Communicative Sciences and Disorders - Graduate Program

The Hampton University Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic (HUSLHC) is a non-profit, full service facility providing diagnostic and therapeutic services in the areas of speech, language and hearing disorders to persons of all ages. Services are available by appointment only throughout the University’s academic year as well as during the summer session. The HUSLHC also provides clinical, educational, and consulting services to the greater Hampton Roads community.

As an educational program for the training of future Speech-Language Pathologists, clinical services are provided by graduate students and senior undergraduate students in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders. All students are supervised by Speech-Language Pathologists or Audiologists certified by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association and licensed by the Virginia Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

Evaluations are offered in articulation language, voice, fluency, and aphasia. Traditional therapy programs are offered in the areas of articulation, fluency, voice, language and aural rehabilitation. Services are also offered to those persons who wish to reduce their accent if English is their second language. Persons who would like to reduce a prominent regional dialect can also be assisted. During the fall and spring semesters, most clients attend 50- minute sessions twice weekly.

During the university’s summer session, four specialized five –week speech and language therapy programs are offered.

    • The Communication Skills Session (Clinic I) focuses on small group language therapy for 3 to 8 year olds using an experiential approach. This half day program is conducted four days per week where the children receive both group and individual therapy in addition to motor and sensory stimulation, creative play and engage in cognitive development activities.
    • Individual Therapy (Clinic II) focuses on intensive therapy for persons of all age groups. Each participant receives 50 minutes of intensive individual therapy four days per week which is designed to meet the needs of the client regardless of the nature of the disorders.
    • Talking Tots (Clinic III) is a language stimulation program for children from 18 months to three years. Utilizing a guided interaction format two days per week for 90 minutes, “slow talkers” are provided with models for oral communication.
    • The Social Skills Session (Clinic IV) is designed to increase appropriate peer interactions, and comprehension and listening skills in addition to vocabulary and social language for school-age children who need improvement in social and pragmatic skills.

◦ A weekly family group that focuses on communicative disorders and their impact on family, vocational, recreational, and other lifestyle issues for clients enrolled in any of the summer clinic programs. Simultaneously, a sibling group is held to assist siblings of those enrolled in the summer clinic program. The siblings receive information to help them understand their sisters and brothers with communication disorders.

Off Campus Experiences

The Hampton University Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic extends its outreach services to several preschool programs and private schools in the Hampton Roads area. These programs provide students with experiences in evaluation and diagnosis, remediation, prevention, and consultation in a variety of disorder areas. Graduate student clinicians have opportunities to practice skills with children and adults in local hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and public schools throughout Hampton Roads.