Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dysphagia Management on Capitol Hill: Updates for 2021 and Beyond – Live Discussion Sponsored By ASHA SIG 13

COVID-19 Vaccine

Speech-language pathologists and Audiologists in Delaware are classified as 1a for access to vaccine for COVID-19. If you are an Audiologist or SLP licensed in Delaware and have not yet had access to the vaccine, you may wish to contact Delaware’s Division of Public Health (DPH) for further information. They can be reached by email at vaccineplanning@delaware.gov or by phone at 1-833-643-1715.

DSHA Seeking Graduate Student Executive Council Member

The Delaware Speech-Language-Hearing Association is seeking a graduate student who will serve as a non-voting student member of the DSHA executive council.

For additional information, graduate students are invited to click here.

Transform the materials used by SLPs to reflect the caseloads that they serve with Turn the Page SLPs

Sierrah Harris, Class of 2020, did her capstone project on how often SLPs use books featuring Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Indigenous protagonists – and unfortunately what she found matched her lived experiences…. these books are rarely used by SLPs during clinical practice.

Books serve as a way for children to develop self-identity and understand their role in the world. Books are also frequently used in Speech/Language Therapy to support children with Communication Disorders. Unfortunately, the books available to most Speech Language Pathologists do not feature Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Indigenous children because the books published over the last 20 years are not very diverse.

Sierrah has worked to develop Turn the Page SLPs, a program that will allow SLPs in Delaware to request new books featuring diverse protagonists from a curated list of books (https://www.jotform.com/form/201605808120141). She has a vision that includes professional development and book swaps to maximize the use of these resources.  Unfortunately, high quality children’s books are expensive, ranging from $15-$30 each, meaning that it’s expensive to get books in the hands of SLPs. If funded, Turn the Page SLPs has the potential to transform the materials used by SLPs to reflect the caseloads that they serve. UD Henfunder recently picked up Turn the Page SLPs as a project that was crowdfunded as part of #GivingTuesday. Books were to be purchased from a local (Delaware based) Black-owned bookstore, keeping the dollars local to our state.

Using personal gender pronouns

“No one set of pronouns fits all. It’s impossible to know what pronoun a person uses without asking them. As speech-language pathologists, we understand the value of pronouns to each individual, as well as how to correctly use them. Using someone’s personal gender pronoun is a vital step toward inclusion.” (March 2020 ASHA Leader)

Check out these resources for more information about using personal gender pronouns:

Talking About Your Pronouns Is One Easy Way To Be A Transgender Ally by Jamie Wareham

a beginner’s guide to being an ally to trans people by Ted Ravago

Level 1 Safe Zone Ally Training Workshop Participant Booklet prepared by ASEE and LGBTQ+ Advocacy in Stem (January 2020)

DSHA Position Statement on Racism – June 2020

The Delaware Speech-Language-Hearing Association acknowledges and condemns the pervasive violence, injustice, and insidious racism that has been brought to a head in our country by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. People of color, especially members of the Black community, have long experienced systemic racism resulting in disproportionate health, education, and economic outcomes. It may seem as though the current situation has escalated quickly but to people of color oppression has been ingrained into the fabric of their daily lives, across the span of the history of the United States.

DSHA believes that open communication and intentional action are among the first steps we can make toward change. Part of DSHA’s mission is to provide resources, information, and advocacy to its members to promote the highest level of care to the individuals and communities we serve. Here you will find strategies that we can all use to actively become anti-racist advocates and allies who raise up the often disregarded voices of others and continue to hold paramount the health and welfare of our clients:

