Category Archives: Psychology
Dr. Jonathan Preston, CCC-SLP to Speak on Articulation Treatment for School-Aged Children at SUNY New Paltz on October 5, 2019
Dr. Jonathan Preston, CC-SLP, an esteemed expert in child speech sound disorders, will be the presenter at the Speech & Hearing Association of the Hudson Valley (SHAHV) Fall 2019 Conference on October 5, 2019. The Communication Disorders Dept. is proud to sponsor this all-day event which will take place on campus in the Lecture Center, Room 102. To register, visit SHAHV.org. SLP professionals may earn .06 CEUs for their attendance.
Dr. Preston has been working with children with speech sound disorders for 15 years. He received his PhD from Syracuse University in 2008 and completed postdoctoral training at Haskins Laboratories, an affiliate of Yale University. He is an Associate Professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Syracuse University. He is currently involved in multiple federally funded clinical trials to study treatments and different service delivery models for school-age children with persisting speech sound errors as well as Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
The workshop will focus primarily on evidence-based treatment considerations for school-age children with speech sound disorders. The emphasis will be on treatment of persisting articulation errors. Recent approaches that formalize principles of motor learning will be highlighted, including speech motor chaining, concurrent treatment, and challenge point. Specific cueing strategies for late-developing (and hard-to-treat) sounds will be offered, including scientifically-informed cueing strategies for /r/ and /s/. Other treatment factors such as speech perception training and methods to visualize speech will also be described.
Course objectives, learner outcomes, workshop agenda, registration, and further details are available on the conference website at SHAHV.org.
Social Skills Group for Adolescents
Social Skills Group for Adolescents
Thursdays from 5:00-6:15 pm
10 weeks starting February 9, 2017
$100
The Speech, Language and Hearing Center at SUNY New Paltz is offering a spring semester clinic for adolescents who need assistance with social skills. This group is for middle school/high school students. (Preferably 7th -11th graders).
This specialty clinic will be conducted on Thursdays from 5:00-6:15 pm and will focus on improving verbal and non-verbal communication skills in a variety of social interactions. Therapy will be conducted in a group setting by undergraduate students in the Communication Disorders program, supervised by Wendy Bower, Ph.D. CCC-SLP—a New York State licensed and certified speech language pathologist and full-time faculty member. Large and small group interventions will include activities to enhance social communication and there will be a maximum of 8-10 students in the group.
The session will run for 10 weeks beginning February 9, 2017. There is no clinic on Thursday March 23 and Thursday April 13 during Spring Break. The fee for the clinic is $100 for the 10 week session.
The group will meet at the Speech, Language and Hearing Center which is temporarily located in the South Classroom Building (SCB) on the SUNY New Paltz campus. For further information or to sign up for the group, please contact Kelly Colby, the secretary in the Department office, at 257-3600, or e-mail Dr. Bower at bowerw@newpaltz.edu.
LA&S Outstanding Graduates Honored
Students from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who excelled academically and outside of the classroom were among graduates honored during the campus-wide Outstanding Graduate Awards ceremony, held Thursday, Dec. 11 in the Multi-Purpose Room.
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Philip Mauceri presented the students with certificates.
Congratulations to all LA&S Outstanding Graduates:
Anthropology
Alexis Moody
Asian Studies
Dennis Gross
Communication
Mia Faske
Carly Rome
Hayley Ward
Communication Disorders
Sarah McNamara
Shayna Burgess
Heidi Schmidt (Graduate)
Digital Media and Journalism
Gianna Canevari
Julio Olivencia
Alexandria Fontanez*
English
Maya Slouka
James Frauenberger
Karissa Keir
Danielle Brown (Graduate)
History
Kevin Vogelaar
Jessica Pierorazio (Graduate)
Jonathan Mandia*
Languages, Literatures & Cultures
Alexandria Fontanez*
Sarah Walling
Latin American & Caribbean Studies
Adam Repose
Philosophy
Elizabeth Saunders
Jonathan Mandia*
Political Science/International Relations
Andrew Roepe
Psychology
Hannah Lake
Stefany Batista
Geoffrey Ralls
Morgan Gleason (Graduate)
Sociology
Sarah Alestalo
Imuetinyan Odigie
Allison Smalley
Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Sudies
Emily Holmes
*Received multiple departmental awards.
