Barbara Shadden, who retired as a University Professor of communication disorders in 2011, received the 2016 Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences Honors at a ceremony in Philadelphia.

The award is the highest honor of the academy. It recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to research, teaching, treatment and service in the area of neurologic communication disorders, according to a news release.

Shadden was one of the first in the field of communication sciences and disorders to address communication disorders in aging, discourse in healthy aging and neurologically impaired individuals, social approaches to aphasia, and the impact of aphasia on care partners. Her work has influenced the assessment and treatment of people with aphasia, has explored how aphasia affects identity, and has illuminated the importance of communication for individuals with terminal illnesses.

She is currently supervising the research of five graduate students in Sri Lanka and recently mentored members of the first cohort of undergraduate students in communication disorders at the Department of Disabilities Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya.