Joy Armson, PhD

Bio

Joy Armson received a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin and a doctoral degree from Temple University. Early in her career, she worked as a speech-language pathologist with a special interest in stuttering, and has maintained involvement in clinical practice throughout her career. She joined the faculty at the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders in 1989, and has served as Director since 1997. She teaches and conducts research in the area of fluency disorders.

Her research publications are focused primarily on conditions of fluency enhancement such as altered auditory feedback and choral reading, and on investigations of stuttering treatment efficacy. Dr. Armson's professional activities have included involvement in both international and national projects. She was co-founder and executive director of the AudioChina Project, a Dalhousie University/Sichuan University partnership to deliver graduate audiology education at Sichuan University from 2000-2005. She was chair of the Task Force on Accreditation of Canadian University Programs in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology from 2002 until 2005 when a new council for accrediting Canadian programs in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) was launched. 

Dr. Armson has an ongoing commitment to initiatives that promote development of CSD programs and professions both at home and abroad.

Education

• BA, Psychology, Dalhousie University
• MSc, Communicative Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• PhD, Speech-Language-Hearing, Temple University

Research interests   

• Fluency-enhancing conditions
• Altered auditory feedback
  
• Choral speech
• Stuttering treatment efficacy and effectiveness

Selected publications        

• O'Donnell, J., Armson, J., & Kiefte, M. (2008). The effectiveness of SpeechEasy during situations of daily living. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 33. 99-119.
• Armson, J., & Kiefte, M. (2008). The effect of SpeechEasy on stuttering frequency, speech rate, and speech naturalness. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 33, 120-134.
• Kiefte, M. & Armson, J. (2008). Dissecting choral speech: Properties of the accompanist critical to stuttering reduction. Journal of Communication Disorders, 41, 33-48.
• Kiefte, M., & Armson, J. (2007). What can choral speech teach us about stuttering reduction? In J. Au-Yeung and M.M. Leahy (Eds.), Research, Treatment and Self-Help in Fluency Disorders: New Horizons. The International Fluency Association, 446-452.
• Armson, J., Kiefte, M., Mason, J., & DeCroos, D. (2006). The effect of SpeechEasy on stuttering frequency in laboratory conditions.  Journal of Fluency Disorders. 31, 137-152.
  
• Armson, J. (1999). An approach to studying stuttering reduction: A reply to Bloodstein. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, 910-914.
• Freeman, K., & Armson, J. (1998). Extent and stability of stuttering reduction during choral reading. Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 22, 188-202."      

Awards and honours     

• Eve Kassirer Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement, Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, 2007