Division News

Former Student, Current Audiology Faculty Receives Cochlear Implant

Dr. Stephanie Sjoblad waits while her cochlear implant is activated by Dr. Marcia Clark (on left). Her husband Jon, on right, and brother, Dan, provide support.

Since her graduation from UNC, Stephanie Sjoblad (Audiology, Class of 1997), a lifelong hearing aid user with two deaf siblings, has shared the dual perspective of audiologist and consumer. Stephanie now has a new perspective to share with her students and patients—that of cochlear implant user. On April 29, 2009, Dr. Craig Buchman at UNC performed the surgery and on May 18, another former student, Marcia (Clark) Adunka (Audiology, Class of 2002), who directs the audiology component of UNC Hospitals’ adult cochlear implant program, provided the initial activation and mapping. Stephanie's husband of 17 years, Jon Sjoblad, sat alonside her and her brother, Dan, who received his cochlear implant seven and a half years ago, came from Massachusetts for the big day.

At first, Stephanie was overwhelmed by the sheer volume and robotic sounding nature of the stimulus, but within minutes she was repeating words and phrases with remarkable accuracy. Now that she has had the implant for several weeks, she is hearing sounds better, although differently, than ever before. She reports being able to hear her son Krister, age 4, more often the first time he makes a comment; has had a 15-minute phone conversation with her mother via cell phone; and was able to understand some of the words of her pastor during prayer without visual cues. She described the initial sensation
as "Darth Vader-like,” but slowly the new sounds are becoming natural. She is anxious to begin some formalized auditory training to maximize her performance with the implant and is very optimistic she will continue to make good progress.

Dr. Adam Jacks and his wife, Sarah.

Division Welomes New Faculty Member

The Division's newest faculty member, Dr. Adam Jacks, and his wife Sarah are all smiles about moving to North Carolina! We are excited to welcome Adam to UNC. He specializes in adult neurogenics and motor speech disorders. Watch for a feature article on Dr. Jacks in the next newsletter.

Division Holds Spring Student Research Forum

Michelle Flippin (right), PhD candidate, shares autism intervention research findings with an interested audience member at the Student Research Forum.

During the Spring 2009 semester, DSHS hosted a  series of presentations by students, devoted to research and related scholarly activity in  communication sciences and disorders. Presentations were open to UNC faculty, students, and invited guests and collaborators with an interest in the content area.

Healthy Hearing: Special Olympic World Winter Games 2009

Barbara Winslow Warren, AuD, Assistant Professor, Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and Jenelle Ezcurra, BS, AuD Student, Class of 2011

In early February, faculty member Barbara Winslow Warren (AuD class of 2009), and Jenelle Ezcurra, AuD student, were two of 20 individuals from around the world invited to train as Clinical Directors for Healthy Hearing at the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho. Representatives from countries near and far came to learn the meaning of Special Olympics and how to incorporate Healthy Hearing into their states and countries.

Healthy Hearing is a discipline within the Healthy Athletes program. Healthy Athletes began in 1997 and provided only one type of health screening (dental). Since the official launch in 1997, Healthy Athletes has grown from one discipline to seven, including Opening Eyes, Special Smiles, Healthy Hearing, Fit Feet, Health Promotion, MedFest, and Fun Fitness. The first Healthy Hearing program occurred at UNC 10 years ago under the direction of Dr. Gilbert Herer from National Children's Hospital in Washington, with assistance from the UNC audiology faculty and graduate students. All disciplines provide free health screenings and services to Special Olympic athletes at local, state/provincial, national, and world games. Healthy Athletes is a global organization that has provided over 500,000 screenings since its inception in 1997.  Within the Healthy Hearing program, licensed audiologists supervise hearing screenings involving external ear inspection, evoked otoacoustic emissions, tympanometry, and pure tone screenings for those with identified need. Healthy Hearing assesses an athlete’s hearing and provides reports to coaches and caregivers if follow-up care is needed. Follow-up care may include earwax removal, medical referral, hearing aid fitting, and/or recommendation for hearing protection.

