Celebrating Dr. Nimisha Muttiah's successful Dissertation Defense!

The PSU AAC Community is long-overdue in extending hearty CONGRATULATIONS to Nimisha Muttiah for her successful Dissertation Defense, “Evaluating AAC Training for Special Education Teachers based in a Low-Resource Developing Country” (December, 2014).
Nimisha’s research considered the following questions:
1.  What is the effect of an AAC training for special education teachers on the number of evocative communication opportunities provided by teachers?
2.  What is the effect of an AAC training for special education teachers on the number of communication turns taken by children who have CCN?
3.  What is the relationship between teachers’ provision of evocative communication opportunities and children’s responses to these opportunities?
This short-term training resulted in positive outcomes, including increased evocative communication opportunities provided by teachers, and increased communication turns taken by children.  This investigation adds to the limited research base on AAC in developing countries.
The results of this study have the potential to positively influence communication service delivery in developing countries, where the numbers of SLPs are severely inadequate and communication services are significantly insufficient for individuals with CCN.
 
Additional Information about Nimisha’s work:
A comparison of two approaches for representing AAC vocabulary for young children — International Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 2015 Publication
ASHFoundation Graduate Student Scholarship — ASHA 2014
A Conversation on Global Issues in AAC — Presentation, ISAAC 2014
A Low-Tech Visual Scenes Display Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Intervention for young children with complex communication needs – Presentation, ISAAC 2014
Research on AAC Intervention for Adolescents with Severe Disabilities — Colloquium 2013 Presentation
Research on AAC Interventions in Low-Resource Countries — ASHA 2013 Presentation
Special Education in Sri Lanka:  A snapshot of three provinces — 2012 Doctoral Candidacy
Parents’ Perspectives on Special Education Services in Sri Lanka — ASHA 2012 Presentation