Tackling the Silent Epidemic: Mild TBI after Sports Concussion

Guest: Alicia Smalls, MPH, MA, CF-SLP, CBIS - This course explores the role of speech-language pathologists in public health, including increasing their knowledge of the incidence and prevalence based on risk factors, identifying and addressing disparities in access to healthcare and speech-language pathology referrals, and strategies to tackle the silent epidemic by contributing to sports-related concussion initiatives as a field, individually, and within our communities. Alicia discusses the epidemiology of mild traumatic brain injury in sports concussion research, highlights the lack of access and provision of speech-language pathology services within the athletic community, and addresses the areas of the brain affected and cognitive communicative deficits that may arise.