In November, members of the Florida State University NSSHLA chapter attended the ASHA Convention. One of the attending students, Teresa Carmedelle, had the opportunity to present her undergraduate honors thesis.

Teresa was six years old when she had her first interaction with speech-language pathology. “My younger sister was diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech,” she shared. “Having seen the impact speech pathologists had on my sister’s life, as well as my brother who experienced disfluency at a young age, I was drawn to the positive effect this profession has.”

Last year, Teresa graduated from the Communication Science & Disorders program and is currently a first year graduate student. The Communication Science & Disorders program affords students the unique opportunity to have hands-on experience from award winning faculty. Teresa has taught small group review sessions to students in the BRIDGE program as a part of her Graduate Assistantship and did therapy with clients in an outpatient clinical setting. In the past, she has volunteered to help with adults with dementia, children with various developmental disorders, and observed dysphagia and swallowing therapies.

Her undergraduate research, Reliability of a Binary Perceptual Rating Scale of Global Speech Features in Dysarthria, was under the direction of Dr. Kaitlin Lansford and focused on the reliability of listeners in detecting if speakers with dysarthria have normal or abnormal perceptual features of vocal quality, nasality, articulatory precision, and speech rhythm. “The research is an initial look into changes that can be made to improve listener reliability when listening to degraded or disordered speech,” explained Carmedelle.

During the ASHA convention, Teresa had an opportunity to share her research. “I spent the majority of an hour and a half slot sharing the results of this project,” said Carmedelle. “I discussed it’s implications with prominent researchers and clinicians focused on the area of motor speech disorders.” The undergraduate thesis laid a strong foundation for further research, something Teresa plans on pursuing. Her Master’s thesis will integrate findings and acoustical analysis of new data, with the focus on identifying acoustical markers that differentiate speakers.

“I have come to love the giving profession of speech-language pathology and the numerous opportunities it provides to serve those in need,” said Carmedelle. “I’m excited to continue my Master’s program, to learn more about communication disorders and ways to implement therapy for individuals.”

Teresa’s zeal for her studies and changing the lives of others is infectious. When she isn’t studying, she’s a member of the Catholic Student Union and likes crafting and baking.

For more on the Communication Science and Disorders programs, click here.