Rooted in Connection: Where Relationship Moves us Forward
Rooted in Connection is a podcast about the relationships that shape us in our work, our families, and the moments in between. Hosted by relationship-based speech and feeding therapist Erin Forward, this show explores the stories, science, and small shifts that help us understand ourselves and each other. Through honest conversations with clinicians, caregivers, and community voices, we look at how connection guides growth, healing, and the way we show up in the world.
Episodes
ARFID, Neurodiversity, and Lived Experience: A Conversation on Feeding, Connection, and Self-Advocacy
In this episode, Erin sits down with friend and colleague Rachel Conrad for an honest conversation about ARFID, neurodiversity, self-advocacy, and the profound impact relationships have on our growth and well-being. Drawing from both professional expertise and lived experience, Rachel shares her own journey navigating ARFID and how understanding her neurodivergence helped her make sense of challen
Humor, Humanity & Feeding Therapy with Deborah Brooks
In this episode, Erin sits down with speech therapist and feeding specialist Deborah Brooks for an honest conversation about confidence, connection, humor, and what it really means to support children and families in a relational way. Deborah shares her unique journey from advertising and comedy into pediatric feeding and speech therapy, and how those experiences shaped the way she communicates wi
When the Body Speaks: Understanding Pain Through Safety and Attunement
In this episode, Erin sits down with physical therapist and craniosacral practitioner Joanna Ferreri to explore what it really means to listen to the body.Together, they unpack the relationship between pain, safety, and somatic awareness—shifting away from viewing pain as something to fix, and toward understanding it as a meaningful signal. Joanna shares her journey from traditional physical thera
What We Carry: Living With OCD
In this episode, Erin sits down with her friend and fellow SLP, Julia McMichael, MS, CCC-SLP, for a truly open and honest conversation about living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and neurodivergence. Together, they share their personal stories, reflect on their diagnoses, and explore how these experiences shape them both as humans and as clinicians.Throughout the conversation, they discu
Relationships Shape the Brain: Why Safety Drives Regulation, Learning, and Resilience with Dr. Gillian Boudreau
In this episode of Rooted in Connection, Erin Forward sits down with Dr. Gillian Boudreau to explore how relationships quite literally shape the brain, and why safety is the foundation for regulation, learning, and resilience.Together, they unpack what it means to create true emotional safety for children and the caregivers supporting them. This conversation moves beyond strategies, highlighting h
Authenticity Isn’t Unprofessional: Building Community as a Clinician & Advocate
In this episode of Rooted in Connection, Erin Forward sits down with her friend and colleague, speech-language pathologist and advocate Colleen Ashford for a deeply honest conversation about what it really means to show up as both a clinician and a human.Together, they explore the tension between professionalism and authenticity, and how social media, storytelling, and lived experience can become
Raising a Self-Advocate with Type 1 Diabetes: He Makes me Feel Brave
In this heartfelt conversation, Erin Forward sits down with speech therapist and mother Marlee Brandon to talk about navigating her son’s Type 1 diabetes diagnosis at just 12 months old. Marlee shares the emotional realities of receiving a life-changing diagnosis, learning to manage insulin and food with a toddler, and the unexpected ways the experience reshaped her perspective as both a parent an
You Are Your Child’s Expert: Autism & Building the Right Support Team
Navigating autism services can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re both the parent and the professional.In this episode of Rooted in Connection, Erin Forward sits down with Casey Quinn-Daly to talk about what it really feels like to support a child with developmental delays and autism while navigating speech therapy, provider recommendations, and complex healthcare systems.At the center of t
Practicing Trauma-Informed Care (Beyond the Buzzword): With Rachel Archambault
Today on Rooted in Connection, Erin Forward sits down with friend and trailblazer in the trauma-informed space, Rachel Archambault, to talk about what trauma-informed care actually means in practice.Awareness of trauma-informed care is growing, which is needed, but it’s also so much more than a buzzword. Rachel and Erin vulnerably explore their therapeutic use of self, how they show up in sessions
Where You’re Rooted: Understanding DIR/Floortime and Why It Matters
In this first episode of Where You’re Rooted, Erin shares her journey into DIR/Floortime and explores why this relationship-based model became central to how she understands development, communication, and feeding.Erin breaks down the foundations of DIR/Floortime, shares clinical stories, and reflects on how connection, emotional safety, and individual differences shape growth in children. This ep
Advocacy Is a Relationship: Navigating IEPs Through Connection, Collaboration, and Trust
In this episode of Rooted in Connection, Erin Forward sits down with Brooke Nutting to explore a relationship-based approach to advocacy for children with disabilities, especially within the IEP process.Brooke shares her journey from mental health professional to caregiver advocate and reflects on how relationships, vulnerability, and collaboration shape meaningful change. Together, they unpack wh
Pouring From Empty: Rebuilding Your Nervous System After Burnout
In this episode of Rooted in Connection, Erin Forward sits down with Angelyn Franks for a deeply human conversation about burnout, identity, and what it means to keep showing up for others when your own nervous system is depleted. Together, they explore the emotional and physiological cost of caring, the ways professional roles can quietly overtake our sense of self, and how stress and exhaustion
Care Beyond the Cart, Part 2: Supporting Families Through Complex Pediatric GI and Feeding Care
In Part 2 of Care Beyond the Cart, Erin and pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Jordan Whatley move beyond relationship-building to explore what it means to remain attuned when feeding care is emotionally heavy and outcomes are uncertain.This conversation centers on humility in medicine and therapy, the power of saying “I don’t know,” acknowledging when feeding is genuinely hard, and resisting the ur
Care Beyond the Chart (Part 1): Building Relationships in Pediatric GI and Feeding Therapy
In this first part of a two-part conversation, Erin Forward sits down with pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Jordan Whatley . Not just as a colleague, but as a trusted collaborator and friend.This episode is rooted in shared values: humility, curiosity, and the belief that healthcare works best when it is relational. Jordan speaks openly about his journey through medicine and podcasting, offering h
Caring in Crisis: What Emergency Medicine Teaches Us About Connection
In this episode of Rooted in Connection, host Erin Forward, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, is joined by her oldest friend, Julie, an emergency medicine physician assistant, for an honest conversation about connection in high-stress healthcare environments. They explore emergency medicine, caregiver burnout, anxiety in healthcare professionals, the importance of listening to patients, and the role of self-care
The Heart of Therapy: Why Relationships Heal More Than Techniques
In this episode of Rooting Connection, host Erin Forward explores the foundational role of relationships in therapy and why true healing requires more than techniques. It requires authenticity, vulnerability, and attuned connection. Erin discusses how trauma shapes the therapeutic process, how family dynamics influence behavior, and why recognizing individual differences is essential for meaningfu
Starting at the Root: An Introduction
In this introductory episode, host Erin Forward, relationship-based speech and feeding therapist, CLC, and educator, shares why Rooted in Connection was created and why relationships sit at the center of everything we do.Erin reflects on how the most meaningful learning comes through people, stories, and connection. She explores how our clients, colleagues, caregivers, and communities shape us — a
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