2020 Q4 Newsletter

Recorded web discussion on Telepractice Considerations: Neurogenic Communication Disorders (sponsored by Special Interest Group [SIG] 2, Neurogenic Communication Disorders).

Recorded web conversation on Management of Individuals with COVID-19 in Post-Acute Care (sponsored by Special Interest Group [SIG] 15, Gerontology).

Welcome New Members!

Board Certified Members

Jaimie Payne Anderson MS, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS

Full Members

Matthew Cohen, PhD
Jessica Conn, MS, CCC-SLP
Antonella DeNunzio
Zachary DeWall
Caroline Gammill, SLPD, CCC-SLP, CBIS
Rosalind Hurwitz, MS, CCC-SLP
Raymond Kent, MA, PhD
Lee Robison, MA, CCC-SLP
Shannon Sheppard, PhD, CCC-SLP
Emily St Julian
Athanasia Svenning, MA, CCC-SLP
Elizabeth Viccaro Sitler, PhD, CCC-SLP
Stacey Wachter, MS, CCC-SLP

Student Members

Anne Billot
Julia Borsatto
Robert Cavanaugh
Caitlin Cloud
Kaila Cote
Ashley Duncan
Zoe Ezzes
Sigfus Kristinsson
Emily Morrow
Morgan Palm
Katherine Purcell
Hannah Rowe
Darbi Ruff
Stacey Sangtian
Brenna Scadden Nelson
Saryu Sharma
Changchang Yao

ANCDS Membership

Don't forget, it's time to renew your ANCDS membership for 2021!

Please take a moment to submit your renewal online, and confirm your commitment to our professional association. If you have any questions, or need assistance completing your renewal, please contact the ANCDS Central Office ([email protected]).

We look forward to working with you in 2021 and beyond!

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Contact Us

ANCDS
2345 Rice Street, Suite 220
St. Paul, MN 55113
Online: www.ancds.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 651-925-5528
Fax: 651-317-8048

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President's Message

Hello ANCDS Members,

I hope this message finds you and your families safe and healthy. As I did at our recent virtual Business Meeting, I’d like to start my message by addressing the elephant that is still in the room… COVID-19. Who could have predicted at the beginning of this year that nine months would go by while we worked from home, managed virtual schooling for our children, and wore masks to leave the house? It has certainly been a difficult year, but I am proud to say that ANCDS and our members faced the challenges that came our way with amazing agility.

At the beginning of the pandemic, as many areas of the country went into lockdown, we hosted the first ever ANCDS Virtual Happy Hour as a way for our members to support one another. Numerous people attended, and it was a great way for us to connect during a very stressful time. As COVID-19 restrictions continued into the summer months, the Executive Board made the decision to transition to a virtual Scientific Meeting. I want to thank the Education and Standards Committee and the Finance Committee for all of their hard work in reorganizing and finding sponsorship for the meeting. This took a significant effort on their part and the first-ever virtual Annual Scientific Meeting was a great success! I want to also give a heartfelt thank you to our speakers Dr. Jeffrey Hoch from the University of California at Davis, Dr. Charles Ellis from East Carolina University, Dr. Peter Meulenbroek, from the University of Kentucky, and Dr. Carolyn Baylor from the University of Washington. They were kind enough to transition to the virtual format and who provided a wealth of information during four fantastic webinars!

Modifying the Annual Scientific Meeting to the virtual format also had a significant impact on the Student Fellowship Program. Thanks to the efforts of the Membership Committee and the ANCDS members who stepped up as Student Fellow Mentors, ANCDS hosted a robust Fellowship Program for fourteen students who are sure to become future leaders in our field. Although we could not meet in-person, the Membership Committee managed to arrange several opportunities for the Student Fellows and their Mentors to connect, including a Mentor/Mentee Virtual Meet and Greet and a Student Fellows Virtual Happy Hour. The Fellows were also introduced during the Annual Business Meeting and you can view their profiles here. Congratulations to all of the 2020 Student Fellows!

Speaking of congratulations, in conjunction with the ANCDS Business Meeting we had the exciting opportunity to award the Honors of the Academy. This year’s recipient was our distinguished colleague and cherished friend, Dr. Roberta Elman! In the announcement, the Honors Committee noted that Roberta has created and researched new and innovative therapy approaches for individuals with neurologic communication disorders that are described by her peers as “groundbreaking,” “game-changing,” and “transformational.” As one of the original authors of the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPPA), Roberta’s body of work brought to the forefront not only what is valued by adults with aphasia, but also how clinicians can approach and support the values of those they serve. Congratulations, Roberta, on this well-deserved honor!

