SLPA - Speech-Language Pathology

This course introduces the neuroanatomical and neurophysiological bases of attention, learning, memory, communication, and emotion. Beginning with an orientation to brain structures, students practice making clinical connections throughout the course. Students will learn to associate symptoms of neurological disease and injury with sites of lesion, and will be able to explain the neurological bases of communication and swallowing disorders. Human brain dissection labs are incorporated.

This course covers articulation and phonological disorders that impact speech production in children. Students learn how to assess and treat speech sound disorders. Featured learning activities include transcription and analysis of speech samples, standardized testing, and intervention planning specific to individual cases.

Students will learn methods for prevention, identification, assessment and intervention of language disorders in preschool children. Highlights include experiences with language sample analysis, standardized testing, and treatment planning.

Students will learn methods for prevention, identification, assessment and intervention of language disorders in school-age children and adolescents. Highlights include experiences with language sample analysis, other authentic classroom-based assessments, standardized testing, and treatment planning.

This course examines the communication disorders that result from stroke, also known as aphasia. Students will gain experience with informal and formal testing, and treatment planning relative to individual cases. Cognitive, linguistic and social aspects of aphasia will be considered.

In this course, students will explore communication disorders that result from traumatic brain injury or neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis. They will practice how to assess and treat the cognitive communication disorders that arise as these conditions progress.

This course reviews the anatomy and physiology of normal and disordered swallowing patterns of adult clients. Etiologies of swallowing disorders, their assessment and treatment, will be discussed specific to cases presented in class. Disorders that occur concomitant to dysphagia will be considered, as swallowing problems often occur as part of a complex medical condition. Ethical considerations relative to swallowing treatment will also be considered.

Autism is a common condition that makes effective communication and social behavior challenging for children and adults. People with autism vary widely in their social communication abilities, including verbal and nonverbal skills. This course will review the development of social communication competence, and how to assess and treat deficits that often occur in individuals with autism and other disorders.

This is the first of two workshop courses to guide students through review of important topics for the Praxis II Examination in Speech-Language Pathology. Passing this board examination is required for state licensure in SLP and ASHA certification in SLP.

This course covers foundational research concepts, single subject and group research design, and common methods of data analysis used in the field of speech-language pathology.  Students learn to critically read and analyze research manuscripts. Students begin to apply knowledge of research methods by designing a research study similar to the one they will implement for their first capstone experience.

This course will review the ASHA Code of Ethics as it pertains to speech-language pathology practice. Current ethical issues confronting SLPs will be discussed in consideration of best practice recommendations.

This course will teach students how to screen for communication and hearing problems in children and adults, and how to plan diagnostic assessments for individuals with suspected communication disorders. Students will interact with a variety of evaluation tools used for evaluation of speech, language, social and cognitive abilities.

This course will provide students with experience in treatment planning for children and adults with identified communication disorders, including deficits in speech, language, social and cognitive skills. Students will learn to apply evidence-based methods for each client, considering available scientific support for methods chosen, family preferences for treatment methods, and their own clinical experiences when making treatment recommendations.

Students will complete at least 25 hours of observation of licensed, certified speech-language pathologists conducing assessment or treatment of clients with communication or swallowing disorders. They will discuss the methods used by the clinician, the outcomes of each session and the implications for further services with a clinical supervisor who specializes in clinical debriefs. This is a course for students who have not met ASHA’s requirement of 25 observation hours prior to clinical practicum. 

Students will interact with a variety of clinical cases in a web-based interactive learning environment to gain basic clinical experiences with articulation, language, fluency and voice disorders in children and/or adults.  Supervised by faculty who are licensed SLPs, students can gain up to 75 hours of supervised clinical practice in this course.

Students will gain clinical experience in one of a variety of settings.  Students will be placed at a Lewis University Community SLP Clinic, and supervised by a Lewis SLP faculty member to address identified speech, language, social or cognitive challenges of children or adults.  Students experience 50-75 hours of supervised clinical experience in this course.  The expectation is that students will spend at least two days per week for eight weeks in his/her assigned clinical rotation. 

Students will gain clinical experience in one of a variety of settings.  Students will be placed at a Lewis University Community SLP Clinic, and supervised by a Lewis SLP faculty member to address identified speech, language, social or cognitive challenges of children or adults.  Students experience 50-75 hours of supervised clinical experience in this course.  The expectation is that students will spend at least two days per week for eight weeks in his/her assigned clinical rotation.  Each rotation is different so that students obtain a wide variety of clinical experiences while in the SLP program. 

Student enrolled in Clinical Practicum or Advanced Practicum may enroll in an additional clinical assignment via this course. These experiences often involve specialized clinical experiences delivered largely through telepractice. Requires placement by the SLP Program and concurrent enrollment in a required practicum course, as listed above.

This course covers recommended practices for assessment and intervention of voice disorders in children and adults. Students examine the anatomical and physiological correlates of phonation and oral/nasal resonance.  Voice disorders experienced by people with laryngectomy, cleft lip/palate, vocal fold hyperfunction are covered, in addition to voice changes experienced by non-binary and transgender individuals.