At the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, audiologists in the Healthy Athletes program performed nearly 5,000 health screenings. Athletes trained and competed in winter events such as ice skating, floor hockey, and snow skiing throughout the week. In the evenings the athletes were bussed over to the Boise State Student Union for health screenings. The Healthy Hearing Program screened over 1,000 athletes for hearing loss and fit over 70 athletes with hearing aids. It was an amazing experience for us as part of the team--not only to explore the beautiful town of Boise, but to interact with athletes from around the world. We had the satisfaction of improving the athletes’ health and quality of life while learning about our respective countries and cultures through discussions and the exchange of pins which were proudly displayed on our nametags (a long standing-tradition that we were introduced to immediately upon arrival).  Following the return to Chapel Hill, we have been working with our global clinical advisers and state representatives to implement a Healthy Hearing program within the North Carolina Special Olympics. We look forward to the opportunity to inform students, colleagues, and members of our community about the abilities and health needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities. We also look forward to providing health screenings and follow-up services to athletes within our state.

To see more photos of this great experience, please visit our slideshow.

WE Listen International Funds Educational Mission in Europe

Kathryn Wilson, M.A., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT

Working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families has been the primary focus of my career as a speech-language pathologist, teacher of the deaf, and auditory verbal therapist for more than 30 years. Over this time, I have witnessed advances in cochlear implant and hearing aid technology, earlier ages of identification and implantation as a result newborn hearing screening, and a shift to "listening to learn" teaching strategies—all of which have contributed to more children developing age-appropriate spoken language. It has been exciting to be a professional in the field of speech-language pathology and deaf education!

By the mid 1990s, it became clear to me that another passion was emerging: to teach, train, and mentor a new generation of professionals. I began offering workshops and conferences across the nation in university classrooms, hospital clinics, early intervention and public school settings, and summer institutes. In addition to my new role as Director of FIRST YEARS (http://firstyears.org), all of these teaching experiences, prepared me for an amazing opportunity that took me to Copenhagen, Warsaw, and Istanbul this year.

In early 2009, I traveled and worked with Mr. Warren Estabrooks, President and CEO of WE Listen International, Inc. As a consultant, Mr. Estabrooks conducts training worldwide for professionals interested in auditory-verbal therapy and practice. When first asked if I would be interested, there was no hesitation. I realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  As preparation of slides, handouts, and video clips began, I wondered how things might be different in these countries compared to what was familiar to me at home.

Kathryn Wilson with Warren Estabrooks.

• All participants spoke English, but not as their first language. Yet, they would be expected to participate in long days of training where English was the only language spoken by the instructors. Would we understand each other and be able to engage in meaningful dialogue?
• Very few were speech-language pathologists or teachers of the deaf. Most were special educators or psychologists and even one person was a physician.
• Guiding parents and active parent participation in all aspects of a child’s habilitation was one of my presentation topics. However, the concept of working with parents and caregivers vs. only the child was a novel idea to most professionals in these countries. Would there be “buy-in” to the information?
• And, of course, there would be cultural differences that could influence the ability to relate to each other.

I need not have feared. As I worked with the participants, I came to appreciate that we were all united by the common purpose of helping the children and families we serve regardless of where we live, the languages we speak, or our cultural beliefs and practices.

Training began in Copenhagen. In Denmark, bilateral cochlear implantation is routine, but there are very few professionals who have the expertise to work with this population. During two days there, we engaged in video analysis, group assignments, case studies, lectures, and problem solving. We began and ended our days with fabulous food, conversation, and laughter.  This schedule was repeated in Warsaw, where we conducted our training at the International Center for Speech and Hearing founded by implant surgeon Dr. Henryk Skarzyski. In addition to the Polish professionals who work at the International Center, professionals from the Czech Republic and Hungary participated. Here, I worked hard to understand a bit of Polish and they worked hard to understand a gal with a strong Southern accent!

Kathryn seeing the sights in Turkey.

The last stop on our teaching mission was Istanbul, Turkey, a city of 17 million people that sits on the Bosphorus Strait where Europe and Asia meet. Here, I had ONE day to take in as much of the city as possible. On a Sunday morning, I set out with a driver and an English- speaking guide to explore Istanbul. Several historic sites, including the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in the Old City, plus a shopping trip to purchase a handmade Turkish rug or “carpet” highlighted my excursion. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the day was that I actually found my way back to the hotel!  Without question, this international experience was one of the highlights of my career. Little did I know that making the choice to become a speech-language pathologist more than 30 years ago would ultimately lead me to Copenhagen, Warsaw, and Istanbul. Next on the itinerary? I have submitted my passport for renewal and eagerly await another teaching opportunity abroad!

