Alycia Cummings PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor, Developmental Speech Sound Disorders, Electrophysiology
Research Interests
The major objectives for my research program are to test the hypothesis that incorrect speech productions of children with speech sound disorders (SSD) result from abnormalities in speech perception resulting in atypical phonological representations, and to characterize how traditional speech treatment alters the auditory neural responses to sounds targeted in treatment. Specifically, electrophysiological methods are used to examine the phonological representations of sounds in children with SSD. A better understanding of the auditory sensory system in children with SSD will inform behavioral assessment and treatment of SSD.
NIH Bibliography
Sample Publications
Cummings, A., Wu, Y., & Ogiela, D. (2021). Phonological underspecification: An explanation for how a rake can become awake, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15, Article 585817. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.585817
Cummings, A., Giesbrecht, K., & Hallgrimson, J. (2020). Intervention dose frequency: Phonological generalization is similar regardless of schedule. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265659020960766
Cummings, A., Ogiela, D., & Wu, Y. (2020). Evidence for [coronal] underspecification in typical and atypical phonological development. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14, Article 580697. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.580697
Cummings, A., Hallgrimson, J, & Robinson, S. (2019). Speech intervention outcomes associated with word lexicality and intervention intensity. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50, 1, 83-97.
Cummings, A., Madden, J., & Hefta, K. (2017). Converging evidence for [coronal] underspecification in English-speaking adults. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 44, 147-162.
Bio
Dr. Cummings directs the Brain and Behavior Lab (BBLab), a developmental neuropsycholinguistic research laboratory in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders/ The BBLab research focuses on the underlying mechanisms of developmental speech sound disorders and incorporates treatment techniques that can help remediate speech impairments. By recording brain waves (i.e., event-related potentials or ERPs), lab researchers are discovering how children with speech sound disorders perceive and produce speech sounds. Through our speech treatment programs, this team is creating efficient and effective intervention methods. Studies currently involve children between the ages of 3 and 7 years who are native speakers of English.
She regularly provides pro bono speech screenings and assessments to children in the community. Children who qualify for her research program receive speech treatment at no charge. The speech treatment research provides speech-language pathologists with an evidence-based practice that can guide clinical decision making.
Dr. Cummings earned her Doctor of Philosophy through a collaborate program in Language and Communicative Disorders offered by San Diego State University and University of California San Diego. Before coming to ISU, she taught at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.