Students will focus on how to adapt communication modalities to address the needs of individuals with severe communication, sensory and/or physical disabilities. Various augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) techniques will be covered, including no-tech, low-tech, and dedicated communication devices. The benefits of an interdisciplinary, team-based approach to assessment and intervention will be reviewed, with classes instructed by physical and/or occupational therapists and educators.

This seminar course will review the identification of stuttering and cluttering in children and adults. Students will practice selecting, administering and analyzing results of fluency assessment techniques, and will design appropriate treatment for cases presented. The need for ongoing management of these disorders will be discussed, along with the role of counseling in intervention for these disorders. Students will learn about a variety of counseling techniques that help clients and their families deal with the social and emotional challenges that occur when someone in the family has a significant communication disorder.

Motor speech disorders are speech and voice abnormalities that arise from neurogenic causes, and include apraxia of speech and several types of dysarthria. This course will cover differential diagnosis of motor speech disorders and their treatment.

Students will learn methods for prevention, identification, assessment and intervention of literacy disorders in children and adolescents. Highlights include experiences with oral and written narrative analysis, other authentic classroom-based assessments, standardized testing, and treatment planning.

This course addresses the unique challenges of treating children who have feeding and/or swallowing difficulties.  Students will learn to distinguish normal from disordered biting, chewing and swallowing patterns, and how to address these problems in the pediatric population.  Behavioral and sensory eating disorders will be discussed. 

This is the second of two workshop courses to guide students through review of important topics for the Praxis II Examination in Speech-Language Pathology. Passing this board examination is required for state licensure in SLP and ASHA certification in SLP.

This course provides students with the building blocks to design a scoping review. Students will identify a clinical topic related to a communication or swallowing disorder that is pertinent to the field of speech-language pathology. Guided by an SLP faculty member, they will develop a research question appropriate for a scoping review and design the project. They will identify relevant evidence to be used in the scoping review. This course will prepare students to synthesize and analyze the evidence relative to their topic, and be prepare to write their scoping review during the required Capstone I course, SLPA 63000. 

Guided by an SLP faculty member, students will complete a scoping review to evaluate a clinical topic related to a chosen communication or swallowing disorder. Students will continue to synthesize and analyze evidence related to the clinical topic using the evidence compiled in SLPA 62100. An evaluative review of the current evidence detailing the findings related to the clinical topic, additional needs for research and the crucial factors to be included in the application of this clinical topic in the field of speech-language pathology and the clinical population will be developed into a final manuscript.  Results of these scoping reviews will be disseminated in a grand rounds presentation, and in a poster forum.

This seminar portion of this course will review topics that are essential to SLP practice in healthcare settings. Interdisciplinary collaboration; referral of patients for communication or swallowing care; hospital instrumentation; coding, billing and reimbursement issues (Medicare; other insurers); and coordination of care for patients are among topics to be covered in this important course. Additionally, the case-based portion of the course will give students opportunities to consider the assessment and intervention needs of adult patients with multiple medical conditions that involve communication and/or swallowing disorders. They will practice how to assess the medically fragile client, and how to decide which issues are most important to treat for the individual client. Students will choose to take either this course or SLPA 65100

This seminar portion of this course will review topics that are essential to SLP practice in school settings. Interdisciplinary collaboration; referral of students for special education services, including SLP; service delivery models in school settings; developing and implementing effective individualized educational plans (IEPs); billing and reimbursement issues (Medicaid) are among topics to be covered in this important course. Additionally, the case-based portion of this course will give students opportunities to plan assessment and intervention for children with children with multiple learning and/or physical challenges in the school setting who present communication and/or feeding and swallowing problems. They will practice how to work with a team of educators, healthcare providers and the family to effectively evaluate and treat the complex speech, language and learning issues of these children. Students will choose to take either this course or SLPA 65000.

Students will gain clinical experience in one of a variety of settings.  Students will be placed at a Lewis University Community SLP Clinic, and supervised by a Lewis SLP faculty member to address identified speech, language, social or cognitive challenges of children or adults.  Students experience 50-75 hours of supervised clinical experience in this course.  The expectation is that students will spend at least two days per week for eight weeks in his/her assigned clinical rotation.  Each rotation is different so that students obtain a wide variety of clinical experiences while in the SLP program. 

Students will gain clinical experience in a healthcare setting, such as a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or private clinic; OR in a school setting, including early intervention, early childhood/preschool, elementary, or secondary schools. All experiences are supervised by licensed and certified SLPs, and students should gain at least 100 hours of supervised clinical experience in this course. The expectation is that students will spend at least three days per week for up to sixteen weeks in his/her assigned clinical rotation.

Students will gain clinical experience in a healthcare setting, such as a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or private clinic; OR in a school setting, including early intervention, early childhood/preschool, elementary, or secondary schools. All experiences are supervised by licensed and certified SLPs, and students should gain at least 100 hours of supervised clinical experience in this course. The expectation is that students will spend at least three days per week for up to sixteen weeks in his/her assigned clinical rotation.

This course allows for individualized study of a topic of interest to the student. A plan of study is developed with an SLP professor, and must be approved by the MSSLP program director prior to enrollment. The plan must include the topic, the student learning outcomes, the learning activities and how they will be assessed. This course is not intended to substitute for any required course in the MSSLP required curriculum, but rather to allow for advanced study or research experiences.