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Senior Speech-Language Pathologist
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Katy is a speech-language pathologist with the specific title of Cognitive-Communication Lab Therapist at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab; focusing on providing assessment and intervention assistance with cognitive-communication deficits follow acquired brain injury or other neurological changes. Her training has included obtaining a masters in the field of speech-language pathology, state licensure, and certificate of clinical competence and recently received the Certified Brain Injury Specialist certification in November 2019. As a lab therapist she frequently mentors, collaborate and educates colleagues across disciplines on the specifics of cognitive-communication assessments and interventions. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, she is the co-chair of the cognitive-communication committee which is focused on helping develop a more standardized language and intervention process for treating cognitive communication deficits. Within the last two years, she has also created materials for Shirley Ryan AbilityLab regarding guidelines on cognitive-communication differential diagnosis, assessment interpretations and interventions and guidelines for Right Hemisphere Dysfunction. Most recently, she has presented at the 27th Annual Stroke course on the topic of Uniting Forces: Interdisciplinary Interventions and Communication in Cognition, annually presents to the Physical Therapy department at Northwestern University on Neurophysiological Basis and Clinical Aspects of Cognition, and spoke to the Northwestern Brain Injury Support Group on Social Cognition following an ABI.
She strives to incorporate research into clinical practice and enjoys being involved in multiple studies. Most recently, Katy has received the Coleman Grant and is working with the neuroscience lab to on a feasibility study for Objective Measures of Rewards Sensitivity in Individuals with Neurological Disorders. She is also working with a team researching cognitive endurance training following Long COVID. In 2019, she co-authored research in Meta-cognitive Training with the Use of Video-Feedback at ASHA and ACRM. These have provided her the opportunity to grow in her knowledge, education and leadership skills clinically and professionally both in clinical application and research.
