Neurological Communication Disorders Lab
Lead Researchers:
Ellen Hickey & Janet Ingles
Location:
The Neurological Communication Disorders Lab is located on the 2nd floor of the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building in Rooms 2C38 and 2C40. These rooms provide space for graduate students and research assistants supervised by the lead researchers. Testing and treatment is done in Room 2C13, with observations possible in Room 2C15.
Research interests
Lead Researcher: Janet Ingles
Assessment of neurological communication disorders:
- Acquired language and cognitive disorders in adults due to stroke and progressive neurologic conditions (e.g., aphasia, Alzheimer dementia).
Lead Researcher: Ellen Hickey
Intervention for neurological communication disabilities:
- Acquired language and cognitive disabilities in adults due to stroke, traumatic brain injury, and progressive neurologic conditions (e.g., aphasia, dementias).
Conversation partner training, environmental modifications, person-centered care for participation and quality of life
Interprofessional health education, particularly related to neurological rehabilitation
Global health, equity, & decolonization:
- Neurological communication disabilities in children and adults in the Majority world
- Staff training
- Ethics in voluntourism/volunteerism and service-learning trips
Decolonizing the profession - Equity & whiteness in academia and health professions
Current Research
Title: The Impact of Oral Health and Communication on the Ability of Older People to Live Well
Funding: Research Nova Scotia
Principal Investigator: Rebecca Affoo
Co-Investigator: Ellen Hickey
Title: Developing pre-licensure interprofessional and stroke care competencies through skills-based simulations
Principal Investigator: Diane MacKenzie
Co-Investigator: Ellen Hickey
Current Student Research Projects & Theses
- Experiences and Outcomes of Participants of an Aphasia Book Club
- Interprofessional Implementation of Spaced Retrieval Training in Long-Term Care: Improving Safe Mobility with Persons with Dementia
- Are Canadian Speech Language Pathologists Addressing Sexuality and Intimacy?
- Caregivers’ Understanding and Experiences of Communication with Persons with Dementia: An Appreciative Inquiry
- Navigating the Dementia Journey: Person-Centered Insights from Caregivers on Reddit
- Decolonizing Discourse: Insights from Social Media on Speech-Language Pathology Practices
- Facilitators & Barriers to Telepractice Implementation for Adult Services: Speech-Language Pathologists’ Experiences
- Impacts of Menopause on Communication & Cognition (co-supervisors: Zahra Jafari, & Shawna O’Hearn)
Prospective Master’s students:
We encourage prospective master’s students seeking research supervision to contact us directly to discuss possible topics for research supervision. Please note that we are not accepting applications to supervise doctoral students at this time.