Cognitive Science Colloquium Series Begins with Sign Language Lecture
Dr. Marie Coppola conducts field work to promote equal access to language and education for deaf individuals.
Dr. Marie Coppola will be the first speaker of the 2014-2015 Cognitive Science Colloquium Series. Dr. Coppola is the director of the Language Creation Lab at the University of Connecticut. Her research investigates how sign languages emerge and are created in communities. Her talk will focus on homesign gesture systems (that is, gesture systems developed by deaf individuals who are not exposed to conventional sign or spoken language input), their characteristics, and the developmental consequences of linguistic deprivation with respect to other aspects of cognition.
Dr. Coppola
Dr. Coppola’s talk, titled “Which aspects of language and cognition depend on linguistic input? Insights from homesign gesture systems” will take place on Thursday, October 23, at 3:30 pm in the Coykendall Science Building Auditorium. The talk is sponsored by Campus Auxiliary Services and by the following programs and departments: Linguistics, Deaf Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Communication Disorders, and Psychology.
Abstract of the Talk:
Researchers in the cognitive sciences have long debated the relationships between linguistic input and language structure, as well as the relationships between language and cognition. Homesign systems offer a unique window into these relationships. Homesigns are gesture systems developed by deaf individuals who are not exposed to conventional sign or spoken language input. Homesign systems exhibit a number of linguistic properties, but appear to lack others, which depend on access to a linguistic model and/or interaction within a language community. Dr. Coppola will show that homesign systems have structure at a variety of levels of linguistic analysis, including phonology and discourse structure. Dr. Coppola will describe some of the developmental consequences of linguistic (but not social) deprivation, particularly with respect to number cognition. Finally, she will discuss her work with Manos Unidas (www.manos-unidas.org), a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote equal access to language and education for deaf individuals in Nicaragua.
Infant Cognitive Skill-Building the Topic of November Colloquium Talk
Dr. Lisa Scott, director of the Brain, Cognition, and Development Lab at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will give the second talk for the Cognitive Science Colloquium Series. Her talk, titled “Cognitive Skill Building in Infancy and its Influence on Later Development,” will take place on Friday, November 7, in Lecture Center 104, at 2:30 p.m.
Dr. Lisa Scott
Dr. Scott’s research focuses on how the brain and our cognitive and perceptual abilities (for example those involved in recognizing and categorizing faces) develop from infancy through adulthood. Her work, which explores both the behavioral and neural aspects of this learning process, has important implications for our understanding of the specific experiences (visual, linguistic, etc.) that shape the development of perceptual skills. The talk is sponsored by Campus Auxiliary Services and the Psychology Department.
Abstract of the Talk:
Using a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal-training designs, behavioral measures of looking time, eye-tracking, and electrophysiological recordings of neural activity (event-related potentials; ERPs) we have begun to elucidate the perceptual and cognitive experiences that enhance or bias learning during the first year of life. Our work suggests that infants carefully learn from their surrounding environment and that this learning influences cognitive, perceptual and social processing. Here, Dr. Scott will present work that examines the role experience plays in shaping infant learning about people and objects and how parental labeling during the first year of life can serve as a springboard for cognitive skills in childhood. For example, when infants hear parents label two different monkey faces in a storybook with individual-level names like “Oliver” or “Suzie” they learn that it is likely important for them to attend to the visual details necessary to tell the two monkeys apart. However, if parents label all monkeys, “monkey” infants learn to group them into a category and focus on the features that the two monkeys share. These differences can be identified both in behavior and in the brain. The researchers’ recent findings suggest that individual-level learning in infancy results in skills lasting into early childhood (i.e., 4 years). Specifically, these skills benefit faces and/or objects that are perceived and recognized at the individual level (e.g., human faces). These results are noteworthy because they link early learning, prior to the onset of productive language and several years prior to formal education, with later cognitive skills and neural responses.
The Making of an ASL Song
By Maria Gillin, President, SUNY New Paltz American Sign Language Club
Every semester begins the same, we introduce ourselves and say what we do. Then we see what the members of our club are interested in. We learn the most about each other when we pick what song we want to translate and learn how to sign. Our members always get to choose – we ask them for song ideas, narrow them down based on level of difficulty, and put it to a vote. Then the fun begins. It usually takes 3 or 4 days to translate a song and then from there it takes about 4 meetings to teach everyone and be comfortable enough that we can perform the song, or record ourselves.
