College of Arts & Sciences

Rose Sevcik

 My research interests center on the development of symbolic processes, specifically oral and written language development. Most of my work in this area has been done in the context of intervention research. I have two long-standing lines of research. The first is focused on children with significant developmental disabilities who are considered to be at high risk for speech and language disorders. Most recently, I, and my colleagues, have examined the path of communication development taken by toddlers who have very little or no functional speech and who communicate through the use of computer-linked devices that augment or replace spoken communication. This work has allowed me to address questions about the very beginnings of symbolic development when children use visual-graphic symbols as their primary mode for communication. I have concentrated on the role that the receptive understanding of visual symbols and speech play in symbolic communication development.

My second line of research has examined the effect of different instructional content and methods on teaching children who are struggling to learn to read. Current projects in local school districts are assessing different educational programs for two groups of learners: elementary school age children with mild intellectual disabilities and middle school students who have not yet learned to read. Past research in reading has included a range of student learners: children with, or at risk for, reading difficulties and with different language experiences. My interests in bilingualism and biliteracy have been fostered by collaborative work in Hong Kong, Korea, and South Africa.

Some Recent Representative Publications

Bornman, J., Sevcik, R.A., Romski, M.A., & Pae, H.K. (2010).  Successfully translating language and culture when adapting assessment measures.  Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 7, 111-118.

Romski, M.A., Sevcik, R.A., Adamson, L.B., Cheslock, M.A., Smith, A., Barker, R.M., & Bakeman, R. (2010). Randomized comparison of parent-implemented augmented and non-augmented language intervention on vocabulary development of toddlers with developmental delays. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53, 350-364.

Wise, J.C., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., Lovett, M.W., Wolf, M., Kuhn, M., Meisinger, B., & Schwanenflugel, P. (2010).  The relationship between different measures of oral reading fluency and reading comprehension in second grade students who evidence different oral reading fluency difficulties. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in School, 40, 340-348.

Schwanenflugel, P.J., Kuhn, M.R., Morris, R.D., Morrow, L.M., Meisinger, E.B., Woo, D.G., Quirk, M., & Sevcik, R. (2009).  Insights into fluency instruction:  Short- and long-term effects of two reading programs.  Literacy Research and Instruction, 48, 318-336.

Cheslock, M.A., Barton-Hulsey, A., Romski, M.A., & Sevcik, R.A. (2008).  Using a speech generating device to enhance communicative abilities and interactions for an adult with moderate intellectual disability:  A case report.  Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 46, 376-386.

Pae, H.K., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., & Kwon, Y.  (2008).  Cross-language interdependence and transfer:  Orthography, phonology, and semantics in the reading acquisition of shallow and deep orthographic scripts.  Journal of Language Sciences, 15, 205-228.

Pae, H.K., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., & Kwon, Y. (2008).  The respective contributions of semantic flexibility and oral language skills to aural sentence comprehension and reading in a second language. Linguistics, 52, 307-331.

Romski, M.A., Haarbauer-Krupa, Cheslock, M., Sevcik, R.A., & Adamson, L.B. (2008).  Language and communication changes in a child with holoprosecephaly: A case report. Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology, 14, 10-19.

Sevcik, R.A., Barton-Hulsey, A., & Romski, M.A. (2008).  Early intervention, AAC, and transition to school for young children with significant spoken communication disorders and their families. Seminars in Speech and Language, 29, 92-100.

Wise, J.C., Pae, H.K., Wolfe, C.B., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., Lovett, M., & Wolf, M. (2008).  Phonological awareness and rapid naming skills of children with reading disabilities and children with reading disabilities who are at-risk for mathematics difficulties.  Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 23, 125-136.

Zettler, C., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., & Clarkson, M. (2008).  Comodulation masking release (CMR) in children and the influence of reading status.  Journal of Speech-Language-Hearing Research, 51, 772-784.