Author: David Lykins | Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders | Semester:Fall 2024

My name is David Lykins, and I am a Communication Sciences and Disorders major with minors in Music and Spanish for the professions. My research involved a survey of professionals who conduct school-based hearing screenings and the details of how they are conducted. This survey asked questions such as “Where do you conduct your hearing screenings?” or “What barriers have you encountered when conducting hearing screenings?”. With this information, we hope to identify areas for improvement within school-based hearing screenings and to inspire related research.I recently attended the 2024 American Speech-Hearing-Language Association (ASHA)Convention in Seattle, Washington. During my time there, I presented a research Poster titled:An Analysis of Hearing Screening Practices in School-Based Settings. During my poster presentation, I discussed our findings and the logical next steps. Attendees were excited to see this as a topic of research. One individual mentioned that he had conducted similar research some time ago and was excited to see how our results compared. Most individuals resonated with the potential issues around screening environments highlighted in the poster and agreed that screening environments may be negatively affecting hearing screening results. People also remarked about the workload of school nurses and wondered about potential restrictions to screenings because of their workloads.During this trip, I was able to join the Men’s Constituency Caucus. This group was recently founded and exists in part to promote men in communication disorder related fields.

A research-focused discussion between undergraduate honors student David Lykins and two speech-language pathologists.

It was very exciting to be a part of a group that aims to increase the diversity of Men in the field of communication disorders. I had the opportunity to listen to a variety of individuals’ experiences within their professions and the things that they struggled with. It was truly inspiring. While I was attending, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Robert Augustine, a past president of ASHA. It was extremely exciting to meet him and to see his passion for the field! There were also various seminars that I attended throughout the trip. A few that I found particularly interesting were during the research symposium portion of the conference. The two presentations that I attended involved the role of genetics in communication disorders. As I was in the process of taking a genetics course at the time, it was very rewarding to be able to put my learning to good use during these presentations. It was fascinating to learn about current research in CDIS-related genetics and exciting to see how much there is still to learn. Another important seminar I attended was about advocacy in schools. One of the ways that lasting change can be established is through advocacy, and it was very interesting to see how much intentionality there is in effective advocacy. There was a lot of detail and wisdom offered in the seminar that I feel would apply even beyond how it was presented for school-based advocacy.My most important lessons from this experience, however, may not be from the education provided. The process of getting to this convention, while challenging at times, pushed and rewarded me in ways I never would’ve expected. Presenting my work at the convention may have been the most straightforward part of the entire experience. The process of becoming proficient at academic writing and research was quite challenging, but also, undoubtedly, the most valuable thing I have gained from the experience.For the university student who wants to attend an ASHA convention or any similar convention, I have some advice. First, be selective with your time. There are hundreds if not thousands of places you could spend your time at a convention of this size. Many of them will be interesting and beneficial to some degree. However, you want to find the places that will make the best use of your time. Additionally, don’t neglect your support system. The path to presenting research at a convention adds a unique challenge to your college experience. At times, you may feel overwhelmed and unsure of what you should be doing. In those moments, don’t neglect to reach out to your advisor, or any other resource that you have access to. You’re not meant to go through the process without support.I anticipate this research being submitted as part of a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal in the Spring of 2025. I plan to finish my undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas and graduate in the Spring of 2026. Afterward, I plan to take some time to study for the MCAT and then subsequently apply for medical schools as I work towards my career goal of becoming an otolaryngologist.