UCF School of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Congratulations to our summer 2024 graduates in the Master's Program. A special CONGRATUALATIONS to our Consortium students who have finished with this cohort.

🎓 After spending time as a kid watching her mom make a difference, Mary Grace Gunnels is now following in her footsteps to become a speech language pathologist. The journey of getting here has brought them closer than ever, and Mary Grace says she is excited to embark on the next adventure of being an SLP for an elementary school. Learn more about this 👉 https://healthprofessions.ucf.edu/news/graduation-spotlight-mary-grace-gunnels-communication-sciences-and-disorders/

Books come alive! 📖 🐻 Thanks to a gift from Variety – the Children’s Charity of Florida, our CSD clinic is using immersive simulation technology in summer literacy camps, exploring new ways to help children with autism spectrum disorder improve their reading skills. Learn more about this exciting pilot program underway in our Rehabilitation Innovation Center ⏩

Donation from Variety – the Children’s Charity of Florida Helps Researchers Explore New Literacy Building Tools - UCF The Communication Sciences and Disorders Clinic has been offering reading programs to the Orlando community for the last four years and recently

A familiar face at the UCF College of Health Professions and Sciences, Matthew Theriot takes the helm today as interim dean.

An accomplished leader, Theriot has served for the last three years as director of the School of Social Work where he promoted interdisciplinary research, opened a new center for professional education, and saw the MSW program jump to an all-time high in the U.S. News & World Report national rankings.

Learn more about his plans as interim dean, his background and early influences, and what you’ll find him doing when he’s not on campus. 👇🏽

Meet Matthew Theriot, Our New Interim Dean - UCF A familiar face in the College of Health Professions and Sciences, Matthew Theriot is taking the helm as interim dean. “It’s a privilege to serve as the

👏🏽 Well-deserved! 👏🏽 Sending out a huge congratulations to Lauren Bislick Wilson for her promotion to associate professor with tenure and to Amy Thomas for her promotion to associate instructor! The appointments are effective August 8. Read more about the 100+ faculty members awarded promotion and tenure ➡ https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-awards-promotion-and-tenure-to-104-faculty/

FAREWELL WISHES: Today we thank and honor our founding dean, Chris Ingersoll, in his final week at UCF. For the last 5+ years, under his leadership, our college has strengthened academic offerings, grown our research enterprise, served hundreds of families through our clinics, conferred more than 10,000 degrees, and created unique, new community programs and partnerships. He has made a lasting impact, and we wish him all the best as he embarks on a new professional chapter at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine! Matthew Theriot, director of our School of Social Work, takes the helm as interim dean on July 15.

Graduate student clinician Marisol Freytes is featured in this Spectrum News 13 story that highlights Turning Pages, a juvenile literacy pilot program in which CSD students are helping youth offenders develop foundational reading and writing skills.

Ninth Judicial Circuit's 'Turning Pages' program developing youth literacy Eugene Johnson, 17, was one of the five graduates in April.

Professor David Eddins and a team of researchers in the newly created Communication Technologies Research Center are ramping up their pioneering work to develop assistive technology solutions that improve the quality of life for people with hearing challenges and create more effective tools for the clinicians treating them. Projects include:
👂🏻 A “smart” hearing aid that anticipates the communication needs of the wearer
📱 A 3D printed handheld whistle + smart phone app to evaluate a patient’s breathing capacity
🔊 A specialized hearing device that helps patients with extreme sound sensitivities
👴🏻 A sound therapy device targeting the specific auditory deficits most likely to occur with age-related hearing loss
🗣 Creating reliable and valid clinical tools for voice perception that are accessible, affordable and easy to use

Sound Solutions: Building Smarter Hearing Systems - UCF A new UCF researcher is revolutionizing hearing aid technology and developing innovative clinical tools that better diagnose and treat patients with

Academia and healthcare leaders convened at UCF for a regional summit designed to improve collaboration and develop new strategies for ensuring the talent pipeline continues to provide competent and compassionate future healthcare professionals proficient in delivering team-based care. The summit theme was “Collaboration in Action – Engaging to Build Readiness for Interprofessional Clinical Practice.”

The summit was one of six taking place in-person and concurrently at five additional Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) member institutions across the country. The summits culminated in a virtual “harvest” session during which all regional hubs provided a briefing, enabling a live, national-level conversation.

College of Health Professions and Sciences Co-Hosts Healthcare Education Summit Academia and healthcare leaders convened at UCF on May 23 for a regional summit designed to improve collaboration and develop new strategies for ensuring the talent pipeline continues to provide competent and compassionate future healthcare professionals proficient in delivering team-based care.

Closing out May with tips for National Stroke Awareness Month. The American Stroke Association provides information on how to be prepared when stroke warning signs and symptoms are present. To learn more, visit: https://www.stroke.org/en/about-stroke/stroke-symptoms

May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month. Let's spread awareness and support those affected. Together, we can make communication accessible for everyone.

