communication sciences and disorders<\/a>. This field studies language science, hearing science, and speech and voice. Many graduates become speech-language pathologists or audiologists and work with a wide variation of communication disorders such as speech, language, and voice, and also work with patients with swallowing disorders.<\/p>\n\u201cAfter learning a bit more about communication sciences, I started to take courses and fell in love with the field,\u201d Conrad says. \u201cI am passionate about my major because I love being able to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Research is important because it helps make for better speech-language pathologists, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch matters greatly to me because I want to be able to help those who need it by having the capabilities to provide the best and most effective treatments possible,\u201d she says. \u201cResearch is also important to the world at large because studies can provide data about different disorders and specific types of treatment that could help patients more effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through her professors, Conrad got involved in research, which led her to the project she\u2019s presenting at Student Research Week (March 29-April1), which is free, open to the public and ongoing in the Student Union.\u00a0 We sat down with the Orlando native to chat about the research project and how that\u2019s impacting his future career path.<\/p>\n
Research Topic: How Aphasia Impacts Friendship: People with Aphasia\u2019s Perspectives on Friendship Maintenance and Development After Stroke<\/p>\n
How did you develop the idea for this research project?<\/strong><\/p>\nThis research project is a collaborative and multi-university project between UCF, FSU and Duquesne. Dr. (Lauren) Bislick from UCF, Dr. (Sarah) Wallace from Duquesne and Dr. (Elizabeth) Madden from FSU are the faculty members in charge of this project with help from research assistants at each university. They were interested in the impact of aphasia on friendships and social interactions and all hope that the results of the study can help implement new strategies that SLP\u2019s can use to help improve and maintain friendships as well as quality of life.<\/p>\n
What does your research examine and \u00a0how does it impact the community?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy research aims to understand the effects of aphasia on the friendships of individuals with aphasia. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that can affect speech, comprehension, reading and writing, though it has no impact on a person\u2019s intelligence. This study is especially important for individuals with aphasia as they struggle more in day-to-day life and lack of friendship can significantly reduce one\u2019s quality of life. Due to the impact that aphasia has on friendship, we hope to find a way to improve quality of life through the results of this study while also reducing the stigma surrounding this disorder.<\/p>\n
What should people know about your research?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe results of this study will contribute to a holistic understanding of the real-world impact of aphasia on friendships. Our collective goal is to aid in the creation of interventions the SLPs can use to help their patients with aphasia develop and maintain friendships, which will ultimately improve quality of life and social participation for these individuals.<\/p>\n
What is your career goal?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy career goal is to become a speech-language pathologist and I would love to pursue becoming a traveling SLP in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Communication sciences and disorders student Allison Conrad was inspired to study the field after learning about it from a contestant on the show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":127468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[6,23,27],"tags":[16873,1017,14916,7093],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-127467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-research","category-student-life","tag-college-of-health-professions-and-sciences","tag-communication-sciences-and-disorders","tag-research","tag-student-research-week"],"yoast_head":"\n
Student Research Week: Inspired by \u2018The Bachelor,\u2019 UCF Student Studying Aphasia | 女仆AV News<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n