Exciting News!!!

This update is primarily to share my exciting news… As of September 7, 2017, I am now Oklahoma’s 4th adult focused board certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders! Most of the other 11 swallowing specialists in our region

of OK, AR, and KS are professors or researchers in academic settings, so I’m excited to officially have this title as a clinical specialist as I continue to make it my mission to advocate and provide resources for people with dysphagia in our area (and for other clinical SLPs worldwide). Obtaining this specialty certification has been a 4-year process of authoring several swallowing publications, giving presentations, taking advanced dysphagia courses, hosting support groups, having my application voted on and approved by the national board, and lastly this month- taking and passing a comprehensive exam covering all things related to swallowing. As many of you know, one of our other main niches at SNR is voice disorders, but currently there is no specialty certification in our field specifically for voice. But as the swallowing/voice anatomy overlaps, often so do the impairments. My team and I are experienced with a wide range of swallowing and voice impairments and have recently expanded to become a regional swallowing and voice center, serving patients throughout Oklahoma and surrounding states. I am committed to making sure we are providing the latest evidence-based services and providing the best informational resources possible. We are also very excited about a few other things coming up this fall, including our team training in myofascial release next month to help with those post-radiation patients with severe fibrosis-related dysphagia. But right now we are celebrating my “officialness” as a true national swallowing specialist! (The day after I passed my board certification exam, I was also informed that I was selected as a 2017 Oklahoma NextGen Under 30 Award Recipient in the Healthcare category, so this month has been a bit overwhelming with exciting things, actually!) As always, I appreciate all of SNR’s supporters, and we love working with each of you. Thank you for celebrating with us and for your continued support, friends and followers!