Communication Sciences and Disorders

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Faculty

Allyson Schaff, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, MSPA CPSP

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Dr. Schaff is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She has experience teaching in a variety of areas and also supervises graduate students in their clinical placements at the University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and off campus at school sites in the Houston community. To learn more about Dr. Schaff, you can visit her website at https://www.allysonschaff.com/ 

Education

  • SLP.D., Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
  • M.A., Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Houston, Houston, TX
  • B.A., Communication Sciences and Disorders, Waco, TX

Teaching

  • Selected Topics in COMD (COMD 8397)
  • Clinic Class (COMD 7391)
  • Speech Sound Development and Disorders in Children (COMD 3371)
  • Language Disorders in Children (COMD 3383)
  • Phonetics (COMD 2338)
  • Language Development (COMD 2339)

Clinical Interests

Dr. Schaff’s clinical background has been primarily in pediatric school and private settings in Houston, Kuwait and Western Australia with a focus on the intersection between speech sound disorders and developmental language disorders and how these impact literacy throughout the lifespan. The focus of her culminating project for her clinical doctorate was the application of learning science principles within the clinical setting. She is interested in establishing a framework to increase the consistency of clinical education within speech-language pathology.

Clinical Activities/Accomplishments

  • Supervises a Specialty Concentration in mentorship for 2nd year graduate students who are interested in learning about clinical supervision skills. This program is grounded in research in the scholarship of teaching and learning and matches 2nd year graduate students with new graduate students as they begin their first clinic placement.
  • Researches clinical educator preparation and evaluation practices in graduate SLP training programs, with particular interest in identifying systemic gaps in supervision readiness and applying quality improvement frameworks to clinical education
  • Provides clinical education supervision in the Houston community as part of the University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic’s collaboration with the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston

Professional Activities

  • Certified member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and Speech Pathology Australia
  • Facilitates the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) community in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department. Covered topics include AI in teaching, active learning, and assessment practices. Current project: incorporating standards-based grading into didactic and clinical courses 
  • Co-presenter on clinical education to the Houston Association of Communication Disorders (HACD), the Southeastern University Clinical Educators Conference, the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association, and Speech Pathology Australia
  • Co-presenter with the Jewish Federation of Houston on cultural responsiveness in graduate clinical education  
  • Ad-hoc peer reviewer for various ASHA Journals and Teaching & Learning Inquiry
  • Committee Member for ASHA Convention proposal review (2023-2026)