A confession to readers: I do not attend the convention's opening session. The 2014 opening session at Orlando, my only attempt at team spirit since the format change, was a massive beehive with few opportunities to soak up why we were there - other than the transcendent keynote address by the late Maya Angelou. We've lost 90 minutes on the first day, that had once been open for education. Yes, I said it.
Finally: to start the day, LaGorio, Crary and Carnaby provided case presentations based upon the McNeill Dysphagia Treatment (MDTP). We were reassured continually through the seminar, that this presentation was NOT to be a "how-to" treatment of MDTP. That was quite OK with participants, as the data shows that outcomes following MDTP were superior to training the person served in compensations, or through compensations plus neuromuscular electrical stimulation.
Encouraging to see that in this treatment approach, the treatment for impaired swallowing is a high frequency of swallowing. When LaGorio reported that she has not used most of her traditional dysphagia treatment 'bag of tricks' in the last 10 years, the sighs of relief could have pulled paint off the wall. Carnaby echoed this statement at the final 15 minutes, remarking that the intensity and frequency of the programawww is critical for changing the physiology of the swallow, not solely the compensations that momentarily protect against aspiration. MDTP may be seen then as an activity - based treatment of swallowing, for which you as the clinician may obtain greater buy-in. We like that!
Though this is not a certain CNN travel show, a meal interlude is in order. ASHA Convention organizers are forever in my debt, for offering each year a catered lunch option to pre-order then pick up at the exhibit hall with a ticket. The quinoa salad on Thursday, and then kale salad on Friday, were accompanied by a gluten free, vegan dessert that filled you up without bringing on the pm calorie crash. No fighting for time and space in area restaurants, and no paying convention center prices!
Maldonado, post-lunch, was not as fortunate with interest in his subject (males in the profession), as was the MDTP group: 2 attendees! I was the male. His study, borne of grounded theory, showed that the pay levels, the rigidity of gender roles holding back many men from becoming a speech-language pathologist, and the perceived truncating of career advance opportunities - all continue, as they have since the 1980's, to keep the prevalence of men in the professions at or near 4% of the total ASHA membership. The answer, my colleague, is blowing through the corridors.
Archer reported on the contributions of cognitive ethnography to treating cognitive - communicative disorders. Relevant to qualitative study of training improved interaction, were the insights that cognitive reserve is distributed among agents in the community of persons served; and that an ethnography constructed of conversation analyses of the person helps map the road to cognitive- communicative 'recovery'. Blog readers will easily figure out - We like this too!
Palmer and colleagues ended the lecture sessions for the first day, with a review of irritable larynx syndrome with chronic cough. The constellation of behavioral treatments in the SLP's armamentaria can be built upon with technology eg endoscopy, but it is still the skill and humanity of the individual clinician, in this instance, that most often brings real relief to these persons served. Suppress the cough, gain increased laryngeal control, and learn to think critically about coughing itself.
Thursday night was a treat, thanks to the sponsorship of a trolley tour of downtown Philly by Lingraphica, a leading vendor of AAC systems. Don't worry; the trolley cars were enclosed and comfy. We got gratis cheesesteaks, soda, beer and wine. We saw the performing arts district, the financial district, Old City (including a Liberty Bell peekaboo), Penn ' s Landing, and the Museum of Art with their famous "Rocky Steps". Wow - I made it!
Staying at a motel in North Wales PA, 25 miles NNW of the Convention Center, allowed some quiet after a day of high focus, seeing the local culture - and a fun side trip to Valley Forge prior to convention's start. Bedtime was welcome Thursday night. But Friday would come early.
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