Social Communication Lab

Kimberly Frazier, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

kimfraz@uark.edu
479-575-4916

Biography: Kimberly Frazier, associate professor of Communication Disorders at the University of Arkansas and licensed and certified speech-language pathologist, has 30 years of experience working with children who have communication difficulties. Frazier earned a Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Science from the University of Arkansas and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of South Carolina. She began her professional career as a public school speech-language pathologist addressing the communication needs of children with multiple disabilities.

Lab Research Summary: The aim of the Social Communication Lab is to investigate the use of language in social contexts and focuses on abilities encompassing social interaction, social cognition, pragmatics and language processing. Our research teams explore the ability of individuals with and without disabilities to vary speech style, take the perspective of others, understand and appropriately use the rules for verbal and nonverbal communication, and use the structural aspects of language (e.g., vocabulary, syntax, and phonology) to accomplish these goals.

Research Implications: Frazier investigates the social/emotional performance and executive function of individuals across the lifespan and participants include those with and without disabilities. Currently, her research team is recruiting the following participants:

  • Youths with typical development 9-19 year-olds
  • College-age students with and without autism spectrum disorders
  • Youths with hearing impairment aged 9-12

Student Impact: Frazier is currently mentoring the research of 11 CDIS students in the Honors Program. Students are involved in all levels of research including: research design, participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis and interpretation.

2019 Lab Members: Megan Sturdivant, Emily Thompson, Sam Skelton, Rebecca Mallory, Jamie McClendon, Christa Griffith, Kailey Fender, Cami Sturgeon, Lexi Goodwin, Brittani Tran andAnna Krizman.

Selected Publications

  • Frazier, K., Kucharczyk, S., Perryman, K.L., Thomas, J.M. Whitby, P.S., Koch, L., & Bengtson, E. (2019). Interprofessional education: Teaming for transition from adolescence to adulthood for people with significant disabilities. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (SIG 10). https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2019_PERS-SIG10-2018-0008
  • Pearson, B. & Frazier, K. (2019). American English-speakers' perception of non-native phonotactic constraints: The influence of training on phonology. Sino-US English Teaching. 16 (1). doi:10.17265/1539-8072/2019.01000
  • Frazier, K.F. (2018). Executive function and social skill support after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Life Care Planning. 16 (1) 47-51

Selected Presentations

  • Frazier, K., Skelton, S., Sturdivant, M. & Thompson, E. (2019). Professional Collaboration for Successful Transition Services. Autism Europe Congress. Nice, France
  • Frazier, K., Thompson, E., Sturdivant, M., Skelton, S. (2019). Transition Processes: Best Practices for Successful Collaboration. Presentation at the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities Conference. Maui, Hawaii