Every year, ASHA chooses a select number of poster presentations from the annual ASHA Convention, deeming them “meritorious posters.” These posters represent some of the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the annual ASHA Convention.

This year, ASHA selected 59 posters, representing hundreds of researchers from around the country and the world. Many of these celebrated scientists and authors have also contributed to the ASHA Journals! Ahead of this year’s Convention, we’re highlighting a few articles by this year’s meritorious poster winners.

Lasting Impact of COVID-19

Twitter, Telepractice, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Media Content Analysis: Analyzing social media can help find previously unreported effects of the shift to telepractice at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, the authors found that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) used Twitter to discuss many issues with telepractice—and exposed some common issues generating or adapting treatment materials.

Parent Satisfaction With Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology Telepractice Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Early Look: The advantages and disadvantages of telepractice that parents expressed during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic offer valuable insights for current and future telepractice providers. These authors found that although parents were satisfied with the convenience of telepractice, many returned to in-person service once it was regularly available.

Clinical Experiences of People With a Laryngectomy During the SARS COVID-19 Pandemic: Many patients, including those with a total laryngectomy, required in-person care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This article examined changes for laryngectomy patients regarding communication, tracheostoma care, and other issues.

Cochlear Implants, AAC, and More

Visual Attention to Cued Targets in Simulated Aided Augmentative and Alternative Communication Displays for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: This article explored how children with autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome navigated a complex augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) display. The results were promising, with children in all groups spending more time looking at targets after receiving a verbal cue to do so.

From a Distance: Comparison of In-Person and Virtual Assessments With Adult–Child Dyads From Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds: Performing assessments virtually can make sense for a variety of reasons. In this study, the authors compared in-person and virtual test results, finding that children performed similarly on both online and in-person versions of the assessment, regardless of their language background.

Speech Understanding in Noise for Adults With Cochlear Implants: Effects of Hearing Configuration, Source Location Certainty, and Head Movement: Without data-driven, patient-specific guidelines for determining bilateral cochlear implant (CI) candidacy, clinicians may struggle to make clinical recommendations. In this article, the authors compared sentence recognition in CI users who used bimodal listening and those with bilateral CIs in a number of conditions.

Thank You, Authors and Presenters!

We’d like to thank each of these authors for their contributions to the discipline of communication sciences and disorders and to the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology. Their research benefits ASHA’s 223,000+ members and the millions they serve every day.

This compilation is just a small sample of the hundreds of articles published every year throughout ASHA’s five journals. Explore ASHAWire for new and trending articles, or head straight to our topic collections or special collections to get right to the research you need.

More From Meritorious Poster Winners!

Croft, R. L., & Byrd, C. T. (2020). Self-compassion and quality of life in adults who stutter. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 29(4),2097–2108. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJSLP-20-00055

Deshpande, S. B., & Deshpande, A. K. (2022). Race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status representation in U.S.-based randomized controlled trials of tinnitus: A systematic review. American Journal of Audiology. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJA-21-00244

Everett, A., Wong, A., Piper, R., Cone, B., & Marrone, N. (2020). Sensitivity and specificity of pure-tone and subjective hearing screenings using Spanish-language questions. American Journal of Audiology, 29(1), 35–49. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_AJA-19-00053

Fletcher, A., & McAuliffe, M. (2020). Comparing lexical cues in listener processing of dysarthria and speech in noise. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(3S),1572–1579. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJSLP-20-00137

Garnett, E. O., Chow, H. M., & Chang, S.-E. (2019). Neuroanatomical correlates of childhood stuttering: MRI indices of white and gray matter development that differentiate persistence versus recovery. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(8S),2986–2998. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-S-CSMC7-18-0356

Gritsyk, O., Kabakoff, H., Li, J. J., Ayala, S., Shiller, D. M., & McAllister, T. (2021). Toward an index of oral somatosensory acuity: Comparison of three measures in adults. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(2),500–512. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-20-00218

Harmon, T. G., Nielsen, C., Loveridge, C., & Williams, C. (2022). Effects of positive and negative emotions on picture naming for people with mild-to-moderate aphasia: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65(3),1025–1043. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00190

King, M., Ward, H., Soto, G., & Barrett, T. S. (2022). Supporting emergent bilinguals who use augmentative and alternative communication and their families: Lessons in telepractice from the COVID-19 pandemic. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(5),2004–2021. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-22-00003

Knowles, T., Adams, S. G., Page, A., Cushnie-Sparrow, D., & Jog, M. (2020). A comparison of speech amplification and personal communication devices for hypophonia. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(8),2695–2712. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00085

Koopmans, C., Sakash, A., Soriano, J., Long, H. L., & Hustad, K. C. (2022). Functional communication abilities in youth with cerebral palsy: Association with impairment profiles and school-based therapy goals. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(1),88–103. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00064

Lanzi, A. M., Saylor, A. K., & Cohen, M. L. (2022). Survey results of speech-language pathologists working with cognitive-communication disorders: Improving practices for mild cognitive impairment and early-stage dementia from Alzheimer’s disease. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(4),1653–1671. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00266

McNeill, B., McIlraith, A. L., Macrae, T., Gath, M., & Gillon. G. (2022). Predictors of speech severity and inconsistency over time in children with token-to-token inconsistency. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65(7),2459–2473. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00611

Perry, J. L., Haenssler, A. E., Kotlarek, K. J., Fang, X., Middleton, S., Mason, R., & Kuehn, D. P. (2022). A midsagittal-view magnetic resonance imaging study of the growth and involution of the adenoid mass and related changes in selected velopharyngeal structures. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65(4),1282–1293. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00514

Raatz, M., Ward, E. C., Marshall, J., & Burns, C. L. (2021). Evaluating the use of telepractice to deliver pediatric feeding assessments. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4),1686–1699. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00323

Ramos, M. N., Collins, P., & Peña, E. D. (2022). Sharpening our tools: A systematic review to identify diagnostically accurate language sample measures. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65(10),3890–3907. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_JSLHR-22-00121

Sabry, A., Mahoney, A. S., Mao, S., Khalifa, Y., Sejdić, E., & Coyle, J. L. (2020). Automatic estimation of laryngeal vestibule closure duration using high-resolution cervical auscultation signals. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 5(6),1647–1656. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_PERSP-20-00073

Sheffield, S. W., Jacobs, M., & Ellis, C., Jr. (2022). Considerations for the over-the-counter hearing aid delivery model. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00058

Stark, B. C., Clough, S., & Duff, M. (2021). Suggestions for improving the investigation of gesture in aphasia. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(10),4004–4013. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00125

Williams, Z. J., Suzman, E., & Woynaroski, T. G. (2021). A phenotypic comparison of loudness and pain hyperacusis: Symptoms, comorbidity, and associated features in a multinational patient registry. American Journal of Audiology, 30(2), 341–358. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJA-20-00209

Yuan, Y., Meyers, K., Borges, K., Lleo, Y., Fiorentino, K. A., & Oh, Y. (2021). Effects of visual speech envelope on audiovisual speech perception in multitalker listening environments. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(7),2845–2853. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00688

Zajac, D. J., Powell, J., & McQuillan, M. (2021). Development and resolution of nasal fricatives in a child with repaired bilateral cleft lip and palate: A case report. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(4),743–754. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-21-00028