Sample Sequence of Courses

Introduces graduate students to professional issues and standards related to the discipline of Speech-Language Pathology, including scope of practice, ethics, and cultural and linguistic diversity. General principles of clinical observation, assessment, establishment of treatment goals, report writing, documentation, and service delivery in various settings, including educational and medical settings, are emphasized. Understanding of federal, state, and local laws, guidelines and statutes in school settings including HIPAA, FERPA, FAPE, least restrictive settings, inclusion, IEPs, RTI, and Due Process, is presented. Goal writing in educational and other settings is highlighted including SMART goals and alternatives. Impartial hearings and documentation is discussed.

The student will learn to evaluate and diagnose speech and language disorders. Administration of formal and authentic tests as well as the interpretation of results will be discussed. The course will emphasize the diagnosis of the child and adult with specific emphasis on test selection, related assessment procedures, psychometrics and analysis of results. Diagnostic report writing will be emphasized. Requirements for assessment and report writing for a variety of settings including medical and educational settings will be presented. Specific attention will be given to evaluations and reports for CPSE and CSE within the NYC DOE and other private and public school settings, as well as development of IEPs. Federal, state and local guidelines, requirements, rulings and legislation will be presented as they relate to school assessments, re-evaluations and documentation.

This course is designed to enable the student to gain theoretical and clinical knowledge and management of articulation and phonological disorders in the pre-school and school-age population. Typically developing phonology and speech sound acquisition are presented in contrast to atypical development and articulation related to communication disorders. Articulation disorders which are influenced by languages other than Standard English and limited proficiency in English are differentiated from phonological disorders. Assessment and treatment procedures for the child and adult are addressed. The impact of phonology on development of literacy skills is examined. Clinical practice of speech language pathology in the school setting (K-12) is discussed with respect to special education, models of service delivery, and referral and evaluation for services.

Topics focus on basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology involved in sensory, motor and cognitive functions underlying respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance, hearing, and language. Structures and functions related to prenatal and acquired communication disorders are explored.

The foundations of normal language development provide a comparative overview for the investigation of language disorders in children. The effects of language disorders upon emergent expressive and receptive language skills, cognition, information processing, communication, language form (grammar), language content (semantics) and language use (pragmatics; social skills), will be explored. Phonology, phonological awareness skills, transition to literacy, decoding skills, reading comprehension and writing skills will be discussed. The students will be introduced to a comparative overview of various reading programs such as Orton Gillingham, the Wilson program and Lively Letters.

Students will be guided in the use of executive function skills while formulating evidence-based treatment plans subsequent to interpreting, synthesizing and analyzing information from assessments, case histories and videos. The many aspects of the role of the speech-language pathologist in the school system will be discussed. Upon completion of this course, students will be equipped to assess, diagnose and provide treatment plans including use of curriculum-based materials with measureable goals, in settings such as the school system. The speech-language pathologist’s role regarding collaborating with teachers and becoming an effective member of the multidisciplinary treatment team will be discussed.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN611

Clinical procedures are introduced, including planning and providing developmentally appropriate therapy sessions, maintaining records and completing reports. Knowledge regarding various disorders is applied to the treatment of individuals across the lifespan. Modification of instructional methods in response to behavioral issues are discussed. School-based, medical, home-based and other settings discussed, with emphasis on responsibilities of SLPs in these various settings. School-based techniques and curriculum-based content are discussed, including pull-out and push-in types of sessions, IEPs, RTI, collaboration with staff and various pedagogical approaches. Supervision is provided by licensed, ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologists, with direct treatment hours recorded and applied as per ASHA requirements. Professional ethical behaviors are emphasized.

Systematic and controlled observations of measurable behaviors pertinent to clinical, experimental, and applied research in the areas of typical and atypical human communication are the skills taught in this course and referenced in terms of the choices of data to be collected, evaluated, and interpreted. Students design and execute projects consistent with the principles of ethical research and carried out through the Institutional Review Board of the college. This course has been designed to enable the students to gain knowledge about the research development process in the field of speech language pathology, including systematic investigation of the research topics related to developmental norms for speech-language pathology, clinical issues for school-age children in the educational settings, and clinical challenges associated with the geriatric population.

