change in use of strategies and growth in child spoken language in a parent-implemented language intervention in fragile X syndrome. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1630–1644. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00016

Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES): Practical Considerations for Performance and Interpretation

Curtis, J. A. (2022). A scoping review and tutorial for developing standardized and transparent protocols for flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1960–1971. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00118

Harrington, B. M., & Maybee, J. L. (2022). Pediatric FEES: What it takes to achieve optimal outcomes. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1972–1983. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00106

Pisegna, J. M. (2022). What’s the evidence? A commentary on FEES research. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1941–1959. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00128

Starmer, H. M. (2022). Incorporating flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing rating scales into clinical practice. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1984–1990. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00094