Kelsey Steffen

Kelsey Steffen completed her doctoral studies in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Penn State University. During her program, she was involved in research to provide training to communication partners to better support the communication of individuals with disabilities. Kelsey is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Arkansas. She is a former special educator with nine years of experience teaching students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her research focuses on inclusive research methods, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), disability justice, self-determination, and improving outcomes for individuals with disabilities as they transition into adulthood.

ASHA Financial Disclosures:
This research and development project was supported by grant #90REGE0014 from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (The RERC on AAC). This research was also supported in part by the Penn State AAC Doctoral Leadership Grant (H325D170024 U.S. Department of Education). The author has no other financial interests in this research.

ASHA Non-Financial Disclosures:
None