In honor of National Speech-Language-Hearing Month our faculty are sharing why they love being SLPs and Audiologists!

The New Mexico Sun reports on a partnership between Pegasus Professor Jennifer Kent-Walsh and Professor Cathy Binger from UNM Speech and Hearing Sciences that has helped countless families through the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Lab and the FAAST Center. They were recently awarded a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further their research and continue helping children with communication related impairments. Read more in this news story ➡️

3 million NIH grant awarded for improving child communication outcomes - College of Health Professions and Sciences A fruitful collaboration between Cathy Binger, a professor at UNM’s Speech & Hearing Sciences, and Jennifer Kent-Walsh, founder and professor at the

WE. ARE. SO. PROUD! A huge congratulations to our UCF NSSLHA chapter who was just named the 2023–2024 Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Chapter of the Year! This is the highest honor that can be achieved with only one chapter in the country achieving the distinction each year. These amazing students are simply a step above.

⚡ 3,600+ hours volunteered
⚡ 500+ Take Action letters written
⚡ A donation drive to support individuals with neurological motor disabilities
⚡ Legislative advocacy to promote inclusivity
⚡ Establishing a scholarship to help other students

AND they received GOLD chapter honors for the 4th year for their outstanding work and leadership. We’re so pleased to see our chapter recognized for all they do to advance the profession and serve our community!

Congratulations to Talaxy Bonner for receiving the CAPCSD Francis J. Laven Service Award! This prestigious $5,000 scholarship is awarded to students who display exemplary service. Before moving to the U.S. from Jamaica, Talaxy volunteered with her mother serving elderly people by providing them with basic food needs and encouragement. During her time at UCF, she has volunteered at the Knights Helping Knights Pantry, with the Campus Activities Board and the Aphasia House’s Aphasia Family. She also served on the first executive board in the recently established UCF chapter of the National Black Association for Speech-Language Hearing. We’re so proud of Talaxy for this huge accomplishment!🎉

Happy National Speech-Language-Hearing month!

Congratulations to Assistant Professors Lauren Bislick Wilson, Ethan Hill and Humberto Lopez Castillo who are recipients of this year’s Research Incentive Awards! These awards recognize faculty who demonstrate outstanding research, scholarly or creative activity that advances the body of knowledge in a field. 🌟⚔️

Decades of research from a team led by Pegasus Professor Jennifer Kent-Walsh has already assisted thousands of children at the FAAST Center and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Lab. Now, the National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year $3 million clinical trial grant to expand this critical research that aids children with significant speech impairments and genetic conditions. Read more about this historic grant 👉 https://tinyurl.com/UCFAssistiveTechnology

🎭 🔍 When performance meets wellness! Health experts gathered to present “Guardians of the Stage” at UCF Celebrates the Arts, sharing valuable insights on how artists and performers can improve vocal health, enhance hearing and prevent injuries.

The expert panel featured professor and director Ann Eddins, associate dean of clinical affairs Bari Hoffman and professor David Eddins, assistant professor Colby Mangum from the UCF Athletic Training Program, associate professor Tara D. Snyder from the UCF College of Arts & Humanities, the expertise of medical director Jeffrey J. Lehman from Ear, Nose, Throat, and Plastic Surgery Associates Orlando and doctoral student Evyn Callahan from UCF Kinesiology🎤

Today was our second annual Healthy Aging Fair! 🍏💪🏽 Local seniors, family members and caregivers joined us to check out valuable resources to help with aging safely and independently. The fair provided demos of some of the latest products and tech, connections with community providers, breakout sessions with our expert faculty, and cognitive/language, audiology and mobility screenings from our UCF Physical Therapy Clinic and UCF School of Communication Sciences and Disorders

CSD graduate students participated in the 2nd annual Dysphagia Training and Simulation Day led by Associate Instructor Todd R. Fix, M.A., CCC-SLP, CBIS. The single session course provided students with hands-on exposure to the complexities and nuances of speech-pathology service delivery in the medical setting as it relates to dysphagia, a swallowing and feeding disorder.

Will you make a donation today? Please support the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders in general, or our clinics and centers, by making a gift to: https://chps.ucf.edu/give

Together, we’re building a stronger and healthier community. Please make a gift today at: https://chps.ucf.edu/give

What happens when you have skilled faculty, exceptional clinical opportunities, and a passion for preparing students to serve as competent and compassionate healthcare providers? Graduate rankings like this by U.S. News & World Report — which just named CSD in the top 25% of speech-language pathology grad schools in the nation 👇

CHPS Excels in 2024 U.S. News and World Report Graduate Rankings - College of Health Professions and Sciences Three graduate programs in the College of Health Professions and Sciences rank in the top 25% of the nation according to the U.S. News & World Report

Congratulations to Lauren Bislick Wilson and Amy Thomas on their promotions! So well-deserved! 🎉

Congratulations to our staff members celebrating five years of service with UCF and thank you for your continued commitment and dedication!