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By Kate Hunger 

Faculty and students of the Speech-Language Pathology program in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders attended and presented at the Texas Speech Hearing Association annual convention in Houston in February.

“For a new program, this convention was a great way for our students to come together and have a presence in the community of other speech-language pathology programs,” said Assistant Professor Casey Taliancich-Klinger, Ph.D., CCC-SLP. “It was great to see them engage with prospective students to our new program and with other professionals in our professional community.”

Faculty and student presentations included: 

•    “Skill Building for Speech-Language Pathology Students Using Clinical Skills Simulation Labs,” a 60-minute presentation by Assistant Professor and Clinical Coordinator Angela Kennedy, SLP-D, CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor Casey Taliancich-Klinger, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, and Associate Professor Fang-Ling Lu, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, interim chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and SLP program director.

•    “Caring for the Caregiver: Managing Communication and Swallowing in Adults with Dementia,” a 60-minute presentation by Assistant Professor Rocio Norman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, and students Joy-Alexandra Sabattus and Prithvi Patel.

•    “Early Developmental Monitoring in Conjunction with Developmental Screening in Speech-Language Pathology,” a student poster presentation by Erika Hayes, Katie Eastman, and Mikayla Lewalski, with Professor Kennedy.

•     “Neurobehavioral Symptoms and Social Communication in Adults with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury,” a student poster presentation by Kendall Adair, Diana Hoang, and Amber Arredondo, with Professor Norman.

•    “Ph.D. vs. SLPD,” a professional development talk presented by Kennedy and Norman.

A team of graduate students also participated in a multi-round Praxis Bowl competition among Texas universities. Teams answered timed practice questions for the Praxis Examination in Speech-Language Pathology, the standardized exam required for certification. ������’s team included Audrey Gilmore, Sofia Zapata, Tammy Nguyen, Sydney Bourgeois and Maddie Box.

“It was our program’s first year participating in the Praxis Bowl, and although our team did not win, it was a rewarding experience representing our program with my teammates,” said Gilmore, a second-year student. “The Praxis Bowl was a unique way to challenge ourselves in between attending lectures and short programs about our unique interests in the field of speech-language pathology while at TSHA.”