Katrina Ross

Email: kjross@bu.edu

Education

M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology, Boston University (2016)

B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington (2014)

B.A. in Classical Languages and Literature, Bard College (2013)

Research Interests

My current focus is the rehabilitation of cognitive-linguistic skills following traumatic brain injury and stroke. I am also interested in the nature and mechanisms of treatment generalization, the integration of functional skill development with discrete skill training, and error analysis in chronic disorders.

Current Projects

Intensive Cognitive Communication Rehabilitation – Intensive rehabilitation for young adults with acquired brain injury. This program is designed to provide college-style coursework, adapted for individuals with acquired cognitive-linguistic deficits, in conjunction with individual and group therapy targeting strategy use, discrete skill training, and academic review. By combining these in-class and ‘extracurricular’ services, the participants will engage in 15-week semesters mirroring a typical university experience while receiving companion treatment and support, with the goal of (re-)establishing college readiness.

Reading and Writing Treatment Study (complete; designed by Jeff Johnson) – Eight participants with aphasia engaged in a novel treatment protocol, which incorporated several techniques thought to underlie both reading and writing (e.g. grapheme to phoneme conversion, repetition/copying a direct model, etc.). Each participant trained in one modality (reading or writing) for eight weeks, with testing conducted over the course of treatment to measure for generalization and error evolution. The goal of this study was to determine the methods that best facilitate and establish relearning of reading and writing in people with aphasia. Results revealed significant treatment effects for all patients, indicating that each participant benefited from this intervention.

In order to further analyze the changes that patients experienced in their print processing systems as a result of treatment, Jeff Johnson, Swathi Kiran, and I developed a novel scoring system using the data from this study. This system is entitled the ‘Dual-Route Error Scoring’ system (DRES), with a computerized (‘automated’) version also free and available for public use online (entitled ADRES; www.github.com/shreya726/adres). Results from this project revealed that participants experienced significant, unique evolutions of error types following treatment. These findings indicate that incremental improvements in both reading and writing can be captured using DRESS, which can then be used to better understand treatment effects and to guide intervention.

Publications

Ross, K., Johnson, J., & Kiran, S. (2017). Multi-Step Treatment for Acquired Alexia and Agraphia (Part II): A dual-route error scoring system. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09602011.2017.1311796.

Johnson, J., Ross, K., & Kiran, S. (2017). Multi-step treatment for acquired alexia and agraphia (Part I): efficacy, generalisation, and identification of beneficial treatment steps. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09602011.2017.1311271.

Posters & Presentations

Ross, N., Ross, K., Gilmore, N., Des Roches, C., & Kiran, S. (2017). A Novel Approach to Intensive Cognitive-Communication Rehabilitation for Young Adults with Acquired Brain Injury. Poster presented at the 12th World Congress on Brain Injury in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ross, K., Kiran, S., Johnson, J., Ramesh, K., &, Zedan, M. (2016, November). A Novel Scoring System to Analyze Reading & Writing Errors. Talk presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 2016 Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ross, K., Johnson, J., &, Kiran, S. (2016, October). Multi-Step Treatment for Acquired Alexia and Agraphia: Two-Dimensional Analysis of Reading and Writing Errors. Poster presented at the Academy of Aphasia 54th Annual Meeting, Llandudno, Wales, UK.

Upcoming Presentations

Ross, K., Ross, N., Gilmore, N., Des Roches, C., & Kiran, S. (2017, May). The Intensive Cognitive-Communication Rehabilitation (ICCR) Program for Young Adults with Acquired Brain Injury. Platform presentation accepted at the 47th Annual Clinical Aphasiology Conference in Snowbird, Utah.