| Nov. 30, 2012
COPY BY: Rana McDonald, 806-651-2129, rmcdonald@wtamu.edu WTAMU Graduate Student Finishes in Top Five Percent at Conference
CANYON, Texas—A poster presentation on “Auditory-Based Intervention in Autistic Spectrum Disorder Using a Hand-Held Tablet Computer Program” earned a graduate student at West Texas A&M University a top five percent finish at the 10th annual TAMUS Pathways Student Research Symposium Nov. 9-10 at Texas A&M University—Galveston. Martha Marie, a graduate student in communication disorders from San Antonio, was one of seven graduate students named to the top five percent in the master’s level poster competition. Research indicates there is a high rate of dual diagnosis of hearing loss and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children. Marie’s study demonstrated that a tablet-based combined diagnosis/therapy program can define the hearing component present in ASD. “Ongoing studies are being carried out by my mentor Dr. Dalton and some of my fellow students here at WTAMU and the Mind Institute of the University of New Mexico,” Marie said. “Those studies will use magnetoencephalography to attempt to identify hearing biomarkers in autistic patients.” Marie’s advisers are Dr. Larry Barnes, associate professor of communication disorders, Dr. Howard Wilson, associate professor of communication disorders, and Dr. Leslie Dalton, S.S.Stephens Professor of Communication Disorders. More than 600 undergraduate, masters and doctoral students from universities within the Texas A&M University System presented their research in poster and oral presentations at the annual event. Entries were judged by representatives from each participating university on accuracy, presentation and knowledge of topic, explanation of research results and goals and overall work. Twenty-two students from WTAMU represented the University at the conference.
—WTAMU— | 