The success of the Annual Scientific Meeting and its associated events is just one highlight of our remarkable organization. The other, and perhaps more important highlight, is the strength of our members and the way that, during a global pandemic, we have all adapted. Over the past nine months, we have learned new strategies to provide services to individuals with neurologic communication disorders in a safe and effective way either in-person or via telepractice, how to educate the next generation of speech-language pathologists and audiologists virtually in academic communication sciences and disorders programs, and have found new and inventive ways to safely continue research efforts to strengthen our knowledge of evidence-based practice. None of these endeavors have been easy and each has taken a significant amount of time with fewer resources as we work from home or work on-site with social distancing practices in place. But it speaks volumes that even COVID-19 cannot stop us from providing the services that our clients need, the education that our students deserve, and the research that we need to keep our profession moving forward.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge what a pleasure it has been to serve as President of ANCDS this year. I has certainly been an interesting year to serve as President and I would like to thank the other members of the Executive Board for their support through all of the challenges of 2020. I also want to welcome Janet Patterson to her new position as President of ANCDS in 2021, and our incoming Board members to their positions: Carole Roth Abramson who is joining the Board as President-Elect; Yvonne Rogalski who is returning to the Board as Treasurer; and Jessica Brown and Meghan Savage who are joining the board as Members at Large.

As we move through the holiday season, I hope that you and your families are able to find creative ways to celebrate and enjoy the season even if you cannot do so in person. Research has shown that COVID-19 has brought friends and families together in positive ways never experienced before. While we are all hoping for an end to the pandemic, let’s look for the small silver linings to carry us through.

Please stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Kathleen M. Youse, PhD, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS
2020 ANCDS President
[email protected]

2020 Student Fellowship Winners

The ANCDS Student Fellowship Program was developed in 2011. Start-up funds for the original awards were contributed by Dr. Lawrence Shriberg, keynote speaker for the 2010 ANCDS Annual Scientific Meeting, who donated his honorarium back to the ANCDS. Funds to sustain the program continue to be provided by the ANCDS Executive Board and through donations from ANCDS members.

The Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS) Membership Committee is pleased to announce that awards were offered this year for 14 students to participate in a Virtual Fellowship Program and attend the 2020 Virtual ANCDS Annual Scientific Meeting. Meet the 2020 Student Fellows here.

2020 Student Fellowship Winners

Fellow Interviews

Name: Rob Cavanaugh

1. Why were you interested in the ANCDS conference fellow program?

The ANCDS annual conference brings together experts in translational research and clinical care for people with neurogenic communication disorders. I applied for the conference fellowship program because of the opportunity to meet and learn from expert researchers and clinicians in a welcoming, small-scale environment. The fellowship also prioritizes fostering new mentoring relationships and networking between students. These are important to me as a doctoral student in speech-language pathology.

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Name: Brenna Scadden Nelson

Like many aspects of 2020, this year's ANCDS annual meeting, hosted virtually and spaced over a few weeks, looked different than it has in the past. As a student fellow, this was my first experience with ANCDS and I could not have been more impressed! In a virtual happy hour with Dr. Carroll-Alfano and the other student fellows, we talked about the backdrop of this year's meeting: COVID-19. Many of the Ph.D. candidates discussed efforts to restart research and network in the midst of a pandemic. The master's students talked about altered internship timelines.

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ASHA COVID-19 Online Resources for Practicing Clinicians

Communication in the Context of COVID-19 Recovery: A Case Example

Written By: Rebecca Goodridge, ANCDS Student Member

Starting my clinical fellowship (CF) during a global pandemic has not only impacted the method of service delivery for many of our patients but has also given me the opportunity to work with a patient recovering from COVID-19 firsthand. One of the first evaluations I completed during my CF at a Veterans Affairs Healthcare System was an evaluation of communication in the context of a recent COVID-19 diagnosis.

Given the novel nature of COVID-19, there is only emerging evidence on its effects on speech, language, and cognitive-communication. A review of the literature published in PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials between April 8 and May 23, 2020, concluded that there was limited literature on the cognitive sequela of COVID-19 at that time, but existing literature supports and encourages speech-language pathologists' involvement in this growing number of cases (Ramage, 2020). Documented cases with cognitive symptoms are often related to prolonged mechanical ventilation, intermittent hypoxia, hypercoagulability, or delirium (Ramage, 2020). More literature is needed on the effects of COVID-19 on speech, language, and cognition.

