{"id":3496,"date":"2023-08-18T17:53:17","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T17:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/grad-life\/?p=3496"},"modified":"2023-08-18T17:53:18","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T17:53:18","slug":"communication-disorders-student-finds-cultural-connections-through-her-graduate-thesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/grad-life\/2023\/08\/18\/communication-disorders-student-finds-cultural-connections-through-her-graduate-thesis\/","title":{"rendered":"Communication Disorders Student Finds Cultural Connections Through Her Graduate Thesis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Alisha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alisha Lai, recent graduate from Emerson’s Communication Disorders program<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re considering going to graduate school for speech pathology, you might be researching schools with a thesis option. Today we\u2019re hearing from Alisha Lai, a recent graduate from Emerson\u2019s Communication Disorders (MS)<\/strong><\/a> program, about her graduate thesis. We\u2019ll hear about the thesis process at Emerson, what Alisha studied in her thesis, and why completing a graduate thesis is beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What made you decide to complete a thesis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn college, I was part of a research lab, but didn\u2019t get a ton of hands-on experience. I was considering doing an undergraduate honors thesis, but then COVID happened, and I never got to do that,\u201d Alisha explains. After college, Alisha made sure to apply to graduate schools with a thesis track, still hoping to gain some hands-on research experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds that completing a graduate thesis is a great opportunity for students to expand their knowledge. \u201cIf you want to go into research, a thesis will definitely be beneficial, but even if you\u2019re not going into research, it\u2019s a good experience to have,\u201d she explains. Alisha says that completing a graduate thesis helps students grow as clinicians and provides additional learning opportunities outside of the classroom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is a thesis required for Emerson\u2019s program?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No! Emerson offers an  alternative route of comprehensive exams at the end of graduate school. For these exams, students review all of the material they\u2019ve learned since starting graduate school. To demonstrate their knowledge, they then complete a series of case-based assessment and treatment questions as a final requirement for the program. Students who complete a thesis do not take the comprehensive exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How did you decide your thesis topic?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy thesis explored the experience and journeys of Chinese immigrant caregivers who have a child with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. I heavily identify with the Chinese American and Asian American community, so that really fueled my interest in this research,\u201d Alisha explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Alisha knew she wanted to complete a graduate thesis, she had to find a thesis advisor who could mentor her through the process. Through talking with the department\u2019s Thesis Chair, Alisha connected with Dr. Maryam Salehomoum<\/strong><\/a>, a faculty member in the Communication Disorders department. Dr. Salehomoum agreed to be Alisha\u2019s thesis advisor, meeting periodically to discuss her thesis progress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo by Annie Spratt<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After finding a thesis advisor and obtaining Institutional Review Board<\/strong><\/a> approval for her thesis, Alisha began her research. To answer her thesis question, she conducted interviews with Chinese immigrant caregivers of children on the autism spectrum. Through the interviews, Alisha sought to learn about how culture impacts families\u2019 perception of autism. She asked a series of questions about parents\u2019 experience with getting an assessment for their child, receiving a diagnosis, finding services, and interacting with speech-language pathologists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What were the results of your thesis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI got a lot of qualitative data from my interviews, which I then analyzed. What I found was that the families I interviewed had a lot of barriers but also a lot of great supports.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alisha explains that many of the families she interviewed experienced a language barrier. For families who only or primarily spoke Chinese, working with an English speaking speech-language pathologist made it more difficult for families to access important information about their child\u2019s assessment, diagnosis, and intervention options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the flip side, some families shared very positive experiences where a speech pathologist was multilingual and communicated with them in Chinese. This allowed families to understand and ask questions about information the speech pathologist shared with them. Alisha also found that speech pathologists who considered the family\u2019s cultural values and background contributed to a more positive experience for the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo by Andrew Neel<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What was the best moment and most challenging part of your thesis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most rewarding part was interviewing the caregivers,\u201d Alisha says. She feels grateful for getting to connect with so many family members and hear their experiences. \u201cAs a bilingual clinician, my drive is to be a cultural connection for families, but in these interviews, many of the parents became a cultural connection for me<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alisha adds that the most challenging part of completing her thesis was recruiting participants. \u201cThe participants I needed were pretty specific, so it was tough at first finding people for the study.\u201d However, Alisha successfully found enough participants for her thesis and had a great experience interviewing the caregivers who enrolled in her study.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What advice would you give a student considering the thesis track?\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re thinking about a thesis, don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions. The faculty in the department are very approachable, so ask questions even if you\u2019re not totally sure you want to do a thesis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alisha also says that having a research topic that is motivating will help in moments of discouragement. \u201cThere were times when the work was tough, but I was passionate about my thesis topic, and that helped when I felt discouraged,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next for you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m moving to California for a Clinical Fellowship in a few months,\u201d Alisha shares. After graduation, all communication disorders students must work for a year in a supervised clinical fellowship in order to become licensed speech-language pathologists<\/strong><\/a>. Alisha\u2019s clinical fellowship is centered around adult brain injury survivors, which is a population she is passionate about. \u201cIdeally, in the long term, I see myself working with the adult population, specifically brain injury survivors,\u201d she adds.\u00a0
Alisha is excited to be transitioning to the next step of her career as a future speech-language pathologist and is proud of the work she\u2019s published in her graduate thesis. For more information about Emerson\u2019s Communication Disorders MS<\/strong><\/a> program or the thesis process, schedule a call<\/strong><\/a> with the department\u2019s admissions team. To get a feel for what it\u2019s like to be in the program, be sure to check out our Communication Disorders blog page<\/strong><\/a>, where you can find student spotlights, career outlook, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alisha Lai, recent graduate from Emerson’s Communication Disorders program If you\u2019re considering going to graduate school for speech pathology, you might be researching schools with a thesis option. Today we\u2019re hearing from Alisha Lai, a recent graduate from Emerson\u2019s Communication … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2788,"featured_media":3497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20],"tags":[454,54,455,68,381,144,166],"class_list":["post-3496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication-disorders","category-project-spotlight","tag-autism","tag-communication-disorders","tag-cultural-considerations","tag-emerson-college","tag-graduate-thesis","tag-research","tag-thesis"],"yoast_head":"\nCommunication Disorders Student Finds Cultural Connections Through Her Graduate Thesis - The Emerson Grad Life Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today we\u2019re hearing from Alisha Lai, a recent graduate from Emerson\u2019s Communication Disorders (MS) program, about her graduate thesis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/grad-life\/2023\/08\/18\/communication-disorders-student-finds-cultural-connections-through-her-graduate-thesis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Communication Disorders Student Finds Cultural Connections Through Her Graduate Thesis - 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