Professor Emerita

Dr. Shelley Velleman's educational and professional experience has been extensive and varied, with a common theme of speech production in children. Her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin (1983) is in Linguistics, with a specialization in child phonology (speech development). She has one master's degree in Applied Linguistics (teaching English as a second language) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1978) and one in Communication Disorders/Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Massachusetts (1985). She has many years of pediatric clinical experience as well as many years of teaching as a tenure system faculty member at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Elms College in Chicopee, MA and at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, where she was an associate professor of communication disorders from 2005- 2011.

Dr. Velleman's research focuses on speech sound development in typically-developing (TD) children and in children with disorders. Her studies of TD children have focused on how the language or dialect of exposure affects the process of learning to talk, including such languages as English, French, Japanese, Finnish, and Welsh as well as the African American English dialect. With respect to disorders, she specializes in motor speech disorders, especially Childhood Apraxia of Speech. She seeks to identify and remediate the motor speech, phonological, and literacy difficulties associated with neurodevelopmental syndromes, such as autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and 7q11.23 Duplication syndrome (which was just identified in 2004).

Research and/or Creative Works

  • Speech sound development in typically-developing children and in children with disorders
  • Childhood Apraxia of Speech
  • Motor speech, phonological, and literacy difficulties associated with neurodevelopmental syndromes, such as autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and 7q11.23 Duplication syndrome (which was just identified in 2004)

Publications

  • Abbiati*, C. I., Velleman, S. L., Overby, M. S., Becerra*, A. M., & Mervis, C. B. (2022). Early diagnostic indicators of childhood apraxia of speech in young children with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome: Preliminary findings. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics.
  • Wong*, E. C. H., Wong, M. N. & Velleman, S. L. (2021). Assessment and diagnostic standards of apraxia of speech in Chinese-speaking adults and children: A scoping review. [Manuscript submitted for review]. Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies/The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
  • Shibu*, A., Murray, E., Thomas, D., Velleman, S., & Baker, E. (2020). Administering the Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS): Is completion and compliance possible for differential diagnosis of speech sound disorders in children? [Manuscript submitted for review]. Speech Pathology, University of Sydney.
  • Strong, E., Mervis, C. B., Tam, E., Morris, C. A., Klein-Tasman, B. P., Velleman, S. L., & Osborne, L. R. (2020). DNA methylation analysis in individuals with rare, atypical 7q11.23 CNVs reveals major contribution of GTF2I and GTF2IRD1 [Manuscript submitted for review]. Department of Medicine, University of Toronto.
  • Wong*, E. C. H., Velleman, S. L., Tong, M. C. F., & Lee, K. Y. S. (2021). Pitch variation in childhood apraxia of speech: Preliminary findings. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30, 1511-1524.
  • Prelock, P. A., Melvin, C. S., Lemieux, N., Melekis, K. A., Velleman, S. L., & Favro, M. A. (2017). One team – Patient, family, and health care providers: An interprofessional education activity providing collaborative and palliative care. Seminars in Speech and Language, 38, 350-359.
  • Dalton*, J. C., Crais, E. R., & Velleman, S. L. (2017). Joint attention and oromotor abilities in young children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Communication Disorders, 69, 27-43.
  • Rupela*, V., Velleman, S. L., & Andrianopoulos, M. V. (2016). Motor speech skills in children with Down syndrome: A descriptive study. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Online 1/11/16, 483-492.
  • Morris, C. A., Mervis, C. B., Paciorkowski, A. P., Abdul-Rahman, O., Dugan, S. L., Rope, A. F., Bader, P., Hendon, L. G., Velleman, S. L., Klein-Tasman, B. P, Osborne, L. R. (2015). 7q11.23 Duplication syndrome: Physical characteristics and natural history. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 167(12), 2916-2935.
  • Mervis, C. B., Klein-Tasman, B. P., Huffman*, M. J., Velleman, S. L., Pitts, C. H., Henderson, D. R., Woodruff-Borden, J., Morris, C., Osborne, L. R. (2015). Children with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome: Psychological characteristics. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 167A, 1436-1450. *: Student/former student

BOOKS

  • Mullin, W., Gerace, W., Mestre, J., & Velleman, S. (2016). Fundamentals of sound with applications to speech and hearing (2nd ed.). Amherst MA: Off the Common Books.
  • Velleman, S. L. (2016). Speech sound disorders: Assessment and intervention. Baltimore, MD: Wolters Kluwer Health.
  • Velleman, S. L. (2003). Childhood apraxia of speech resource guide. Independence, KY: Cengage.
  • Mullin, W. J., Gerace, W. J., Mestre, J. P., & Velleman, S. L. (2003). Fundamentals of sound with applications to speech and hearing. New York: Pearson.
  • Velleman, S. (1998). Making phonology functional: What do I do first? Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