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2020 Honors of the Academy

The Honors of the ANCDS is the highest award bestowed by the academy. It is awarded to those who have displayed excellence in clinical assessment and treatment, research, mentorship, teaching, and service to the community and to the ANCDS. This year, the ANCDS is honoring Dr. Roberta Elman who, for over 40 years, has made significant contributions to individuals who have neurologic communication disorders.

Dr. Roberta Elman

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Opening a Virtual Window

Written By: Katie A. Strong, PhD, CCC-SLP

Who would have thought that as the world's physical doors closed in March 2020, a virtual window would open, particularly for individuals living with aphasia. A silver lining of the pandemic is that we are now maximizing technology to connect people with aphasia across the globe. The virtual format has also allowed the integration of my work in community groups and individual sessions which has resulted in increased participation outcomes.

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Developing a Tele-Assessment Protocol for Individuals with Aphasia

Written By: Emily J. Braun, Maria Dekhtyar, and Swathi Kiran, PhD

Members of the Aphasia Research Laboratory in their current workspace

In clinically-focused research for individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia, there can be a number of barriers to in-person participation. Some individuals do not live near a city with a research center, others have difficulty with physical mobility making regular lab visits challenging, and others prefer to have family accompany them to visits but are not able to do this because their family members are unavailable. Because of this gap between interest and participation, our colleague Dr. Claudia Peñaloza sought to adapt our research assessment and treatment protocol for virtual assessment. This included the adaptation of the Western Aphasia Battery - Revised (WAB-R) for videoconference assessment with the use of an electronic version of the stimulus book.

After the development of the protocol, we completed a study evaluating the feasibility and validity of this videoconference assessment. In the study, twenty adults with chronic aphasia completed the WAB-R both in person and via videoconference 1-2 weeks apart. At the group level, in-person vs. videoconference administrations were highly correlated. At the individual level, most participants (17/20) showed less than a five-point difference between the two administrations. In terms of feasibility, we found that with set-up assistance for using the computer, the participants were able to complete the test through tele-assessment. This protocol has allowed us to widen our scope of recruitment for research studies and achieve potentially more generalizable results as data collection is not restricted to participants who can attend regularly in-person.

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2021 Board Members

In accordance with the ANCDS bylaws, a slate of candidates for positions on the ANCDS Executive Board for terms starting in 2021 was presented to the membership for vote. In a unanimous vote, the following members were elected to the Board:

ANCDS Board

We would like to thank our outgoing board members. We greatly appreciate all your contributions from your time on the board. Our outgoing board members are: Linda Shuster, PhD, CCC-SLP, Alaina Davis, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Gerasimos Fergadiotis, PhD, CCC-SLP.

Committee Updates

Education and Standards Committee:

The Education and Standards Committee worked throughout the spring and summer to convert the ANCDS Annual Scientific Meeting to a digital format. The meeting, with the theme of "Health Economics and Quality of Life in Neurologic Communication Disorders", included talks by Dr. Jeffrey Hoch, Dr. Charles Ellis, Dr. Peter Meulenbroek, and Dr. Carolyn Baylor. Topics ranged from evaluating cost-effectiveness and value in healthcare and aphasia specifically, to social economics in traumatic brain injury and measuring the impact of communication accommodations in healthcare settings. The committee has started working on a new slate of webinars and podcasts for next year and has begun planning the 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Membership Committee:

The Membership Committee reviewed applications for the Student Fellowship. Fourteen students were awarded the ANCDS Student Fellowship this year. Students and mentors participated in a "Virtual Breakfast" before the Annual ANCDS Business Meeting on November 7. Students met after the meeting for a "Virtual Happy Hour" to get to know the other Student Fellowship winners. Students were also sent an ANCDS Care Package to remember their accomplishment.

Congratulations to our Student Fellowship winners:

Anne Billot, Julia Borsatto, Robert Cavanaugh, Kaila Cote, Qiana Dennard, Zoe Ezzes, Sigfus Kistinsson, Emily Morrow, Hannah Rowe, Darbi Ruff, Stacey Sangtian, Brenna Scadden, Saryu Sharma, and Reva Zimmerman

We would also like to thank our members who volunteered to be mentors for the Student Fellowship Winners.

Thank you to the following mentors for sharing your time and expertise:

Erin Bush, Lindsey Byom, Matt Cohen, Heather Coles, Katarina Haley, Isabel Hubbard, Melissa Johnson, Alyssa Lanzi, Jennifer Mozeiko, Catherine Off, Janet Patterson, Kelly Rutherford, Megan Schliep, Gloriajean Wallace, and Sarah Wallace

2020 Annual Meeting Silver Sponsor

ANCDS does not endorse specific companies or products.

