Education and Standards Committee:
One of the major roles of the Education and Standards Committee is to develop and implement the educational program for the Annual Scientific and Business Meeting.  In completing this task for the 2017 meeting in Los Angeles, the committee members (Jennifer Horner, Isabel Hubbard, Diana Petroi, Gail Pashek, JoAnn Silkes and myself) discussed several themes.  When identifying appropriate themes, the committee considered previous meetings topics, survey results from attendees of the 2016 meeting, potential presenters from the California regional area, guidance from the ANCDS Board liaison to the committee (Julie Wambaugh), and the collective knowledge of the committee. 

The theme title chosen was Traumatic Brain Injury: From State of the Science to Clinical Application.  Mark D’Esposito of the University of California-Berkeley discussed theoretical models of interconnectivity of brain functioning and the application of technologies to the study of interconnectivity in participants with and without neurological disorders.  David Hovda of UCLA described his research on chemical changes at the cellular level resulting from brain injury and the ramifications of these changes for rehabilitation.  Kathy Hardin of the University of Colorado-Boulder focused on the role of the speech-language pathologist in assessing and treating concussion, with a call in the future for expanded clinical research targeting best practices for concussive injuries.  Mary Kennedy of Chapman University, and colleagues (Katie O’Brien, University of Georgia and Sarah Schellinger, Saint Xavier University, Chicago) shared treatment histories for two college students experiencing concussion.  Finally, Lyn Turkstra of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario shared the treatment path, the challenges, and the lessons learned based on treatment she provided for a patient with moderate to severe cognitive deficits due to traumatic brain injury.

Evaluation of the program by the attendees of the meeting was extremely positive.  The committee is very thankful to the attendees for all the feedback provided, especially regarding future themes.  The committee is presently working on theme development for the 2018 meeting in Boston based on this feedback.  For those who could not attend the LA meeting, some of the presentations from the meeting will be made available in a continuing education format.  Finally, the committee would like to thank Richard Peach, Julie Wambaugh, and members of the Board for their guidance and support over the last year. 

Evidence-Based Clinical Research Committee:
The Evidence-Based Clinical Research Committee kept quite busy in 2017, with each writing group/subcommittee (i.e., aphasia, apraxia of speech, progressive neurogenic disorders, dysarthria, traumatic brain injury [TBI], and right hemisphere disorders [RHD] groups) working on one or more projects.  Some examples of the Committee’s achievements and current projects include: