Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences

In the College of Arts & Sciences, we are proud to celebrate our first-generation community through a collection of stories! We honor our faculty and staff, and their many contributions to our university community and beyond.

In the College of Arts & Sciences, we are proud to celebrate our first-generation community through a collection of stories! We honor our students and alumni, and their many contributions to our university community and beyond.

A new study comparing the brains of children before and after COVID-19 found that adolescent girls’ brains had aged faster than expected during the social isolation and lockdowns brought on by the pandemic. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.

New research found that teens’ brains “aged” during the COVID-19 lockdowns due to the loss of social interaction. Girls were the most impacted. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.

Neuroimaging found girls experienced cortical thinning far faster than boys did during the first year of COVID lockdowns. The UW's Neva Corrigan, research scientist at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, and Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, are quoted.

COVID lockdowns, such as school closures, canceled sports activities and stay-at-home orders, prematurely aged teen brains by as much as four years, researchers from the UW found. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.

New research from the University of Washington found lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in girls. When measured in terms of the number of years of accelerated brain development, the mean acceleration was 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males.

A recent study from the UW has revealed some unexpected findings that might make you rethink your baby’s playlist — or lack thereof. Christina Zhao, research assistant professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW, is quoted.

Admitted students and families can engage with the College of Arts and Sciences through several department and program specific events over the next few weeks.

"The toll of my husband’s hearing loss can be invisible—even to me. But a new wave of tech could change everything," writes Seattle Met editor, Allecia Vermillion. Yi Shen, associate professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW, is quoted.

Early research presented at the leading brain conference suggests that the pandemic changed the brains of teenagers. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.

Pandemic-related lockdowns were hard on everyone, but a growing body of research suggests they were especially hard on young people. Now a new study scanning adolescent brain seems to be backing some of those suspicions. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is interviewed. [This interview is part of a roundup and begins at 27:05]

"To me, being a first-generation student means the ability to bring awareness to the only 3% of aged-out foster youth that go on to obtain a college degree. I aged out of foster care at 17 and college was something that felt unobtainable to me. By being a first-generation student, I can be a beacon of hope for foster youth, spread awareness about educational difficulties foster youth face, and break the cycle of trauma." - Sara Smith (B.S., Speech & Hearing Sciences, 2024)

"Transferring does not have to be a difficult or scary time. Make sure you are using every resource given. If you don't know where to look, that is what your advisor is for. Success for you is success for all those who made the resources available to use." - Reyna Smith (B.S., Speech & Hearing Sciences, 2024)

"I wear my first-gen status as a badge of honor. It represents strength, courage, and tenacity. I welcome every opportunity to relay this message to first-gen students and to solidify the belief that they belong here, and the University is greatly enriched by their unique perspectives!" - Kristie Spencer, Professor, Associate Chair, Graduate Program Coordinator; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences