iHOPE Stuttering Lab
Research Agenda
The lab's primary line of inquiry investigates how prepared SLP graduate students are to address spirituality within a person-centered approach to stuttering treatment — and what simulation-based experiences develop that competency.
The Problem
A Documented Gap in Clinician Preparation
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) mandates culturally responsive care — which explicitly includes religion and spirituality. Yet speech-language pathology graduate training programs lack structured, evidence-based methods to teach these competencies.
This gap is particularly acute in stuttering treatment, where identity, self-worth, and existential meaning are central to the lived experience. Mathisen et al. (2015) explicitly named spirituality as a "largely neglected" clinical variable in SLP practice and called for training-level intervention.
The iHOPE Lab's primary research line addresses this gap directly — not by adding another checklist to clinical training, but by investigating how immersive simulation experiences can develop the genuine counseling presence required to honor a client's full humanity.
Why This Focus
The gap is documented in the SLP literature
Directly leverages access to graduate student cohorts
Establishes HOPE as a training tool before scaling to client outcomes
Provides a specific, high-stakes challenge to test AI simulation efficacy
Core Research Questions
What We Are Asking
Baseline Competency
What is the baseline level of self-reported readiness, knowledge, and comfort among SLP graduate students in addressing spiritual and existential dimensions of stuttering within a person-centered framework?
Simulation Efficacy
Does engagement with AI-driven, standardized patient simulations — designed around the HOPE framework — measurably improve graduate students' clinical self-efficacy and counseling skills in this domain?
Skill Transfer
What specific simulation design features (scenario complexity, emotional realism, structured debriefing) most strongly predict a student's ability to integrate spiritual considerations into holistic treatment planning?
Methodology
Immersive AI-Driven Simulation
The lab utilizes AI-driven simulation environments to create ecologically valid, high-stakes communication challenges — such as discussing identity, spiritual distress, or community belonging with a client who stutters. These are scenarios that traditional clinical reading tasks cannot replicate.
Simulations serve a dual purpose: as an intervention (a safe, repeatable environment for students to practice), and as a measurement tool (generating real-time behavioral data on how clinicians navigate complex, person-centered conversations).
Phase 1 Deliverables
What the Lab Will Produce
Assessment Instrument
Development and validation of a pre/post survey measuring SLP graduate student competency and self-efficacy regarding spirituality in stuttering care.
Simulation Protocol
A manualized AI-simulation training module utilizing the HOPE framework as a debriefing structure, deployable in graduate CSD programs.
Foundational Publication
A peer-reviewed paper establishing the baseline competency gap and the initial efficacy of the simulation intervention.
Interested in the Research?
Explore the theoretical framework or visit the clinician resources section to learn how this research translates into practice.