ASHA logo

ASHA Announcements

ASHA COVID-19 Resources for the Academic Community:

Check out ASHA's updated list of resources to assist the academic community with addressing matters related to COVID-19.

IPE Guidance Documents Published in 2019

The following three documents were published in 2019 to provide guidance on interprofessional education, interprofessional clinical learning environments, and an interprofessional education and practice research agenda.

Member Accomplishments

Plans are underway for CAC 2021, the 50th CAC meeting, to be held on May 18-22, 2021, in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Final decisions about the conference format, whether hybrid face-to-face plus online, or solely online, will be posted on the conference website in early December. The program will be made up of papers from the 2020 submissions. A limited call for new papers may be posted soon, with a January 15, 2021 deadline. Visit clinicalaphasiologyconference.org for updated information.

Mary Boyle, BC-ANCDS, Christa Akers, and Roberta J. Elman, PhD, BC-ANCDS, received a Meritorious Poster Award from the ASHA Convention Program Committee for their submission, Informativeness of Structured Discourse Following Conversation Group Treatment for Chronic Aphasia.

Vanessa Burshnic, PhD, CCC-SLP, was featured in a video resource for Project BRIDGE: "Supporting Choice with Visual Aids." She also co-presented, with Kelly Knollman-Porter, PhD, CCC-SLP, a free webinar from Preference Based Living: "Communicating Effectively While Wearing a Mask."

Rebecca D. Eberle, MA, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS, was recognized as a Fellow of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, presented during the 97^th Annual ACRM Conference in October 2020.

Jackie Hinckley, PhD, BC-ANCDS, was named a Planetree Fellow in Person Centered Care.

Lynsey Keator, MA, CCC-SLP, received the ASH Foundation New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship.

Jamila Minga, PhD, CCC-SLP, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at North Carolina Central University and BIRCWH Scholar, was recently appointed as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at Duke University. She is working to expand interdisciplinary collaborations with neuroscientists and neurologists to understand the networks that contribute to pragmatic language use deficits after right hemisphere brain damage.

Ellyn A. Riley, PhD, CCC-SLP, received an NIH grant. It's an R21 from the NIDCD to fund her project, Improving Aphasia Outcomes through tDCS-Mediated Attention Management.

Member Publications:

Duffy, J.R., Utianski, R., Josephs, K.A. Primary progressive apraxia of speech: from recognition to diagnosis and care. Aphasiology, DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2020.1787732.

Elman, R. J. (2021). C.A.P.E.: A Checklist of Four Essential and Evidence-based Categories for Aphasia Intervention. In A.L. Holland & R.J. Elman (Eds). Neurogenic Communication Disorders and the Life Participation Approach: The Social Imperative in Supporting Individuals and Families (pp. 21-52). San Diego: Plural Publishing.

Elman, R. J. (2020). Ethical responsibilities to adults with communication impairments involved in group therapy. Seminars in Speech & Language. 41(3), 241-248

Holland, A.L. & Elman, R.J. (Eds.). (2021). Neurogenic Communication Disorders and the Life Participation Approach: The Social Imperative in Supporting Individuals and Families. San Diego: Plural Publishing.

Johnson, R.K., Mathews, J., Diawara, N., Carroll, R. (2020). Statistical analysis of fNIRS Data: Consideration of spatial varying coefficient model of prefrontal cortex activity changes during speech motor learning in apraxia of speech. Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fams.2020.00032

Keator, L. M., Basilakos, A., Rorden, C., Elm, J., Bonilha, L., & Fridriksson, J. (2020). Clinical Implementation of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Aphasia: A Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJSLP-19-00037

Kim, H., Kintz, S., & Wright, H. H. (2020). Development of a measure of function word use in narrative discourse: core lexicon analysis in aphasia. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12567

Off, C.A. (2020, June). Creating a New Cohort on Zoom: Developing and Implementing a Telehealth ICAP in Rapid Response to COVID-19. Synchronous, virtual presentation at Aphasia Access's 24-hour Global 2020 Aphasia Awareness Month Teach-In. https://vimeo.com/440150805

Griffin-Musick, J., Off, C.A., Milman, L., Kincheloe, H., & Kozlowski, A. (2020).The impact of a graduate student clinician-implemented Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP) on psychosocial well-being in stroke survivors with aphasia. Aphasiology. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2020.1814949

Utianski, R.L., Clark, H.M., Duffy, J.R., Botha, H., Whitwell, J.L., Josephs, K.A. Communication limitations in patients with primary progressive apraxia of speech and aphasia. Am J Speech Lang Pathol, https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJSLP-20-00012

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