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With the start of a new semester comes the charge to achieve excellence that is at the core of our program. Take a look at this video to see the ways in which students and faculty are working to achieve our mission of “equipping students with the knowledge and skills in Speech Language Pathology for ministry to individuals with communication disorders through a Christian worldview” here at our Abilene campus. 

Continue to follow our page to see our mission unfold for the ACU Communication Sciences and Disorders program throughout this year! 

A fun and festive celebration of children’s literature took place during Diagnostic and Therapeutic Theory.  For Halloween, the first year cohort of graduate students paid homage to “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” dressing as cookies and milk.  Adjunct professor Kelsey Roberts dressed as the mouse. Dressing up as a cohort has been a Halloween tradition for the past several years.

Tonight from 6:00-8:00 pm, the Big Country Speech-Language-Hearing Association is presenting a special event at the ACU Duncum Center! The title of this ethics seminar is “Building Blocks for Ethical Decision Making” and will be presented by ACU Professors Terry Baggs, Denise Barnett, and Jennifer Binkley. You will receive two hours of ethics CEUs for attending this event. You won’t want to miss it!

Homecoming is a week away! Visit with the CSD faculty, staff, and students at the CSD tent near Moody Coliseum during the tailgate party. We’ll have treats for your children, SLP buttons for purchase, etc.

“I didn’t know that speech pathologists dealt with cognitive disorders.” That was a comment heard from several health professional students at the annual Chronic Care Day at Texas Tech at Abilene this week. According to Dr. Terry Baggs, CSD Co-Chair and member of the IPE Chronic Care Day Committee, the department has participated in numerous interprofessional education experiences through the years but Chronic Care Day, Stroke Day, and Trauma Day are cooperative efforts between ACU and Texas Tech and provide students targeted training in working with other professionals while assessing simulated patients. “In some ways, simulated patients are better than actual patients during training because the use of simulated patients allows the faculty to develop specific diagnostic scenarios for our students to enhance specific skills while working with other disciplines,” says Dr. Baggs.

Communication Sciences and Disorders at ACU has utilized simulated patients for several years. Almost a decade ago, ACU was one of the first universities to utilize computer based simulated patients in an avatar format called SimuCase.  The department has expanded to other opportunities, an example being a patient simulated competency exam in swallowing disorders. And, the faculty continue to consider new methods of teaching skills while appreciating the roles of other disciplines.  Dr. Baggs says “the healthcare environment for a patient is improved when disciplines respect and understand each other.”