Communication Sciences and Disorders - Winter 2024 Newsletter

Student News

ASHA 2023 Convention

Nine MS-SLP students attended the 2023 American Speech and Hearing Association Convention in person in Boston, MA along with the Director of Clinical Education, Professor Julie Kobak. The theme of this year’s convention was Igniting Innovation and the keynote speaker was Sekou Andrews who spoke to the topic of “DIY Innovation” and ways that each of us has an innovator within us which inspires outward innovation and happiness. The students enjoyed three days of attending seminars and viewing posters about a range of topics in the communication sciences and disorders. Additionally, they spent time in the exhibit hall visiting over 400 exhibitors to learn about products and services to help them in their future careers. Students also had the opportunity to network with numerous companies regarding employment opportunities including school systems, health systems, and contract companies offering traveling speech-language pathology positions.

Graduate student Rebekah Ladaika presented a poster entitled “The Development of a Parent Decision Guide for Managing Television Viewing for the Preschool Population”. The poster highlighted the work she did as an undergraduate at Thiel College for her Senior Honors Thesis project and detailed the process she used to develop a novel tool for caregivers of young children. The information tool helps parents and caregivers decide whether children’s programming would be beneficial for learning and developing language skills across the five domains of language. Her poster and video presentation were also available for virtual viewing for three weeks.

Rebekah was advised for this project by Professor Julie Kobak who also presented a seminar entitled “Teamwork in the Radiology Suite: Best Practices for Patient Positioning During the Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study.” This procedure involves using a special type of X-ray called fluoroscopy to create moving images of a person’s swallowing process. The key focus of the presentation was on how to properly set up the patient and equipment to image parts of the body from two different angles (lateral and anterior-posterior views). The goal is to get a comprehensive understanding of the swallowing process by examining these different perspectives.

CSD Students Present Honors Thesis

The Dietrich Honors Institute Thesis Symposium was held on December 12th at Thiel College. Two honors CSD students presented.

Emma Dietz presented "Monsters Who Teach Us How to Talk: A Multimodal Approach for Speech and Language Development in Children's Stories”. Her project had four components including two children's books that she wrote and illustrated, Cleo’s Clouds and Slime Doesn’t Know How to Rhyme; an accompanying manual that describes the foundation of the research; and the written thesis that details the process and other components. Children’s literature is often regarded as entertainment with enjoyable and whimsical settings and characters. However, Emma set out to show that children’s literature provides significantly greater benefit than just entertainment. This level of literature possesses valuable linguistic components and devices that enhance speech and language development. For this project, creative elements were blended with practical application to be a functional tool specifically for speech therapy and classrooms. This project blends theory and practical application for the target audiences in order to enhance speech and language development for any child in an accessible, affordable, and enjoyable manner. Emma’s books can be purchased on Amazon. Click on the images to for links.

Madi Yurich presented “From Slips of the Tongue to Slips of the Fingers: Using Neuroanatomy to Develop a Treatment Plan for Sign Language Users with Broca’s Aphasia”. Although over seventy million people worldwide use sign language, there is limited research concerning treatments for the most common type of aphasia in these individuals. This type of aphasia, known as Broca’s aphasia, is a language disorder in which patients have difficulty producing fluent speech. There is a plethora of knowledge that exists about how Broca’s aphasia affects the neural pathway used for the production of oral language, but somehow, this same information is lacking in the sign language realm. This lack of research suggests that the neural pathway used to produce sign language has not been solidified by professionals in the field of neuroscience. In her thesis, Madi proposed a map of the neural sign language pathway using what has already been discovered about the neural pathway involved in the production of written language. This was then examined in relation to how sign language is affected by Broca’s aphasia. Based on the proposed pathway and existing treatments for oral speakers, Madi outlined and explained a new treatment option for Broca’s aphasia in sign language patients, known as the Progressive Fluency Aphasia Treatment for Signers (PFATS) to allow for all individuals suffering with Broca’s aphasia, whether they communicate via spoken language or sign language, to have the opportunity to receive the evidence-based treatment that they deserve.

MS-SLP Program News

Program Accepts Spring 2024 Cohort

The MS-SLP Program at Thiel College is now accepting two cohorts each year, one in the Spring semester and one in Summer semester. The inaugural Spring cohort will start when classes start on January 17, 2024. This will be the first time since the program’s origin in May 2020 that a second cohort will be offered within the same calendar year.

Program seeking Lecturer/Externship Coordinator

Thiel College seeks to fill the Externship Coordinator & Lecturer faculty position with an individual committed to developing an outstanding program of excellence in clinical education/research, didactic teaching, and service. The ideal candidate will be an energetic clinician, educator, mentor, and scholar who is excited to join a dynamic department and work with similarly dedicated academic and clinical educators in a collaborative and inclusive environment. The listed position is a full-time twelve-month appointment as Externship Coordinator & Lecturer faculty position. Further details and application instructions can be found at here

Homecoming Celebration

The Thiel College CSD/SLP Program celebrated full accreditation for the MS-SLP Program during Homecoming with a Center for Speech and Language Services float in the Homecoming Parade as well as tailgating in the Alumni Stadium. Clients from the clinic, recent graduates, faculty, staff and clinical supervisors joined in the festivities.

NSSLHA News

Bleacher Buddies

The Thiel College chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) was active this past fall semester. The students organized the third Bleacher Buddies event during Homecoming weekend. Fourteen residents and five staff members from St Paul’s Senior Community attended the Thiel Football game on October 30th. NSSLHA coordinated and hosted the event along with the Event Planner, Mimi Dreher from St. Paul’s. Free admission to the game, matching sweatshirts, and a catered lunch were provided. It was a beautiful day for the event and all the residents and student volunteers reported that they thoroughly enjoyed the game, food and refreshments, and especially the victory over Waynesburg University!

Caption(s): Residents from St. Paul’s Senior Community enjoy a Thiel Football Game on a beautiful fall day.