UROP Project

A Different Side: Awareness and Perceptions of CSD Students on Counseling and Supranormative Disability Topics

Student; Disability; Perceptions; Counseling; Mixed-Methods

Research Mentor: Billy "Holden" Allen,
Department, College, Affiliation: School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Communication and Information
Contact Email: ba24j@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors. The graduate research mentor has a physical disability/uses a manual wheelchair. Consequently, individuals with disability backgrounds both invisible and visible are also very much welcome.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

The field of speech-language pathology (speech therapy) and other medically oriented professions have historically adopted a repetitive approach to service delivery involving identification of disability characteristics and the treatment of explicit disability attributes. This dual design however has provided less attention on addressing more advanced and multifaceted disability topics such as reactions to disabilities, compensating with a disability, navigating social dynamics involving a disability, etc. While the field has implemented counseling initiatives, counseling in speech-language pathology receives scant attention, is not formally discussed until the master's degree level, and is not entirely comprehensive in providing frameworks for aiding professionals in addressing the diverse needs of disabled clients.

As a result, this project aims to administer a survey to undergraduate seniors and first-year master's degree students in Communication Sciences and Disorders programs to ascertain their awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of counseling and supranormative disability topics (topics not covered by our field's counseling frameworks). This work will also acquire a subset of students to conduct qualitative interviews to acquire a more in-depth understanding on current student perceptions and program dynamics.

Research Tasks: Tasks will be guided and supported by the research mentor. Possible exposure opportunities depending on rate of progress involve the following:
Assist with IRB proposal drafting/review
Assist with development of research products/instruments i.e. surveys/interviews, for the research project
Assist with Administration/Distribution of Survey/Interview
Assist with R Coding/Statistical Analysis of data
Assist with quantitative data analysis
Assist with qualitative data analysis
Assist with writing research article manuscript (e.g. intro, literature review, results, discussion, conclusion, references)




Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Recommended:
Prior exposure to research methodology courses.

Required: A positive and open approach to working in a collaborative team/research project that prioritizes strong communication and places the betterment of those we serve/research as the primary directive.