• Step back and hold space for any individual who has experienced oppression – please listen, see, and honor those experiences
• Consider any privileges you may have and take time to consider the impact racism and trauma has on your clients and colleagues while not burdening them with your questions and anxieties
• Independently research the significant health and economic disparities attributable to institutionalized racism and intentionally work to provide more equitable services
• Facilitate and support inclusive hiring in your workplace; actively counter discrimination and racism in the moment you observe it
• Advocate for workplace trainings targeting cultural competence, racism, and bias
• Ensure graduate programs are fully representative in both the students accepted and the professionals hired
• Encourage diversity within your state organization and in other leadership roles
• Complete continuing education developed by representative and diverse speakers
• In addition to ethics coursework, complete continuing education in the areas of cultural competence/humility, implicit bias, trauma and racism
• Utilize ASHA’s resources on cultural competence, join SIG 14, and read Vicki R. Deal-William’s statement in the ASHA Leader
• Complete Harvard’s Implicit Bias tests
• Seek out and use therapy materials that depict individuals from minoritized and marginalized communities
• Use cultural best practice when engaged in clinical referrals, evaluation, treatment, reporting of outcomes, and discharge
• Donate to social justice causes and organizations that support diversity, representation, and inclusion in the professions: National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing, Asian Pacific Islander Speech-Language-Hearing Caucus, L’GASP, Hispanic Caucus, Asian Indian Caucus, Native American Caucus, Caribbean Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and SLPs of Color
• Join the ASHA STEP Mentoring program
• Focus your energies on what you can professionally and personally do to dismantle this system which has caused the deaths of so many, rather than attending to distractions and attempts at discrediting those doing this work

DSHA is committed to learning more and working harder to end the oppression, inequality, and racism which impacts our colleagues, clients, and community daily. Please reach out if you need additional support or resources. If you are so inclined, please share other ways you know to amplify diverse voices in our professional setting and we will update this working resource as more strategies are identified. And please, reach out to join our team, we need you more than ever. We are stronger together.

Info from Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center

Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center Offers Information for State Early Intervention Part C and Early Childhood Special Education IDEA Part B Section 619 Programs

Remote Service Delivery and Distance Learning
Updated May 6, 2020

A number of states are providing remote service delivery as an alternate and effective way to serve young children with developmental delays and disabilities at home with their families, especially during the COVID-19 public health emergency. We have compiled information for state’s early intervention Part C and early childhood special education IDEA Part B Section 619 programs– including technology and privacy, reimbursement, provider and educator use of technology, family resources, state guidance and resources, and research.

Learn more here.

Listening Tip sheet for SLPs to use with families of DHH kids

Access the “Listening at Home Tip Sheet” shown below by clicking here.

To access the Facebook page of See Hear Communication Matters for additional resources, click here.

DHH Mask Project and Tutorial – Masks for the deaf and hard of hearing community

Interested in making masks for the deaf and hard of hearing community?  Click here for a letter from the DHH Mask Project and instructions for making homemade cotton masks.

Additional Resources Related To COVID-19: Posted April 3, 2020

Professional Development Opportunities:

ASHA Telepractice Resources During COVID-19:  Information to help you provide telepractice services

THANK YOU, ASHA!  Check out ASHA’s Learning Pass which offers unlimited access to ASHA’s extensive, ever-growing catalog of credible, curated online content! As a valued ASHA member, you will receive FREE access to the ASHA Learning Pass through June 30, 2020, to help meet your learning needs during this difficult time.

Check out Warp Speed Download: Essential Info to Jumpstart Your Teletherapy Practice by Bright Media (EXTENDED – now free through May 6):
Access a recording of “SLP Telecon,” which includes modules with 6 speakers from across the country. Due to recent circumstances SLPs may be required to provide services virtually for the first time ever.  You will learn from some amazing SLPs who will be sharing their best tips and tricks for getting started and best practices in teletherapy!
NOTE:  Free access to SLP Telecon ends May 6

Therapy Bootcamp – Free conference replay provided by the California Speech Language Hearing Association and SpeechTherapyPD.com

Practice Considerations:

In Addition To HIPAA and FERPA, Consider COPPA:
“When you’re checking your availability for a call, we also recommend that you review “Answers to frequently asked questions about COPPA” COPPA FAQs – in particular Section M, entitled “COPPA AND SCHOOLS.”  For example, this section explains how schools that establish contracts with the third-party online service operators to offer online programs solely for the benefit of their students (which appears to be your plan) may act as the parent’s agent and can consent to the collection of kids’ information on the parent’s behalf.   (See FAQ M.1.)

IDEA Part B Issue Brief: Missed Sessions…What the IDEA Part B Final Regulations Say

Important Information About Maintaining Your CCC: