Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology

Brigham Young University

AUDIOLOGY AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Area Coordinator: Laurence M. Hilton
136 TLRB
Provo, UT 84602-8605
(801) 378-4318

THE PROGRAM OF STUDIES

The separate but overlapping disciplines represented by the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology involve the study of the processes and disorders of hearing, speech, and language. The department integrates principles and methods of acoustics, anatomy, psychology, linguistics, medicine, physiology, and rehabilitation to prepare students to more effectively help persons of all ages who have either congenital or acquired impairments to hearing, speaking clearly, participating in conversations, or any of the other skills that allow effective communication.

Graduate programs in the department provide a mixture of academic course work, clinical experience, and research involvement. Students are expected to master knowledge related to treating persons with disorders and to apply this knowledge in clinical activities at BYU and at other professional settings in the community. Strong performances in both course work and clinical activities are required, as is the successful completion and defense of a thesis. Because clinical training requires broad expertise, no clinically relevant topics are excluded from coverage in course work or clinical training; however, student research activities are generally channeled into topical areas in which faculty have focal expertise.

The master's degree programs in audiology and speech-language pathology prepare students to (a) work competently with clients of all ages in all professional settings, (b) conduct research and communicate findings to peers and cooperating professionals, (c) meet requirements for national certification, state licensure, and school certification, (d) qualify for and excel at doctoral study if desired, and (e) maintain currency in their discipline through ongoing, independent study.

The department offers two degrees: Audiology—MS and Speech-Language
Pathology—MS.

About eight students per year are admitted into the audiology program, and about fifteen students per year are admitted into the speech-language pathology program. Students generally complete their programs in two years.

Audiology—MS

As a discipline, audiology involves such topics as the normal anatomy and physiology of the ear, the neurophysiology of hearing, the diseases and disorders of the ear, psychoacoustics, hearing assessments, middle-ear testing, electrophysiological testing of hearing and balance, the design and prescription of hearing aids, aural habilitation and rehabilitation, and hearing conservation.

Admission and Entry.

Semesters of entry and application deadlines: spring, summer, fall, February 1 (both U.S. and International students).
Application requirements: submit GRE general test scores using the institution number R 4019. Because audiology is a clinical profession, both academic and personal qualifications are considered in selecting applicants and in evaluating, retaining, and graduating students.
Prerequisites: students entering a graduate program with a bachelor's degree outside audiology must complete the equivalent of the undergraduate major before taking graduate classes or beginning thesis research.

Requirements for Degree.

Credit hours: 42 (plus all classes in the undergraduate major), including 6 hours of thesis credit and 6 hours of clinical practicum spread over several semesters or terms.
Required courses: all the courses listed under Audiology.
Minor (in related field): optional and in addition to all required major classes.
Residence: see university residence requirements. Transfer of graduate courses taken elsewhere is not guaranteed and will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis.
Thesis.
Examinations: (a) pass ASHA NTE Praxis exam in audiology with score of 650 or higher (this score represents approximately 75th percentile nationally); (b) oral defense of thesis.

Speech-Language Pathology—MS

The discipline of speech-language
pathology involves the study of the anatomy and physiology of speech production mechanisms, the normal and impaired development of speech abilities, disorders of articulation, voice disorders, stuttering and related disorders of speech rate and rhythm, speech acoustics, speech perception, and swallowing disorders. Speech-
language pathology also includes the study of normal and impaired language development and language processing, the assessment of children's language and related social and cognitive abilities, the treatment of language impairments, and the assessment and treatment of aphasia.

Admission and Entry.

Semesters of entry and application deadlines: spring, summer, fall, February 1 (both U.S. and international students).
Application requirements: submit GRE general test scores using the institution number R 4019. Because speech-language pathology is a clinical profession, both academic and personal qualifications are considered in selecting applicants and in evaluating, retaining, and graduating students.
Prerequisites: students entering a graduate program with a bachelor's degree outside speech-language pathology must complete the equivalent of the undergraduate major before taking graduate classes or beginning thesis research.

Requirements for Degree.

Credit hours: 43 (plus all classes in the undergraduate major), including 6 hours of thesis credit and 6 hours of clinical practicum spread over several semesters or terms.
Required courses: all the courses listed under Speech-Language Pathology.
Minor (in related field): optional and in addition to all required major classes.
Residence: see university residence requirements. Transfer of graduate courses taken elsewhere is not guaranteed and will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis.
Thesis.
Examinations: (a) pass ASHA NTE Praxis exam in speech-language pathology with score of 700 or higher (this score represents approximately 75th percentile nationally); (b) oral defense of thesis.

Note: ASLP 680R (Public School Practicum) requires a $60 fee in addition to tuition.

Financial Assistance

Most of the money that is available for financial assistance in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology will be given to graduate students in the form of graduate assistantships. These assistantships involve assisting faculty in course management or research; awardees are selected by faculty from those applying for assistantships on the basis of suitability for the work needed. Other financial aid is available in the form of supplementary awards such as partial tuition waivers; these awards are made on the basis of both financial need and academic excellence.

Resources and Opportunities.

The Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology is housed in the John Taylor Building and as such is part of the BYU Comprehensive Clinic. This clinic links audiology and speech-language pathology and clinical psychology, marriage and family counseling, social work, and LDS Social Services in interdisciplinary cooperation on a variety of clinical cases. The clinic also allows for shared access to audiovisual services, computers and networks, and tests and therapy materials.

The BYU Audiology Clinic is staffed by graduate students under faculty supervision and focuses on the assessment and treatment of hearing disorders of students, faculty, staff, missionaries from the Missionary Training Center (Provo), and the public. It is also involved in monitoring the hearing ability levels of university employees for OSHA compliance and in testing the hearing of central Utah's high-risk babies in collaboration with the Utah State Health Department.

