University of Arkansas - Communication Sciences and Disorders

08/12/2025

🎓🌟 Welcome Wave: Graduate Students in Speech-Language Pathology! 🌟🎓

Today, we kicked off the semester with smiles, gratitude, and goodies! Our amazing graduate students in the Speech-Language Pathology program at the University of Arkansas are feeling the love thanks to our generous community partners.

📸 These snapshots capture heartfelt moments of appreciation as our students say THANK YOU for the thoughtful treats and support. Your kindness helps fuel their journey toward becoming compassionate and skilled clinicians.

💬 To our community partners: Your continued support means the world to us. Thank you for investing in the future of speech-language pathology and for making our students feel so welcomed and valued.

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

Goodies came from: Arkansas Children’s Hospital, POST, Arkansas Regional Therapy Services, Kindred Pediatric Therapy, Pediatrics Plus, Children’s Therapy TEAM, Flight Therapy Services, and University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions. 🐗❤️

08/09/2025

Our very own Cindy Watson and Chancellor Robinson were on campus early this morning helping students move in on campus. Thank you to all the volunteers who have helped with the move in!

08/01/2025

🔑 They escaped! 🧠

Graduate students enrolled in Mrs. Danleys Motor Speech Disorders summer class “escaped” through completing a final course project, “The Motor Speech Escape Room”. 🔐

🫆Students navigated through challenges set up at the UA Speech and Hearing Clinic in order to graduate from the course. Each challenge tied back to demonstrating clinical competencies from their coursework. 🔎

🎉 We are pleased to say they took up the challenge and emerged victoriously! 🏆

Enjoy your summer break grads!

07/24/2025

It’s shark week in the Speech and Hearing Clinic. Undergraduate students in Mrs. Hicks’ class had fun reading books about sharks and engaging clients in creative shark activities.

One of our undergraduate students, Macy Alguire, participated in study abroad this summer to South Africa and shared her incredible deep sea adventure with sharks! Wow! 🦈

07/21/2025

What is executive functioning❓

Executive functioning refers to a set of mental skills that help people manage their thoughts, actions, and emotions to achieve goals. These skills are essential for planning, organizing, problem-solving, and regulating behavior.

Key components of executive functioning include:

• Working memory – holding and manipulating information in your mind over short periods.

• Inhibitory control – the ability to control impulses and resist distractions.

• Cognitive flexibility – the capacity to switch between tasks or adapt to new situations.

• Planning and organization – setting goals and figuring out how to achieve them.

• Self-monitoring – tracking your own performance and adjusting as needed.

These skills are especially important in academic, professional, and everyday life settings.

We’re incredibly grateful to our department chair for taking the time to speak with our graduate students last week! Dr. Wheeler’s presentation was insightful and engaging, and we truly appreciate his dedication to supporting our students' growth and success.

07/21/2025

🎉 Clinical Supervisor Spotlight! 🎉

☀️ This summer our graduate students are participating in externships across the region. We will be highlighting those experiences to show appreciation to our amazing network of community partners.

✨ Madelynn is working with Stephanie Hall at Flight Therapy Services in Bentonville!

Madelynn shared, “I have absolutely loved my experience at Flight Therapy Services! Stephanie has been an amazing supervisor and has taught me so much about feeding therapy. I have learned the importance of pairing oral motor exercises with functional skills to improve feeding, language, and overall quality of life. I am excited to continue learning from Stephanie throughout the semester!”

Thank you Stephanie!

07/21/2025

Thank you, Michelle, for presenting to our CSDI graduate-level School Policy and Procedures course today.

Your presentation bridged the gap between policy and practice and gave our students a clearer understanding of the challenges and triumphs faced by school-based SLPs.

We are so grateful for your time and dedication to the field and sharing your 25 years of experiences with Lexi Woods’s class.

Thank you for inspiring the next generation of speech-language pathologists. 💬🍎📘

— Communication Sciences and Disorders Program

07/17/2025

for helping us to learn and stay in the know about policy changes impacting our professions.

Sweeping changes are expected over the next several years as a result of the passage of H.R. 1, commonly referred to as the “one big beautiful bill.” Check out ASHA Advocacy’s latest resource sharing which provisions will impact audiologists, SLPs, and the people you serve: https://at.asha.org/HB

Plus, join us on July 29, from 7-8 p.m. ET for a free, live webinar where our policy and advocacy experts will review when and how the law may impact you and highlight what ASHA is doing to continue to advocate on issues such as Medicaid, Medicare, higher education, and the Affordable Care Act. Register: https://at.asha.org/HA

07/16/2025

🧠Mrs. Danley’s Motor Speech Disorders elective recently welcomed a very special guest! Danni Welch, MS CCC-SLP, visited the course and provided a live FEES demonstration on a volunteer. Can anyone recognize our volunteer? 👀

Danni shared on her experiences as an owner of a private practice, along with tips related to insurance billing and service delivery to adults. She wrapped up her chat with some laryngeal imaging on one of our very own, Mrs. Hicks. 🤩

Danni is a speech-language pathologist and the founder of Thrive Neuro Therapy, an outpatient clinic in Fort Smith specialized in helping adults facing neurological challenges, including Parkinson’s disease and CVA (stroke) recovery. For more information on Thrive Neuro Therapy please visit https://thriveneurorehab.com/ or call (479) 222-1425.

Thank you Danni for visiting our program!

07/16/2025

ArkSHA Summer Series Success! 🌟

We had two of our faculty members present this week for ArkSHA Summer Series.

Stephanie Hicks delivered an insightful session on Dyslexia, sharing evidence-based strategies and deepening our understanding of language-based learning differences.

Lexi Woods presented on High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities, offering practical tools and research-driven approaches to support collaborative education between practitioners.

A heartfelt thank you to ArkSHA for the opportunity to collaborate and contribute to this impactful professional development series for SLPs in the state of Arkansas.

07/10/2025

Thank you to the wonderful staff in the Fayettteville Public School for having me present to your SLPs, CALTs, and resource teachers. Our topic, Understanding Dyslexia & Best practices for Dual Service Delivery, sparked great conversation and ideas for professional collaboration within the schools. This was only half the group. What a great team!! I hope you have an amazing school year and share the information you learned today.

07/07/2025

Our program recently visited two of our fabulous community partners in the NWA region!

✨ Fusion Therapy Center, located in Bentonville, offers occupational, physical, and speech therapy services across the lifespan.

💫 Fusion believes that every patient is unique, and so is their path to recovery. Their adult clinic's approach to therapy is rooted in a holistic and patient-centered philosophy. Fusion also offers a separate pediatric clinic dedicated to nurturing the potential in each and every child. Highlights from their clinical programming include offering myofunctional therapy and pediatric feeding specialties!

🌟 Kindred Pediatric Therapy, located in Fayetteville, also offers pediatric occupational, physical and speech therapy services.

💫 Kindred offers comprehensive care in a collaborative team environment dedicated to helping children achieve their very best life. Highlights from their clinical programming include offering animal-assisted therapy and pediatric feeding therapy!

Thank you to Fusion Therapy Center and Kindred Pediatric Therapy for all that you do to support communication and feeding services in our community!

Learn more:
Fusion Therapy Center (479) 252-3321
Kindred Pediatric Therapy (479) 435-6636