Service and Learning on Spring Break in Guatemala

This spring, seven students in the Speech-Language Pathology Master's program (and one student from Occupational Science) joined Lisa Domby, Clinical Education Coordinator, in providing service to children with communication disorders in Antigua, Guatemala. Each member of the group participated in one-on-one Spanish lessons geared specifically to their level of ability and knowledge. And since it was Spring Break, they also set out to have some fun. For instance, they picked coffee beans (yes, that was fun), visited a jade artisan, and hiked a volcano. Enjoy the slide show!

UNC students collected and donated Spanish children’s books and games.  In Guatemala, many families live on an average of $4 per day.  They struggle to provide essentials like food and clothing, and are not able to provide books and school supplies for their children.

Spotlight on Dr. Karen Erickson

By Dick Broom, Freelance Writer

For her 7th grade community experience project in her hometown in upstate New York, Karen Erickson was placed with a Head Start pre-school program. The pre-school was intended for 4- year-olds, but two of the children were 7. They were there because they had significant disabilities and, at the time, there was nowhere else for them to go. “I was immediately attracted to those two little guys,” Erickson recalls. “Every time I walked in, they were the ones I sought out. I have since come to realize how remarkable their teacher was, and not just for them, but also for me. I think that experience pretty much set me on the path to working in special education.”

Dr. Karen Erickson

To say that Dr. Erickson works in special education is sort of like saying Barack Obama works in the White House. She is quite possibly the most prolific and productive researcher and the most innovative teacher in the small but growing field of literacy assessment and education for people with developmental disabilities. She is director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies (CLDS) in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and early in 2009 she was named the first David E. and Dolores J. Yoder Distinguished Professor in Literacy and Disability Studies.

Erickson began her career as a special education teacher in public schools in New York State. “I was teaching the kinds of children that the people at UNC were studying,” she says. “So, I came here in 1992 with the intent of learning to become a better teacher of those children. But I was so excited by the research that was going on, the kinds of questions being asked that I wanted to be part of that.”

Erickson received her doctorate in special education and literacy at UNC in 1995. After holding faculty positions at Duke University and the University of New Hampshire, she returned to UNC in 2001 to lead the CLDS. Erickson and her colleagues have developed novel ways of teaching reading skills to children and adolescents who traditionally have been considered permanently illiterate. These include youngsters with autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. “A traditional special ed view is that some of these children are not capable of learning, that we have to train them to do things as opposed to teaching them,” Erickson says.

To illustrate the difference between training and teaching, she says it is one thing for children to learn the letters of the alphabet; it is another to learn what the letters are for and how to use them. “I believe that nearly everybody is capable of learning,” Erickson says. “Having disabilities doesn’t mean children can’t learn; it just means we have to figure out how to help them learn.” She says teaching them takes more time and might require creative uses of technology, “but the actual instruction we provide and the inside-the-head activities we’re trying to promote are the same as for children who don’t have any disabilities.”

In 2004, Erickson received both the National Down Syndrome Congress Educator of the Year Award and the Literacy Lectureship Award of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Last year, she became involved in the Faculty Engaged Scholars Program of the Carolina Center for Public Service, whose mission is to advance the scholarship of community engagement. “That is the kind of research I have always done, and it has led to dramatically increasing the work I do in the public schools,” Erickson says. “This spring I worked with 50 children in grades three through five who don’t have any identified disabilities but were struggling to read and write. They made a full year of progress in just 10 weeks with the kind of intervention we have been developing for children with very severe disabilities. That gives us confidence that the underlying instruction is really good.”

Three years ago, Erickson received a $400,000 Steppingstones of Technology Innovations Grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs to develop and conduct an initial assessment of a new set of literacy technologies for children with moderate to profound cognitive impairments. “We got very impressive results with a population of children in whom you wouldn’t expect to see dramatic improvement in one semester of intervention,” Erickson says.

This spring, she received a $600,000 Steppingstones grant for a larger and, she expects, more definitive study of that intervention. “For the first time, we are now able to launch a long-term study of the outcomes of teaching as opposed to training children with very significant disabilities,” Erickson says. “This grant will allow us to work with more than 100 children and their teachers across an entire school year. It will give us an opportunity to measure growth, understand the impact of interventions and refine our training for adults. That’s very exciting.”

