The Department of Audiology & Speech Pathology 2019 Newsletter
IMPROVING LIFE’S CONNECTIONS Letter from the Directors Dear Friends, It is our pleasure to share with you the annual Audiology and Speech Pathology (ASP) newsletter. Created by our dedicated personnel, it proudly showcases many ways in which our department combines classroom teaching, the most current clinical approaches, and cutting-edge interdisciplinary research to further the mission of the university. In today’s rapidly changing world, human communication remains critical. The need and desire to serve those with communicative disorders has never been greater. ASP is rising to all challenges to “Improve Life’s Connections.” Beginning with our incredible students who are the forefront of our department’s successes, our influences on the field of communication disorders become obvious every time we enter a classroom, clinical environment, research lab, or even when simply walking through our facilities. Perhaps not surprisingly, our presence is not contained within the walls of our department. What follows helps to demonstrate how ASP continues to serve the Knoxville community and beyond, with our students and faculty becoming nationally and internationally renowned. We hope you enjoy reading this year’s newsletter. Sincerely,
Patrick Plyler, PhD Professor Program Director in Audiology
Contact Us
Tim Saltuklaroglu, PhD Professor Program Director in Speech Pathology
Phone: (865) 974-5019 Email: Pamela at pwilli25@uthsc.edu @uthscAudSpeech Check out our website: www.uthsc.edu/asp
Inside this edition Improving Life’s Connections p. 2—5 Activities Across the Globe p. 6—7 National and State Impact p. 8—9 Touching Those in Our Community p. 10—11 University Happenings p. 12—15 ASP in Pictures
IMPROVING LIFE’S CONNECTIONS across the ...GLOBE
LEARNING ABROAD Speech Pathology Students from Hallym University Spend a Week in ASP This past summer the department hosted 16 students and two professors from Hallym University in Seoul, South Korea. The students participated in classes on aphasia, voice, stuttering, swallowing, and hearing loss taught by ASP professors. In addition to lectures, students participated in “hands-on” teaching experiences, observed many of the department’s specialty clinics, and toured a rehabilitation facility and Tennessee School for the Deaf. These experiences provided opportunities for faculty and students to compare academic and treatment similarities and differences between the two countries. Drs. Samuel Ko and Jin Cheon accompanied the students, as part of an ongoing program which began in 2001 when Dr. Ko brought the first group of SLP students to Knoxville. For most of the students, this was their first visit to America and provided cultural as well as academic and clinical experiences. Each student was paired with an SLP “buddy” student in our department which offered them opportunities to interact socially and compare aspects of student life. For NaKyeong Han, a senior at Hallym University, the experience was very meaningful. According to Han,
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“I was able to learn more about my major from lectures, and the buddy program was great. I was able to understand America’s policy regarding disorders and the role of SLPs.” The week-long visit culminated in a dinner hosted by our Korean guests where course certificates were awarded to the students and gifts presented to ASP faculty and staff. Before returning to Korea, the group also visited the Smoky Mountains and New York City. For Dr. Ko, this partnership has special meaning, as several of his former students have become professors in both America and Korea. According to Dr. Ko, “I have had lots of wonderful memories with the people in Knoxville.“
“I want to thank every professor at UT who let us have a wonderful experience. I genuinely wish I could be given the honor of studying at the University of Tennessee again.” — Haein Cheon, Senior, Hallym University
CANADIAN CONNECTIONS Advancing Knowledge about Stuttering In August, Drs. Tim Saltuklaroglu and Ashley Harkrider attended the Society for the Neurobiology of Language Annual Conference in Quebec, Canada. They presented two studies examining neural activity in people who stutter and/or people who do not stutter in various speaking situations using electroencephalogram analysis. The conference attracted top speech scientists, auditory physiologists, and neuroscientists from around the world. In addition to making new contacts, the UT faculty connected with Drs. Andy and Lisa Bowers, both ASP PhD Alumni. Dr. Andy Bowers was a collaborator on one of the poster presentations.
