Speech Scope Episode 22: Making Sense of Executive Functions: What's Missing From Our Explanations?

Lauren Schwabish, MS, CCC-SLP, a person-centered neuro SLP and private practice owner, joins host Sarah Baar at the 2025 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention to unpack one of the trickiest topics in cognitive rehab—executive functions. With real questions and reflections from fellow SLPs, Sarah and Lauren delve into what executive functions truly are and how to discuss them in terms our clients can understand. Together, we explore how analogies, self-awareness, and health literacy can transform therapy into a more empowering and effective experience. If you’ve ever struggled to explain or treat executive dysfunction, this episode is for you.Learning ObjectivesAnalyze the evidence around how executive function challenges present in individuals with neurological conditions and their implications for therapy across care settingsDetermine the situations in which health literacy–informed communication strategies and person-centered executive function interventions provide the most benefit for improving self-awareness and therapy engagementSolve patient case scenarios involving executive dysfunction by applying functional assessment, strategic analogies, and structured feedback techniques to facilitate client insight and progress toward therapy goalsTimestamps(00:00:00) Welcome(00:00:05) Introduction and episode overview(00:01:44) Guest introduction(00:02:54) Setting the stage: what is executive function (EF)?(00:04:23) SLP voices: defining executive functions(00:07:48) The missing component: self-awareness(00:09:50) Core executive functions framework(00:12:16) Inhibition(00:14:28) Working memory(00:15:30) Cognitive flexibility(00:16:39) The building analogy for EF(00:17:30) Clinical examples across diagnoses(00:21:25) Analogies clinicians use(00:27:07) Health literacy and client education(00:32:16) Identifying EF in functional tasks(00:34:52) Strategy instruction and EF intervention(00:38:02) Student and clinician perspectives(00:41:27) Therapy planning and goal development(00:44:06) Implementing EF strategies(00:48:07) Actionable takeaways(00:50:27) Closing reflectionsSpeech Scope is brought to you by Medbridge. If you’d like to earn continuing education credit for listening to this episode and access bonus takeaway handouts, log in to your Medbridge account and navigate to the course where you’ll find accreditation details. If applicable, complete the post-course assessment and survey to be eligible for credit. The takeaway handout on Medbridge gives you the key points mentioned in this episode, along with additional resources you can implement into your practice right away.To hear more episodes of Speech Scope, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.medbridge.com/speech-scope⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If you’d like to subscribe to Medbridge, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.medbridge.com/pricing/