Communication Disorders as a Public Health Issue: Prevention, Policy, and Population-Level Perspectives

Deborah Swain

Deborah Swain, EdD, CCC-SLP, is the clinical director and CEO of The Swain Center for Listening, Communicating and Learning.  She is Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and served as chair of the Government Affairs and Public Policy committee. She is past president of the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association (CSHA) and served on the CSHA Board of Directors for 10 years.  Dr. Swain is a former Chief of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of California, Davis Medical Center and held a clinical staff appointment to the School of Medicine. Dr. Swain has received numerous ASHA, CSHA, and university awards for leadership, advocacy, clinical service, and professional achievement. Dr. Swain is Fellow of ASHA and served as Editor of ASHA SIG 17 Perspectives Journal. She is a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow of the National Academies of Practice. Dr. Swain served as founder and chair for CSHA’s Early Intervention and International Committees.  She chaired the committee in attaining policy change for the use of SLPAs in early intervention speech-language services in California. She has presented hundreds of papers at state, national, and international meetings and conferences. She has contributed chapters in various professional books and publications. Dr. Swain was the producer of 200 by 2, an information video for physicians on communication development in 2-year-olds. Dr. Swain has served on ASHA’s Legislative Council. Her most recent publication, Confidence and Joy: Success Strategies for Kids with Learning Differences is an Amazon best-selling book. She is the author of numerous books and standardized test batteries: Auditory Processing Disorders: Assessment, Management, and Treatment (four editions, co-edited with Donna Geffner); The Receptive-Expressive Social Communication Assessment-Elementary; The Auditory Phoneme Sequencing Test; The RIPA series of tests; The Listening Inventory; The Swallowing Ability and Function Test; Aphasia Rehabilitation: An Auditory and Verbal Treatment Hierarchy; and The Cognitive-Linguistic Improvement Program. Dr. Swain is an internationally and nationally recognized speaker and author. She was inducted into her high school’s Hall of Fame for her outstanding competitive swimming achievement. She continues to serve as CEO and clinical supervisor for her clinic in Santa Rosa, California, specializing in early Intervention, auditory and spoken-language disorders, learning differences, and cognitive neuroscience.

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Akilah Heggs

Akilah R. Heggs, PhD, CCC-A, is a public health scholar and audiologist whose work centers on advancing equitable, community-based systems of care for children and families affected by developmental disabilities. Trained in Health Promotion and Behavior, Dr. Heggs has more than two decades of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating public health and clinical programs at the federal, state, and community levels.

Dr. Heggs has also led national health promotion and evaluation initiatives at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration, translating research into policy guidance and sustainable community practice. Her scholarship and leadership reflect a commitment to strengthening workforce capacity, promoting health equity, and building community-based partnerships that improve developmental and behavioral health outcomes across diverse populations.

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