Curriculum Vitae highlights

EDUCATION                                                                                                                                                           

Ph.D., Speech and Hearing Sciences

May 2019

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • Dissertation: “How Conceptual-Relational Words are Taught, Learned and Used”

  • Committee: Dr. Karen Erickson, Dr. Nancy Bagatell, Dr. Sherick Hughes, Dr. Penelope Hatch, Dr. Cara McComish

MS, Speech-Language Pathology

May 1987

Pennsylvania State University

  • Master's Thesis: “Cognition in Action: Linguistic Creativity in a Language Impaired Child”

  • Advisor: Dr. Stephen Camarata

BS, Deans List Distinguished, Communication Disorders

May 1985

Syracuse University

  • Independent Project in AAC: “Minscripts & Semantic Compaction: Interactive Strategies to Enhance Communication of Augmentative Aid Users”

  • Project coordinators: Dr. Bruce Baker, Carol Cohen, Judith Frumkin

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH SKILLS                                                                                            

Grant and proposal writing / Research methodology & design / Institutional Review Board clearance / Participant recruitment / Data collection / Data management / Statistical analysis software (R, SAS, ATLAS.ti) / Advanced statistical techniques (bivariate and multi-variate analyses, multi-level analyses, intervention and non-orthogonal designs) / Online survey design and programming (Qualtrics) / Oral presentations

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) / Mixed methods designs/Transdisciplinary science (AAC) / Implementation science (AAC)/Qualitative science & ethnographic approaches/Multi-level modeling using nested data & cluster sampling designs/Research dissemination & translation

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE                                                                                                         

Dissertation Research

Spring 2018 - Spring 2019

UNC Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, Chapel Hill, NC

Research Assistant to Karen Erickson, Ph.D.

Fall 2017 - Spring 2019

UNC Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, Chapel Hill, NC

Understanding Thinking and Learning Among Students with Significant Disabilities (UTL), is a three year post-critical ethnographic study engaging with teachers and their students with significant disabilities designed to construct a theory of cognitive development and learning. Spencer Foundation Grant#14253

 Research Assistant to Karen Erickson, Ph.D.

2015 - 2017

UNC Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, Chapel Hill, NC

Project CORE, a comprehensive implementation program for the delivery of a multi-tiered approach to the system for augmenting language.  A Stepping-Up Technology Implementation Project. Office of Special Education, U.S. Department of Education, Grant #CFDA 84.327s

 Pre-Dissertation Research  

Fall 2015 – Spring 2017

UNC Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, Chapel Hill, NC

8-Month Intrinsic Qualitative Case Study embedded in larger mixed-methods study with Project Core Team under direction of Dr. Karen Erickson, Dr. Lori Geist, Dr. Penny Hatch & Dr. Claire Greer

  • Collected, analyzed & disseminated research findings at professional-research conferences

  • Manuscripts (in progress)

Principal Investigator

Fall 2015 – Spring 2016

Advisor: Karen Erickson, Ph.D.

UNC Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, Chapel Hill, NC

Caregivers’ Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Priority Early Vocabulary for their Children with Complex Communication Needs (CCN), was an internationally distributed survey collecting the top 20 most frequently used words (graphically represented) from caregivers of children with communication disabilities in Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.

  • Conducted IRB

TEACHING & MENTORING EXPERIENCE                                                                                   

Class Lecturer

2015 - 2017

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC        

  • Doctoral Seminars on translational research, community engagement, child language development, curricula & policy, social policy (Title 1), qualitative research methods

  • Invited lecturer on communication development & disorders and AAC to graduate students in special education at Eastern Carolina University

  • Class lectures to Physical Therapists on Speech-Language Development & SLP-PT collaboration

Adjunct Instructor

2012 - 2015

University of Vermont, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

CSD 350: Swallowing Function & Dysfunction

Spring 2015

University of Vermont, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

CSD 351: Adult Aphasia; RHD; Dementia

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE                                                                                                   

28 years as practicing (certified, licensed) speech-language pathologist

1987 – 2015

  • SLP Program Innovator & Developer, Contract Negotiator, Mentor for Clinical Fellows

  • Expertise in:

    • AAC Evaluation & Collaborative Service Provision with variety of ages & diagnoses

    • home-school collaboration

    • in-home family & client training

    • school consultations

    • out-patient rehab

    • in-patient SGD evaluations & treatment

  • Concentration in Adult Dysphagia, Acquired Brain Injuries, Progressive Neuromuscular Disorders, Voice Disorders, Transgender Voice adjustment

  • Strong communication and collaboration skills, client/patient and family advocacy skills

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS                                                                        

Publications

Erickson, K.A. & Erwin-Davidson, L. (manuscript in progress) (2018). Classroom transformation upon the introduction of a school-wide symbolic communication intervention.

Selected Oral Presentations

  • Erwin-Davidson, L. (2017, November). Infusing the Universal Core into a Self-Contained Classroom, Paper Presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA.

  • Erwin-Davidson, L. & Miguel, T. (2017, September). Promoting Inclusion in Early Childhood Settings: How Can It Work? Paper Presented at North Carolina Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Convention, Raleigh, NC.

  • Erwin-Davidson, L. (2017, April). Disruption of Authority as Communication Competence Unfolds in a Special Education Classroom. Paper presented at Southeastern Association of Educational Studies, Chapel Hill, NC.

  • Erwin-Davidson, L. (2017, January). A Case Analysis of Communication Intervention: Year 1. Paper presented at Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA), Orlando, FL.

  • Other research and professional papers presented in 2016 as part of UNC research; other professional papers presented between 1988 – 2016 and posted on LinkedIn

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