Communication Sciences and Disorders Students and Faculty Shine at National Convention

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Associate professor Lisa Bowers and recent graduate Rylee Atkins celebrate a job well done following their presentation at the 2021 ASHA Convention.

University of Arkansas students and faculty in the communication sciences and disorders (CDIS) program presented research recently at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention in Washington, D.C. The ASHA Convention is the premier convention for professionals in the field of communication disorders across the United States. This year's convention was presented in a hybrid format and CDIS students and faculty provided presentations via multiple formats.

Current students and recent graduates of the program collaborated with faculty to present the following:

• "The Perception of Speech-Language Therapy and Auditory-Verbal Therapy Among Caregivers of Children with Hearing Loss," by Hanna Hartshorn and Rachel Glade
• "Fathers, Mothers, and Technology: 21st Century Parenting of Infants Exposed to Artificial Intelligence from Birth," by Sutton Bauman and Fran Hagstrom
• "A Qualitative Application of Everett Rogers's Theory of Diffusion to AAC Refusal & Abandonment Literature" by Foster Ellis and Christine Holyfield
• "The Colourful Semantics Approach for Children with Hearing Loss," by Samadhi Pusuba Devayalage, Rachel Glade, and Lisa Bowers
• "Language Abilities of Children who Qualify for Speech-Language Therapy and Play Therapy" by Lisa Bowers, Rylee Atkins, Kristi Perryman, and Samantha Robinson. This poster was selected to receive a meritorious designation.

CDIS Faculty research presentations included:

• "Sensorimotor Oscillations Related to Syllable Repetition Accuracy in Adults Who Stutter Compared to Fluent Speakers," by Andrew Bowers and Daniel Hudock 
• "Social-Emotional and Auditory Learning (SEAL) in Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing," by Andrea Warner-Czyz, Mary Elliott, Rachel Glade, and Nannette Nicholson
• "Effects of an AAC App Feature on Decoding by Individuals with Down Syndrome" by Christine Holyfield, Lauramaurie Pope, Janice Light, Erik Jakobs, David McNaughton, Emily Laubscher and Olivia Pfaff

This year was an excellent year for research, collaboration and networking for students and faculty. There were multiple opportunities to share current projects as well as brainstorm innovative projects for the future. Faculty and students are already preparing for the 2022 ASHA Convention in New Orleans.