First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional SLP Insights

Gain actionable strategies to support more inclusive, culturally responsive, and family-centered practice.
Guest: Samantha Dudding, MS, CCC-SLP
Earn 0.10 ASHA CEUs for this episode with Speech Therapy PD
Watch on YouTube
In this episode of First Bite, Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, is joined by Samantha Dudding, MS, CCC-SLP, for a thoughtful conversation about how culturally responsive communication can promote more equitable outcomes in special education. Drawing on her clinical expertise and leadership experience, Samantha shares practical strategies for supporting culturally and linguistically diverse students and families while strengthening collaboration across educational teams.
About the Guest: Samantha Dudding, M.S., CCC‑SLP, is a speech‑language pathologist and special education leader whose work centers on culturally responsive communication within school‑based special education processes. She is currently a Student Support Coordinator in a school district just outside of Washington, DC where she facilitates special education processes, supports multidisciplinary teams, and leads professional development focused on inclusive practices.
Show Notes:
Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory
Sign up for the ASHFoundation's 7th Annual Virtual Walk/Run
Join the team "First Bite Fun Runners"

What does it take to prepare pediatric SLPs in serving diverse communities?
Guest: Paula V. Pineda, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL
Earn 0.10 ASHA CEUs for this episode with Speech Therapy PD
Watch on YouTube
In this episode of the First Bite podcast, host Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, is joined by Paula V. Pineda, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, bilingual speech-language pathologist, Chief Clinical Supervisor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and President of the ASHA Hispanic Caucus, for a thoughtful conversation about preparing pediatric SLPs to serve culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
About the Guest: Paula V. Pineda, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, is a bilingual (English/Spanish) Speech-Language Pathologist with over 14 years of experience. Originally from Colombia, Paula has lived in New York City since 2001. She earned her Master’s degree from Adelphi University in 2011 and completed her clinical doctorate at Northwestern University in 2023.
Show Notes:
Contact Paula: www.tc.columbia.edu
Family Guided Routines Based Intervention: fgrbi.com
Sign up for ASHFoundation's 7th Annual Virtual Walk/Run
Join the team "First Bite Fun Runners"

Love Money:
Support the Hispanic Caucus: www.hispaniccaucusasha.org
Support your local immigration association: www.findhelp.org

What role do SLPs play with literacy development?
Guest: Heather L. Ramsdell, PhD, CCC-SLP, CALT, QIT
Earn 0.10 ASHA CEUs for this episode with Speech Therapy PD
Watch on Youtube
In this episode of First Bite, Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, is joined by Heather L. Ramsdell, PhD, CCC-SLP, CALT, QIT, for a passionate, research-backed discussion that positions speech-language pathologists as central to literacy development. Heather reframes dyslexia and reading challenges as reflections of underlying language and developmental profiles, explains how early oral language skills lay the foundation for reading, and discusses key early indicators of risk and the diverse developmental pathways that contribute to reading difficulties.
About the Guest: Heather L. Ramsdell, PhD CCC-SLP, CALT, QI in Training, University of Memphis, 2009, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Idaho State University, owner/clinician at Once Upon a Time LLC, and mother of two children with dyslexia. Her teaching, research, and clinical areas of expertise/interest include infant vocal development, phonetics, phonology, multisensory structured language intervention, spelling, structured word inquiry, literacy, and dyslexia.
Show Notes:
Read with Ramsdell: www.readwithramsdell.com
Contact Heather: www.isu.edu/slp/about/faculty
Publications: https://pubs.asha.org/authored-by/Ramsdell/Heather+L
Sign up for the ASHFoundation 7th Annual Virtual Walk/Run
Join the First Bite Team: "First Bite Fun Runners"
Love Money: Support Children's Dyslexia Centers

Learn how the ASHFoundation is stepping up amidst research funding cuts.
Earn 0.10 ASHA CEUs for this episode with Speech Therapy PD
Watch on YouTube
In this special live episode of First Bite, Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, is joined by Sharon E. Moss, PhD, CCC-SLP, CAE, Executive Director of the ASHFoundation, along with past funding recipients Katherine M. Trice, BA, and Ryan McCreery, PhD, to celebrate the ASHFoundation's 80th anniversary.
If you've been watching the news and wondering how research funding cuts might impact our field, take a breath. The ASHFoundation is stepping up. Together, they discuss how innovative funding initiatives, including the Need-Based Emergency Funding Program, are supporting students, early-career investigators, and the future of communication sciences and disorders. Katherine and Ryan also share their personal experiences, highlighting the impact of Foundation support on their research and professional journeys.
About the Guests:
Dr. Ryan McCreery, PhD, is the Vice President of Research at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. He also serves as a Senior Scientist and Director of the Audibility, Perception, and Cognition (APC) Lab.
Sharon E. Moss, PhD, CCC-SLP, CAE, became the executive director of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation in October 2022. Moss is responsible for the ASHFoundation’s leadership and management, fundraising, and mission-related program activities which include scholarship, research grant and special project initiatives.
Katherine M. Trice earned her BA in Linguistics from the University of Rochester and completed her PhD in Psychology from Northeastern University this July. She currently works as a postdoctoral associate in the Gabrieli Lab at MIT.
Show Notes:
www.ashfoundation.org
ASHFoundation on Instagram: @ashfoundationcsd
ASHFoundation on LinkedIn
Sign up for the ASHFoundation 7th Annual Virtual Walk/Run
Join the First Bite Team: "First Bite Fun Runners"

Learn how to support NICU graduates as they transition from the hospital to home.
Earn 0.10 ASHA CEUs for this episode with Speech Therapy PD
Watch on Youtube
What happens when Michelle sits down with Tiffany Elliott, MS, CCC-SLP, CNT, IBCLC, NTMTC; Sara Circelli, MA, IMH-E, PMH-C; and Dr. Leslie Butterfield, PhD, PMH-C, from Hospital-to-Home Systems Change? You get a powerful hour dedicated to perinatal mental health, systems change, and supporting NICU graduates as they transition from the hospital to home. Together, they discuss how perinatal mental health, including postpartum anxiety, depression, and trauma, impacts caregiver engagement, readiness to learn, and the ability to support their newborns. They also highlight why supporting caregivers is essential to improving outcomes for infants and families.
About the Guests: Tiffany Elliott, MS, CCC-SLP, CNT, IBCLC, NTMTC, is a Speech Language Pathologist and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. She brings her deep clinical experience in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders, preterm and medically complex infants, and healthcare systems in the work she does as a clinician, educator and systems change advocate.
Sara Circelli, MA, IMH-E, PMH-C, is the Hospital-to-Home Systems Change Manager at Northwest Center, where she also served as an Early Intervention Family Resources Coordinator for nearly a decade. She helped develop Northwest Center’s Hospital-to-Home team to address the “service cliff” families face after NICU discharge, ensuring a supported transition home.
Leslie Butterfield, PhD, PMH-C, is a perinatal psychologist specializing in the transition to parenthood, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), perinatal loss, recovery from traumatic birth, NICU parenting, and parenting medically fragile infants. She is past Chairwoman of Perinatal Support Washington and the past President of PATTCh (Prevention and Treatment of Traumatic Childbirth).
Show Notes:
hospitaltohomesystemschange.org
pediatricfeedingconnections.com
Love Money: Support National Perinatal Association