Amy L. Weiss

Amy Weiss
  • Professor Emerita
  • Communicative Disorders
  • Phone: 401.874.9071
  • Email: alw@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Independence Square, Suite K

Biography

Dr. Amy L. Weiss is a professor emerita in the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Rhode Island where she teaches courses in language disorders of children across the age span from infants and toddlers (CMD 563) through school-age children (CMD 564), phonological disorders (CMD 561), fluency disorders (CMD 592), and cultural and linguistic diversity issues in communicative disorders (CMD 493) when scheduling permits in the summer sessions. A former NIH grant recipient, Dr. Weiss is also a Board Certified Specialist in Child Language (ASHA), the author of two texts, Resource Guide on Preschool Language Disorders (Thomson Learning), and Perspectives on Individual Differences Affecting Therapeutic Change in Communication Disorders, an edited text published by Psychology Press, many book chapters, and more than 35 journal articles. She has been an issue co-editor for the journal, Topics in Language Disorders twice in the past five years. Dr. Weiss is currently writing a text for Plural Publishing titled, “Developmental Language Disorders: Working with the Birth through Five Population”.

Dr. Weiss served as chair of ASHA’s Continuing Education Board (2014-2016), is the past chair of the then ASHA Board of Division Coordinators (2008-2010), served a three-year term as coordinator for Special Interest Division 1: Language Learning and Education (2005-2007) and served as secretary of the International Fluency Association until 2009. She completed a three-year term as an associate editor for Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools in 2012. Her career experiences in the clinic have included directing a language-based preschool classroom, providing hospital-based services, and clinical training of hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students at Purdue University, the University of Colorado, and the University of Iowa, prior to arriving in Rhode Island for the fall, 2004 semester. Dr. Weiss was first awarded the Certificate of Clinical Competence in SLP in 1977 and is a licensed speech-language pathologist in the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut. Dr. Weiss was named an ASHA Fellow in 2007.

Research

Dr. Weiss was trained in the development of children’s language as well as the nature and treatment of children’s language disorders. Her research reflects her interest in the pragmatic component of language learning, or how children use the language they have in their repertoire in different contexts.

The recipient of an NIH grant to study the conversation factors that promote fluency or exacerbate stuttering in young children who stutter, Dr. Weiss continues to be interested in how language and stuttering interface. Many M.S. students who complete directed essay projects with Dr. Weiss focus on this area of interest or analyze data collected through the Communication Coaching Program (CCP), a program developed with Pamela Rohland, Assistant Dean for Accessibility and Inclusion, who also serves as Director of Disability Services for Students at URI to provide comprehensive support services for URI students on the autism spectrum. The CCP involves both graduate and undergraduate students as communication coaches and peer coach respectively, in the provision of intervention to facilitate these students’ development of appropriate social communication skills and executive functioning skills to enhance academic success. She is currently working with colleagues on a national level involved in similar programs in several scholarly endeavors to determine effectiveness of these programs to successfully support college students on the autism spectrum during their university careers.

Education

  • Ph.D., Purdue University, 1983
  • M.A., University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 1976
  • B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1974

Selected Publications

Weiss, A. & Rohland, P. (2015). Implementing a Communication Coaching Program (CCP) for students with autism spectrum disorders in post-secondary education. Topics in Language Disorders 35:4. Issue Editors: L. Hewitt & A. Weiss, “Transition to College for Students with Language Disorders on and off the Autism Spectrum”.

Weiss, A. (2015). Language disorders in young children (pp. 139-166). In G. Lof & A. Johnson (Eds.), Speech-Language Pathology: Review and Study Guide. Evanston, IL: TherapyEd.

Weiss, A. & Rohland, P. (2014). “Measuring up” to ethical standards in service delivery to college students on the Autism Spectrum: A practical application of Powell’s model for ethical practices in clinical phonetics and linguistics. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 28, 627-638.

Weiss, A. (2014). Comprehension of language (pp. 99-118). In N. Capone-Singleton & B. Shulman (Eds.), Language Development: Foundations, Processes, and Clinical Applications (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Weiss, A. (2011). Communication in a multicultural society. In H. Schwartz (Ed.), A primer on communication and communication disorders (pp. 116-139). Boston: Pearson.

Weiss, A. & Theadore, G. (2011). Involving parents in teaching social communication skills to young children. Topics in Language Disorders, 31:3, 195-209.

Theadore, G., Laurent, A., Kovarsky, D., & Weiss, A. (2011). Reflective practice: Using focus groups to determine family priorities and guide social pragmatic program development. Topics in Language Disorders, 31:3, 247-261.

Weiss, A. (2011). A school-age child with Specific Language Impairment:  A case of continuity. In S. Chabon & E. Cohn (Eds.), Communication disorders: A case-based approach (pp. 281-290).  Needham Heights, MA: Pearson

Weiss, A. (2010). Benefiting from speech therapy: The role of individual differences in treating children with speech sound disorders. In A. Weiss (Ed.). Perspectives on individual differences affecting therapeutic change in communication disorders (pp.151-169). New York: Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis Group.