The Yoder Professorship is a tremendous honor, Erickson says, but it also has an important practical component. “For example, it will provide discretionary resources to do small pilot studies, which we haven’t had funding to do before,” she explained. “If we can collect good pilot data, then we can go after grants for more large-scale, long-term studies. That is what we need in order to demonstrate that these children we’re working with really can learn and that, while it doesn’t happen overnight, the time that’s invested is worth it.”

Stephanie Brown, whose 11-year-old daughter, Jordan, has cerebral palsy, certainly thinks the investment is worth it. “Karen has developed a framework for literacy education that can be applied no matter what the curriculum is, no matter what the learning style of the child is,” Brown was quoted as saying in an article about the CLDS in the UNC Medical Bulletin last year. “She is really a champion for these children. I would be president of her van club, if there was such a thing, as would many parents.”

A Celebration of Graduation

The Division celebrated graduation on May 9, 2009.  The classes of 2009 included 23 masters students in speech an hearing, two students graduating with a clinical doctorate in audiology, and three students graduating with a PhD in speech and hearing sciences.

2009 grads Meg Tatum (left) and Allison Channel. Meg plans to work with patients with cochlear implants. Allison's interest is in adult hearing aids.	Twyla Perryman (left) and Penny Hatch receive their PhDs.	Dr. Penny Hatch has some fans in the stands.

Dr. Linda Watson (in center of the three photos above) mentored recent PhD graduates Liz Lanter and Twyla Perryman (photo on left), Margaret Deramus and Sara Monahan (center photo), and Suki Manoharan and Abby Gilbert (photo on right).

Dr. Jack Roush, Division Director, at the ceremony.		Friends and family show their support for the DSHS 2009 graduating classes.

We Need Your Mugs

We are looking for photos to include in the DSHS 40th Anniversary Celebration display in the Health Sciences Library on campus and at our 40th Anniversary event on May 1, 2010. Please send us any photos that you have of your time as an SLP or Audiology student at UNC-CH. Photos (with captions describing who is in the photo and what is happening) can be sent to Patsy Pierce (see address below) either digitally or in hard copy anytime from now until the end of the 2009 fall semester. Be sure to include a return address so that photos can be mailed back. Thank you for contributing to the celebration of DSHS!

Patsy L. Pierce, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Associate Director for Early Childhood Services
Department of Allied Health Sciences
Center for Literacy and Disability Studies
Bondurant Hall, Room #1034
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7120
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7120
919.966.8566
Email patsy_pierce@med.unc.edu

Upcoming ASHA Presentations

Check out the following DSHS presentations coming up at ASHA in November:

