Research is an important part of the field of communication sciences and disorders. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists use evidence-based practices to guide their treatment, meaning that they use evidence from research studies to help them decide what will best help their patients. The main areas of research in the field of CS&D include hearing, language, speech, swallowing, and voice. Below you will find more information and details on research specific to UW-Madison.
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Child Development Reseach
Researching how children develop help SLPs and AuDs identify typical and atypical patterns in children. This allows them to identify children who may have a language delay or language disorder and may require intervention. The earlier a child is diagnosed with a language difficulty, the better their intervention outcome will be.
Learn more about child development labs at UW:
Social Kids Lab https://socialkids.waisman.wisc.edu/research/
Infant Learning Lab https://infantlearning.waisman.wisc.edu/research/
Little Listeners Laboratory https://littlelisteners.waisman.wisc.edu/
Language Reseach
Researching language across the lifespan and among individuals with disabilities helps clinicians better understand how individuals learn, understand, and utilize language. A better understanding of specific syndromes such as Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder provides SLPs with more knowledge of how to best treat their patients. Learning more about language across the lifespan can also help researchers work towards early detection of diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. Language researchers also study individuals who are bilingual and how methods of diagnosing language difficulties in children can be improved for children who speak more than one language.
Learn more about language labs at UW:
Cognitive-Communication in Aging and Neurogenic Diseases (CCANDL) https://ccandl.csd.wisc.edu/
Language Process Laboratory https://web.waisman.wisc.edu/www/lpl/
Language Acquisition & Bilingualism Laboratory (LAB) https://lab.csd.wisc.edu/
Research in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Laboratory (RIDDL) https://riddll.waisman.wisc.edu/
Speech Research
Speech researchers are interested in how an individual’s brain processes the information they hear and how it controls an individual’s articulatory muscles, or the muscles that control how an individual speaks. This helps clinicians to better understand the connection between an individual’s brain, hearing, and language.
Learn more about speech labs at UW:
Brain, Language, & Acoustic Behavior Laboratory (BLAB) https://blab.wisc.edu/
Speech Motor Action + Control https://smac.waisman.wisc.edu/
Wisconsin Intelligibility, Speech, and Communication Laboratory https://kidspeech.wisc.edu/
Hearing Research
For audiologists, it is important to understand typical auditory, or hearing, development across the lifespan so that they can identify individuals who may have hearing loss. Hearing researchers also study how individuals benefit from hearing aids and cochlear implants to make them more advantageous to the user.
Learn more about hearing labs at UW:
Efferent Systems Lab https://efsylab.waisman.wisc.edu/#people
Child Hearing Lab https://chear.waisman.wisc.edu/
Binaural Hearing and Speech Lab https://bhsl.waisman.wisc.edu/
Swallowing and Voice Research
Speech-language pathologists are also responsible for treating swallowing and voice disorders in individuals in addition to speech and language disorders. Some examples of swallowing and voice areas of interest include the impact of neurodegenerative diseases and aging on swallowing and vocal fold injuries.
Learn more about swallowing and voice labs at UW:
Ciucci Laboratory https://ciuccilab.wixsite.com/main
Swallowing & Salivary Bioscience Laboratory https://ssbl.wisc.edu/
Connor Lab https://www.surgery.wisc.edu/research/researchers-labs/connor/
Thibeault Lab https://csd.wisc.edu/staff/thibeault-susan/