“This conference provided us an opportunity to expose our research to a top international audience, network with experts in the field, and make plans for future collaborations.” - Dr. Saltuklaroglu
Perception of Music with Cochlear Implants In another Canadian connection, Drs. Molly Erickson and Katie Faulkner presented their research at the 2nd Music & Cochlear Implants Symposium at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital this past August. The conference attracted researchers and cochlear implant (CI) users who have a specialized interest in the perception of music with CI. Dr. Erickson, who specializes in voice, and Dr. Faulkner, whose scholarly focus is CI, created a project incorporating a CI simulation of singing voices, then asked subjects to make perceptual judgements about those voices. The long-term purpose of their research is to better understand CI simulations, evaluate how users of CI hear singing voices, develop interventions that help improve the coding for details of music, and enhance enjoyment of music for people with CI.
“Our hope is to positively impact future generations of people who wear cochlear implants and enhance their quality of life by making even the most subtle aspects of music enjoyable.” - Dr. Faulkner
BRINGING SEOUL TO THE STATES Donguk Lee, from Seoul, South Korea, recently received a Resident and Graduate Student Mentored Research Travel Award from the National Institutes of HealthNational Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. As part of the award, the PhD student presented his first year research project titled, “Acceptable Noise and Preferred Listening Levels for Speech and Music” at the American Auditory Society in Arizona in February. Lee’s research focus is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). “During my military career in Korea, I saw soldiers suffering from tinnitus and NIHL as a result of the noise from guns and cannons. From that time, I wanted to enter audiology and improve our field, especially the topic of NIHL, as it is a significant public health problem.”
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IMPROVING LIFE’S CONNECTIONS across the ...GLOBE
DRC - NOT JUST THREE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET Amanda Simmons, MS, CCC-SLP, PhD Candidate As a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa from 2009 to 2011, I fell in love with the central-west African culture and people while gaining a new perspective for the importance of communication. As I began my stint overseas (27 months in Cameroon then 3 months in Zambia), I struggled to learn French and Nyanja while serving as a health education and capacity-building volunteer. I experienced, though for a short time, an inability to communicate effectively, which developed my drive to serve at-risk populations. Upon returning to the States, during my Master’s program at UTHSC, I conducted survey research with Dr. Molly Erickson looking at access to otolaryngology, speech-language, and audiology services in the continent of Africa. The results, as we had predicted, demonstrated very little access to services or training for anyone, even those living in large cities. After receiving my MS-SLP in May 2015, I immediately jumped into the PhD program under the mentorship of Dr. Jillian McCarthy while also developing clinical skills part-time at a local skilled nursing facility. My PhD began with a focus in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as it seemed a way to easily facilitate communication needs via low tech methods in economically underdeveloped nations. My desire to live and work abroad, with a particular interest in Africa, never waned. In 2015, I took advantage of an opportunity to serve and translate in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an opportunity that would allow me to conduct research while continuing clinical work. I wanted to conduct qualitative research while in DRC with parents and caregivers of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing; however, I ran into difficulty identifying participants who were English or French-speaking, as outlined in the research protocol. Even though our data collection efforts fell a bit short, the trip was a welcomed learning experience, as this time I found myself on a familiar
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DRC (Cont.)
fNIRS in Japan
continent, able to communicate and understand aspects of the surrounding culture. The research process in this context was far more complicated than I had anticipated. Through our data collection and clinical work, I learned first-hand the difficulty of having a loved one with a language disorder, fluency disorder, or aphasia in the DRC.
Jessica Defenderfer, a PhD student, and her faculty advisor Dr. Mark Hedrick, research speech perception and effortful listening in collaboration with Dr. Aaron Buss from UTK’s psychology department. They use a neural imaging tool called functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to non-invasively measure neural activation during cognitive tasks. In October, Defenderfer traveled, along with Buss, to Tokyo, Japan to present results of her latest research at the biennial Society for fNIRS Conference. Her work examined the potential cortical difference between challenging and easy listening conditions. At the conference, Defenderfer interacted with researchers from a variety of fields, including biology, computer science, brain-computer interfacing, psychology, medicine, and child development.
