Special Education and Communication Disorders (University of Nebraska, Lincoln)
Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering (Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital)
Presentation Topic: Finding mentors and developing productive mentor-mentee relationships (Handout as a pdf)
These four slides (all slides available here) represent my allotment of time and effort at different stages of my career related to clinical practice or application of knowledge, integration of knowledge, discovery/advancement of knowledge, and dissemination. Prior to entering my doctoral program, I was employed as a speech language pathologist in a school for children with special needs. On my caseload were several children with cerebral palsy who were unable to meet their communication needs because their speech was very difficult to understand. Because the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) field did not exist at that time, I was not prepared to support their communication needs. After a couple of years in this position, I entered a doctoral program.
Background: I was first introduced to children with cerebral palsy who were unable to speak intelligibly employed as a speech language pathologist in the Chicago area. Unfortunately, at that time, AAC field did not exist. Later, I began an AAC program to serve children and adults at the University of Washington Medical Center. Since transitioning to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I have had collaborative research relationships with the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital and the Munroe – Meyers Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation where we focused on informatics research investigating the intervention experiences and outcomes of adults who rely on AAC, and we also have identified design features for emerging AAC technologies.
Current Interests: My current research focuses on patient – provider communication in medical settings, visual scene displays for adults with severe, chronic language disorders, and multi-modal communication options for people with limited technology access options.
Sample Presentation/Publications: In addition to research articles and presentations, I have co-author several books including: Augmentative and alternative communication for children and adults (Fourth Edition). Communication and Patient-Provider Communication: Roles for Speech-Language Pathologists and Other Health Care Professionals.
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