Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 1.14 Health and Medicine
Presentation #1 Title
Living in the "Stroke Belt:" Why Studies of Appalachian Discourse Are Important
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Individuals living in Appalachia, which is part of the “stroke belt,” are at greater risk for stroke (as well as other diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiac conditions). Speech-language pathologists, who are specialists in the identification, assessment, and treatment of communication (speech, language, and swallowing) disorders, are routinely part of the rehabilitation teams for individuals who have experienced a stroke. Thus, this panel will explore the relationship between stroke and spoken discourse. The first panelist (Henson) will explore the experience of having a stroke as described by stroke survivors in their “stroke stories,” which were collected as part of a larger study examining discourse. Participants were asked to respond to the prompt, “Tell me about your stroke.” The resulting stories were audio and video recorded and transcripts were generated. We will share the results of our narrative analysis. The second panelist (Ward) will describe the concept of discourse, the components of discourse, and the importance of narrative discourse in our daily lives. The third panelist (McComas-Maddy) will describe what we know about discourse in an aging population with a specific focus on the effects of stroke. Finally, we will emphasize the importance of understanding the discourse practices of healthy, native Appalachians to provide the most effective and efficient rehabilitation services to stroke survivors in Appalachia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Katherine McComas Maddy is a fourth year doctoral student in the Rehabilitation Sciences PhD program at the University of Kentucky. She is studying the maintenance of global coherence in the narrative discourse of individuals with right hemisphere stroke.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Katherine L. Ward is a first year Graduate student at Marshall University, Huntington, WV. She holds a BS in CSD with a minor in English, and emphasis in Appalachian culture. Ward's current research focuses on the discourse production practices of Appalachian speakers.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Sara Henson is a first year graduate student in Communication Disorders at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. Her research interests focus on using narrative in disability studies.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Dr. Karen McComas (Author who will be presenting at session) mccomas@marshall.edu Marshall University Barboursville, WV 25504 United States
ASHA Affiliation: ASHA Member Certification: Dual Author Biographical Sketch:
Student: No
Karen L. McComas, EdD, CCC‐S/A, is Assistant Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, and Professor in CSD. McComas' research activities include an ethnographic study of a community of research practice, a narrative study of social influences on disabilities in Appalachia, and analysis of discourse production of Appalachian speakers.
Living in the "Stroke Belt:" Why Studies of Appalachian Discourse Are Important
Smith Hall 335
Individuals living in Appalachia, which is part of the “stroke belt,” are at greater risk for stroke (as well as other diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiac conditions). Speech-language pathologists, who are specialists in the identification, assessment, and treatment of communication (speech, language, and swallowing) disorders, are routinely part of the rehabilitation teams for individuals who have experienced a stroke. Thus, this panel will explore the relationship between stroke and spoken discourse. The first panelist (Henson) will explore the experience of having a stroke as described by stroke survivors in their “stroke stories,” which were collected as part of a larger study examining discourse. Participants were asked to respond to the prompt, “Tell me about your stroke.” The resulting stories were audio and video recorded and transcripts were generated. We will share the results of our narrative analysis. The second panelist (Ward) will describe the concept of discourse, the components of discourse, and the importance of narrative discourse in our daily lives. The third panelist (McComas-Maddy) will describe what we know about discourse in an aging population with a specific focus on the effects of stroke. Finally, we will emphasize the importance of understanding the discourse practices of healthy, native Appalachians to provide the most effective and efficient rehabilitation services to stroke survivors in Appalachia.
