Caroline Stewart; Communication Disorders Honors Thesis
Author: Caroline Stewart | Major: Psychology, Biology | Semester: Spring 2024
Over this semester, I have worked alongside my honors mentor, Dr. Lisa Bowers to research and get experience working with language samples in preschools around our community. My goal was to get a better understanding of how language samples for children are gathered, specifically children who are deaf or hard of hearing. I found this topic very interesting as a student in the pre-audiology program at the University of Arkansas. I have personally seen how hearing loss affects the people in my family, and I wanted to help raise awareness and accessibility for children who are getting ready to begin kindergarten.
I chose my topic because I knew I wanted to work alongside Dr. Bowers. I had read some of her articles on the language abilities of children who are Deaf/hard of hearing. Dr. Bowers has several publications on the topic of hearing loss and deaf education, and I was inspired by her work. I was introduced to her by Dr. Rachel Glade, my honors professor for clinical observations last spring. She recommended this topic as something she wanted to research herself.
I have learned so much about child language samples and even more about children who are deaf/hard of hearing. Although we are in the beginning stages of gathering samples, I have had the opportunity to read peer-reviewed sources as well as visit Head Start programs near campus to conduct Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). This test is easy to administer and assess statistically. Children receive this test biannually in school and it monitors their semantic growth. Since I am interested in children who are D/hh, this test was a great way to meet the clients I would eventually perform language samples on and build my confidence in the setting of assessments.
One thing that has been challenging in our research has been finding the participants who qualify as Deaf/hard of hearing. I published flyers to the headstarts in Fayetteville and we are waiting to hear back from both parents and teachers to nominate their students.
Dr. Bowers passed on several research articles for me to read. Dr. Bowers had spent time in the Head Start programs when she first began in Fayetteville, so her connection to them allowed an easy transition for my research. Dr. Bowers also trained me in the PPVT test so that I could administer it to children within the preschools.
Our next step of the process is to continue gathering data and performing language samples across the head starts in Fayetteville. We are currently looking for children who qualify as deaf/hard of hearing so that we can narrow our language sampling to that audience. This grant has allowed me to research a topic I have been curious about since I started in the communication disorders program. It has also allowed me to build a greater understanding of what scholarly research looks like as a professional. I look forward to gathering more samples next semester, as well as building more relationships with my thesis professor and clients in the Head Starts. It has been a privilege to work alongside such inspiring people.