Speech-Language Pathology professor, graduate student present at ASHA national conference

Posted December 05, 2023 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology student Rebekah Ladaika ’23 M.S.’24 and Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders Julie Kobak presented during the 2023 American Speech-Language Hearing Association national conference in Boston in November.

Ladaika’s poster, “The Development of a Parent Decision Guide for Managing Television Viewing for the Preschool Population” illustrated her Senior Honors Thesis project and highlighted the process she used to develop a novel tool for caregivers of young children. The information tool was designed to help parents and caregivers decide whether children’s programming would be beneficial for learning and developing language skills.

She made a live presentation on Nov. 18. Following the presentation, the poster and video presentation were available for virtual viewing through the end of the month.

Kobak led 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 imaging the patient and equipment to capture 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.

The Speech-Language Pathology Program is the first graduate program in Thiel’s 158-year history to receive full external accreditation. In addition, the program’s reported pass rate for the Praxis exam for the program’s last two cohorts is 100 percent. The program launched in 2020 and has had 100 percent career placement for its past two graduating classes.