We have seen a noticeable lack of understanding amongst undergraduate CSD students in upper-level courses when recalling information on how speech sounds are made by mouth. We developed a game to reinforce knowledge about the articulation of speech sounds. We are expecting this game, used in class as a brain warm-up, to reinforce previous knowledge which is necessary for graduate school and a career as a speech-language pathologist or audiologist. To play the game, the course professor will give each student a black notecard and display a prompt (ex. “she __ about phonetics.”). Each student will identify a word that fills in the blank based on syntactic constraints. Students will identify sounds and write down the place, voice, and manner of articulation for each sound in the word (e.g., voiceless, interdental, fricative for the “th” sound in “thinks”). When finished, students exchange their work with another and identify the phonetic symbols for all sounds described. This game will be played weekly for the remainder of the semester, and we will analyze the collected data at the end of the semester.
In the American population alone, roughly 3 million children stutter in their lifetime (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2017). The purpose of our research study is to explore how stuttering is represented in children’s picture books. We are building upon existing research that describes representation of disability in books. For data collection, we have gathered a sample of 20 children’s books with a variety of characters who stutter. We are using inductive methods of analysis including a constant comparison approach and consensus building to develop categories describing the representation of stuttering children’s picture books. to are analyzing any trends and/or patterns that appear through our analysis. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (2017, March 6) Stuttering. Unites Stated Department of Health & Human Services, National Institute of Health https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/stuttering
Motivational interviewing is a counseling style that speech-language pathologists can use to guide clients in making change that is led by client priorities and values. Making change and taking action is typically preceded by a period of ambivalence. Our study examines how ambivalence manifests in the counseling conversations between speech-language pathologists and caregivers with children with a language impairment. Counseling conversations between a speech-language pathologist and three caregivers was recorded and transcribed. Inductive methods of analysis are employed to examine how caregiver ambivalence manifests across these sessions. Themes are presented so that clinicians can develop a greater understanding of the conflicting emotions and attitudes caregivers face when taking action to support a child with language impairment.
A variety of instructional approaches are employed in educational settings to promote student learning and engagement. Two such approaches are subject-centered and problem-centered learning. Subject-centered approaches structure the curriculum around specific subject matter, which is presented in a linear manner. In contrast, problem-centered approaches emphasize application and relevance to real-world scenarios, with information discussed iteratively as the class unfolds. Problem-centered learning offers advantages such as increased student collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking (Stutt, 2023). Additionally, best practices for teaching courses related to diverse populations include the active application of concepts and the use of written reflections, which foster higher-level critical thinking and conceptual integration (Keegan et al., 2017; Simon-Cereijido et al., 2023). The purpose of this research was to examine how student learning in a course on diverse populations was influenced by a subject-centered approach compared to a hybrid problem-centered approach. The course was taught using a subject-centered approach in one semester and a problem-centered approach in another. In both semesters, students completed reflections on guided clinical scenarios involving diverse populations. These reflections were analyzed for quality and depth of critical thinking, enabling a comparison between the two semesters. Findings from this study can inform future pedagogical approaches and course design.
Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) work to support children's speech and language development. SLPs are required to provide culturally and linguistically responsive services. Books used within SLP sessions should include high-quality representation across a variety of aspects of identity, as the use of culturally relevant, inclusive literature serves to increase treatment outcomes, mitigate stereotypes, promote self-efficacy, and help children develop a sense of belonging across identities. The purpose of this research was to understand student perceptions of, and the impact of, a class session designed to teach students about the use of inclusive children's books. The class period included a lecture about the value of considering representation across different aspects of identity, application practice which allowed students to actively select books while considering both clinical targets and representation, and reflective assignments. The reflective assignments were analyzed to discover changes in students’ thoughts regarding the aspects they considered while selecting books for therapy, the importance of considering aspects of representation, and how challenging it is to access books with diverse representation. Results will be used to inform future decisions about the value and impact of class sessions devoted to this topic.
Our research aims to describe perceptual and acoustic features of the word-final "l" sound across two different dialects of English: Midwestern English and Southern White Vernacular English. The English /l/ is an articulatorily complex sound that is considered one of the late-developing sounds. One common pattern used by both children with typical speech development and those with speech sound disorders is vocalization, which occurs when word-final /l/ is produced as a back vowel or glide (e.g., [bɛʊ] for bell). In addition, vocalization of /l/ is a normal feature of certain dialects of English. For our research, we recorded Midwestern speakers producing word-final /l/ in single words. Trained transcribers then transcribed the words and coded the degree of vocalization. Productions were also analyzed acoustically. The results were compared to a set of existing data for word-final /l/ produced by speakers of Southern White Vernacular English. Data analysis is ongoing, but preliminary results suggest differences in the degree of vocalization across dialects.
Speech-language pathology students are paired with supervisors in their initial clinical experiences. What expectations do novice clinicians have for their clinical supervisors prior to beginning the experience? Students enter their first clinical experience with varying expectations of the support they will receive and a mismatch in expectations can lead to frustration. We surveyed students at accredited speech-language pathology programs. Graduate and undergraduate students responded to one open-ended question and 22 Likert scale statements about expectations. The survey replicated the research of L.C. Larson from 1981 (Larson’s Expectations Rating Scale). Participants from 17 universities completed the survey during the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters. No significant differences were found between graduate and undergraduate responses across the Likert scale items. These three lowest expected behaviors were the same items as identified in the original study. Differences emerged when comparing the top three highest expectations across studies. Notably, today’s students most expect clinical supervisors to function as coach/mentor while students in the 1980s most expected supervisors to identify weaknesses in clinical skills and reflect on strategies for things that could be done differently. This tells us that student expectations have changed so supervision practices may need to change as well.
The field of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) is predominantly white, with 90.5% of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identifying as white. This contrasts with the diverse population served by SLPs, which is increasingly multilingual and multicultural, with children from Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) backgrounds representing more than 53% of the population. This mismatch may reduce the effectiveness of services provided and highlights the critical importance of recruiting and retaining students of color in the field of speech-language pathology. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire undergraduate students’ choice of major and to understand how these factors differ based on student-identified race and ethnicity. Sixteen undergraduate students, both CSD and non-CSD majors, were interviewed to explore the factors that led to their choice of major. The results will provide insights into the influences shaping students’ major selection across different races and ethnicities. Findings can inform efforts to increase diversity within CSD undergraduate programs, ensuring that students from all backgrounds have equitable opportunities to enter the field of speech-language pathology.
