Who we are

Juliana and Emily are speech language pathologists with over 25 years of combined experience in the areas of voice, upper airway, and swallowing disorders.

Juliana and Emily have national recognition for their specialty and have taught on national and international stages as well as authored numerous innovative publications on diagnostics and treatment. Both have passions for teaching current and future clinicians to expand access to high-quality, specialty care for patients. 

Meet The Trainers

    • Cheney DM, Siddiqui MT, Litts JK, Kuhn MA, Belafsky PC: “The Ability of the 10-Item Eat Assessment Tool (EAT-10) to Predict Aspiration Risk in Persons with Dysphagia,” Annals of Otol Rhinol Laryngology. 2014 Oct 30. pii: 0003489414558107. PMID25358607

    • Litts JK, Gartner-Schmidt JL, Clary MS, Gillespie AI: “Impact of laryngologist and speech pathologist co-assessment on outcomes and billing revenue,” Laryngoscope. 2015 May 27. PMID: 26013916

    • Siddiqui MT, Litts JK, Cheney DM, Kuhn MA, Nativ-Zeltzer N, Belafsky PC. “The effect of aspirated barium sulfate, iodixanol, and diatrizoic acid on survival and lung injury in a lagomorph model.” Laryngoscope. 2017 May;127(5): E148-E152. doi: 10.1002/lary.26494. Epub 2017 Feb 24. PMID:28233902

    • Litts JK, Abaza M. “Does a Multidisciplinary Approach (MD+SLP) to Voice and Swallowing Disorders Improve Therapy Adherence and Outcomes?” Laryngoscope. 2017 12 JULY, DOI: 10.1002/lary.26756

    • Nativ-Zeltzer N, Kuhn MA, Imai DM, Traslavina RP, Domer AS, Litts JK, Adams B, Belafsky PC. “The effects of aspirated thickened water on survival and pulmonary injury in a rabbit model.” Laryngoscope. 2017 Jul 21. PMID:28730738

    • Andreassen ML, Litts JK, Randall DR. “Emerging techniques in assessment and treatment of muscle tension dysphonia.” Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017 Oct 3. PMID:28984699

    • Litts JK, Fink DS, Clary MS. “The Effect of Vocal Fold Augmentation on chronic cough symptoms in the presence of glottic insufficiency.” Laryngoscope. 2017

    • Shaffer M, Litts JK, Nauman E, Haines J. “Speech-Language Pathology as a primary treatment for Exercised-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction.” Immunology and Allergy Clinics of America. 2018.

    • Litts JK, Fink DS, Abaza MM: “Is cough suppression therapy effective at treating chronic Cough?” Laryngoscope. 2020

    • Beckelhymer LM, Fink DS, Litts JK. Behavioral Management of Laryngeal Complaints Caused by Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Medically Refractory Epilepsy. J Voice. 2021 Jul;35(4):651-654 PMID: 31889648.

    • Duffy JR, Litts JK, Fink DS. Superior Laryngeal Nerve Block for Treatment of Neurogenic Cough. Laryngoscope. 2021 Apr 24. doi: 10.1002/lary.29585. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33894012.

    • Litts JK, Shelley SS, Harris K, Whiteside CB, Gillespie AI. An update on clinical characteristics of upper airway dyspnea: a mixed methods study. Laryngoscope 2023. In publication

    • Harris K, Jette M, Abaza M, Clary MS, Fink DS, Litts JK. Is Thyrohoid space palpation a reliable and clinically useful tool within diagnostic protocol for voice disorders? Journal of Voice, 2023,ISSN 0892-1997, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.03.004.

    • Litts JK, Shelly S, Harris KFJ, Whiteside CB, Gillespie AI. Update on Clinical Characteristics of Upper Airway Dyspnea: A Mixed Methods Study. J Voice. 2023 Sep 4:S0892-1997(23)00247-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.08.006. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37673754.

    • Litts, J: “Training Open Oropharyngeal Postures for PFMV.” Chapter 11, In: Behrman, A, Haskell, J: Exercises for Voice Therapy, Second Edition, Plural Publishing, 2013

    • Ambrose E, Litts JK; Clary MS “Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction/ Paradoxical Vocal Fold motion.” Chapter 4, In: Weissbrod P, Francis D: Neurologic and Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Larynx. 2018

    • Litts, J: “Training Open Oropharyngeal Postures for PFMV.” Chapter 11, In: Behrman, A, Haskell, J: Exercises for Voice Therapy, Third Edition, Plural Publishing, 2019

    • Dwyer C, Litts JK, Young VN: “Chronic Cough.” Chapter 27: Evidence Based Laryngology, Springer, 2021

    • Litts JK: “Voice Disorders and Voice Therapy.” Chapter 27: ENT Secrets, Elsevier, 2022.

    • Litts JK, Fink DS: “The use of neuromodulators and BCST in a patient with chronic cough” Chapter: Upper airway and cough: Voice Therapy Clinical Case Studies 6th Edition, In publication.

Emily Nauman

Emily Nauman is a Speech Language Pathologist who has been practicing for close to a decade. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of upper airway, voice, and swallowing disorders with expertise in the areas of Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction and Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction. Emily is an active participant in upper airway research and works on an interdisciplinary team alongside highly skilled laryngologists and pulmonologists.

Juliana Litts

Juliana is a Speech-Language Pathologist and a certified Vocologist who has been active in the subspecialty area of voice swallowing and upper airway for twelve years. She is an associate professor and clinical fellowship program director who pursues opportunities for teaching and clinical research in these areas. She has worked as part of interdisciplinary teams at top academic institutions around the country.  

    • Sandage, Mary & Milstein, Claudio & Nauman, Emily. (2022). Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction Differential Diagnosis in Adolescents and Adults: A Tutorial. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 1-17.

    • Olin, J. T., Shaffer, M., Nauman, E., Durso, C. S., Fan, E. M., Staudenmayer, H., Christopher, K. L., & Gartner-Schmidt, J. (2022). Development and validation of the Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction Dyspnea Index (EILODI). The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 149(4), 1437–1444.

    • Shaffer, M, Litts, J, Nauman, E, and Haines, J. (2018). Speech-Language Pathology as a Primary Treatment for Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction. Immunology Allergy Clinics of North America. 2018; 38(2): 293-302.

    • Johnston, KL, Bradford H, Hodges, H, Moor CM, Nauman E, Olin JT. (2017). The Olin EILOBI Breathing Techniques: Description and Initial Case Series of Novel Respiratory Retraining Strategies for Athletes with Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction. Journal of Voice. 2017. 32(6): 698-704.

Training Services Offered

We offer online, live webinars courses and in-person training.

    • Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)

    • Rigid and Flexible Stroboscopic Evaluations

    • Flexible Endoscopic Biofeedback Therapy for Swallowing, Voice & Upper Airway Disorders

    • The Olin EILOBI breathing techniques for exercise induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) / Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion (PVFM) / Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD)

    • Respiratory Retraining Techniques for Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction (ILO) / Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion (PVFM) / Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD)

    • Behavioral cough suppression techniques

    • Resonant Voice Therapy, Conversation Training Therapy, etc.

    • Laryngeal Manipulation and Massage

    • Surgical/Medical interventions for Voice

    • Voice Masculinization, Feminization 

    • Surgical/Medical Treatment

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