With expanding caseloads and new technologies, finding the information you need to do your job may seem more important than ever before. Fortunately, Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups bridges research and practice to bring clinically relevant resources to you.

The latest issue of Perspectives demonstrates the journal’s wide scope, with more than 30 articles across topics and work settings. Read more below on the three forums in this issue!

Collaboration in Support of Pediatric Intervention

The issue opens with a forum from Special Interest Group (SIG) 1, Language Learning and Education. Guest Editor Denise Ludwig presents four articles focusing on interprofessional collaboration in the schools.

The forum opens with an article by Cornett and colleagues providing tips on ways in which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can work with teachers to provide vocabulary that includes all students during shared book reading. Next, Karasinski and Niu-Cooper highlighted a summer camp whose mission is to prevent summer learning loss for refugee students; the camp was designed via interprofessional practice with students and faculty from various disciplines.

Springle shows how SLPs and teachers use game-based learning—and how they work together to share the games that they use. The forum ends with an article by Macauley that shares the various ways in which collaboration can help children with traumatic brain injury learn and grow.

Technology in Auditory Rehabilitation

If you’re an ASHA audiologist trying to keep up with the latest technology, our forum from SIG 7, Auditory Rehabilitation, is perfect for you. SIG 7 Editor Brittan Barker highlights developments from ARA Institute 2023—a conference whose theme that year focused on technology1

In her introduction, ARA President Jani Johnson writes that the forum’s goal is to help readers use new technologies to improve patient outcomes. Then, Sarangi and Johnson investigate whether or not researchers can use wearable sensors to measure listening-related stress.

Lander and Roup showed that adults with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and hearing difficulties have greater cognitive communication difficulties, including hearing speech in noise. Next, Gaeta et al. discuss group aural rehabilitation classes for older adults with hearing loss and provide evidence-based recommendations for designing and evaluating these programs. In the final article of the forum, Carole Johnson and colleagues explore the opinions of lower-income individuals to seek hearing aid or auditory rehabilitation.

Biofeedback in Adult Dysphagia

The final forum is from Special Interest Group 13, Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia). Guest Editor Brittany Krekeler presents four articles on the role of biofeedback in adult dysphagia treatment.

Curtis opens the forum, discussing the advantages and limitations of flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) in obtaining biofeedback in cough and swallowing. For adults with Parkinson’s disease, expiratory muscle strength training may improve cough airflow, as discussed by Dakin et al.

Constantinescu and Garcia provide a tutorial on using surface electromyography effectively in dysphagia management. Finally, Kallambettu and colleagues provide clinicians with a “how-to guide” for lingual function rehabilitation with and without the use of devices.

About Perspectives

Perspectives bridges research and practice for all ASHA members, providing evidence-based research geared toward audiologists and SLPs. The scholarly review journal is available for free for the affiliates of any of ASHA’s 20 SIGs. However, all three forums are free for anyone to access until the end of the month, so be sure to read and share the articles during December.

We’d like to thank Drs. Ludwig, Barker, and Krekeler for their work bringing these forums to Perspectives. You can read these articles and more in the December issue of Perspectives, and be sure to read more about the individual articles below!

Explore the Forums

Collaborative Opportunities for Supporting Pediatric Intervention

Cornett, S. C., Barton-Hulsey, A., & Burnett, T. (2024). Measuring preschool teachers’ language use during shared book reading with children with developmental disabilities: A pilot study. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1489–1499. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00270

Karasinski, C., & Niu-Cooper, R. (2024). An effective interprofessional collaboration to support African refugee students’ oral and written language and social integration. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1500–1515. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00023

Macauley, B. L. (2024). Interprofessional practice in the schools for students with traumatic brain injury. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1539–1550. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00022

Springle, A. P. (2024). Getting serious about games: Exploring how game-based learning is used in education and therapy. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1516–1538. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00267

Leveraging Technology for Auditory Rehabilitation: A Summary of the 2023 Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology Institute

Gaeta, L., Stark, R. K., & Celio, N. (2024). Group aural rehabilitation: A scoping review. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1659–1672. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00067

Johnson, C. E., Jilla, A. M., Johnston, D., & Baldwin, J. (2024). Willingness of hearing help–seekers with low incomes to pay for hearing aids, services, and over-the-counter devices. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1673–1682. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00142

Johnson, J. A. (2024). The 2023 Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology institute: Leveraging technology for auditory rehabilitation. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1629–1630. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00176

Lander, D. M., & Roup, C. M. (2024). The role of hearing difficulty: Cognitive-communication and speech-in-noise deficits in adults following mild traumatic brain injury. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1646–1658. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00068

Sarangi, L., & Johnson, J. (2024). Feasibility of using wearable sensors to measure listening-related stress. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1631–1645. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00073

Use of Biofeedback in Adult Dysphagia Treatment: Endoscopy, EMST, Lingual Manometry, and sEMG

Constantinescu, G., & Garcia, R. (2024). Surface electromyography biofeedback as an adjuvant to dysphagia management: What it is, what it is not, why you need it, and how to get it. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1725–1736. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00076

Curtis, J. A. (2024). Endoscopic biofeedback training for cough and swallowing: The what, why, and how. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1707–1714. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00190

Dakin, A. E., Borders, J. C., Curtis, J. A., Hegland, K. W., & Troche, M. S. (2024). Maximal expiratory pressure and its link with cough airflow before and after expiratory muscle strength training in Parkinson’s disease. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1715–1724. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00065

Kallambettu, V., Kaval, F., & Krekeler, B. N. (2024). Device-assisted therapy for lingual function rehabilitation: A “how to” guide for clinicians. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 9(6), 1737–1751. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00123

1 The ARA Institute is a yearly conference coordinated by the Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology (ARA).