Assessment and rehabilitation protocols used with individuals who have acquired language disorders are the focus of this course. Evaluation and treatment are discussed within the context of the sites of central nervous system lesions that are correlated with the observed communication deficits.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611,SPPN 615

This course is designed to provide the student with the most updated knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorders. Students will learn current definitions, etiology, assessment, and diagnosis of ASD. This course will explore the variety of treatments currently used, and the clinical and ethical dilemmas raised in the context of evidence-based practice. Intervention techniques such as ABA and DIR/Floortime will be discussed extensively. Specific applications in the school system will be addressed as well, such as TEACCH educational model and Inclusion vs. self-contained education. The class will place a particular emphasis on the importance of interprofessional collaboration within the school system and other settings.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 630

This course provides students in speech-language pathology with an understanding of the complex multidimensional nature of fluency disorders and their successful diagnosis and management. By the end of this course, students will have acquired knowledge of the nature of stuttering and other fluency disorders, including: etiology, characteristics, neurophysiological basis, developmental features, psychological correlates, linguistic factors, multicultural and social considerations, differential characteristics and counseling. In addition, students will explore the impact of stuttering on academic success and decreased participation of students who stutter in the classroom. The school-based SLP’s leadership role in educating the IEP team about the adverse effects that stuttering can have on a student’s academic performance will be also discussed. Students will become familiar with comprehensive assessment, treatment, coping with bullying and the eligibility of accommodations for school-age children who stutter.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611

This course will focus on the relationship between language and learning disabilities and the impact of language and learning disabilities, in academic, social and work settings. It will examine the contributions of neuropsychology, learning theory, executive function and cognitive-perceptual development to the study of language based learning disabilities.

Interventions for language, learning, reading, math and writing disabilities will be covered. The speech and language pathologist’s role in assessing and supporting the underlying skills necessary for learning, in discipline specific academic areas will be studied. The responsibilities of the speech language pathologist as a member of an interdisciplinary professional (IPP) school setting is emphasized from kindergarten through high school and higher education including instruction, adaptations and modifications, IEP compliance and individualized instruction.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 615, SPPN 630

Motor speech impairments related to central and peripheral neural lesions along with the assessment and treatment of concomitant speech and language disorders are the topics of this elective course.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 615

This course includes the nature, etiology, embryology, assessment, and management of potential communication, resonance, and swallowing disorders experienced by individuals presenting with cleft lip, cleft palate and craniofacial anomalies across the lifespan. Specific genetic disorders and their social and psychological implications for the school-age child are discussed. Specific instrumentation related to assessment and treatment of resonance disorders will be introduced.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 615

This course will introduce school-based speech-language pathology practices as a learning experience. Critical issues related to the practice of speech-language pathology in the school setting (K-12) including legislative issues, special education, models of service delivery, Response to Intervention (RTI), referral and evaluation for services, development of the Individual Education Plan (IEP), New York State Common Core Standards, lesson planning and caseload management are focal targets of the course. Students will learn to interface effectively with teachers and other personnel in the schools. Students will explore curriculum and the impact of speech-language difficulties on academic performance. Current ASHA roles and responsibilities of the school-based clinician will also be reviewed.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 630, SPPN 640

This seminar accompanies the student’s initial assessment experience (in house). Procedures for diagnostic evaluations are reviewed and students have the opportunity to select and administer appropriate evaluation procedures through the application, analysis and synthesis of psychometric principles. Students interpret and integrate information to develop different diagnoses, make recommendations and complete written reports. Individualizing reports and recommendations for specific settings such as schools is presented including necessary standardized tests, informal assessments, observations, screenings and referrals. The role and importance of the diagnostic report in the IEP process will be demonstrated.

This seminar accompanies the initial externship placement, in which direct service hours for ASHA clock requirements are supervised by licensed, ASHA-certified Speech-Language Pathologists. This seminar provides students the opportunity to discuss the various aspects of their experience in their placements, ethical issues that arise in all settings, share case studies, exchange protocols, and identify and solve problems that arise in the effective treatment of clients both in educational and rehabilitation settings. In addition, this class discusses issues specific to the school system: educational and pedagogical techniques, interprofessional collaboration (IPE) with teachers and administration, working within educational mandate and scope of practice.

This seminar provides mentoring for students during the final stages of their research requirement.

