So What Really is in That Formula and What’s it Doing to Patients?

Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, serves as a speech-language pathologist with Wolfe Speech Therapy, LLC, in Staunton, VA, and adjunct professor with North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, NC. Additionally, she is the acclaimed host of “First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional,” a weekly speech therapy podcast that addresses “all thangs” of pediatric speech therapy and is presented by SpeechTherapyPD.com. Michelle authored "Chasing the Swallow: Truth, Science, and Hope for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders." She is an accomplished lecturer, traveling across the nation delivering courses on best practices for the evaluation and treatment of medically complex infants, toddlers, and children with respect to their pediatric oropharyngeal dysphagia, pediatric feeding disorder, as well as language acquisition within the framework of Early Intervention. She currently volunteers as the Vice President of Speech-Language Pathology (March 2025 – 2027), co-chair for the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia (SHAV) Dysphagia and Pediatric Feeding Disorder Group (2023 – present), and on the convention committee for the 2025 Annual SHAV Convention. She has previously served twice as the Topic Chair for the Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders Committee for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Annual Convention, as the Treasurer for the Council of State Association Presidents (CSAP), is a Past President of the South Carolina Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (SCSHA), a board of trustee member for the Communication Disorder Foundation of Virginia (CDF), a graduate of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Leadership Development Program (ASHA LDP), a recipient of both the PFD Systems Innovator Award and the Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Champion from Feeding Matters, a recipient of the Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Outstanding Clinical Achievement from the SCSHA, a recipient of the State Clinical Achievement Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Foundation, recognized as an ASHA Innovator, and eleven-time recipient of ASHA’s ACE Award for continuing education.

Jeremy Ponds is a licensed dietitian nutritionist from Columbia SC. He is the owner of Path of Life Nutrition, where he provides integrative and functional nutrition counseling and health coaching for individuals of all ages. He also works as a nutrition consultant for Newberry County Memorial Hospital and is currently serving as the Reimbursement Representative for SCAND. Jeremy received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Human Nutrition from Winthrop University and has extensive experience in clinical, outpatient, and community nutrition. He is also in the process of becoming credentialed in integrative and functional nutrition with an emphasis on digestive disorders. Jeremy has a passion for nutrition and wellness and loves coaching clients to better health! He is happily married to his best friend and the proud father of four lively girls! When not buried in researching nutrition, you’ll find Jeremy serving as a human jungle gym, playing outdoors, building things, training in karate or sipping coffee over a good book.