Speech-Language Pathology

Many people cannot rely on speech alone to be heard and understood. To improve their participation in society, augmentative and alternative communication strategies such as speech-generating apps, communication devices controlled by eye movements, and communication boards can be used; however, learning and using these tools is not always an easy or intuitive process.

Our team's current research focuses on developing and evaluating augmentative and alternative communication tools, trainings and processes to improve the participation of people with limited speech. These research efforts focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and user-centered design to enhance clinical translation.

Department Research Areas

• Developing and evaluating alternative access methods to communication technologies for people with physical disabilities.

• Developing and evaluating training techniques to increase successful communication with people with limited speech and their communication partners in health care and community activities.

• Co-designing and implementing augmentative and alternative communication interventions with people with communication disabilities, their families, and communication partners.

• Improving healthcare experiences for people with communication disabilities.

• Developing and evaluating augmentative and alternative communication service delivery in health care settings.

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Student Research Opportunities

Faculty and Staff Research

Explore research focused on the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities performed by MMI's Department of Speech-Language Pathology faculty and staff.

• Susan Fager, PhD
• Carol Gaebler, MS, CCC-SLP
• Jessica Gormley, PhD
• Amy S. Nordness, PhD