ASHA members serve millions of people annually, and each individual brings their own unique experiences into their sessions. Two new forums in Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups highlight childhood trauma and person-centered dementia care. Read more below on how these articles can help you provide high-quality, individualized, and responsive care.
Forum on Trauma
Trauma affects people in ways we are just beginning to understand. A new forum from Guest Editor Yvette Hyter brings three articles on trauma-informed care for speech-language pathologists.
First, Rupert and Gracia present a framework for conceptualizing trauma-informed practice to create supportive environments that foster healing and resilience. Next, Gillam and Hyter summarize the impact of trauma on language development and highlight practices that can support narrative development in children who have experienced trauma.
The final article of the forum shifts the focus to trauma responsiveness in gender-affirming voice care. Pospisil describes three main facets of this approach and shows how trauma-responsive training programs can benefit everyone involved.
Honoring the Legacy of Michelle Bourgeois Through Person-Centered Dementia Care
For more than 40 years, Dr. Michelle Bourgeois played a crucial role in helping evolve our understanding of communication in dementia, authoring more than 100 articles. The second forum in the August issue is dedicated to Dr. Bourgeois, who passed away in 2024. Guest Editor Natalie F. Douglas writes that the forum provides readers with “advancing approaches that support communication, participation, and meaningful relationships” (Douglas & Hickey, 2026, p. 1411).
In the introduction to the forum, Douglas and Hickey outline Dr. Bourgeois’ career, from early research on aging and dementia to a focus on holistic practice and quality of life. Combs and Venkatesh show that holistic speech-language pathology services can help people with Alzheimer’s disease communicate better, even when these services are provided years after onset.
Balz describes a telehealth group therapy program for people with Parkinson’s disease; this therapy program aimed to support participants in their personal goals. Finally, Anjum and colleagues discuss a program that encourages graduate students to integrate cognitive screenings into their practices so they can spot early signs of dementia.
Two articles related to the forum were published in the June issue of Perspectives. First, Hill et al. review the clinical principles of reminiscence therapy1, summarizing its benefits for individuals with dementia.) Finally, Santos and colleagues evaluate a new tool designed to measure psychosocial outcomes in care partners of people with Alzheimer’s dementia.
Providing High-Quality, Individualized Care
Perspectives brings ASHA members more than 150 articles a year, all with a focus on bridging research and practice. Check out the August issue to read these forums, and explore more than 20 articles from a variety of topics in communication sciences and disorders.
Although these forums discuss working with different populations, they share a theme of providing high-quality care through individualized approaches. We’d like to thank Drs. Hyter and Douglas for their work bringing these forums to Perspectives!
Explore the Forums
Forum on Trauma
Gillam, S. L., & Hyter, Y. (2026). Developing trauma-informed competence in speech-language pathologists: Foundations for narrative assessment and intervention. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(4), 1207–1217. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-25-00073
Pospisil, Y. (2026). Advancing trauma responsiveness in gender-affirming voice care at a university clinic. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(4), 1218–1232. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00002
Rupert, A., & Gracia, L. (2026). Conceptualizing trauma-informed speech-language pathology practice: Adaptations and implications across levels of practice. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(4), 1189–1206. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-24-00319
Honoring the Legacy of Michelle Bourgeois Through Person-Centered Dementia Care
Anjum, J., Washnik, N., Parveen, S., & Feltis, A. (2026). Cognitive screening in speech-language pathology and audiology: Outcomes of an interdisciplinary workshop for preservice clinicians. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(4), 1462–1482. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-25-00127
Balz, M. A. (2026). Did you care for the orchids this week? Outcomes of external strategy group treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(4), 1432–1461. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-25-00133
Combs, C., & Venkatesh, M. (2026). Preserving connection: The vital window of speech-language therapy intervention in dementia care—A case study. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(4), 1414–1431. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-25-00125
Douglas, N. F., & Hickey, E. M. (2026). Prologue to the forum: Honoring the legacy of Michelle Bourgeois through person-centered dementia care. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(4), 1408–1413. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-26-00045
Related Reading
Hill, S., Reed, L., & Zimmerman, A. (2026). Reminiscence therapy in the real world: Using research to build a clinical program. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(3), 1042–1052. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00099
Santos, H., Williams, O., Bona, M., Rogalski, E., & Roberts, A. C. (2026). Preliminary validation of a care partner–reported measure of conversation difficulties and their impacts in primary progressive aphasia. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(3), 1064–1077. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00253
1 A structured approach that involves using guided conversations about past experiences to promote comfort, pleasure, and mental stimulation