While there, I also worked with Amanda Hitchins Lee, an SLP from Boston who is the USA contact for the Centre D’Education et de Rehabilitation a Base Communautaire (CERBC) and Ismael Byaruhanga Kus, who is the founder of CERBC and the on-site audiologist at the clinic in Aru, DRC. Our interdisciplinary team, which also included an American nurse practitioner and physical therapist, assessed and made recommendations for individuals who came from great distances. We also trained and educated CERBC staff at their onsite clinic. These experiences have fanned the flame for me. I now have dreams of helping to develop or support MS-SLP programs in Africa after completing my PhD. To make this a reality, I hope to return to Aru with our team to visit friends, make new connections, and build capacity for those who are seeking speech-language or hearing care through the CERBC. After all, Africa brought me to this field, the least I can do is take my knowledge and expertise back to Africa.
“This was an outstanding place to learn about current, innovative methods in fNIRS .”
Stuttering Support Internationally Tricia Hedinger, UTHSC SLP, is the Regional Director for the National Stuttering Association (NSA). She now also serves as the international liaison between the NSA and networks around the globe who seek to develop and/or expand their support to those who stutter. Ms. Hedinger provides consultation services to the Canadian Stuttering Association (CSA) and to the developing support system in the United Arabic Emirates (UAE) with Dubai as its central location.
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IMPROVING LIFE’S CONNECTIONS across the NATION & STATE
MAKING AN IMPRESSION Grant Trainees Take Knowledge and Skills Throughout the U.S. For the past five years, Drs. Ilsa Schwarz and Jillian McCarthy, along with Emily Noss, UTHSC SLP, have trained a total of 68 grant-supported Master’s level speech-language pathology students on two grants from the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education. The grants provide tuition remission for three consecutive semesters of training for these students and support specialty preparation in the area of literacy with special regard to children who are deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) or who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
The Preparing SLPs to Improve Language and Literacy Outcomes for Children who are D/HH grant is in its final year of funding. For five years, the grant trainees have supported new research targeting better outcomes in children who are D/HH. Some have completed thesis projects related to spelling or vocabulary knowledge, while others have collected research data related to the phonological awareness skills in this population. In addition, the students developed support materials to accompany children’s books for practitioners and parents to use. Marilyn Mays Owens, an SLP student, said that the grant helped prepare her for her current school externship placement. “I witnessed how important early literacy awareness is for all children and how a lack of literacy skills can impact a child’s language development. I also saw the impact of teaching language and literacy skills in a fun and engaging way.”
BY THE NUMBERS 34 D/HH trainees 34
AAC trainees
$250k each/yr tuition remission 12 States where trainees work
COUNTLESS
children helped! The AAC Language and Literacy (UT-AACL) Initiative to Prepare SLPs grant is ending its fourth year of funding. Several trainees have completed thesis projects related to language and literacy goals, current literacy interventions, literacy and AAC, and reading intervention techniques. Their work has been presented at the American SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association Convention and state-level conventions. Others have made important contributions to the development and initial analysis of vocabulary interventions for children who use or would benefit from AAC strategies. Rebekah Keith Ghawaly, an SLP student, said the grant gave her the skills to work with children who have complex communication needs. “With this population, you rarely come across textbook situations, but instead you have to integrate knowledge from a multitude of areas in order to deliver evidence-based services and maximize a patient’s communication potential.” Trainees report that they were well prepared for their current professional roles, many noting they were offered multiple jobs because of this unique opportunity. The map details the far-reaching impact these professionals are having across the nation in their work locations, ranging from school systems, early intervention agencies, and private practices. Orange: D/HH trainees Green: AAC trainees
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Barnes’ Career Contributions Recognized At the Annual Convention of the Tennessee Academy of Audiology and Speech Pathology (TAASLP) in October, Vickie Barnes was presented the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Since 2009, the UTHSC SLP has been the Director of the Pediatric Language Clinic, which is a grant funded Early Intervention Resource Agency for the Tennessee Early Intervention System. Ms. Barnes has served children with communication delays and their families for well over 30 years. She also provides consultation to other early interventionists across the East Tennessee region who need guidance serving children who are at-risk for autism. In addition to her work with the department, Ms. Barnes was the 2018 President of the East Tennessee Local Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention.
Ms. Barnes (right) receiving award from Ms. Becky Brown, Executive Council Member for TAASLP.
“Professor Barnes has spent years educating hundreds of students and improving the communication skills, academic success, and quality of life for thousands of children and families. Her tireless efforts to share her experience and knowledge with families, students, and health care providers across the region perpetuate appropriate, evidence-based treatment for children birth to 3, who are at risk for or have a diagnosis of autism. I cannot think of anyone more deserving than Vickie of recognition for a career served with distinction and a legacy of meaningful achievement.” - Dr. Ashley Harkrider, ASP Chair
AARC Awarded to Paek
Dr. Paek (right) is shown here with Dr. Devin Casenhiser. Together, the two plan to collaborate with others to explore brain activity in people with neurogenic communication disorders
Dr. Eun Jin Paek’s research focuses on adult neurogenic communication disorders such as aphasia and cognitive communicative disorders caused by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s dementia. Her translational and interdisciplinary research agenda combines behavioral language treatment methods and fMRI techniques to examine treatment efficacy and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. In November, Dr. Paek was honored with the Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) Award from the American Speech -Language-Hearing Association. The AARC Award, a highlycompetitive award given to only 10 individuals across the nation each year, is intended to support academic-research careers of junior-level faculty in the field of communication sciences and disorders.
IMPACTING EHDI HERE AND THERE!
Julie Beeler serves as a technical advisor for the National Centers
for Hearing Assessment and Management, a role that allows her to provide consultation to eight southeast region Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Coordinators from TN, KY, NC, SC, FL, GA, MS, and AL. The dually-certified audiologist and SLP also supervises six AuD students each year, via a contractual agreement with Tennessee Department of Health EHDI Program. The students provide counseling and education to families from across Tennessee to determine the outcome of hearing follow-up after hospital discharge. The practicum has served as a model for similar AuD student placements at East Tennessee State University, University of Memphis, and Vanderbilt University.
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IMPROVING LIFE’S CONNECTIONS across the ...COMMUNITY
LIVING WELL with HEARING LOSS AuD Students Teach Course at Retirement Center In January, a group of third year AuD students began teaching a course at Shannondale Retirement Center in Maryville. Their work on the course content began last fall, under the direction of Drs. Beth Humphrey and Patti Johnstone, and Julie Beeler. The 12-week course began with an individualized assessment of each participant, including a profile of challenges related to their hearing loss, their perceived hearing aid benefit, a personal health questionnaire, and a cognitive screen. Participants were also asked to invite their significant others and/or primary communication partners to attend each class. The course, called “Living Well with Hearing Loss”, provided education and addressed the challenges created by hearing loss and how those challenges may also impact loved ones. The learning modules were presented to the participants in a large group format. In addition, the seniors moved into smaller working groups to receive more individualized information about topics and focused on areas of need
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identified during their personal assessments. According to Ted Witt, one of the course participants, “The new information has prompted new questions and expanded not only my knowledge of the miracle we call ‘hearing’, but also my appreciation for those who have dedicated themselves to the task of helping those of us with diminished hearing.” The students are also learning a vast number of new things. Kayla Cintron, a thirdyear AuD student, said that it is important to consider a senior adults’ lifestyle, cognition, emotional health, and overall attitude toward hearing loss. “ I hope to take this patient-centric mentality and build off of it to provide better hearing health care and aural rehabilitation services to this population in the future.” The rehabilitation team at Shannondale invited ASP to offer the course to their community members. Ellen Pearson, an SLP there, reported that hearing loss affects many of the residents. “We were so excited ASP was willing to partner with us
and grateful to have their expertise. We knew our residents would love interacting with the students!” Ms. Pearson has been involved for many years in student education at ASP, currently supervising MS-SLP students for their medical practicum placements at Shannondale.
“One of the things I’ve discovered is there is a vast amount of knowledge about hearing loss about which I was totally unaware. These sessions have helped open my mind to ask questions I never knew I had.” - Ted Witt, participant
#IMPACT : Tamika Catchings Amplification Assistance Fund Created from the proceeds of a 2017 fundraiser, the Tamika Catchings Amplification Assistance Fund has been used to purchase hearing devices for several young people. Zoe Carr, from Knoxville, and Crystal Alvarez-Brito, from Morristown, no longer have insurance coverage for their hearing aids. The Fund covered new aids for both young ladies, who were in desperate need of replacement devices. Teresa Carr wrote, “Communication means everything to Zoe and her speech continues to improve as she hears better! Thank you, Zoe, age 25 Crystal, age 13 Tamika, for the gift of new hearing aids for my daughter!” On the day of her fitting appointment, Crystal noted, “My new hearing aids are really great and I’m so thankful that I have them!”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
GIFT OF SOUND
Knoxville Scottish Rite Generously Covers Needed Speech Therapy
Downtown Sertoma Club Funds Hearing Aid Loaner Bank
In 2018, ASP received funding from Knoxville Scottish Rite (KSR) to cover 418 hours of services for East Tennessee children who needed various types of speech therapy. For more than 30 years, KSR has provided this much needed support for families who have children with communication disorders. Recently, the KSR Board recognized the value of tele-therapy for some families. During a tele-therapy session, a child participates in activities, led by an ASP faculty and graduate student, which have similar goals to that of in-person sessions. Seldom covered by insurance, tele-therapy can be valuable to those who have transportation issues, live a significant distance from center-based services, or have health issues that prevent travel to faceto-face sessions. Melina, mother of thirteen year-old Robert notes, “The tele-speech therapy at UT has been life changing for Robert. I truly don’t know how he would do without it and appreciate KSR more than I can express.”
Rusty Farrell, a 21-year member of the Downtown Sertoma Club, feels privileged to be a part of a group that helps individuals when their hearing devices malfunction. “It’s so important for people not to miss sound, especially children, who could get behind if they go for long without hearing.” UT’s Sertoma Hearing Aid Loaner bank allows ASP audiology faculty to temporarily loan hearing aids for reasons such as a broken or lost device. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from Sertoma’s annual Walk For Sound is donated to ASP so the inventory of the loaner bank can be maintained. The group pictured above participated in this year’s Walk/Run, held at Tyson Park.
SUMMER CAMPERS LIVE IT UP! “It was so much fun hanging out together and camping in tents,“ said eleven year-old Bridget . “The first year, I was really nervous, but now I cannot wait to go back!” Bridget was one of 20 children who attended ASP’s 2018 Volunteer Your Voice Summer Camp in June. ASP Faculty and graduate students provided therapy during a fun-filled overnight camp at the Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont. Check out more information about our 2019 Camp on the back page of this newsletter. 9
IMPROVING LIFE’S CONNECTIONS across CAMPUS PRECIOUS PRESERVATION ASP Collaborates with School of Music on Hearing Conservation Project Denise Descouzis, a Texas resident and UT Audiology Alumni (‘78), wants to make a difference in the lives of music students. She would like to see UT take hearing conservation from a back burner to the forefront of students’ education. “To understand the importance of hearing protection from a young age and having no stigma attached, would be a remarkable thing to witness in all colleges and universities , especially with music students.” Ms. Descouzis recently made a donation to ASP with the goal of developing a hearing conservation program at UTK’s School of Music. A team from ASP worked with Ms. Descouzis and Dr. Susan Phillips, Associate Professor of Audiology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Dr. Phillips has been involved in a hearing conservation program at UNCG School of Music for several years. From these meetings, it was easy to see that a program like this could be implemented at UT. Dr. Patti Johnstone notes, “ASP already has faculty with knowledge and expertise in the field of hearing conservation in the industrial realm, so we felt confident that we could apply this expertise to create a meaningful program for a student population.” The ASP team met with Dr. Jeffrey Pappas, Director of UTK ‘s School of Music, to implement a program that targets freshman and provides compelling messages about hearing conservation throughout their undergraduate program. Each subsequent year, a new freshman class will be added to the program. The first group of freshman received hearing screens shortly after beginning school this fall. In all, 61 students were screened, and 22 demonstrated some degree of hearing loss in at least one ear. Ninety percent of the group reported that they have been playing instruments for seven years or more and participated in marching bands and/or ensembles. Almost none reported that they used hearing protection. A group of students from UTK’s College of Architecture and Design and their professor, Sarah Lowe, have also been added to the project’s team. Professor Lowe’s Graphic Design students have incorporated ideas from the ASP team to produce videos on noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus as well as a social media campaign, all with the intent of increasing awareness about the dangers of noise exposure and encouraging the use of hearing protection. Ms. Descouzis has been involved in giving feedback to the Graphic Design students. The program is an excellent example of university and community collaboration to meet the goal of improving the hearing health of students. “The screening data confirmed that this is a group of students who need to receive compelling messages about how to protect their hearing. As musicians, they will need to rely heavily upon their hearing for many years to come. We want to teach them now how to take care of their hearing. Ultimately, we hope to affect other music students and musicians by mirroring appropriate hearing health and precautions, taking the issue seriously.” -Dr. Jeffrey Pappas 10
PARENT WEEKEND SCORES BIG! ASP hosted its second Parent Weekend November 9-10, and it was another huge hit! Friday afternoon, we kicked-off the weekend with a departmental open house, giving opportunities for students to lead their parents on a tour of the department and engage with the academic and clinical faculty members. Later that evening, 218 people attended our dessert reception at the beautiful Crescent Bend House and Gardens. Dale Amburn, an ASP Community Development Board Member and parent of a former student, addressed the group, as did Dr. Will Smith (AuD Alumnus) and Maggie Wheeler (MS-SLP Alumnus and current UTHSC SLP). The weekend’s festivities continued on Saturday with about 100 people joining our tailgate at Claxton Courtyard to enjoy barbeque, UT’s Pride of the Southland band, and the energetic atmosphere that occurs just outside of Neyland Stadium before a game.
“The main highlight was the open interaction opportunities presented to me at all the events. I will add that watching my first ever SEC Football game combined with a UT win added to the experience!” -ASP Parent
ASP Team Conducts Bilingual Research
Screenings Anyone?
Dr. Patti Johnstone and her ASP team are currently collecting data for a research study, being spearheaded by Boys Town National Research Hospital. The project , funded by a National Institutes of Health grant, examines speech perception in English and Spanish using the Children’s English/Spanish Speech Recognition Test (ChEgSS) test. Over 15% of children in the United States are raised in Spanish speaking homes; however, audiological assessment of speech perception in preschoolers and school age children is commonly performed using English materials. Pictured above, Katherine Conrad and Jesus Gomez, both AuD students, collect data for the study with an 11 year-old boy who wears hearing aids.
Audiology Open House: The National Student SpeechLanguage Hearing Association hosted the Audiology Open House, providing hearing and balance screens to 316 children and adults. The Open House included a new service to evaluate the sound level of earbuds and headphones. This gave AuD students the opportunity to provide valuable education about the dangers of noise-induced hearing loss. World Voice Day: SLP students provided free vocal function screenings to students, faculty, and staff during this day-long event, which included a presentation by local television personality Robin Wilhoit and performances by professional voice users from our department. 11
ASP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FEBRUARY: Dr. James Lewis was awarded a Collaborative Research Network (CORNET) Clinical Award from the UTHSC Office of Research for a grant proposal entitled, “Defining and predicting outcomes of congenital Cytomegalovirus infection.” This prestigious award provides seed money to stimulate innovative, interdisciplinary, team-based research which will give rise to future extramural funding. APRIL: Local television newscaster Robin Wilhoit (left), pictured here with Dr. Sue Hume, was the featured presenter at ASP’s celebration of World Voice Day, speaking on her experiences as a professional voice user and the “power of the voice.”
