CERTIFICATIONS

LSVT LOUD® Certified​ since 2012

An intensive voice therapy regimen (4 individual, 60 minute sessions for 4 consecutive weeks) designed for individuals with Parkinson Disease, but with applications to a variety of neurological disorders.  With a simple treatment focus of "Think LOUD", this structured treatment program includes customized activities and tasks to recalibrate one's own perception of vocal loudness.  LSVT LOUD® boasts an extensive 30+ year evidence base for long-term improvements not only in vocal loudness but also in speech production, pitch variations, prosody, swallowing, and facial expression. Biofeedback to encourage therapy gains is available during sessions via LSVT Companion® software. More recent extensions of the protocol include teletherapy applications and group sessions post-discharge (LOUD for LIFE®) to facilitate maintenance of therapy gains.

SPEAK OUT!® certified since 2017

A more recently developed intensive speech therapy regimen (2 individual, 45 minute sessions weekly for 4 weeks) designed for individuals with Parkinson Disease that combines education, individual therapy (SPEAK OUT!®), and ongoing SPEAK OUT!® classes. Patients are typically seen for 9, 40-minute speech therapy sessions, 2 days a week.

SPEAK OUT!® emphasizes speaking with intent and converts speech from an automatic function to an intentional act. Patients and their speech-language pathologist work their way through a combination of speech, voice, and cognitive exercises laid out in an online therapy workbook. Upon completion of SPEAK OUT!®, patients transition to the weekly speech class called "SPEAK OUT!® classes" to help them maintain the results achieved during individual therapy.

​Certified Member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association since 2014

ASHA Award for Continuing Education (ACE) (2020-2023)

Holding the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC), a nationally recognized professional credential, signifies a level of excellence in the field of Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) marked by rigorous academic and professional standards. Certified members have the skills to render high quality clinical services and must expand their knowledge base via at least 30 accredited CEUs every 3 years. These continuing education requirements now include ethics courses and supervisory courses for those who choose to supervise students and/or support personnel.

FORMALLY TRAINED IN​

Respiratory Muscle Strength Training (RMST)

​A strength training program for the breathing muscles involved in inhalation, exhalation, or both, that incorporates principles of motor learning by increasing resistance as treatment progresses. The load/resistance is provided via a resistance device. A specific 5-week training protocol involving a mix of typically 1 weekly therapy visit and frequent home practice (5 total days per week), followed by a maintenance program at home, has been studied in people with various neuromuscular diseases, including those that may not tolerate traditional swallow exercise protocols. It has been shown to improve or slow muscle function decline for voice, swallowing, and/or cough strength (important for airway protection in swallowing).
Variations of this protocol may be recommended depending on a variety of factors. It can be a stand-alone therapy approach, or combined with other approaches to voice & swallowing rehab to potentially enhance effects. It may also provide benefit for those wishing to increase respiratory strength for athletic tasks, including speech related functions  such as voice use for acting or singing, though to my knowledge studies completed thus far have not yet been designed to track RMST impact on those tasks specifically (i.e. have only shown improvements in lung volume measures, not real life measures). Case studies have shown
​that IMST can be beneficial in treating Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion (PVFM).

Phonation Resistance Training Exercises (PhoRTE)

A dynamic voice exercise program with a target of re-energizing and coordinating laryngeal and respiratory systems for optimization of vocal quality and ease of voice production with a systematic, progressive increase in vocal load. The program is designed for individuals with voice changes attributable to the processes of aging and is typically 5 sessions in dosage (evaluation + 4 treatment sessions) over the course of about 2-2.5 months. Therapy sessions occurring twice a month are accompanied by a home exercise program, that is progressively tapered at the end of the therapy period (from 6 times a week to 3 times a week) in order to promote maintenance of vocal quality gains.

Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy (LMRVT)

​An evidence-based voice therapy program that aims at improving vocal quality and ease (vocal economy) by attending to the sensation of (vibrations) and increasing consistency of usage of increased oronasal energy/resonance while reducing muscle tension and restoring coordination of the speech subsystems (articulation, phonation, respiration). Therapy duration is variable depending on individual needs, but typically occurs over 8, once-weekly therapy sessions.

Casper-Stone Confidential Flow Therapy (CSCFT)

An alternative to LMRVT that aims at improving vocal quality and ease (vocal economy) by attending to the sensation of (airflow at lips) and increasing consistency of usage of increased airflow while reducing muscle tension and restoring coordination of the speech subsystems. Therapy duration is similar to that of LMRVT.

McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program (MDTP)

An intensive, systematic, swallow-specific exercise-based approach to swallow therapy for adults. It focuses on augmenting the strength and endurance of the swallowing mechanism and improving the amount and variety of food and liquid intake. The approach boasts a growing evidence base, and has been effective clinically in some cases where traditional therapy approaches have failed. Therapy typically occurs 3-5 times per week, over the course of 3+ weeks.