Session Descriptions

Maximizing Functional Outcomes for Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injuries

These pre-recorded lectures are on-demand and last only an hour, so you can listen to them whenever time permits!

Be the Change: A Call for SLP Innovation in TBI Practice
Lyn Turkstra, PhD, CCC-SLP 

SLP roles, practices, and opportunities when working with children and adults with TBI have transformed over the past two decades. Much of the change has been driven by external forces, including insurance, science, regulations, and more. This session will empower SLPs to drive TBI practice advances in 2020 and beyond, focusing on three key areas: (1) re-imagining intervention for patients with cognitive impairments in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation, (2) defining what we do and how it helps across the recovery continuum, and (3) characterizing “functional” in terms of what it means for people with communication disorders after TBI.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• generate ideas for transforming SLP practice in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation
• analyze your role and practices to identify active ingredients, categories of targets, and intervention aims
• define “functional” from a communication perspective

Assessment Techniques for Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury
Jessica Brown, PhD, CCC-SLP

This session will discuss various testing options for assessing adults and adolescents with TBI, including self-report measures, standardized assessments, and functional evaluation procedures. The speaker will use clinical case examples across these testing domains to illustrate the usefulness of the tools and how they can help alleviate assessment challenges clinicians often face.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• select relevant self-report measures for patients with mild–severe traumatic brain injury
• evaluate the effectiveness of standardized assessment measures for use with individuals with traumatic brain injury
• identify functional testing procedures available to clinicians working with adolescents and adults with traumatic brain injury

Assessment of Cognition & Communication After Pediatric TBI
Jennifer P. Lundine, PhD, CCC-SLP, BC-ANCDS

This session will address the challenges and opportunities for speech-language pathologists who evaluate cognitive-communication, speech, and language disorders in children and adolescents with TBI. The session will include case studies.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• describe the potential long-term effects of TBI during childhood on later development and school success
• describe appropriate strategies that should be considered when using standardized and nonstandardized assessments with children and adolescents with TBI

Return-to-Work Solutions for Individuals With TBI
Peter Meulenbroek, PhD, CCC-SLP

This session will discuss the models for treating persistent cognitive-communication deficits and the roles of the SLP from an interdisciplinary perspective. The speaker will offer solutions for frequently encountered clinician questions about assessment and treatment goal-writing.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify the appropriate level of work a patient should return to and plan for assessment
• identify the most important information related to the patient returning to work, based on the individual, environment, and job description
• develop treatment goals that address work-related communication concerns for people with TBI

Return to School Following TBI: Promoting Success in the Classroom
Ann Glang, PhD, and Melissa McCart, EdD

This session will focus on best practices and policies for schools to ensure that students successfully “return to learn” following a concussion/mild TBI.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• explain how TBI affects learning, emotion, and behavior
• use and share strategies to improve the transition of care between medical and educational models for children receiving services
• identify evidence-based materials and resources for supporting students with TBI

Navigating the SLPs Role in Concussion Management
Kathryn Hardin, PhD, CCC-SLP, CBIST

This session will discuss the current SLP practice recommendations when it comes to assessment and intervention for concussion/mild TBI, including how SLPs can integrate into interdisciplinary care models. The speaker will also discuss considerations related to hearing and auditory processing after mild TBI.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• state anticipated acute concussion recovery rates for children, adolescents, and adults
• identify the different areas of cognitive-communication that may be impacted by mild TBI
• identify three unique strengths of SLPs in concussion management

College Students With TBI: Cognitive Coaching That Promotes Self-Regulation
Mary R. T. Kennedy, PhD, CCC-SLP

This session will explore the challenges that college students face after brain injury. The speaker will discuss a coaching approach that is “least restrictive” yet supports and instructs students in self-regulation. The speaker will also share practical, metacognitive strategies and tools that support students’ executive functions so they can meet academic and social goals.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• explain how cognitive impairment leads to academic and social challenges in college
• state the differences between a coaching approach and a traditional didactic approach to treatment
• demonstrate instructional techniques that promote self-regulation to help college students use their executive functions to achieve their goals

Executive Function and Self-Regulation After TBI: Apps for Daily Life
Michelle Ranae Wild, MA

This session will explore how mobile apps can help adults and adolescents recovering from TBI address common executive function and self-regulation challenges.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• personalize a reference tool that pairs apps with desired outcomes for executive function and/or self-regulation challenges
• write student/client goals to address executive function and/or self-regulation challenges and identify app features that can help achieve these goals

Veterans With TBI: Engaging the Health Care Community to Improve Outcomes
U.S. Army Sgt. First Class (Retired) Victor Medina, MRC, CRC, and Roxana Delgado, PhD

This session will explore treatment plans and outcomes for combat-wounded veterans. The speaker will share personal and professional experiences working with veterans with TBI, including considerations related to the variability of symptoms across individuals as well the unique experiences of combat veterans and their families.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• take into account military culture, patient, and family perspective in treatment planning
• state some of the unique challenges facing veterans with brain injury and their family caregivers
• assess your role in ensuring coordinated, holistic patient care

Life After TBI: Coping With PTSD, Ambiguous Loss, and Mental Health Symptoms
Kelly Petska, PhD

This session will explore metal health conditions—including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and ambiguous loss—that individuals with TBI often experience. The speaker will discuss how to recognize symptoms, normalize the experiences, and support recovery for individuals with TBI.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• define PTSD, depression, and ambiguous loss
• list empirical evidence regarding the correlation between TBI & mental health conditions
• describe strategies to support recovery from TBI and mental health conditions

Dysphagia and Respiratory Concerns Following TBI
Catherine A. Shonley, MA, CCC-SLP

This session will explore evaluation and treatment of swallowing and breathing issues following traumatic brain injury. The speaker will discuss how to account for deficits in cognition, self-regulation, and arousal as well as concomitant injuries necessitating prolonged mechanical ventilation, which add complexity to the clinical picture for this unique patient population.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify important factors to consider when developing dysphagia treatment plans for patients with TBI
• develop a list of other specialties/colleagues essential to maximizing success when evaluating and treating dysphagia, communication, and respiratory difficulties associated with TBI

Functional Treatment Approaches: Beyond Workbooks
Jessica Brown, PhD, CCC-SLP

Too often, therapeutic progress that happens in a clinical setting does not translate to real-world gains. This session will discuss various strategies to create and implement functional treatment plans for patients with TBI to capitalize on their strengths and increase independence in real-world settings.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• identify barriers to and create solutions for translating clinical gains to real-world settings for adults with TBI
• evaluate current intervention practices and identify areas of improvement to enhance functionality
• implement strategies to create functional treatment plans for individuals with TBI

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Can Damage the Systems of Hearing and Balance
Erick Gallun, PhD

Concussion care requires a team with the collective expertise to address all factors that are likely to influence a patient's abilities and performance. This session will provide an overview of cutting-edge, emerging research about how brain injury can affect auditory and balance functions.

After completing this session, you will be able to:

• describe the auditory processing difficulties that are likely after exposure to high-intensity blasts
• describe the types of balance dysfunction that is likely after exposure to high-intensity blasts
• compare civilian mild TBI (mTBI) to blast-exposure in terms of the similarities and differences in physical injuries
• describe the functional effects on hearing and balance that have been found in the civilian mTBI population