November 10th "Virtual Lounge" Will Focus on How Speech-Language Pathologists Can Help Caregivers and Care Partners
ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and Hilarity for Charity (HFC) will join forces this November for an online event intended to educate caregivers and care partners about the role that speech-language pathologists play in helping people with dementia and their families.
Ashley Haltenhof, Associate Director of Health Care Services in Speech-Language Pathology for ASHA, will join Hilarity for Charity for a virtual lounge at 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on November 10. The event coincides with National Family Caregivers Month.
Co-founded by Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen, HFC is a national nonprofit on a mission to care for families impacted by Alzheimer's disease, activate the next generation of Alzheimer's advocates, and be a leader in brain health research and education.
ASHA is the national, professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 212,000 speech-language pathologists (SLPs). SLPs are professionals who treat speech, language, communication, cognition, and swallowing problems across the life span. These are all areas of difficulty for people with dementia—and these challenges can interfere significantly with their daily lives as well as those of their families.
"At Hilarity for Charity, we're always looking for ways to make life easier and brighter for families impacted by dementia. Collaborating with ASHA allows us to spotlight the vital role speech-language pathologists play in helping care partners communicate with compassion and confidence," said Bonnie Wattles, Executive Director, Hilarity for Charity (HFC). "We're thrilled to create space for caregivers to connect, learn, and feel supported during National Family Caregivers Month."
HFC's virtual lounges are casual, topic-driven spaces where caregivers can engage in real-time conversations with each other, learn from experts, and explore helpful tools and strategies to support their daily lives.
ASHA's presentation will address these topics:
- How dementia affects communication, cognition, and swallowing—and how these effects differ at the mild, moderate, and advanced stages of dementia.
- Ways that SLPs work with people with dementia and their care partners to reduce daily challenges associated with these areas.
- Actionable strategies for improving communication and making mealtimes safer and more enjoyable for people with dementia.
- Tips for encouraging independence, respecting privacy, and upholding a person's dignity when they have dementia.
- Additional resources for care partners, including how to connect with an SLP and other professionals.
Haltenhof is a Certified Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Care Trainer (CADDCT®), a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP®), and an SLP with experience in skilled nursing, long-term care, and life plan communities. At ASHA, she focuses on supporting clinicians in post-acute settings. Haltenhof is passionate about senior care, with a focus on elevating resources for dementia care.
Registration for the virtual lounge is available at https://wearehfc.org/events/. It is free and open to the public. A recording will be available after the event as well.
About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 241,000 members, certificate holders, and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology assistants; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identify, assess, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders. http://www.asha.org
About Hilarity for Charity
Hilarity for Charity (HFC) is a national nonprofit founded by filmmakers Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen in 2012 after Lauren's mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's at just 55 years old. HFC's mission is to care for families impacted by Alzheimer's disease, activate the next generation of Alzheimer's advocates, and be a leader in brain health research and education. HFC supports family caregivers with a continuum of care that offsets the challenges of caregiving and enables more physically, financially, and emotionally sustainable caregiving journeys. To learn more, visit http://www.wearehfc.org.
Media Contact
Francine Pierson, ASHA, 301-296-8715, [email protected], https://www.asha.org
SOURCE ASHA
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