APRIL: Eleven third year AuD students presented their final research projects at AuD Research Day. Many attended!
APRIL: SLP faculty participated in the Advocates
MAY: Dr. Jillian McCarthy received a UTHSC
for Autism 5K , alongside some of the families they serve .
Teaching Excellence Award from Student Government Association Executive Counsel.
MAY: Dr. Stephen Alway, Dean of the College of Health Professions, addressed a large crowd of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members in a reception the evening before graduation.
AUGUST: Beginner's Bash
JUNE:
UT Board of Trustees officially approved Dr. Kelly Yeager’s promotion to Professor. Dr. Yeager has been with ASP since 1998. She is pictured here doing what she does best — teaching an AuD student to program a child’s cochlear implant.
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It was a perfect day for the annual Beginner’s Bash, held at UT Gardens’ new pavilion. There was plenty of space for new students to enjoy a BBQ picnic and meet faculty and staff as well as returning students.
AUGUST: Local Girl Scout Troop
AUGUST: Jacob’s Ride
#20269, seen here with SLPs from the Pediatric Language Clinic (PLC), spent the summer building a large “Zipper” for the children at PLC who have sensory issues. The inspiration for the project was a piece of modern art first created by a Nashville artist. They used money collected from cookie sales to buy the materials. Fun fact: the Zipper contains 4,000 blue zip ties!
ASP partnered with other local groups like the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) to support Jacob’s Ride, a young man’s effort to increase awareness about hearing loss in cities across the nation. One event associated with this effort was a night at the Smokies Stadium, attended by Dr. Beth Humphrey (left) and Knoxville HLAA Director, Carolyn Mitchell.
SEPTEMBER: The 6th Annual Tom Davidson Memorial Conference featured Dr. David Haynes, Professor of Otolaryngology from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Pictured (left to right) are Dr. Haynes , ASP Chair Dr. Ashley Harkrider, and Davidson’s widow, Vicki Wiman.
OCTOBER: ASP students took a break from clinic
OCTOBER: Bailee Clausen and Nina Thomas, AuD students,
and classes to enjoy an Ice Cream Social, with three yummy flavors (and sprinkles, of course) served up by Cruze Farm, a favorite local creamery.
received the “Shooting Star” Award from Tennessee’s Department of Health for identifying gaps in service during calls made to families whose babies needed hearing follow-up.
NOVEMBER: The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) annual conference offers students an opportunity to present findings of research projects and network with professionals from across the country. Pictured here (left to right) are Rebekah Keith Ghawaly, Brittany Ary, and Shawnee Osborne, SLP students who made the most of this year’s conference in Boston. Ms. Ghawaly was first author on the poster behind them, which focused on increasing phonologic awareness skills in children who use augmentative and alternative communication.
NOVEMBER: ASP continues to partner with UTK’s FUTURE Program to host interns who spend time working at the Hearing & Speech Center. Pictured here (left to right) are Amber Carmody, a FUTURE job coach, Abby Cunningham, an SLP student, FUTURE student Ben Kredich, and Jennifer Wilson, UTHSC SLP. Ben, an accomplished piano player, is celebrating the completion of his internship.
DECEMBER: There’s a new dress code for ASP! Well, not really. Dr. Ashley Harkrider (left) and Pamela Williams are decked out for ASP’s Annual Holiday Party, which had a (you guessed it) disco theme. The rest of the ASP team was just as groovy as these two.