Prerequisites: SPPN 627

The mechanics of normal deglutition and the etiology, diagnosis, assessment and (re)habilitation of common disorders of swallowing across the lifespan are the foci of this course. Instrumentation for the assessment and rehabilitation of swallowing is also included.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, 611, SPPN 615

This course addresses the nature, etiology, assessment and diagnosis, as well as treatment procedures for various types of voice disorders. Disorders of the adult and child will be studied in detail. Included in the discussions will be training techniques for teacher’s reduction of vocal abuse in the classroom as well as care of the professional voice. The aspects of respiration, phonation and resonance in normal and abnormal voice production will be discussed. Specific instrumentation related to voice will be introduced.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 615

This seminar accompanies hands-on experience in the administration and interpretation of audiological procedures that fall within the scope of practice of speech-language pathologists. Technologies and techniques used within school settings and part of the child's IEP are presented. Students will practice hearing screening methods, screening for auditory processing disorders, measuring classroom acoustics and troubleshooting hearing aids, cochlear implants and assistive listening devices across the lifespan.

Prequisites: SPPN 640

This seminar accompanies 2nd (or 3rd) externship. At practicum sites, students demonstrate knowledge of methods and materials to treat individuals with communication disorders under supervision. This seminar provides the opportunity to discuss treatment protocols, identify evidence-based practices for effective treatment, discuss professional and ethical issues related to professional practices in all settings (school, rehabilitation, hospital, private practice, clinic, etc.) and identify and solve problems that arise in the effective treatment of clients. Interprofessional collaboration (IPE) with the various disciplines is discussed and practiced. Externship experiences are presented and techniques and content in school settings are discussed including pull-out and push-in sessions, IEPs and RTI and various educational approaches. Supervision is provided by licensed, ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologists, with direct treatment hours recorded and applied as per ASHA requirements.

Psychoacoustics of sound, anatomy and physiology and principles of audiology assessment are presented. The relationship of hearing loss to speech and language development and classroom performance are delineated in conjunction with a review of the behavioral and physiologic test batteries that provide evidence of auditory impairment across the lifespan. Special emphasis is placed on the educational significance of hearing impairment and roles and responsibilities of the speech-language pathologist in delivering speech services to children with hearing loss in the school system. Topics explored include auditory processing disorders, classroom accommodations, hearing aids, cochlear implants and assistive listening devices.

Prerequisites: SPPN 615

Assessment, remediation and prevention of the potential and deleterious effect of hearing impairment on auditory/oral communication across the lifespan in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc. is the focus of this elective course. Students explore how amplification devices, hearing assistive technology and cochlear implant technology provide individuals, particularly children, with access to acoustic signals. The contribution of the SLP in a collaborative service delivery model that is sensitive to a culturally and linguistically diverse population is addressed. This course also examines the key role of the SLP in developing an IEP and delivering school based aural rehabilitation services for students with hearing loss and classroom accommodations. Study of rehabilitative procedures including total communication, auditory training and communication strategies are presented. Collaboration between educators, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, administrations, nurses and parents to determine best educational placement and curriculum for a child with hearing loss is highlighted.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 640

Motor speech impairments related to central and peripheral neural lesions along with the assessment and treatment of concomitant speech and language disorders are the topics of this elective course.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 615

This course includes the nature, etiology, embryology, assessment, and management of potential communication, resonance, and swallowing disorders experienced by individuals presenting with cleft lip, cleft palate and craniofacial anomalies across the lifespan. Specific genetic disorders and their social and psychological implications for the school-age child are discussed. Specific instrumentation related to assessment and treatment of resonance disorders will be introduced.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611,SPPN 615

Etiologies and classifications of cerebral anomalies, with an emphasis on cerebral palsy, are reviewed. Other developmental delays, disorders and conditions affecting communication development including syndromes, intellectual disability, and neural tube defects are included. The evaluation and treatment of speech, language and hearing problems are the emphasized topics of this course. Concomitant neuromuscular deficits that may require classroom modifications and augmentative and alternative approaches to communication are referenced. Specific knowledge and skills necessary to accommodations, modifications, individualization and support in educational settings is emphasized. Interprofessional collaboration across educational settings is demonstrated. Lifelong impact of developmental disorders, speech, language and swallowing challenges including dysarthria and impact on social, occupational and educational demand are topics included.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 615, SPPN 630

