Waisman Center
Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Jennifer Seale, PhD, CCC-SLP

Position title: Clinic Director

Jennifer Seale, PhD, CCC-SLP

Profile

Jennifer Seale, PhD, CCC-SLP, is the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) program director at the Waisman Center. She is a speech-language pathologist and clinical researcher who has specialized in the field of AAC for more than 10 years serving individuals, and families from a variety of backgrounds. Prior to obtaining her PhD she served as the AAC coordinator for the University Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University. She is an active member of the United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication advocacy committee.

Clinics

Professional Certifications and Education

  • Certificate of Clinical Competence, Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
  • PhD, Communication Sciences and Disorders, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
  • Master of Science, Speech-language pathology, Duquesne University

Research

Seale is engaged in translational, clinical, and applied research that evaluates cultural, systemic and product design factors that contribute to challenges and opportunities for, as well as access to, AAC services for individuals with communication impairments and their families, as well as practitioners who are supporting them. Her research aims to inform AAC service delivery and product design.

She is currently co-investigator on a multi-year training federal grant targeting early intervention and speech-language pathology pre-service experiences and capacity building. Additionally, she is co-investigator on a multi-institutional study examining individual and family experiences with transition during young adulthood for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. She is also consulting on a federally funded grant evaluating the impact of AAC technologies and lived experiences of individuals with developmental and acquired communication impairments.

Publications

  • Seale, J. M., Bisantz, A. M., & Higginbotham, J. (2020). Interaction symmetry: Assessing augmented speaker and oral speaker performances across four tasks. Augmentative and alternative communication (Baltimore, Md. : 1985), 36(2), 82–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2020.1782987

  • Lapham, K., & Seale, J.M. (2018). The Effect of Voice Gender and Spoken Messages in Augmented Interactions.  Journal of Communication Disorders and Assistive Technology, 2, 1-13.

  • Higginbotham, D.J., Fulcher, K., & Seale, J.M. (2016). Time and Timing in ALS in Interactions Involving Individuals with ALS, Their Unimpaired Partners and their Speech Generating Devices. In M. Smith (ed.), Language Learning and Language Use in Aided Communication. J&R Press, London.

  • Subrahmanyan, N., Fulcher, K.R., Hutchinson, T.E., Min, H., Seale, J.M., Bisantz, A.M., & Higginbotham, D.J. (2013). Application of Personas in the Design of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 57(1), 1022-1026