This past year we had the awesome experience of performing twice, once at Relay for Life and again at the Sexy Pitches final spring performance. Our debut at Relay for Life was bigger and better than we ever imagined. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch when we took the stage. Afterwards we spent over a half hour with people asking about how they could join and be a part of something so awesome.
Here is the ASL Club performing “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen:
The ASL Club meets on Mondays at 8pm in the Commuter Lounge, SUB100S. Please join us, or get in touch-
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/177656342271232/
Twitter: @NewPaltzASLClub
Instagram: @newpaltzaslclub
President Maria Gillin – mariae.gillin@gmail.com
Vice President Sarah Broughton – sbroughton@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu
EvoS Program Announces Spring Seminar Series
The New Paltz Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) program has assembled an esteemed group of speakers for its spring 2015 seminar series. The speakers represent a diversity of disciplines (anthropology, biology, sociology and psychology) and will continue the EvoS program’s tradition of providing accessible and thought-provoking academic talks that connect evolutionary principles with all areas of knowledge.
The EvoS program, together with its sister program from SUNY Binghamton, is at the center of the international EvoS Consortium, which was launched with funding from the National Science Foundation. The EvoS program celebrates the power of Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution across all aspects of the academic curriculum.
Patricia Wright of Stonybrook’s anthropology department will deliver the Darwin Day keynote lecture on Feb. 9 from 6-7 p.m. in Lecture Center 102. Darwin Day commemorates Charles Darwin’s 206th birthday. Wright will speak about her years of work with Madagascar lemurs (currently featured in the IMax film, Island of Lemurs, narrated by Morgan Freeman).
Patricia Wright, shouldering a lemur, will deliver the keynote lecture in the EvoS Program’s spring seminar series. Photo by Ben Hider
The full series, which features other luminaries in the field of evolution – including notable rising stars, is free and open to the public.
The series is sponsored by Campus Auxiliary Services, the EvoS Program and the EvoS Club.
For more information about this seminar series, or how to get involved, contact EvoS Director, Glenn Geher, geherg@newpaltz.edu.
2015 Seminar Series Schedule of Events
Feb. 9: Lemur Evolution and Ecology
Patricia Wright, Ph.D.
Stony Brook University
Department of Anthropology
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Center 102
Feb. 23: Songs and the Suburbs: What Birds Can Teach Us About Communication and Conservation
Kara Belinsky, Ph.D.
SUNY New Paltz
Department of Biology
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Center 102
Mar. 9: Using Evolution to Improve our Cities
Dan O’Brien, Ph.D.
Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Department of Sociology
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Center 102
Mar. 23: Primate Evolution in the Modern Age
Todd Disotell, Ph.D.
New York University
Department of Anthropology
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Center 102
Apr. 6: Facebook Frenemies and Selfie-Promotion: Intrasexual Competition in the Digital Age
Mandy Guitar, M.A.
Binghamton University Ph.D. student and Teaching Assistant
Department of Biology, Anthropology
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Center 102
Apr. 13: Transcendental Medication: Defraying the Costs of Analysis Paralysis
Christopher Lynn, Ph.D.
The University of Alabama
Department of Anthropology
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Center 102
Apr. 20: The Evolutionary Psychology of Breaking up and Making up
Joel Wade, Ph.D.
Bucknell University
Department of Psychology
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Center 102
2014 “Honor Ride” Raises Over $10K
Group Photo at Stewart Air Force Base
On August 24th, I joined over 120 cyclists from eight different states in a 50-mile fundraising “Honor Ride” for Ride 2 Recovery, an organization that gets veterans into cycling and provides training and specially adapted equipment to aid in their recovery.
We set out from Veteran’s Park in Maybrook with dozens of red, white, and blue jerseys among the usual road-safe yellows and greens. At every major intersection, scary-looking guys from the Orange County chapter of the Defiant Crew roared up on Harley Davidsons and turned them sideways to block traffic, then cheered us on as we streamed past. After a rest stop in Gardiner at mile 25, our escorts bunched the group so we could ride into our next stop, Stewart Air Force Base, as a unit, weaving through barricades, road spikes, and gateposts. As we assembled for a group photo under the flags, a veteran asked me to turn off the flashing safety light on my bike because it could trigger a seizure in someone who has had a traumatic brain injury; a poignant reminder that not every veteran has visible wounds.
