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How RBANS complemented language assessment and supported clinical decision making in adult rehabilitation

As an SLP, you're often asked to make decisions that go beyond language alone—particularly when working with adults with suspected cognitive changes. Understanding a patient's attention, memory, and overall cognitive status can play an important role in shaping referrals, treatment plans, and expectations for recovery. 

Maria Brask, MS, CCC-SLP, spent years in inpatient rehabilitation, regularly using RBANS® with adults recovering from stroke and traumatic brain injury. Now, she shares how cognitive assessment fit into her clinical workflow—and why it matters for your patients. 

In this conversation, Maria shares how RBANS fit into her clinical workflow, how it complemented the language assessments she was already using, and how the results helped inform treatment planning, referrals, and patient care.

Memory loss has long been considered the defining hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. But there is more to the disease than misplaced keys, forgotten names, and other memory lapses. Reducing Alzheimer’s to memory alone oversimplifies a disease that affects multiple aspects of thinking, behavior, and daily functioning.

As researchers develop more sophisticated biomarkers, disease-modifying therapies, and prevention strategies, they also recognize that the tools used to measure cognition must evolve. Alzheimer’s affects far more than memory, and understanding the disease requires assessing the full range of cognitive and behavioral changes that patients experience.

This theme emerged during the third episode of “The Progress Profile: Alzheimer’s Research in Focus,” in which Maria Carrillo, Ph.D., chief science officer and medical affairs lead at the Alzheimer’s Association, joined moderator Dr. John Harrison to discuss why the field is broadening its view of cognitive decline.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — August 17, 2026 — SAIL CoLab, Inc. has officially acquired the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS™) assessment assets from NCS Pearson, effective June 30, 2026. With this strategic acquisition, SAIL CoLab becomes the official publisher of all SSIS assessment and intervention products, uniting them into a singular, highly cohesive system dedicated to improving children and youths' social emotional skills and behavioral health. 

For years, the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency™ (BOT™) has been known and trusted for comprehensive evaluation of gross and fine motor skills across a wide range of ages and ability levels. 

But did you know that the latest edition—the BOT™-3—builds on that strong foundation with several brand-new scores that give clinicians even more clinically meaningful information to work with?

In this post, we'll break down each of these new scores, explain what they measure, and highlight how they can enhance your assessment and intervention planning.

Women account for almost two-thirds of people living with Alzheimer's disease. For years, the higher prevalence was largely attributed to the fact that women tend to live longer than men. But during a recent episode of The Progress Profile: Alzheimer's Research in Focus podcast, Phyllis Ferrell, DrPH, MBA, innovator, investor, and incubator for brain health and longevity, argued that explanation no longer tells the whole story.

In a conversation about the future of Alzheimer's research, moderator Dr. John Harrison, engaged Ferrell in conversation about the ways advances in biomarkers, cognitive testing, and precision medicine are revealing important biological differences between men and women. Their discussion highlighted an emerging area of research that could reshape everything from clinical trial design to early diagnosis and treatment.

“We're learning something that we've known in other disease states,” Ferrell said. “Women's brains are not just little men's brains.”

AI-Powered Wearable Named 2026 Best Student Learning Capacity-Building Solution

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental conditions affecting children in schools today, but it may also be the least understood. While studies estimate that approximately 7% of children meet criteria for DLD — making it more common than autism — it remains under-identified and frequently misunderstood in educational settings.

For school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs), DLD often presents as persistent academic, literacy or participation concerns in students who otherwise “sound fine,” making it challenging to identify. Here’s what you need to know to ensure students receive the support they need.

As a speech-language pathologist, I’ve encountered countless students struggling with speech sound disorders (SSD), which can impact their ability to communicate and their self-confidence. Proper assessment and effective intervention for speech sound disorders (SSD) requires a deep understanding of the complexities involved — and the tools that can help diagnose and treat these specific issues.

Speech sound disorders encompass difficulties with speech sound production, and they are most commonly classified as articulation or phonological disorders. Distinguishing between the two can be tricky — even with extensive training and education — but it’s essential to diagnose them accurately in order to determine the most effective treatment strategies.

This backgrounder provides information that might be a helpful refresher for practitioners and a good resource for the families with whom they work.