Communication and Communication Disorders

Elena M. Plante, PhD, CCC-SLP, received her bachelor's and master's degrees in speech-language pathology at Loyola University in Maryland. Before completing her doctorate at the University of Arizona, she worked as a speech-language pathologist in the public schools. Since completing her doctorate and postdoctoral studies, she has been on the faculty in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Arizona. Her research has focused on the biological basis of specific language impairment and she was one of the early adopters of magnetic resonance imaging as a research tool in speech-language pathology. Dr. Plante's current clinical research focuses on improving both assessment and treatment methods for those with developmental language disorder. She is a co-author of the Pediatric Test of Brain Injury, the first of its kind for children with traumatic brain injury. She has received support for her research from grants from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Plante is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the University of Arizona College of Science. She speaks regularly at national and international conferences on the topic of developmental language disorders.

Pelagie (Pagie) Maritz Beeson, PhD, CCC-SLP, received her bachelor's and master's degrees in speech-language pathology from the University of Kansas. She began her clinical career at a community speech and language center in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she provided service to a diverse clinical population. She later completed her doctoral work at the University of Arizona, where she also served as the coordinator of the American Indian Professional Training Program in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Currently, Dr. Beeson is Professor and Head of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Arizona. Her research and clinical work have been devoted to neurogenic communication disorders in adults, with a particular emphasis on the nature and treatment of aphasia, alexia, and agraphia, as well as the cognitive mechanisms and neural substrates of written language. Dr. Beeson's research has been supported for many years by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH/NIDCD). She is board certified in Adult Neurogenic Communication Disorders by the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences. Dr. Beeson is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and previously served as coordinator of the ASHA Special Interest Division 2. Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders. She frequently speaks at national and international conferences on the topic of acquired language impairments in adults.