Clinician Mindsets and Diagnostic Outcomes: A Qualitative Study on SLP Attitudes and Perspectives Toward African American Vernacular English

Faculty: Dr. Shauna Ashley,. CCC-SLP

Student: Chyna Terry

Standardized speech-language assessments often misclassify African American English (AAE) dialectal features as clinical errors, contributing to special education overrepresentation. Grounded in the Difference Versus Deficit Perspective and Culturally Responsive Assessment Framework, this mixed-methods study investigates school-based clinicians' perceptions, diagnostic practices, and potential assessment bias. Combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, this session examines how standardized tools impact AAE speakers. Attendees will explore modified scoring approaches, dialect-sensitive evaluation tools (e.g., dynamic assessment, dialect-neutral probes), and practical strategies to accurately distinguish linguistic differences from true speech-language disorders in clinical practice.

College Students’ Attitudes Toward Stuttering

Faculty: Dahye Choi

Student: Mia Holloway

The purpose of the study was to examine the difference in college students' knowledge and attitudes toward stuttering across Speech and Hearing Sciences (SHS) majors, other health related majors, and non-health-related majors. Findings indicated that SHS students had significantly higher CARE Education scores than students majoring in non-health-related fields. However, there were no significant differences in stuttering-affirmative attitudes across groups. These findings suggest a need to strengthen stuttering-affirmative content within the SHS curriculum so that students are better equipped to support the psychosocial well-being of individuals who stutter and to reduce stigma in clinical interactions.

Crossing the Great Divide: Navigating Barriers to Literacy Instruction for Students Who Use AAC

Faculty: Dr. Rebecca Summy

Student: Sarah Jayne Doty

Literacy is a fundamental human right, and in the current “literacy crisis”, access to quality literacy instruction is now more important than ever. Unfortunately, while there has been an ever-growing focus on quality literacy instruction for students in the general education program, students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods are often left behind. This poster will discuss how SLPs can increase the quality of and access to literacy instruction for AAC users through collaboration, inter-curriculum tasks, and external curriculum programs and activities.

Examining Shared Attitudes Toward Stuttering in Parent-Child Dyads

Faculty: Dr. Dahye Choi

Student: Rachel Moncrief

This study evaluated whether stuttering knowledge and attitudes are associated within parent-child dyads. Using the CARE Assessment’s Education section, responses from children who stutter and their caregivers were analyzed. Spearman’s rho correlations revealed no significant overall association between caregiver and child scores. However, sex-specific analyses demonstrated a strong, significant positive correlation between girls and their caregivers, which was absent in boys.These results suggest that parent education may play a distinct role in shaping attitudes among girls who stutter.

Family Factors Influencing Augmentative and Alternative Communication Use in the Lives of Autistic Children ​

Faculty: Andrea Etkie, PhD, CCC-SLP

Student: Emily Gorski

While extensive research demonstrates that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) enhances communication for autistic children, research often overlooks family dynamics and bidirectional impact. Complex communication needs extend past the child, directly shaping family and caregiver interactions. Utilizing parent reports and the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (FIATS-AAC), this study examines key family factors influencing daily AAC integration for autistic children aged 3-18. Data analysis highlights patterns in family dynamics, identifying targeted education and resources to support family-centered AAC interventions.

Learning Through Play: Push-In Service Delivery in Early Childhood Settings to Promote Inclusion and Communication Growth

Faculty: Mary Bryan

Student: Ashton Dickey

Early intervention and preschool programs provide unique opportunities for speech-language pathologists to support communication development within natural learning environments. This session explores the use of push-in service delivery models in early childhood classrooms to promote inclusion, language growth, and peer interaction. Participants will learn evidence-based strategies for embedding intervention into play-based and classroom activities while collaborating with educators and families. Practical examples and implementation tools will be provided for future clinicians working with young children.

Literacy Environment Influence on Early Literacy Skill Development in Children With and Without Speech Sound Disorder

Faculty: Anna Ehrhorn

Student: McKenna Browning

Children with speech sound disorder (SSD) often, but not always, experience difficulties learning to read and spell. Phonological awareness and language are key early predictors. Although literacy environment shapes these skills generally, their impact in SSD has not been investigated. The present study will explore the influence of literacy environment on development of phonological awareness, word reading, and spelling in early school-age children with and without SSD while accounting for language ability. Preliminary data will be analyzed to determine how the targeted early literacy skills are influenced by literacy environment, clarifying the extent that this supports skill development in SSD.

More Than a Grade: The Role of Supervision in Developing Confident Student Clinicians

Faculty: Mary Bryan

Student: Brittany Strope

Graduate students in speech-language pathology often focus on mastering academic content and earning strong grades. While academic success is important and provides an essential foundation for clinical practice, effective supervision plays a critical role in helping students develop confidence and clinical competence in patient care. Through feedback, mentorship, self-reflection, and guided clinical experiences, supervisors help bridge the gap between classroom learning and clinical application. This session will explore the role of supervision in fostering confident student clinicians and provide practical strategies for maximizing growth throughout graduate training.

Packing for the Long Haul: Preventing Burnout through Active Engagement with Membership Associations

Faculty: Mary Bryan

Student: Anna Parker

Among Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, burnout syndrome is a common obstacle that can negatively impact job satisfaction, quality of services provided, and the number of professionals retained within the field of speech and hearing sciences. This session will briefly discuss recognizing burnout and its main causes, primarily focusing on how active membership in governing bodies (such as ASHA and SHAA) provides benefits and resources that have been shown to effectively combat burnout among professionals. Emphasis will also be placed on methods for effectively engaging within these associations.

Pairs Engaging in Early Literacy (PEEL): Impact of a Remotely-Delivered Training Program on Caregiver-Child Communicative Behaviors during Shared Book Reading

Faculty: Victoria Henbest, PhD, CCC-SLP; Brenda Beverly, PhD, CCC-SLP

Student: Abigail Hardy, Lauren Tapley

Pairs Engaging in Early Literacy (PEEL) is a six-week educational program in which caregivers of young children receive free children’s books and weekly instructional videos sent via text-message demonstrating language-facilitating interactive shared-book reading strategies. Families are assigned to the instructional or control group, the latter which receive free books and encouragement to read, but no instruction. Book reading videos submitted by caregivers before, during, and after the program are transcribed and coded to identify caregiver strategy use and children’s communicative interactions. Findings indicate greater quantity of caregiver strategy use and child interactive behaviors for the instructional compared to control group.

Passport to Partnership: Effective Collaboration with Interpreters in Pediatric Therapy

Faculty: Mary Bryan

Student: Antonia Saparto

Speech-language pathologists continue to serve a growing number of multilingual populations, requiring effective collaboration with interpreters to ensure accurate assessment and ethical, culturally responsive care. However, many clinicians report limited training with organizing and facilitating interpreter-mediated sessions and evaluations. This presentation will provide practical strategies for preparing, implementing, and reflecting on pediatric therapy sessions involving interpreters, with emphasis on role clarification, cultural and linguistic considerations, and communication strategies that support collaboration before, during, and after sessions. The session will also highlight ways to empower families to actively participate in therapy. Participants will leave with tools to improve multilingual service delivery.

Quiet Quitting Prevention: Minimizing Burnout to Decrease Ethical Compromise

Faculty: Mary Bryan

Student: Morgan Rollins Beaver

A post-pandemic phenomenon dubbed “quiet quitting” has become increasingly prevalent among professional settings. Adopting a fatalistic mindset has become the norm, while burnout within all corners of the healthcare system is at an all time high. This session will discuss common workplace stressors and areas which lead to burnout. Ethical compromise and its comorbidity with an apathetic work approach will be deliberated. Information will be provided regarding how to minimize workplace strife through self-advocacy, and an admonition to adhere to ASHA’s Code of Ethics will be encouraged.

A Preliminary Examination of Delay Frustration and Self-Regulation in Adults with ADHD

Faculty: Gregory J. Spray, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Student: Lucy Lalisan

Frustration tolerance is a key component of self-regulation and may be difficult for individuals with ADHD and individuals who stutter. This session explores relationships between ADHD, inhibition, self-regulation, and frustration tolerance in adults with and without ADHD. Using a delay frustration task, participants complete a simple computer based math activity while experiencing unexpected delays. Participants with ADHD, individuals who stutter, and neurotypical controls are compared to identify differences in frustration responses. The session reviews research on frustration tolerance across neurodevelopmental populations, outlines the study’s methodology, and examines how ADHD symptom severity relates to behavioral measures of frustration and self-regulation.