What is CARD?
- UNC’s Center for Aphasia and Related Disorders is an educational and research center in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences.
- Our partners include expert clinical practitioners, researchers, individuals with speech and language difficulties, and their family members and friends.
Our mission:
- UNC CARD is dedicated to maximizing functional communication in adults with neurologic communication disorders.
- Our mission is driven by a commitment to the interrelated areas of research, practice, community partnerships, and education.
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Our goals:
Generate new knowledge that will inform future practice in the area of adult-onset neurologic communication disorders.
- Development of valid and reliable behavioral markers of speech and language disorders for improved differential diagnosis and more effective treatment decision making.
- Discovery of brain-behavior relationships to help understand the variability of speech and language disorders and to predict behavioral outcomes and response to treatment.
- Design and evaluation of therapeutic approaches that are theory driven and address individual profiles of strategies, abilities, and difficulties.
Advance the art and science of client-centered clinical practice in adult-onset neurologic communication disorders.
- Translation of diagnostic markers and evidence-based assessment objectives into practical clinical tools.
- Development of methods for including people with communication disorders effectively in their own treatment planning, practice, and evaluation.
- Promotion of ecologically and socially valid treatment approaches by targeting and evaluating communication abilities in everyday life.
- Support for novel means of communication and self-development through the arts and creative pursuits.
Build and sustain a community of individuals who are dedicated to improved quality of life for people with neurologic communication disorders.
- Client networks: Conversation and support groups for adults and families affected by neurologic communication disorders; linkages with mentors, community resources, and research opportunities.
- Professional networks: Colloquia for the discussion and dissemination of new knowledge and clinical experience related to assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of neurologic communication disorders.
- Interaction among client and professional networks: Printed media and sponsored meetings for sharing information about new developments in clinical management and community support and for input about experiences and priorities from people with communication disorders.
Provide a strong foundation in evidence-based and person-centered practice for future clinicians by enhancing the academic curriculum.
- Small-group educational experiences focused on the integration of empirical/rational research and clinical practice.
- Research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students in research projects using small group, case, single-subject, and qualitative research designs.
- Co-mentoring of students by faculty clinicians and individuals with communication disorders.