North Carolina Central University News October 9, 2014 New Specialty Track at NCCU Could Improve Educational Outcomes for Children with Special Needs A grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Programs will allow the North Carolina Central University School of Education to expand its Communication Disorders program through a new specialty track that combines speech-language pathology and special education. The $932,293 grant will be used to train 22 speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to deliver evidence-based services to children, birth through school age, who are at-risk for or have developmental disabilities. "The idea is to give speech-language pathology students insight into the educational demands of children with special needs by expanding their training to include working directly with children in the classroom," said Dr. Yolanda Keller-Bell, assistant professor in the Communication Disorders Program. Keller-Bell and Dr. Maureen Short, assistant professor in the Special Education Program, developed the new track, which will be implemented in the fall of 2015. Each academic year, between five and nine students will be enrolled in the program and receive a stipend, tuition support and paid professional development opportunities. In return, the students will be required to conduct community engagement sessions twice a year. The need for a program to address the needs of special education students is critical, Keller-Bell said. "Children with communication disorders are at great risk for having poor academic performance," she said. "Improving their speech and language outcomes will have a positive effect on their educational performance." Dr. Edward Moody, chair of the Department of Allied Professions, where the Communication Disorders program is housed, commended Keller-Bell and Short for developing the program. "Their work will allow future clinicians to specialize in treating developmental disabilities through an interdisciplinary approach," Moody said. The NCCU Communication Disorder program now offers eight clinics and two specialty tracks: bilingual and CREATT. The bilingual track offers students fluent in another language the opportunity to train in a bilingual setting. NCCU was the first UNC system school to offer this option. The CREATT track (Culturally Responsive Early Intervention and Assistive Technology Training) focuses on cultural linguistic diversity, augmentative communication (devices that allow someone with a communication disorder to communicate), and early intervention techniques. With the implementation of this program, a third track in special education will be offered. More than 100 students are enrolled in the Communication Disorders program, which includes 11 dedicated faculty members, 10 SLPs and an audiologist. Faculty and staff members also provide speech-language clinical services at no charge. Swallowing, articulation, language development, cognition, autism and neurodegenerative disorders are all specialty fields of the faculty and part of the eight clinics offered at NCCU. Six UNC-system schools offer speech-language pathology programs, but the NCCU program stands out for being more diverse, enrolling males, minorities and nontraditional students, than the other five schools combined. It also offers the most comprehensive specialty clinics of any school in the UNC system. Individuals interested in the program should contact Dr. Yolanda Keller-Bell at 919-530-7504 or ykellerb@nccu.edu<mailto:ykellerb@nccu.edu>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2014meeting-form.html for the October 26-28, 2014 HBCU Library Alliance 6th Membership Meeting in Atlanta GA!