The latest issue of Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups has resources for clinicians working with people of all ages. The April issue includes three forums filled with new ideas—from removing biases in schools to working with older adults with neurogenic disorders. Read more below to find out how these forums can help you!

Promoting Social Justice in Schools

The issue opens with a forum from SIG 1, Language Learning and Education, urging speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to commit to social justice. In the introduction to “With Liberty and Social Justice for All: Part 2,” Guest Editor R. Danielle Scott reminds SLPs that their role can be dismantling barriers to communication access. Next, Scott and Mahowald present a tutorial introducing the concept of “culture flex” (i.e., a way of viewing practice that centers culture as an invaluable asset), helping SLPs move across racial/ethnic boundaries in their practice.

Brea-Spahn and colleagues show how teachers and SLPs can use a tool to ensure that picture books enforce just, affirming, and sustaining language ideologies. In the final article of the forum, Prather et al. examined two language tests for children under age 3 years for cultural bias.

Clinicians Working in Neurogenic Communication Disorders

The next two forums are from SIG 2, Neurogenic Communication Disorders. Guest editors have curated articles from (a) clinicians seeking Board Certification in Neurogenic Communication Disorders by the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS) and (b) presenters at the 2023 ASHA Convention.

Case Reports in Neurogenic Communication Disorders and Sciences

First, Guest Editors Jacqueline Hinckley and Adithya Chandregowda present a collection of case reports submitted by authors seeking Board Certification in Neurogenic Communication Disorders. In their introduction to the forum, Hinckley and Chandregowda discuss the importance of case reports and introduce the articles in the forum.

Yetter illustrates how to use psycholinguistic theories and practices to inform aphasia management in the clinic. Keegan also discusses aphasia management, emphasizing the importance of a life participation approach after basal ganglia stroke.

The case report from Petroi-Block details the management of a complex case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) involving motor speech, swallowing, and cognitive issues. In the final article of the forum, Eichhorn shows how clinicians can use alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) with patients with cognitive-communicative impairments after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Select Papers From the 2023 ASHA Convention

Former SIG 2 Editor Dallin Bailey crafted the second forum of this issue. These five articles were developed from selected papers presented at the 2023 ASHA Convention.

First, O’Bryan and Strong discuss how clinicians can use co-constructed storytelling intervention in the clinic to target life participation and identity along with language in individuals with aphasia. Later in the forum, Mueller et al. review incidents in lucidity near the end of life in people with dementia—an area of growing research interest—and the role that SLPs can play in future research.

Cordella and colleagues introduce machine learning concepts and how they can be applied in speech-language pathology. Similarly, Zavaleta et al. use machine learning to help explain word-level errors in individuals with aphasia. The forum ends with an article by Grandbois and colleagues highlighting how SLPs can influence organizational culture in hospitals and clinics to better support evidence-based practice.

More Articles That Help Bridge Research and Practice

We’d like to thank Drs. Scott, Hinckley, Chandregowda, and Bailey for their work bringing these forums to Perspectives readers. The articles in the forum are free to read for the next 2 weeks, so be sure to check out the research and spread the word!

In addition to these forums, the April issue of Perspectives includes articles on audiology, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and more! Be sure to check out Perspectives for new ideas that you can use in the classroom, clinic, or hospital!

Explore the Forums

With Liberty and Social Justice for All: Part 2

Brea-Spahn, M. R., Soto-Boykin, X., Pérez, K., Pérez, S. M., Salguero Pérez, N., Anandhakrishnan, M., & Saldivar Garcia, E. (2025). Strangeness in the looking glass: A tutorial for interrogating ideologies of “good” languaging in children’s picture books. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 325–340. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00116

Prather, L., Creaghead, N., Vannest, J., Hunter, L., Hobek, A., Odum, T., Altaye, M., & Lackey, J. (2025). Testing very preterm Black children to examine potential assessment bias in two language tests. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 341–353. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00134

Scott, R. D. (2025). Introduction to the forum: With Liberty and Social Justice for All: Part 2. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 312–315. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00269

Scott, R. D., & Mahowald, M. (2025). The culture flex: Advancing social justice in educational speech-language practices. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 316–324. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00118

Case Reports From the Board Certification Process of the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Scientists

Eichhorn, K. A. (2025). Use of augmentative and alternative communication technology to retrain attention and enhance functional communication following severe traumatic brain injury: A clinical case report. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 404–417. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00011

Hinckley, J., & Chandregowda, A. (2025). Case reports from the Board Certification Process of the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences: Introduction to the forum. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 354–357. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-24-00299

Keegan, L. C. (2025). Severe communication difficulties after a hemorrhagic stroke in the basal ganglia: Case report. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 376–390. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00014

Petroi-Bock, D. (2025). Motor speech, swallowing, and cognitive considerations in an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis case report: Evidence-based practice and clinical implications. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 391–403. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00009

Yetter, A. W. (2025). A psycholinguistic approach to the management of aphasia in a case of left parietal stroke. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 358–375. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00007

Neurogenic Communication Disorders: Select Papers From the 2023 ASHA Convention

Cordella, C., Marte, M. J., Liu, H., & Kiran, S. (2025). An introduction to machine learning for speech-language pathologists: Concepts, terminology, and emerging applications. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 432–450. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00037

Grandbois, K., McGrath, S., Penrod, S., & Douglas, N. (2025). Cultivating an organizational culture of evidence-based practice. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 477–483. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00030

Mueller, K. D., Hale, M. R., Goulette, O., Belay, H., Sanson-Miles, L., Benson, C., Hitchcock, M., & Gilmore-Bykovskyi, A. (2025). A scoping review of episodes of lucidity in people living with dementia near the end of life: The potential role of speech-language pathology in research and practice. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 463–476. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00033

O’Bryan, E. L., & Strong, K. A. (2025). Person-centered stories on the main stage in intervention: Case examples from the My Story project, Aphasia! This Is Our World, and Aphasia-Friendly Reading. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 418–431. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00272

Zavaleta, R., Brue, J., Sen, S., & Wilson, L. (2025). Using machine learning to explain paraphasias in narratives of people with aphasia. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10(2), 451–462. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00291