The Honor Ride is not supposed to be a race, but road cyclists are a competitive bunch. On the last leg, this spirit was unleashed, and the leaders were soon well ahead of the escorts. I pushed to stay on their heels as a personal tribute. As I attacked the long hill back into Maybrook, the burning in my lungs and muscles was a visceral reminder of how hard injured veterans have to push every day in rehabilitation to restore something even close to a normal life.
Prof. B on a bike? No way!
We crossed the finish line accompanied by the ringing of cowbells and the grins of young volunteers. As we demolished a buffet lunch, we heard inspiring remarks from a number of individuals. Veteran Matt Dewitt, an accomplished cyclist and racer, showed us how it is possible to steer, shift and brake an adapted bicycle using his prostheses. The Defiant Crew posed for photos with some of the cyclists and announced that they were donating what they would have been paid for their time. Overall, we raised more than $10,000 that day.
The Honor Ride will be back in Maybrook again sometime next year. Hope to see you there!
– Written by Anne Balant, SUNY New Paltz Communication Disorders Department
Veteran Matt DeWitt demonstrates his adapted bicycle
invisible words to push this down so it isn’t broken up by the photos – don’t know hows!
Ride 2 Recovery is a non-profit organization that assists injured military members, veterans, and first responders in their physical and mental rehabilitation through cycling. To donate or become involved, visit their web site: www.ride2recovery.com
Psychological Counseling Center Announces Fall Group Sessions
The Psychological Counseling Center (PCC), a division of Student Affairs, provides direct services in the form of individual and group counseling sessions, consultation for managing psychotropic medications, and facilitation of outside referrals. The center is committed to developing and growing its group counseling programs, and offers the following group sessions this fall:
Strive to Thrive Group
This supportive, psycho-educational group focuses on ways of improving and maintaining emotional and physical well-being. Topics include: identifying strengths and areas in need of development; stress and time management; nutrition, exercise, and sleep habits; building supportive relationships; and developing coping skills and resources to manage challenges. This 8-session group will be closed to new members after the third meeting. Therefore, committed group attendance is important. The group will be offered on Wednesdays from 2:30- 4:00pm, and will be facilitated by Amy Tully, Ph.D.
“How you feelin?” Men’s Group
Guys, have you ever gotten angry for no reason? Did that anger result in making some bad decisions, like ending a relationship, or getting into trouble? Wasn’t it confusing? This process group will assist college men in making sense of complex feeling states. Participants will learn more about triggers for anger and other “hot” emotions, so that they can make better decisions and take clearer action in their lives. The group will meet on Tuesdays 1:40pm – 3:00pm, and will be facilitated by Dave Kasson, PhD.
Circle of Hope Group
The Circle of Hope Group provides psycho-educational and therapeutic support in a group setting for survivors of sexual assault. The Circle of Hope group has the goal of increasing knowledge of the effects sexual assault can potentially have on an individual long after the assault has occurred. Topics addressed in the group will include (but are not limited to): common symptoms experienced after a sexual assault, myths and realities of rape and sexual assault, effective coping strategies, common feelings and reactions and self-care. The group will meet on Thursdays, 2:00pm – 3:30pm, and will be facilitated by Sue Acosta, LMHC.
First-Year Focus
Are you a first-year student who would like some extra support in adjusting to living and learning at SUNY New Paltz? This supportive solution-focused group is a safe place for sharing concerns, feedback, and ideas. Topics may include: developing skills and resources for academic success, preventing and resolving conflicts, developing new relationships, staying connected with loved ones, and stress and time management. This 8-session group will be closed to new members after the third session. Therefore, committed group attendance is important. The group will be held on Tuesdays, 4:00pm – 5:30pm, and will be facilitated by Amy Tully, Ph.D.
S2WAG – Strong Successful Women Achieving Greatness
The Strong, Successful Women Achieving Greatness group is a therapy group that gives members the tools to create a stronger sense of self, to increase their self-awareness, to learn to set boundaries, to navigate relationships, and to create an authentic, happier life. Topics may include: becoming more assertive, fostering independence, learning to say “no,” raising self-esteem, body image awareness, shyness, making friends and managing relationships. The group will be offered on Wednesdays from 3:00-4:30pm, and will operate for a period of approximately eight weeks. The group will be facilitated by Sue Acosta, LMHC.
Call the Psychological Counseling Center at (845) 257-2920 for more information.