Student Spotlight: Inspired by Personal Experience Katz Researches Apraxia

Scarsdale's Jessica Katz presented her research at the meeting of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention is an annual event where close to 15,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and other scientists and scholars gather to share the latest research, clinical skills, and techniques in communication sciences and disorders. The prestigious event doesn’t usually invite high school students to share their research, but this year Scarsdale High School Senior Jessica Katz was an exception.

As a student in the Science Research Program at SHS, Katz has been researching treatment for apraxia of speech, a neurological disorder where a person has difficulty speaking due to the brain's inability to plan and sequence the movements needed to produce speech sounds. Since her sophomore year, Katz has worked closely with Dr. Julie Case, a professor and the director of the Case Speech Production Lab at Hofstra University. With Dr. Case's encouragement, Katz submitted an abstract from her work to ASHA and was subsequently asked to present at this year’s three day convention in Seattle, Washington.

Truly honored to present alongside some of the best scientists and professionals in the field, Katz graciously agreed to provide us with more details about her research and her experience at the convention.

Q: Can you tell us more about your research?

A: I researched a motor speech disorder called Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), of which the core deficits are attributed to impaired motor planning and programming. My research specifically investigated the role of attention within treatment sessions by examining both the relationship between attention and gains in speech accuracy and how attention differed when a child practiced with their caregiver as compared to their therapist. Understanding the role of attention during sessions is critical so therapists can structure practice and breaks to ensure that the child is most productive, and my main goal in doing this research was to begin developing that understanding since attention has not previously been studied in the context of CAS.

Q: At the convention, what were you trying to message to your audience? What did you hope people walked away with?

A: I wanted the audience not only to learn about the results of my research, which indicated that a higher number of repetitions of a given word was associated with higher speech accuracy, but also for them to hear that much more work is still needed to fully understand the relationship between attention and accuracy within therapy sessions for CAS. My research brought up many future questions, like the role of attention during home practice sessions and the best way to quantify the degree of practice children engage in during therapy. I hope attendees walked away from my poster inspired to achieve an elevated understanding of this topic and make change within the field.

Q: What inspired you to do this work?

A: Throughout this process, I have been motivated and inspired by my personal life experiences and those who have helped me along the way. As a young child, I was diagnosed with CAS and told that there was an 85% chance that I would never be able to speak clearly. I am so grateful for all of the therapists who I worked with because of their dedication to helping children improve, which pushed me to consider how I could make an impact on this field. Upon hearing about the opportunity to take part in the science research course, I knew that I wanted to investigate this disorder and help children who are in the same position that I was once in.

Q: How has your research and this experience impacted you?

A: Conducting research has been a very rewarding experience for me and has shaped the way I approach learning. I am so glad that my work was able to provide the foundations for future exploration of the role of attention in therapy sessions, and being able to share these findings with others in the field was a special opportunity. From the research process and talking to researchers at the convention, I have learned that there is usually not a clear answer to the research question, especially in the early stages of investigating a topic. Continued questioning and experimentation is necessary in order to obtain tangible results, and this has changed my outlook in all aspects of my education. I am more comfortable not knowing the answer and leaning into the investigation of any topic.

Q: Do you have plans to continue with this effort?

A: Yes, I definitely plan to continue this work! This coming year, I will be presenting my findings at the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF). From my discussions both with my mentor, Dr. Julie Case, and with other researchers who stopped by my poster at the convention, I have also developed a lot of ideas for new analyses that I want to conduct that could lead to a more nuanced understanding of the role of attention in therapy for CAS.

Not only a brilliant young scientist, Katz is also incredibly humble. Before ending our interview Katz made sure to add, “I want to make sure to thank my mentor, Dr. Julie Case, for giving me the opportunity to work in her lab and use her participant data. Her guidance was invaluable throughout the research process and the development of the poster. She has pushed me to be more curious and thorough in my thinking and education.”

You can learn more about The American Speech-Languange-Hearing Association here.