Denise Caignon and Katarina Haley
Session Number: 2380 Poster Board 187
Title: VideoCalls & Text Reader Software: Technology to Empower People With Aphasia
Session Format: Poster
Day/Time: November 21, 2009, 10:00am - 11:30am
Room/Location: Hall G/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Betsy Crais and Cara McComish
Session Number: 1575
Title: Talking to Physicians & Childcare Providers About Autism Early Identification
Session Format: Seminar (2 hours)
Day/Time: November 20, 2009, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Room/Location: Ballroom C/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Jennifer Dalton
Session Number: 2515
Title: Attention & Motor Speech in Children With & Without Autism
Session Format: Seminar (1 hour)
Day/Time: November 21, 2009, 9:30am - 10:30am
Room/Location: 275-277/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Karen Erickson and Penny Hatch
Session Number: 0961
Title: Research-Based Comprehensive Reading Intervention for Individuals Who Use AAC
Session Format: Seminar (2 hours)
Day/Time: November 19, 2009, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Room/Location: 354/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Michelle Flippin, Stephanie Reszka, and Linda Watson
Session Number: 1008
Title: Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Effectiveness of PECS for Children With Autism: A Meta-Analysis
Session Format: Poster Board 52
Day/Time: November 19, 2009, 8:00am - 9:30am
Room/Location: Hall G, CC Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Enetta Grindstaff and Katarina Haley
Session Number: 1252 Poster Board 216
Title: Speech Intelligibility in Aphasic Speakers: Use of Auditory Models
Session Format: Poster
Day/Time: November 19, 2009, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Room/Location: Hall G/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Katarina Haley and Nancy Helm-Estabrooks
Session Number: 1783
Title: Foreign Accent Syndrome: Etiology, Neuroanatomical Basis, & Clinical Course
Session Format: Seminar (1 hour)
Day/Time: November 20, 2009, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Room/Location: 392/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Katarina Haley, Nancy Helm-Estabrooks, Denise Caignon, Jenny Womack, and Karen McCulloch
Session Number: 1195
Title: Self-Determination & Life Activity Goals for People With Aphasia
Session Format: Seminar (1 hour)
Day/Time: November 19, 2009, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Room/Location: 278-282/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Hillary Harper, Patsy Pierce, and Karen Erickson
Session Number: 1842
Title: The Time Is Now in Pre-K: Years 1 & 2
Session Format: Seminar (1 hour)
Day/Time: November 20, 2009, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Room/Location: 283-285, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Melody Harrison and Jack Roush (et al)
Title: "Celebrating Judy Gravel: Honoring 30 Years of Contributions in Audiology," Session Format: Invited Session
Day/Time: November 19, 2009, 8:30am - 10:30am
Room/Location: 350-351, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Penny Hatch and Karen Erickson
Session Number: 1710
Title: Literacy Instruction for Students With Significant Disabilities: Two Complementary Studies
Session Format: Seminar (2 hours)
Day/Time: November 20, 2009, 9:30am - 11:30am
Room/Location: 265-268, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Adam Jacks (et al)
Session Number: 1919 Poster Board 262
Title: Acoustic Contrastivity Changes in Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease Following Amplitude Therapy
Session Format: Poster
Day/Time: November 20, 2009 -- 10:00am - 11:30am
Room/Location: Hall G; Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Kerry Mandulak, Katarina Haley, David Zajac, and Ralph Ohde
Session Number: 2507 Poster Board 275
Title: Spectral Distinction in Children's Production of Voiceless Sibilant Fricatives
Session Format: Poster
Day/Time: November 21, 2009, 8:00am - 9:30am
Room/Location: Hall G/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Kerry Mandulak, Katarina Haley, Ralph Ohde, and David Zajac
Session Number: 1949 Poster Board 278
Title: Developmental Differences in Speech Perception of Voiceless Sibilant Fricatives
Session Format: Poster
Day/Time: November 20, 2009, 10:00am - 11:30am
Room/Location: Hall G/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Kristin Nellenbach and Patsy Pierce
Session Number: 1162 Poster Board 149
Title: Early Foundations in Oral Language: Implications for Future Literacy Achievement
Session Format: Poster
Day/Time: November 19, 2009, 10:00am - 11:30am
Room/Location: Hall G/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Jack Roush
Title: Pediatric Audiology Update for the Speech-Language Pathologist
Session Format: Seminar (1 hour)
Day/Time: November 19, 2009, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Room/Location: 396 CC/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Eric Sanders and Molly Losh
Title: Discourse in Autism: Studies of the "Broad Autism Phenotype"
Session Number: 2181 Poster Board 63
Day/Time: November 21, 2009, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Room/Location: Hall G CC/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Linda R. Watson, Brian A. Boyd, Grace T. Baranek, Elizabeth R. Crais, Sam Odom, Sally Flagler, Michelle Flippin, Heidi McGuinn Duncombe, and Tracy W. Lenhardt
Title: Addressing Joint Attention and Symbolic Play in Preschoolers with Autism
Session Number/Code: 2176 Poster Board 5
Day/Time: November 21, 2009, 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Room/Location: Hall G CC/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Kaitlyn Wilson, Molly Losh, and Peter Gordon
Session Number: 2163
Title: Social-Perceptual Strategies Associated With Genetic Risk to Autism in Parents
Session Format: Technical Platform
Day/Time: November 21, 2009, 1:00pm – 1:15pm
Room/Location: 343; Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Kathryn Wilson
Session Number: 2069
Title: FIRST YEARS: Distance Technology Brings the Classroom to You
Session Format: Seminar (1 hour)
Day/Time: November 21, 2009, 8:00am - 9:00am
Room/Location: 260/Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Other News

Dr. Karen Erickson Appointed First David E. and Dolores J. (Dee) Yoder Distinguished Professor

Division of Speech and Hearing Takes Part in $8.9M Study of Childhood Hearing Loss

Dr. Penny Hatch has been informed that she will receive a UNC 'IMPACT Award' for her dissertation research: The Effects of Daily Reading Opportunities and Teacher Experience on Adolescents with Moderate to Severe Intellectual Disability.  Sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School’s Graduate Education Advancement Board, Impact Awards recognize graduate students whose research provides special benefits to the citizens of North Carolina. Penny will participate in the poster sessions and award ceremonies recognizing this honor in April. Congratulations Penny!