May is Speech and Hearing Awareness Month Archives

May is a special month for many reasons, but for those who work as speech-language pathologists or audiologists it has even more meaning because we celebrate our professions and take the opportunity to showcase how much impact they have on the people we serve. This is a collection of past May Month Activities organized by our students and department. We hope you enjoy viewing these archives. Follow us on Eventbrite to learn more about upcoming events!

Free Public Lectures

2024 Lecture

Sensorimotor Impairment: A New Paradigm for Treating Hyperfunctional Voice, Cara E. Stepp, Boston University

Bio: Cara E. Stepp (she/her) is a Professor in the Departments of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, and Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. She received the S.B. in Engineering Science from Smith College, S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology. She completed postdoctoral training in Computer Science & Engineering and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington. Her work uses methods from speech science and speech motor control to improve assessment in voice and motor speech disorders.

Abstract: Clients in every age group and every field of speech-language pathology may present with voice disorders. The majority of these voice disorders will either be hyperfunctional (e.g., muscle tension, dysphonia), or they will have a reactive hyperfunctional component (e.g., vocal fold nodules). Hyperfunctional voice disorders (HVDs) result in vocal effort, fatigue, pain, and even complete loss of voice. The mechanisms underlying HVDs are largely unknown. This talk will focus on potential mechanisms of HVDs through the lens of sensory and/or sensory-motor integration. We will discuss recent evidence of impaired sensorimotor function in HVDs from psychoacoustic studies, altered auditory feedback paradigms, and laryngeal kinematics inferred from high speed videoendoscopy. Combined, this evidence may motivate a paradigm shift for understanding the development, and the treatment, of HVDs.

2023 Lecture

“Right to Read Inquiry: Making it work for students with Complex Communication Needs.” Valerie Wells Speech-Language Pathologist, Resource SLP for Special Needs and AAC (Tech), MFO

Resources: Presentation Handout

2022 Lecture

In 2022 our department featured two guest speakers: Kuruvilla Mathew, Audiologist / Lecturer (Status) (Reg. CASLPO) & Coordinator of Clinical Education : Hearing Disorders and Yvonne Wyndham, Speech-Language Pathologist, Learning Centre 1, Toronto District School Board (Reg. CASLPO).

Mathew presented on Hearing and Cognition and Yvonne discussed Promoting the Work of Speech-Language Pathologists in the area of Mental Health and Well-Being.

If you were not able to join us please see below for a video link of the Audiology Portion of the May Month presentation and the references Mathew used in his talk.

Hearing and Cognition Presentation -2022 🎬

Kuruvilla Mathew Presentation-References -2022

Student Led Activities

YouTube

Awareness Video – 2023 May is Speech and Hearing Month! This video is brought to you by the University of Toronto’s Speech-Language Pathology students as we aim to bring awareness to issues around communication and hearing, and the role of speech-language pathologists and audiologists! Awareness Video – 2021 Watch the video created by the university’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology to get a glimpse into the importance of communication and the communication support we hope to provide this month. Special thanks to all the students and faculty who were involved in this effort! Happy May Month! *Poster credits: Speech-Language and Audiology Canada