The BYU Speech and Language Clinic is also staffed by graduate students under faculty supervision and focuses on assessing and treating the speech and language disorders of students, faculty, staff, missionaries, and the public.

Research Facilities and Equipment. Audiology and speech-language pathology use a broad range of tools for clinical diagnosis and therapy. The facilities supporting research and clinical work in audiology include state-of-the-art sound suites, numerous portable and clinical audiometers, 32-channel evoked potential and brain mapping, hearing aid analyzer, transient and distortion product otoacoustic emission analyzers, video otoscopy, digital audio recording and editing instrumentation, real-time audio spectral analysis, programmable hearing aids, assistive listening devices, hearing aid modification workstations, electronystagmography, sound-level meters, and sound-level dosimetry equipment.

The facilities supporting research and clinical work in speech-language pathology include spectrographic, laryngographic, and nasometric analyses of speech and voice production, stroboscopic flexible fiberoptic digital video laryngoscopy and nasoendoscopy, audiovisual equipment for conversational language sampling and analysis, and computer-assisted language sample analysis.

Course Descriptions

Audiology

Class Schedule

500. Clinical Data Acquisition and Analysis. (3)

Prerequisite: Stat 222 or equivalent.

Research methods in audiology and speech language pathology; applying statistical techniques; professional literature and writing.

544. Psychoacoustics. (3)

Advanced studies in human psychoacoustics and hearing science.

616. Acoustic Impedance Measures. (2)

Middle-ear measurements and special test applications.

617. Auditory Evoked Potentials. (3)

Theoretical and practical application of electrocochleography, brain stem, middle latency, long latency, and cognitive evoked potentials.

618. Otoacoustic Emissions and Vestibular Evaluation. (3)

Theoretical and practical application of otoacoustic emissions and vestibular evaluation.

638. Advanced Hearing Tests and Measures. (3)

Advanced audiometric procedures assessing impaired hearing.

639. Community and Industrial Audiology. (2)

Hearing problems in industry; legal implications.

641. Hearing Aids. (3)

Assessing hearing aid performance; the art of fitting hearing aids.

643. Adult Aural Rehabilitation. (2)

Rehabilitative audiology for hearing-impaired adults.

671. Instrumentation-Calibration. (2)

Calibration of audiological instruments.

673. Pathologies of the Auditory Mechanism. (3)

Prerequisite: ASLP 334, 438; or equivalent.

Hearing disorders of outer, middle, and inner ear and central auditory pathway.

685R. Practicum in Clinical Audiology. (1-8)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

690R. Seminar in Audiology. (1-3)

690R. Seminar in Hearing Disorders. (1-3)

693R. Directed Individual Study. (1-3)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

694R. Special Projects in Clinical Audiology. (1-3)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

699R. Master's Thesis. (1-6)

Speech-Language Pathology

500. Clinical Data Acquisition and Analysis. (3)

Prerequisite: Stat 222 or equivalent.

Research methods in audiology and speech language pathology; applying statistical techniques; professional literature and writing.

573. Aphasia. (3)

Perspectives on the neurology, clinical assessment, and rehabilitation of aphasic language disturbances in adults.

574. Communicative Disorders of Individuals with Severe Disabilities. (3)

Assessment and treatment of persons with multiple handicaps, including augmentative communication training.

575. Motor Speech Disorders. (3)

Neuropathology, symptomotology, clinical assessment, and treatment of adult motor speech disorders.

630. Theories of Child Language Acquisition. (3)

Process models in lexical, prosodic, syntactic, and semantic facets of first language learning.

633. Dysphagia and Head Trauma Management. (2)

Acquired swallowing and eating disorders, rehabilitation of dysphagia, and traumatic brain injury and cognitive rehabilitation therapy.

636. Multicultural Issues in Speech-
Language Pathology. (3)

Prerequisite: ASLP 350 or equivalent.

Speech and language assessment and intervention with persons from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Specific topics include cultural diversity, bilingualism, and use of interpreters/translators.

657. Voice Disorders. (3)

Assessment and treatment of disorders of the speaking voice.

662. Maxillofacial and Related Disorders of Human Communication. (2)

680R. Internship in Speech-Language Pathology. (2-6)

685R. Practicum in Speech-Language Pathology. (1-8)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

690R. Seminar in Language Disorders. (3)

690R. Seminar in Computer Language Assessment. (3)

693R. Directed Individual Study. (1-3)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

694R. Special Projects in Speech-Language Pathology. (1-3)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

699R. Master's Thesis. (1-6)

FACULTY

BRINTON, BONNIE, Professor. PhD, University of Utah, 1981. Child Language Impairment.

CHANNELL, RON W., Associate Professor. PhD, University of Utah, 1983. Child Language Acquisition.

FUJIKI, MARTIN, Professor. PhD, University of Utah, 1980. Child Language Impairment.

HANKS, WENDY, Assistant Professor. PhD, Wichita State University, 1985. Pediatric and Rehabilitative Audiology.

HARRIS, RICHARD W., Professor. PhD, Purdue University, 1978. Hearing Science; Perception.

HILTON, LAURENCE M., Professor. PhD, Northwestern University, 1973. Communication Sciences and Disorders.

LUCIDO, BONNIE RAE, Assistant Professor. PhD, University of Utah, 1995. Speech-Language Pathology.

MCPHERSON, DAVID L., Professor. PhD, University of Washington, 1972. Audiology; Hearing Science; Electrophysiology.

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