The Brain Health Toolbox with Jennifer Ruckner

How can we incorporate brain health into everyday clinical practice?

Guest: Jennifer Ruckner, MS, CCC-SLP

Earn 0.10 ASHA CEUs for this episode with Speech Therapy PD

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Brainstorms podcast host Renee Garrett, MSED, CCC-SLP, CBIS, is joined by Jennifer Ruckner, MS, CCC-SLP, for a practical discussion on how speech-language pathologists can incorporate brain health into everyday clinical practice. Together, they break down the neuroscience behind neuroplasticity, cognitive reserve, and lifestyle factors that influence brain function, while exploring what brain health really means across the continuum of care.

About the Guest: Jennifer Ruckner, MS, CCC-SLP, is a seasoned speech-language pathologist with over three decades of experience across Early Intervention, school districts, and private practice. She earned her Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Communication Disorders from Auburn University and has practiced since 1990. Jennifer specializes in Social/Pragmatic Language, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Expressive Language Disorder, and Feeding Disorders.

Show Notes and Resources:

• First Things First (Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board): This state-funded organization explicitly publishes these exact percentage benchmarks in their The First Five Years and general Brain Development guides to emphasize the importance of early childhood. [1, 2, 3]
• The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University: Harvard's research on early brain architecture and "serve-and-return" interactions serves as the scientific foundation for these milestones. They document that the brain's physical volume and synaptic pathways undergo their most rapid, critical expansion during this 0-to-5 window. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): Public health studies track these figures based on physical brain weight and volume growth, explaining how a newborn's brain starts at about 25% of adult size, doubles in the first year, and hits the 90% mark around age 5. [1, 2]