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Home | School-Based | In the Spotlight

Amherst, Massachusetts

Individual Faculty Member

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Elena Zaretsky

Dr. Zaretsky received her early training as professional musician in Russia. After moving to the United States, Dr. Zaretsky entered the program at the MGH Institute of Health Professions and graduated with M.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Work with children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, language and reading disabilities led to graduate work in the field of Developmental Psychology. After receiving her Ph.D. in Human Development from Boston University Department of Psychology, where she worked under the direction of Dr. Jean Berko Gleason, Dr. Zaretsky accepted a position at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst in the Department of Communication Disorders. She and her colleagues in the department are the recipients of the DOE Training grant that provides future SLPs with specific training that allows them to work with children diagnosed with ASD.

Personal Teaching Philosophy

I believe in giving the students a solid theoretical background that will lead to practical application of principles that govern diagnostic and treatment of developmental disorders in the areas of oral and written language. I also feel that it is important to support students' research activities that will give them the breadth and depth of knowledge in the field of speech-language pathology.

Research/Areas Interests

My research interests are in language development of typical and atypical populations as well as early psycholinguistic profiles of children with different language disorders and dyslexia, specifically the influence of working memory on language and literacy development. I am also interested in the effects of bilingualism in language and literacy development.

Classes Taught

I have taught classes in Language Development, Language Disorders, Written language Processing and Disorders, Language and Learning Disabilities, Introduction to Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Adolescent Psychology.

Favorite Textbooks

Paul, Rhea (2001) Language Disorders: From Infancy through Adolescence.
Mosby: St. Louis

Gleason, Jean Berko (2005) The Development of Language, 6th Edition.
Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, Boston: MA

Catts, H. W., & Kamhi, A. G., Language and Reading Disabilities,
2nd Edition, 2005, Allyn & Bacon.

Snowling, Margaret (2000) Dyslexia. Blackwell Publishers, Inc.: Malden, MA

University

Department of Communication Disorders, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Program Philosophy/Mission

The Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst is part of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS). SPHHS addresses complex health issues by integrating traditional core areas of public health with related health science disciplines. The School fosters a unique environment in which transdisciplinary research collaborations can flourish. As part of the SPHHS, the Department of Communication Disorders is one of the leading programs that provide education and training to future professionals who will understand how communication develops and how it can break down. This leads to designing and implementing better intervention to help individuals with disorders of communication to live more productive lives. The program accomplishes this goal through rigorous educational training, supervised clinical experiences at the Center for Language, Speech and Hearing (in house clinical setting), and various other clinical settings throughout the area, as well as through faculty and student-driven research.

Program Description

The Department of Communication Disorders offers curricula leading to the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in communication disorders, the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in communication disorders with a concentration in speech-language pathology, the Doctorate of Audiology (Au.D.) degree, and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree with a concentration in either speech-language pathology (SLP) or audiology (AUD). In addition, a clinical Ph.D. in Audiology program is offered for students interested in pursuing an advanced research degree as well as professional preparation in audiology. The master's program in communication disorders and the clinical Ph.D. program in audiology are accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Accreditation of the Au.D. program is currently pending. The M.A. program in speech-language pathology is also accredited by the Massachusetts Board of Education.

The curriculum in speech-language pathology is designed to provide the academic and clinical preparation necessary for the provision of scientific, competent, and professional services by speech-language pathologists or audiologists. The curriculum allows the student to meet the academic and clinical requirements for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). In addition, students enrolled in the master's program in speech and language pathology should be eligible to apply to the Massachusetts Board of Education for licensure as a teacher of the speech, language, and hearing-impaired upon completion of their degree program. The Doctor of Philosophy program in communication disorders provides an education in the methods of scholarship, teaching, and research. A student will obtain skills required for the objective maintenance, dissemination, and creation of basic and applied information in the sciences of communication disorders.

Faculty-Research

The Department of Communication Disorders has 11 full time faculty members and 4 adjunct faculty as well as houses Clinic for Language, Speech and Hearing with 5 full time clinical staff. Each member of the faculty is involved in active research and dissemination of the research findings in their respective areas. The faculty presents their work in various international and local conferences and conventions, and is involved in organizing international symposia in the areas of expertise. The research activities cover such areas as voice disorders, phonology, AAE, CAS, ASD, as well as issues in literacy acquisition, written language disorders and bilingualism. The department produces publications in all of these areas.

Grants and Projects

A team of professors in the Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst received a $733,000 dollar grant from the United States Department of Education to better educate and train the next four generations of graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology to work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Drs. Velleman, Andrianopoulos, and Foreman are conducting a research supported by Cure Autism Now grant that proposed investigation to determine the incidence and nature of subtypes of speech impairment (oral apraxia, apraxia of speech, dysarthria, phonological disorder) in individuals with ASD. This research is also aiming to develop a diagnostic protocol that is sensitive, specific, efficient, and effective for differentiating speech production deficits with respect to non-verbal oral motor apraxia, motor speech planning/programming (apraxia of speech), motor execution (dysarthria), and phonological disorders in individuals with ASD.