Getting Ready to Present our Poster Presentation!
Author: Addilin Brown | Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders | Semester: Fall 2024
My name is Addilin Brown, and I am a senior majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders, with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences and Psychology. I am currently participating in research with Dr. Lisa Bowers and Dr. Andrew Bowers on examining how Language-Sampling Analysis (LSA) can be utilized to help speech-language pathologists (SLPs) develop a plan of care for those who stutter. As part of my research, I collected language samples from children aged 3-5 at local Head Start programs. After collecting these language samples, I compared two different language analysis software programs: the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software and the Computerized Language Analysis software (CLAN).
During the spring 2024 semester, my research group decided to apply to present at the national American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Conference and was selected to do a poster presentation. The conference was held on December 5-7 in Seattle, Washington. This trip was beneficial in the advancement of this research project, as I had the opportunity to learn more about additional language analysis software, such as the Sampling Utterances and Grammatical Analysis Revised (SUGAR), and learned about how AI could potentially aid in language sampling analysis through other presentations. The feedback I received on the presentation was very positive, as the professionals I talked to were just impressed to see undergraduate students presenting research. I received much encouragement and advice regarding my research and my future career.
In addition to the opportunity to present my research, this trip provided several networking opportunities with professionals in this field. For example, during my free time, I visited the exhibition hall where professionals set up booths to talk about their company or products. When visiting the exhibition hall, I also found that there was a graduate school section, and I was able to visit with faculty from over 20 different graduate programs. As someone interested in furthering my education through graduate school, the opportunity to meet with several programs at once was exciting.
I learned a lot from this experience, and I am very thankful for the Honor’s College Conference Travel Grant which funded this travel. Something that I learned from presenting my research at the ASHA conference is to always be receptive to the feedback you are given. Prior to presenting, I was nervous about the questions and the feedback I was going to receive. However, after my presentation, I realized that the feedback offered by these professionals in the field of speech pathology was beneficial to furthering my research and in my future career.
The advice that I would give other students considering attending this event is to talk to as many professionals as possible and to attend as many sessions as possible. The opportunities to gain knowledge and network with these professionals is an amazing opportunity that should be taken advantage of. Additionally, I would also recommend to research the presentation sessions prior to attending the convention using the ASHA app, as the sheer number of options can be overwhelming.