Wichita State University Communication Sciences and Disorders

10/07/2026

Happy Birthday Wu!! 🎂🌾

10/07/2026

Last Thursday and Friday, Wichita State made the trek from Wichita to Overland Park for the Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (KSHA) conference! 🎓

First- and second-year graduate students, undergraduate students, faculty, and staff from both SLP and AuD all came together for two days of learning, connecting, and having a little fun along the way.

Students got to choose the sessions they were most interested in, learn from professionals in the field, network with other students and clinicians, and even compete for some conference prizes. Our faculty and staff also took advantage of the opportunity to earn continuing education hours and bring new ideas back to the classroom and clinic.

Experiences like KSHA give our students a chance to step outside the classroom, explore different areas of the field, meet people doing the work, and start building the professional connections that will follow them into their careers.

We’re proud of everyone who represented Wichita State at KSHA! 💛🖤

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10/06/2026

Shocker Spotlight: Carly Thomas, MA, CCC-SLP 🔦🔦

We’re kicking off our new faculty and staff spotlight series with someone many of our students and clients know and love! Carly Thomas, MA, CCC-SLP!

Carly is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the WSU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. She earned her master’s degree from Wichita State in 2008 and joined the clinic in 2020. She works with clients with cognitive-communication and other communication needs and loves getting to be part of each client’s journey.

But there’s more to Carly than SLP! 👀

When she’s not teaching or supervising students, Carly enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, reading, cross-stitching, and keeping up with fantasy football. She lives in Eudora and makes the commute to clinic once each week, while also supervising students virtually.

Carly says one of her favorite parts of being an SLP is teaching and passing her love of the field on to students. We’re so lucky to have her as part of the WSU CSD family! 💛

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10/05/2026

If you’ve driven through downtown Wichita or along the highway lately, you’ve probably noticed it: the Wichita Biomedical Campus standing tall near Broadway and William. 🏗️

And in 2027, it will become much more than a new building. It will become a place where the next generation of healthcare professionals learn, collaborate, conduct research, and prepare to serve our communities.

The Wichita Biomedical Campus will bring together programs from Wichita State, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas, including speech-language pathology and audiology, physical therapy, nursing, physician associate studies, health sciences, medical laboratory sciences, medicine and pharmacy. Shared classrooms, simulation spaces, clinical areas and research labs will create opportunities for students and professionals across disciplines to learn from one another.

Why does that matter?

Healthcare is a team effort! A patient may need a physician, nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist, SLP, audiologist and many others working together. Bringing these disciplines under one roof creates more opportunities for that collaboration to start *before students ever enter the healthcare workforce.*

For Wichita and communities across Kansas, this means investing in the people who will provide care for years to come, strengthening the healthcare workforce, expanding opportunities for research and innovation, and creating new possibilities for community care. The campus is expected to bring approximately 3,000 students and 200 faculty and staff together in downtown Wichita.

We’re excited to watch this building become a place where students become clinicians, ideas become discoveries, and collaboration becomes better care for our communities.

We’ll see you downtown in 2027. 💙

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10/02/2026

10/02/2026

WSUSSLHA BAKE SALE
Stop by Ahlberg Hall 2nd Floor Lobby Monday for a sweet treat between classes!! Cash or credit
Monday, October 5th 11-3pm

10/01/2026

👂Your hearing health matters at every age!

Fun fact: Your brain does a lot of the work when it comes to hearing! Clear hearing helps us communicate, learn, stay connected, and engage with the world around us.

At the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, our audiology services support children, adults, and older adults with a variety of hearing needs, including:

• Comprehensive hearing evaluations
• Hearing aid checks, fittings, and programming
• Hearing aid repairs and troubleshooting
• Hearing aid recommendations and setup
• Ongoing hearing aid support and care

Whether you have concerns about your hearing, are interested in hearing aids, or need help with a current device, our skilled audiology team is here to help!

📞 Call (316) 978-3289 to learn more about our hearing services or schedule an appointment.

Remember Shockers, better hearing means more opportunities to connect!

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09/29/2026

Congratulations, Dr. Erin O’Bryan! 🎉

We are thrilled to celebrate Dr. Erin O’Bryan as the recipient of the 2026 College of Health Professions Excellence in Research Award!

Dr. O'Bryan's research impacts the field of aphasia rehabilitation by improving language, communication, life participation, and quality of life for people who have aphasia, an acquired disorder of language and communication resulting from stroke or other brain injury. Her research involves developing interventions focused on person-centered storytelling such as Aphasia-Friendly Reading, Melodic Intonation Therapy, and communication partner training for adults with aphasia.

Dr. O’Bryan is a valued member of the Wichita State Communication Sciences and Disorders community. Since 2019, she has mentored more than 40 students participating in research at WSU. She is loved and appreciated by our students, clients, colleagues, and the community. Her dedication to her work, her students, and the people she serves makes her such an important part of our team.

We are so grateful for all that Dr. O’Bryan brings to our Speech-Language Hearing clinic and our community, and we couldn’t be more proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition!

Congratulations, Dr. O’Bryan!

09/28/2026

Our Wichita State Communication Sciences and Disorders students are getting ready to head to the Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (KSHA) Convention!

Attending KSHA is such a valuable experience for our students. It gives them the opportunity to step outside of the classroom, connect with speech-language pathology and audiology professionals from across Kansas, learn about new ideas and research, and gain a broader perspective on the many ways they can serve their future clients.

Experiences like this are an important part of preparing our students to become confident, knowledgeable, and well-rounded clinicians. We are excited to see our students learning, networking, and representing WSU CSD!
We can’t wait to see all they take away from this experience and bring back to our department and clinic.
Go Shocks!

07/07/2026

Aphasia Awareness Day 2026 was a success!! Thank you to everyone who came out and a special thank you to our guest speakers who truly made the event possible! WSU CSD students and faculty held Aphasia Awareness Day on July 1. Guests learned from people with aphasia and care partners about their lives and experiences in healthcare. Attendees received training on how to be better conversation partners using Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia. SLP graduate students taught attendees about stroke, aphasia, and SLPs’ scope of practice in healthcare. Shout out to Tayana Martin for taking the photos!