Dr. Melissa Brydon, associate professor in PennWest’s Communication Sciences & Disorders Department, received a $5,000 grant that will expand training for faculty and graduate level students. 

The grant, awarded by Phillips Charitable Trust, funds one mobile ultrasound probe, plus software and training for CSD faculty on the Clarion campus. 

The ultrasound will be used in the PennWest Clarion Speech & Hearing Clinic to diagnose and treat adults and children with speech sound disorders. The CSD Department provides clinical services to 80-100 clients from the Clarion community, per calendar year.  

“Ultrasound is an evidence-based form of biofeedback used to treat speech sound disorders. The biofeedback can be more effective than traditional methods of diagnosis and treatment for some populations; specifically, individuals with hearing impairments, Down Syndrome, childhood apraxia of speech, and acquired apraxia of speech,” said Brydon, coordinator of the graduate program at Clarion. “All graduate students in the speech-language pathology program will receive training using ultrasound, which will provide them with experience using one of the most up-to-date, precise forms of instrumentation available to diagnose and treat speech sound disorders.”  

The funding also supports continuing education for CSD faculty so that the program can provide current and upcoming classes of graduate students with the most up-to-date, evidence-based clinical education, while also ensuring that the clinical educators and supervisors in the program are practicing at the top of their license.