Jennifer Thistle, PhD, CCC-SLP
Associate Professor, Post-Baccalaureate Program Director
About
Dr. Thistle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She earned her MA in Speech-Language Pathology from Emerson College in Boston and her Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Thistle taught at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire prior to coming to Western in 2017.
Dr. Thistle enjoys the passion CSD students bring to the classroom and strives to share her knowledge and expertise across her undergraduate and graduate courses in normal language development, child language disorders, and augmentative and alternative communication.
Dr. Thistle's research focuses on building the evidence base guiding clinicians in providing quality speech-language intervention for children who use augmentative and alternative modes to communicate (AAC). Her research to date has focused on identifying the effect of specific features of AAC displays, including background color and symbol arrangement. She is also interested in supporting literacy development in children who use AAC and studying questions related to the scholarship of teaching and learning as it related to graduate instruction in AAC.
Education
Ph.D., Communication Sciences & Disorders, Pennsylvania State University, PA
M.S., Communication Sciences & Disorders, Emerson College, Boston, MA
Faculty Research Interests
Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Selected Publications
DePew, S., & Thistle, J. (2022). Supporting communication between individuals with disabilities and first responders: A preliminary case-based interview study. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7 (1), 115 – 122.
Thistle, J., & Thiessen, A. (2021). Effectiveness and utility of visual scene displays as communication supports for adults and children with complex communication needs: Perspectives of clinicians and researchers. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30 (3), 1181 – 1193.
Thiessen, A., Thistle, J., & Brown, J. (2021). Clinical and research perspectives on visual scene displays. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30 (3), 1134 – 1156.
Thistle, J. & Wilkinson, K. M. (2020). Speech-language pathologists’ decisions when designing aided AAC display for a compilation case study of a beginning communicator. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, (online access) https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2020.1745911
Thistle, J. (2019). The effect of symbol background color on the speed of locating targets by adults without disabilities: Implications for augmentative and alternative communication display design. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 4, 1482-1488.
Thistle, J., Cmeyla, K., Reum, A., Horn, M., & Holmes, S. (2018). Consistent symbol location affects motor learning in preschoolers without disabilities: Implications for designing augmentative and alternative communication displays. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 27, 1010-1017. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0129
Dukhovny, E. & Thistle, J. (2017). An exploration of motor learning concepts relevant to use of speech-generating devices. Assistive Technology, (online access) doi: 10.1080/10400435.2017.1393845
Thistle, J., & Wilkinson, K. M. (2017). Effects of background color and symbol arrangement cues on construction of multi-symbol messages by young children: Implications for aided AAC design. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 33, 160 – 169.
Thistle, J., & Wilkinson, K. (2015). Building evidence-based practice in AAC display design for young children: Current practices and future directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31, 124 – 136.
Thistle, J., & McNaughton, D. (2015). Teaching active listening skills to pre-service speech-language pathologists: A first step in supporting collaboration with parents of young children who require AAC. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 46, 44 – 55.
Thistle, J., & Wilkinson, K. (2013). Working memory demands of aided augmentative and alternative communication for individuals with developmental disabilities. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 29, 235 – 245.
Thistle, J., & Wilkinson, K. (2012). What are the Attention Demands of AAC? Perspectives on Alternative and Augmentative Communication, 21, 17 – 22.
Thistle, J., & Wilkinson, K. (2009). The effects of color cues on typically developing preschoolers’ speed of locating a target line drawing: Implications for augmentative and alternative communication display design. American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 18, 231 – 240.