Dear {{CFirstName}},

As June arrives, many of us are moving into a different rhythm. The slower pace of summer can be a welcome shift, offering a bit of space to reflect on the academic year behind us and to begin to recharge for what comes next. I hope this season gives you time to pause, take stock of all that has been accomplished, and reconnect with the purpose that brought you to this work.

This month’s newsletter focuses on admissions, a topic I know is top of mind for many of us. As we continue to navigate changing applicant pools, workforce needs, and institutional expectations, your perspective matters. I encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the brief survey highlighted in this issue. Your input will help shape CAPCSD’s understanding of current practices and inform how we support programs moving forward.

We are also featuring an article on integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into curriculum and clinical training. This is work that continues to evolve and deepen across our programs, and I hope the piece offers both practical ideas and affirmation of the efforts already underway in your own settings.

On a personal note, this will be my final newsletter message as CAPCSD President. It has been a true privilege to serve this community. I am continually inspired by the thoughtfulness, innovation, and dedication you bring to preparing the next generation of clinicians. Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this work alongside you.

Wishing you a restorative and meaningful summer.

Warm regards,

Important Dates

Below are the upcoming important dates so that you may plan accordingly. Dates are subject to change. CAPCSD will send separate email for each of the below dates with official information.

DEIB

How to Integrate DEIB Into the Curriculum and Clinical Training

The personal stories shared by two different caregivers this semester further clarified this concept of word choices. During a presentation, one caregiver explained that it was traumatic for her to hear the preschool evaluation team label her child as nonverbal. She prefers the term preverbal. Another caregiver titled her daughter’s presentation "Nonverbal Communication is my Superpower." These perspectives strengthened students’ understanding that the same word can significantly affect feelings of inclusion and belonging.

In didactic classes and clinical rotations, faculty and clinical instructors discuss that inclusive vocabulary may evolve for various reasons; however, the most essential terms are those preferred by clients and caregivers themselves. This principle is grounded in the Universal Design for Learning, underscoring the importance of proactively including individuals rather than reacting after exclusion has occurred. Intentional language is a simple yet powerful gesture that aligns with trauma-informed care. Patient-informed and trauma-informed care are intricately linked, each serving as a relationship-based approach to create a safe environment. These models focus on reducing stress, anxiety, and cultural biases while simultaneously empowering clients and validating their autonomy (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2025).

What additional strategies are we using to promote a shared, respected experience or DEIB in the curriculum and clinical training? In our programs, students complete ASHA’s Cultural Competence Check-In: Self-Reflection tool (2021). Small group discussions are facilitated to identify areas where students may feel less comfortable and to collaboratively develop strategies for personal and professional growth. In clinical settings, graduate clinicians provide teacher education in the teacher’s preferred language and learn greetings and closings in that language to reciprocate the warm welcome extended by our community partners. Service-learning projects are designed with careful consideration of clients’ diverse needs, including race, gender, ability, age, access, interests, and preferences. By doing so, graduate clinicians created switch-adapted items that were relevant and equitable for all participants.

Adopting new perspectives and methodologies can provide valuable insights to guide curriculum and clinical training. During the recent CAPCSD Conference, Dr. Kimberly Green
introduced the cultural compass. The south arm of the compass features a mirror for self-reflection, encouraging educators and students to examine their biases and refine how principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are addressed in both coursework and clinical practice.

Young et al. (2021) developed an anti-oppression curriculum that teaches students to reflect on their power, privilege, and positionality; identify and remove racial, gender, and language biases from treatment materials; explore strategies for increasing awareness of and reducing social determinants of health while improving access to services; and thoughtfully consider their communication with and about clients. Additionally, students are encouraged to actively engage with individuals with varying abilities. Other Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) programs have developed diversity-focused mentorship initiatives and launched community engagement projects aimed at underserved populations (Steward & Mishra, 2022).

Recent literature highlights the value of a three-tiered approach to culturally responsive education that encompasses awareness, knowledge, and skills (Robinson et al., 2023). Instructors can facilitate student development by helping them critically examine their values and biases, expand their understanding of social and health disparities, and build practical skills through clinical practice and partnerships with community organizations supporting diverse groups.

Wainscott (2025) describes a Framework of Inclusive Dispositions that teaches cultural humility by identifying personal beliefs, reviewing case studies with coached role-plays, sharing missteps, and responding to shared vulnerabilities. The Framework also teaches a person-centered perspective through intentional language, which reinforces the lesson learned from my guest presenters this semester: “language ascribes value; contributes to access and identity" (p. 77).

The integration of DEIB into the curriculum emphasizes that culturally responsive education is not an isolated topic. It is an ongoing framework woven throughout academic and clinical experiences. Faculty, students, clients, and caregivers each contribute valuable perspectives that shape how future clinicians develop cultural humility, inclusive communication practices, and patient-centered care. Integrating DEIB into coursework, clinical supervision, service-learning, and reflective practice encourages students to recognize how language, bias, privilege, and access affect therapeutic relationships and outcomes. Collectively, these approaches cultivate an educational environment that values belonging, respects lived experiences, and prepares clinicians to provide equitable and compassionate care across diverse communities.

References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2025, August 15). What is trauma-informed care? Aap.org. https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/national-center-for-relational-health-and-trauma-informed-care/what-is-trauma-informed-care/

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Cultural competence check-in: Self-reflection. asha.orghttps://www.asha.org/practice/multicultural/self/?srsltid=AfmBOorwss5p803BOR5EcBTUMfUTTKhL633MU2J96ue9ebxbGSVUUBc2

Robinson, G. C., Toliver-Smith, A., & Stigar, L. V. (2023). Teaching Queer Concepts to Graduate Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Foster Affirmative Clinical Practice. Seminars in Speech and Language, Volume 44(2), 104–118. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1761947. ISSN 0734-0478.

Steward, J. R., & Mishra, S. (2022). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives of Communication Sciences and Disorder Programs Across the United States. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7, 1475–1482. https://pubs.asha.org

Wainscott, S. D. (2025). Building Inclusive Dispositions Within Interdisciplinary Training for Teachers of the Deaf and Speech-Language Pathologists. Communication Disorders Quarterly, Vol. 46(2) 73–83. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15257401231222870

Young, I. M., Halvorson-Bourgeois, B., Maxwell, L., Nicholas, M., & Riotte, M. (2021). Anti-Oppressive practice: An integral component of a graduate curriculum. Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, 5(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.30707/TLCSD5.3.1649037688.643095

Deborah Scheble, SLP.D, CCC-SLP

Secretary, CAPCSD DEIB Committee

Admissions Corner

Admissions Survey- We Need your Responses!

We are seeking feedback from faculty and staff on two sections of the CSDCAS application currently under review: the Experiences section and the Letters of Recommendation section. Whether you serve on an admissions committee, write recommendation letters, or support the admissions process in another role, your perspective is extremely valuable to us.

The survey is anonymous and takes only a few minutes to complete. We would also ask that you share it with colleagues at your institution who are involved in this work so we can gather as many perspectives as possible. Use the link below to respond by July 10, 2026.

Building a Bridge: Configuring your CSDCAS Portal Page

The prelaunch configuration portal is now open, and programs have already begun to the process of building out their pages. Before starting this process, programs should conduct a systematic review of their portal to identify areas for improvement. It is critical to consider how the application is presented to applicants and how the requirements provide useful information to inform admission decisions. Knowing which information is valuable to your program should drive any changes you make to your portal. Programs should limit low-value or unnecessary requirements, ensuring there are limited barriers for applicants to apply.

When reviewing the different sections of the configuration portal, consider the following:

• Home Page (Branding)
  • Provide a brief program overview that also shares what stands out about your program.
  • List the requirements for your program, including information for international applications, such as foreign transcript evaluations and English proficiency.
  • Provide characteristics of what you are looking for in an applicant.
  • Limit links that take the applicant away from the application process.
• Questions Page
  • Ensure there are no duplicated questions that have already been asked within the standard application.
  • Outside of institutionally required questions, are your questions providing valuable insights?
  • If you have short-answer questions/essays, provide clear prompts that are tied to a rubric.
• Prerequisites Page
  • List all prerequisite courses that you will require.
  • List the courses with a general title that could represent courses taken from a variety of institutions.
  • For each course, provide a description or list topics that should be covered.
• Documents Page
  • Ensure the documentation you are requesting from applicants is of high value to your program and ask yourself the following questions:
    • Does requiring a CV/resume provide you with more information that is not already collected in the experience and achievements section of the application?
    • Do the Personal Statements/Essays provide you with insights that accurately represent applicants’ skills, abilities, or motivations?
    • Do you have an optional essay for applicants to provide more insights that were not already previously captured?
  • Provide structured prompts that are paired with a well-defined rubric to ensure the review team has the proper tools to evaluate applicants consistently.

Next Steps: We have developed a new configuration portal best practices webpage on the CAPCSD website to help guide programs through this critical pre-launch setup. This page is an all-encompassing resource that includes important configuration cycle details, best practices, a webinar, and direct links to relevant Liaison help center information. Additionally, a configuration portal checklist is included to help ensure everything has been reviewed and is ready to be launched

Check it out here: https://www.capcsd.org/best-practice-configuration/ 

If you need help with the admissions processes for your MA/MS and/or AuD graduate education programs, or you need help with WebAdMIT or CSDCAS, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Admissions Committee and CAPCSD’s Director of Centralized Admissions.

Admissions Committee Contacts

https://members.capcsd.org/admissionscommittee

Teasha McKinley, Director of Centralized Admissions

teasha@capcsd.org 

Key Principles in CSD Clinical Education

Whether onboarding new community preceptors for the Fall, or supporting seasoned educators, our self-paced webinar course offers foundational best practices in clinical education. Successful completion of all six modules will earn 0.30 ASHA CEUs in clinical education, meeting the ASHA training requirement for clinical educators, supervisors, and preceptors.

By completing six self-paced modules, preceptors will:

• Gain insights into the roles and responsibilities of clinical educators and learners.
• Explore proven communication strategies to strengthen relationships with clinical learners.
• Learn techniques for providing meaningful feedback and navigating challenging conversations.
• Understand the importance of culturally responsive teaching and ethical obligations in clinical education.

Clinical Instructors Supervising for CAPCSD Members (known as Partners in Elevate): Share this valuable resource with your community based clinical educators - provide them with the discount code (available in the CAPCSD Info Hub). They must ‘log in with a partner account’. Be sure to provide the code before they register, as refunds cannot be issued after purchase.

If you can't attend the live webinar, register now and receive a recording of the webinar to view at your convenience. Please note, only registrants who attend the live webinar are eligible for ASHA CEUs.

https://www.capcsd.org                                                                                                                                                                                       June 2026