A patient's wishes should really matter, or - we're glad we're not old.

This was the first day of ASHA's 2015 national convention, held in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center. Yesterday's snow became today's chill, and the assembled professionals came out of the 8:00 keynote session loaded for gaining knowledge. I began my day by attending a swallowing track that was attended at capacity. What I carried away from my sessions, totally unique from the body of sessions others at this Convention are attending - included:

* You should be glad you are not "old" - subtle jabs at the older faculty, to those of us who have been in the field for awhile, and by extension, to those older persons we serve, that - it stinks to be us!

* "There are squamous, columnar/esophagus tissue/Schatzki, hiatus//sarcopenia - ewwww!/When dysfunction strikes/let's recall what the patient liiikeeessss.../Eating is complicated/...."

* James Coyle, session 1040: 3 1/2 out of 4 hyoids rating; his delivery was rather rapid but - a lot to say! Great foundational lecture for the next one -

* Joseph Murray and Paula Sullivan, session 1085: a 4 papillae performance. We do this job to improve people's lives, after all, and this session squeezed in some tips to help the frail elderly sustain quality of life.

* The quality of poster sessions so far; their breadth of topic and clarity of argument: a rating of 3 out of 4 hair cells. Three posters on hippotherapy alone!

* Kimberly McCullough, on cognitive wellness, session 1171: she was so preaching to the choir that I had to be content with fingerspelling AMEN!

She did such a good job of dovetailing her work, and that of her co-author Kathryn Bayles, with the keynote address of Kelly McGonigal - that I WILL buy McGonigal's book, THE UPSIDE OF STRESS.

McCullough gets 3.5 out of 4 glial cells, however, for keeping the actual clinical science of cognitive wellness fairly romantic. One of my few claims to fame in the field came, when I made David Yoder blanch at an ISAAC conference, by linking AAC with 'romantic science'.

 I offered her some help in applying the paradigm shift to clinical practice - think of a demonstration garden on the Appalachian State campus. It provides opportunities for stress reduction in an environment offering mindfulness. It provides the participants material for practicing prevention of cognitive - communicative and swallowing impairments. (I am shameless, but that is one thing convention is about).

DAY 2 of convention beckons. Won't you come along?