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EXCELLENCE in ALL THINGS
Student Education
Clinical Services
Scientific Discovery
Community Outreach
VOLS FOR LIFE
1 1) Learning at ASP often occurs beyond the walls of the classroom. The dysphagia course visited East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) Rehabilitation Center to learn about their Motivating Mealtimes Program, which serves children with feeding and swallowing issues and their families. 2) Our 25th Annual Sol Adler Memorial Conference drew more than 200 people to hear Dr. Kerry Proctor-Williams (center) from East Tennes3 see State University and a group of six local expert panelists share about outcomes in babies who are prenatally exposed to drugs. The panelists represented area programs that sometimes support UTHSC’s clients, including: Knox County Schools; Department of Child Services; UT Medical Center; ETCH; Cherokee Health Systems, and Emory Valley Center in Oak Ridge. 3) Pictured with Julie Beeler, ASP Community Development Board Member Jerry Faerber, along with his wife Peggy, recently made a generous addition to the Tamika Catchings Endowed Scholarship Fund. 4) Dave Jenson was surrounded by his precious daughters shortly before his PhD in Speech and Hearing Sciences was conferred in May. He is now an Assistant Professor at Washington State University.
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5) Karen Martin recently received an award from UTHSC’s Black Student Association for excellence in her work as a PhD student. Shown here with Dean of Graduate Health Sciences, Dr. Don Thomason, Martin’s research focuses on methods to improve sound localization accuracy in young children and cognitive screening needs for older adults. 6) Dr. Sally Baerman recently endowed a scholarship for audiology students in honor of beloved Professor Emeritus Dr. Samuel Burchfield. A 2005 UTHSC AuD Alumni, Dr. Baerman owns Bridgewater Balance & Hearing in Knoxville, was previously an ASP clinical educator, and currently serves on the ASP Community Development Board. 7) Pictured with Vol For Life Tamika Catchings are Morgan Stansberry (left) and Tessie Blanchard (right). Stansberry, a third-year AuD student, was the recipient of the Tamika Catchings Scholarship for the ‘18-’19 school year. Blanchard, a first-year AuD student, received a new set of hearing aids from the Tamika Catchings Amplification Assistance Fund. 8) Dr. Devin Casenhiser is with PhD students discussing images of the ear displayed on the 3D Anatomage table located in UTK’s Hodges Library. 9) An SLP student conducts a vocal function screening with a UTK theater major during a free voice screening event held at the Hearing & Speech Center in April. 10) Dr. Erinn Finke (left) sits with Teresa Slade. Slade, a second year AuD student, was an important contributor in the set-up of Finke’s Autism Social Development Lab. Slade received one of the 2018 Tennessee Academy of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (TAASLP) Foundation Student Scholarships. 11) Teresa Vaughn, UTHSC SLP, has dedicated more than 30 years to improving the communication skills of children with autism and is pictured here (right) with an SLP student and a young child during a therapy session. 12) Several ASP representatives serve on the Board of Tennessee Hands & Voices, a non-profit organization that serves families of children who have hearing loss. The group has an active schedule of social events and educational opportunities for families throughout the year.
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Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology University of Tennessee Health Science Center 578 South Stadium Hall Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
MARK YOUR CALENDARS ASP Graduation Ceremony May 8, 2019 4:00-6:00 pm Thompson-Boling Arena For ASP graduate and undergraduate students, families, & friends.
Volunteer Your Voice Summer Camp June 3-7 2019 One-week camp for children ages 8-15 with speech, language, and/or hearing disorders. Includes fun times at the UT Hearing and Speech Center and a 3-day, 2-night stay at the Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont. Cost: $360* Contact: thedinge@uthsc.edu *Some scholarships available
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Many have submitted pictures from various activities and events for this newsletter, but special acknowledgement goes to Steven Bridges, Erik Campos, Jack Parker, and Shawn Poynter.
Celebrate Sound Walk June 8, 2019 9:00 am UT Gardens Sertoma hosts this annual event to support community groups serving those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. A portion of funds raised goes to ASP. To register: www.celebratesound.org
Tom Davidson Memorial Audiology Conference September 20, 2019 Holiday Inn, World’s Fair Park Join us to learn more about the delivery of multiculturally-sensitive services from keynote speaker Dr. Christie Yoshinaga-Itano, from the University of Colorado Boulder. Contact: brinehar@uthsc.edu
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA. Title VI/ Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA Institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services.
PAN: E07-3740-002-19