163: Reimagining Functional Neurological Disorder: Moving Beyond the 'Psychogenic' Label with Catherine Gregory, CPSP, PhD, MSLP, BSc
Dr Cath Gregory chats about the latest evidence in Functional Neurological Disorders and the speech-language pathologist’s role when working with people with Functional Neurological Communication and Swallowing Disorders.
Key Takeaway:
Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a problem with the ‘software’ of the brain that can occur across the lifespan. No longer classed as ‘psychogenic’, this disorder is now known to follow a biopsychosocial model of illness. It is essential that positive diagnosis, rather than a diagnosis of exclusion, occurs. Clear education about the disorder and the use of distraction to help access more autonomic pathways is the current consensus treatment for communication and swallowing disorders and a multidisciplinary approach is always required for people with more complex needs.
Resources
Baker J, Barnett C, Cavalli L, et al. Management of functional communication, swallowing, cough and related disorders: consensus recommendations for speech and language therapy. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 2021;92:1112-1125. https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/10/1112
Utianski, & Duffy, J. R. (2022). Understanding, Recognizing, and Managing Functional Speech Disorders: Current Thinking Illustrated With a Case Series. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(3), 1205–1220. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-21-00366
Kozlowska K, Sawchuk T, Waugh J, Helgeland H, Baker J, Scher S, Fobian A (2021) Changing the culture of care for children and adolescents with functional neurological disorder. Epilepsy & Behavior Reports,16,100486, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebr.2021.100486.
Vassilopoulos, A., Mohammad, S., Dure, L. et al. Treatment Approaches for Functional Neurological Disorders in Children. Curr Treat Options Neurol 24, 77–97 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-022-00708-5
https://neurosymptoms.org/ - has wonderful information and easy to access videos explaining FND that can be useful for patients
https://www.fndsociety.org/ - a wonderful society that provides a lot of free/reasonably priced professional development opportunities to members.
https://fndaustralia.com.au/ - has some handy resources for clinicians and patients including a handy workbook for patients to use to think about their triggers and some self help guidance.
Contact information:
catherine.gregory@uts.edu.au
cath@resonatesp.com.au
Thanks for these great resources, Dr. Gregory!
Dr. Cath Gregory, CPSP, PhD, MSLP, BSc
Guest Speaker Bio:
Dr Cath Gregory is a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist, researcher and lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. Completing a PhD in Neuroscience prior to retraining as a Speech Pathologist, she has always been fascinated by how the brain works. Cath has over 11 years' clinical experience working in both acute and rehabilitation settings and she treats clients with FND communication and swallowing disorders in her own private practice, as well as supervising students to provide these services in the UTS on campus clinic called SPROUTS.
Leigh Ann Porter, MA, CCC-SLP
Host Bio:
Leigh Ann Porter is a medical SLP in San Jose, California. Building on a passion for education and implementing best practice approaches, Leigh Ann created the Speech Uncensored Podcast to connect medical SLPs with meaningful resources, emerging research, and practical tools. Leigh Ann’s goal is to empower and connect SLPs to enhance our profession and accelerate the research to practice pipeline. One of her passions is learning and sharing simple and impactful therapy techniques. In addition to nerding out on medical speech pathology, Leigh Ann loves hiking at national parks, exploring waterways on her stand up paddle board, and enjoying a delicious meal with friends and family.
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