Steinhardt Department Renamed to Reflect Broader Areas of Study

By Timothy Farrell

      A new name recently greeted students in the former Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. In September, name was officially changed to the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders.
      For professor Celia Stewart, chair of the department, the name change better reflects the work of its faculty. Stewart notes that in recent years, the focus of the department—and the field in general—has broadened to include a wider scope of practice. In addition to studying speech disorders, specialists in the field now study such issues as reading disorders and swallowing disorders, and work more closely with individuals with autism.
      “There is much more focus now on the science behind communication functions, including both normal development and communication disorders,” says Stewart. “Our students receive a firm grounding in anatomy and physiology as well as the science of measuring sound.”
      The new name will better facilitate collaboration with other disciplines, adds Stewart. Indeed, the department has grown to include faculty trained in related fields, including linguistics and psychology.
      Current faculty research spans diverse areas of study. Maria Grigos, an assistant professor, is currently engaged in a three-year, NIH-funded project studying developmental apraxia of speech, a condition which affects an individual’s ability to correctly pronounce words. Grigos uses motion-capture technology in her research. Sharon Antonucci, also an assistant professor, uses neuroimaging, specifically MRI brain imaging, in her research on brain-behavior relationships.
      Stewart hopes to develop further collaborations both within Steinhardt and throughout NYU. As an example, she points to a recent summer course she taught on voice disorders that was taken by several students from Steinhardt’s vocal music program.
      “The students recognized the importance of understanding the physiology behind the singing voice, which in turn will help them to be better teachers of the craft,” says Stewart.