Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in the Social Sciences
Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in the Social Sciences
Sydney Keller
Self-Reported Communication Attitudes of Children With Childhood Apraxia of Speech
View Sydney’s project online
My research project aimed to understand the self-reported communication attitudes of children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Children, ages 4 to 9, completed one of two communication attitude tests based on their age. Preliminary findings show that, as a group, older children with CAS, but not younger children with CAS, have more negative attitudes about their speech compared to their respective normative samples.
What is your major and expected year of graduation?
I am a speech, language, and hearing science major graduating in May 2022.
What inspired you to pursue your project?
In January of 2021, I started volunteering as a research assistant in the Speech, Language, and Brain Lab, joining a team focused on developing effective treatments for children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Lab discussions taught me how to aptly critique methodology, ponder drawn conclusions, and pose questions. I quickly noted that no study we discussed asked children with CAS how they felt about their own speech. How a child feels about their communication abilities can affect many aspects of their life, from performance in social situations to psychological well-being. I was inspired to pursue this project to begin filling this gap in the literature.
What does winning this award mean to you?
As someone interested in pursuing a career in research, winning this award is incredibly encouraging. It truly shows how far one research project can take you! I am grateful that this important area of research is receiving recognition, and that my hard work was worthwhile.
How did the Libraries support your research?
There were several ways that Temple Libraries supported my research endeavors. As part of the Diamond Research Scholars program, I met with Will Dean, the communication sciences and disorders library liaison. Our meeting provided me with a variety of resources and tools that helped me navigate my literature search. Additionally, I encountered few situations where I did not have access to a research article because of my Temple Libraries access. I also spent a great deal of time in the quiet room on the fourth floor of Charles Library, where I was most productive and able to escape the summer heat.
Sydney Keller’s research project examined self-reported communication attitudes of children with childhood apraxia of speech (a speech disorder that impairs planning of articulator movements needed for intelligible speech). This project was her original idea, and is the first study to ask children themselves about how their speech impairment affects them.
Throughout the research process, Sydney demonstrated extraordinary initiative, independence, and insight; she thinks like a scientist. Sydney obtained funding for her research and for travel to present her findings at a professional conference (which she did professionally and to high acclaim). Sydney is currently preparing a manuscript—as first author—for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Sydney is a future leader in our field, and I am pleased that she has received this well-deserved recognition of her extraordinary accomplishments.
—Edwin Maas, Associate Professor, College of Public Health
This category covers research methods in the social sciences. Disciplines represented include such fields as Anthropology, Business, Communication Studies, Economics, Education, Geography and Urban Studies, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. Social sciences often include qualitative or quantitative research methods similar to those used by the "hard" sciences, but may also involve more traditional library research in the form of a literature review.
This award is generously sponsored by John H. Livingstone, SBM ’49.