ASHA 2023 Convention Research Presenters

Hello, our names are Ryan Boyd, Kayden Rapson, and Lauren Mantle. We are all seniors at the University of Kentucky majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. We participate in an Undergraduate Research Study through the University of Kentucky's College of Health Sciences Undergraduate Research Program. The name of our study is "Stepping into the Shoes of a Person with Dementia: Simulation-Based Learning and Person-Centered Care". We have explored how simulation-based learning has been able to increase awareness and understanding of dementia treatment and management as it pertains to graduate students pursuing a career in speech-language pathology. With the help of our research mentor, Dr. Christen G. Page, Ph. D., CCC-SLP, our research study has been completed and we are currently in the process of publishing our research paper.

Our team has been selected to present our research at the 2023 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention this November in Boston, MA! This is such an honor and an opportunity of a lifetime to not only present our research at this national conference but also learn from other speech-language pathologists and audiologists from around the country. While we realize that this opportunity is not one that should be passed up, there are many financial obstacles that are in our way. University of Kentucky's College of Health Sciences Undergraduate Research Program has been an amazing resource for our team and has provided funding to us for the travel expenses to the conference. However, with the plane tickets, hotel rooms, conference registration, and any other travel expenses such as meals and transportation, each of us is about $700 short.

As these travel expenses have started to add up and come to our attention, it has led us to search for fundraising options to help with the financial burden. We are in the process of setting up a bake sale on UK's campus to fundraise as well, but as we know not everyone will be able to make it on campus, we felt this was the best way to fundraise for donations and get the word out! Attending this conference is extremely important to each of us, we will appreciate any donations that are possible. Anything helps!

Thank you,

Ryan Boyd, Kayden Rapson, & Lauren Mantle