Students must demonstrate the ability to collaborate with educators, health professionals, teachers, therapists and interpreters/translators in schools and other settings, in order to provide the best known strategies in conducting unbiased speech and language services for individuals from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In addition, students must be competent in providing culturally and globally responsive services to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) school-age students in schools. The major topics that will be covered regarding this population include accommodating variability found among students from a variety of CLD groups, methods available for providing least-biased and culturally responsive assessment practices for various communication disorders; use of portfolio assessment, narrative assessment and dynamic assessment methods, identifying the difference versus the disorder aspect of second language speakers and speakers of a language variation; understanding the dangers of over- and under-identification of children for services, developing the ability to understand and synthesize another’s and the clinician’s own underlying beliefs, values, and assumptions. The course will address the SLP’s leadership role in educating the IEP team about delivering culturally responsive services and considering the multitude of cultural aspects that can influence the assessment and intervention processes in CLD school-age students with communication disorders.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 630

This elective course presents an overview of the development of linguistic sub-skills, and the motor and visual-spatial processes involved in reading and writing along with frequently encountered anomalies in this process that challenge the individual\'s ability to advance academically.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 615, SPPN 630

This course will expose students to contemporary issues relevant to the field of speech and language pathology. Each semester, critical issues and topics will be presented and explored with an emphasis on highlighting the latest skills, knowledge and practical applications to inform students about topics that are current, necessary and useful. Topics will vary by semester, reflecting latest contemporary topics as reflected in the most recent journals, ASHA position papers and newly-presented regulations and legislation affecting the field of speech-language pathology. Issues relevant to speech pathologists in medical, rehabilitation, private practice and school settings will be presented. Contemporary issues in education will include interprofessional practice in school settings, changes and controversies involving the common core curriculum, scheduling and caseload issues and appropriate documentation.

This course provides emerging trends in the assessment and treatment of language disorders across the lifespan as evidenced in research and readings, focusing on models of disordered language, including clinician-directed and collaborative approaches to intervention. Language disorders as a presenting problem in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and home health care is presented. Language disorders as presenting problems in school settings will be highlighted with an emphasis on middle school and high school. Impact of language, reading and writing difficulties on academic and social performance in the classroom is discussed with an understanding of the IEP process, interventions, collaborative treatment in school, planning and progress notes.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 630

This course will introduce school-based speech-language pathology practices as a learning experience. Critical issues related to the practice of speech-language pathology in the school setting (K-12) including legislative issues, special education, models of service delivery, Response to Intervention (RTI), referral and evaluation for services, development of the Individual Education Plan (IEP), New York State Common Core Standards, lesson planning and caseload management are focal targets of the course. Students will learn to interface effectively with teachers and other personnel in the schools. Students will explore curriculum and the impact of speech-language difficulties on academic performance. Current ASHA roles and responsibilities of the school-based clinician will also be reviewed.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 630, SPPN 640

This course is geared to graduate speech-language pathology students, for the purpose of developing the theoretical and clinical skills necessary for clinical or academic careers which address the needs of individuals with cluttering. This course will introduce students to the major theories that exist in the development, etiology, prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of cluttering. This theoretical foundation will be supplemented with clinical practice for the evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of cluttering. The above goals will be met by readings from a text, journal articles, and sharing experiences with people with cluttering. Attention will be given to understanding the impact of cluttering on the educational process in school-age children, including academic, communication, and social issues; decreased participation of students who clutter in the classroom; comprehensive assessment and treatment of school-age students; coping with bullying and teasing; and accommodations for school-age children with cluttering. The course will address the SLP’s leadership role in educating the IEP team about services to school-age students with cluttering in schools, cluttering and its impact on adults in the workplace as well as interpersonal communication.

This elective will provide an introduction to and working knowledge of augmentative and alternative communication modes. Which individuals will benefit from augmentative and alternative communication will be explored. The course will examine the vast array of low, mid and high assistive technologies (philosophy and actual technology items) that improve communication, language and literacy skills of individuals that are unable to meet their daily linguistic/communication needs via speech and writing. Students will understand and become comfortable with using and exploring augmentative and alternative communication technologies for individuals with varied skills/needs (i.e.: positioning, access, multicultural considerations). Evaluation and training via evidence-based practice will be discussed. Students will understand the need for ongoing evaluation of augmentative and alternative communication technologies in order to ensure optimum benefit for the particular individual within all of his/her environments.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 630

The etiology and assessment of communication and feeding disorders of the infant and toddler are explored in this elective course. Language development and language / feeding intervention techniques consistent with a family-centered plan of care and transition to the committee for pre-school educational services are examined.

Prerequisites: SPPN 610, SPPN 611, SPPN 612, SPPN 630