On Friday, February 27th, 2009 the Communicative Disorders and Sciences held an open house. This day was dedicated to prospective and future students interested in touring our school and learning more about our program. There were about 75 total participants including students and their family and friends. The day started with a welcome and introduction by all of the faculty and staff followed by presentations regarding financial aid, the admissions process, housing information, and transportation to and from the campus. The event ended with tours of the clinic, computer labs, and the science and clinic laboratories given by current graduate students in both speech-language pathology and audiology. If any further information is needed please feel free to contact Linda Mehnert, Graduate Admissions Coordinator lmehnert@buffalo.edu, Kris Tjaden, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Director of Graduate Studies tjaden@buffalo.edu, or Jeff Higginbotham, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Director of Admissions, cdsjeff@buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo, and the Universidade Presidente Antonio Carlos (UNIPAC)are joining together to offer a three week summer program in Brazil. There are many opportunities for students to visit a variety of clinical settings - including those for speech and hearing. The program will include visits to nearby points of interest, such as historical towns with their colonial architecture and art. The group will also spend several days in the city of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, which boasts a famous artisans’ fair and brilliant soccer teams. Please see the attachment for more information.

Attention Speech-Language Pathology students. Have you thought about an exciting career in the school system after graduation? If so you are in luck…The University at Buffalo - State University of New York is currently participating in two grants that fund students who want to work in the schools as SLPs after commencement.
The first grant is offered through The New York City Department of Education and they are currently accepting applications for the Fall 2009 scholarship program. This scholarship program offers uncertified candidates a traditional path to certification by way of a Master's degree in a traditional teaching or clinical shortage area. Interested candidates must apply online at www.teachnycprograms.net by May 15, 2009.
The second grant is offered through the New York State Speech-Language Pathology Consortium Program. Graduate students enrolled full-time in a member program who are interested in working in education are eligible to apply. Scholarships in the amount of $3000 are awarded to students who agree to complete a CFY in a high need school district or educational setting. Students are required to apply through their department chair and submit the following items:
1) A letter of intent explaining interest in school-based Speech-Language Pathology
2) A statement of commitment to serving in a high need school district or educational setting
3) Two letters of recommendation, at least one being from a faculty member in your academic program
For more information please visit: http://www.asha.org/about/recruitment/schools/ModelUniDistLearnIncPrgm.htm

On Friday, February 6, 2009, The University at Buffalo held its annual Teddy Bear Clinic. The purpose of this day is to introduce young children to health care settings. About 200 children from various Head Start centers in the Buffalo area participated in this event. The children interacted with graduate students and professionals in the following categories: Exercise Science, Nutrition, Dental, Nursing, Medical, Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, Vision, Feelings, Hand washing, and Child and Family Services. Each station had a fun activity for the child to engage in as well as introducing them to the equipment used at a routine visit. Our speech and hearing table consisted of an audiometer, an otoscope, teddy bears, and fun constructive speech games. This was a very successful event. It was a great way to get involved with local pre-school children as well as teach them important facts about health and safety. Pictured are graduate audiology and SLP students, SASH members, and professor Ringholz.

Last summer, the faculty in the Center for Hearing and Deafness and the CDS Speech and Hearing Clinic were visited by Dr. Jerome Groopman, a medical and science writer for the New Yorker magazine and author of “How Doctors Think.” Dr. Groopman like many other people suffers from tinnitus. It was his hope that after visiting our university (which is one of the major clinical and research centers for the evaluation and study of tinnitus) that he would find answers as to what tinnitus is and how to treat it. Dr. Groopman met with Dr. Christina Stocking for a full tinnitus evaluation. Afterwards he spoke with Dr. Richard Salvi, Director of the Center for Hearing and Deafness, about positron emission brain imaging studies conducted with patients that identified regions of the brain associated with the phantom sound of tinnitus and the “neural signature” of tinnitus. Researchers in CDS are conducting neurophysiological and neuroanatomical studies in animals to identify the biological basis of tinnitus. An important aspect of these studies has been the development of animal models with tinnitus. Dr. Edward Lobarinas demonstrated how rats are behaviorally trained to “tell” the researchers when they hear the phantom sound of tinnitus resulting from noise exposure or ototoxic drugs. After Dr. Groopman’s visit and many hours of study, he wrote an article discussing the research on tinnitus being carried out at the University at Buffalo. Groopman’s article which highlights work being conduced at UB was published in the February 2009 issue of the New Yorker. This article not only explains what tinnitus is, but it pays tribute to clinical and basic research work being conducted by faculty in CDS. To view the article please click here. Image borrowed from the New Yorker Magazine.

Terri Cinotti is a clinical assistant professor and supervisor in our department. One of the main focuses of Terri’s work is to coordinate the University at Buffalo Summer Programs for the Evaluation and Enhancement of Communication and Hearing (UB-SPEECH), an intensive 5-week summer program with emphasis in four specific areas: language and auditory processing, preschool language, fluency, and pragmatic language. The intensive summer programs offer both group and individual therapy for 1.5 hours per day, four days per week, to 12-14 groups of individuals. Approximately 50 children benefit each summer from this intensive group and individual therapy provided by graduate student clinicians and their supervisors. Terri’s main focus is in the Intensive Language and Auditory Processing and Fluency Enhancement programs. Group therapy for all groups involves several functional therapies including role-playing, conversations, and experiences relating to other children. Individual therapy for half an hour fine tunes skills and targets individual needs. Several other clinical faculty, along with Mary Shia, are fundamental in the coordination and support to organize the intensive summer programs. Click on 'read more' for the continuation of this article.

Save the Date: Fall Conference

The Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences will host a conference entitled Respiratory Muscle Strength Training: Application and Interpretation on October 16, 2009 from 8AM-4:PM at the Classics V in Amherst, NY. The featured speaker will be Dr. Christine Sapienza from the University of Florida at Gainesville. Dr. Sapienza is a UB alumna and author of the new text Voice Disorders. The conference will be offered for .6 ASHA CEUs. For information contact Dr. Rosemary Lubinski at cdsrosie@buffalo.edu or call 829-5565.

TINNITUS SUPPORT GROUP MEETING

Thursday, February 26 – 7:00 p.m.
UB, Main Street Campus, 144 Farber Hall

Featured Talk: "Brain Imaging Studies of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis”
To be presented by Jennifer R. Melcher, Ph.D. For more information please click on the 'read more' button.