  • Gargan*, C., Andrianopoulos, M., & Velleman, S. (2021, November). Acoustic-perceptual characteristics of prosody in autism: The impact of language and speech motor control. Paper to be presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Washington D.C.
  • Abbiati*, C., Daly*, E., Sander*, L., Velleman, S., & Mervis, C. (2021, November). Acoustic analysis of prosodic features in the narratives of children with Williams syndrome. Poster to be presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Washington D.C.
  • Abbiati*, C., Botula*, K., Hill*, S., Price*, P., Velleman, S., & Mervis, C. (2021, November). Early indicators of later CAS in 7q11.23 duplication syndrome: Preliminary findings. Poster to be presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Washington D.C.
  • Walkowiak*, K., Abbiati*, C., Velleman, S., & Mervis, C. (2021, November). Spontaneous vs. elicited speech performance of preschoolers with Williams syndrome. Poster to be presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Washington D.C.
  • Murray, E. & Velleman, S. (2021, July). An evidence-based update on assessment and diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Apraxia-Kids, Pittsburgh (virtual).
  • Shibu*, A., Murray, E., Thomas, D., Velleman, S., & Baker, E. (2021, June). Administering the Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS): Is completion and compliance possible for differential diagnosis of speech sound disorders in children? International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association, University of Strathclyde, Scotland (virtual).
  • Abbiati*, C., Velleman, S., & Mervis, C. (2021, June). Early diagnostic indicators of childhood apraxia of speech in young children with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome: Preliminary findings. International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association, University of Strathclyde, Scotland (virtual).
  • Abbiati*, C., Velleman, S., Becerra*, A., & Mervis, C. (2021, June). Babble characteristics as predictors of concurrent and prospective expressive vocabulary in Williams syndrome. International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association, University of Strathclyde, Scotland (virtual).
  • Abbiati*, C., Velleman, S., & Mervis, C. (2021, June). Prelinguistic characteristics of toddlers with 7q11.23 neurodevelopmental disorders at risk for motor-speech disorders: Preliminary findings. International Child Phonology Conference, Alberta, Canada (virtual).
  • Murray, E., Velleman, S., Preston, J., McCabe, P., & Heard, R. (2021, June). Diagnostic reliability for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): How good is the gold standard? Speech Pathology Australia, Darwin, Australia (virtual).
  • Shibu*, A., Murray, E., Thomas, D., Velleman, S., & Baker, E. (2021, June). The Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS): Will my client complete (or manage)? Speech Pathology Australia, Darwin, Australia (virtual).
  • Murray, E., Velleman, S., Thomas, D., Gomez, M., Shibu, A., & Baker, E. (2020) Spot the difference: Determining what kind of speech problem a child has in a broad community sample of children. Paper presented at the Speech Pathology Research Symposium, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
  • Murray, E., Velleman, S. L., McCabe, T., Preston, J., & Heard, R. (2020). Speaking the same language? Developing a rating form for diagnostic features of Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Paper presented at the Motor Speech Conference, Santa Barbara, CA.

Awards and Recognition

  • University of Vermont Kroepsch-Maurice Teaching Award, 2020.
  • Fellow, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2019.
  • Distinguished Scholar and Fellow, National Academies of Practice (NAP) in Speech-Language Pathology, 2018.
  • 2009 Editor’s Award for Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools for “Phonological milestones for African American English-speaking children learning Mainstream American English as a second dialect” (with Pearson, Bryant, and Charko). American Speech Hearing Language Association, November 19, 2010.
  • University of Massachusetts Distinguished Teaching Award, 2010.
  • School of Public Health and Health Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award, 2002.

Associations and Affiliations

  • Medical Advisory Board, Duplication Cares, 2021 – present.
  • Professional Advisory Council, Apraxia-Kids (formerly Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America), 2000 – present.
  • Center for Disability and Community Inclusion I-Team Early Intervention Project Advisory Board, 2019-present.
  • Vermont Office of Professional Regulation Speech-Language Advisory Board, 2016-present.
Shelley Velleman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Speech sound development in typically-developing children and in children with disorders from a variety of dialect and language backgrounds; Childhood Apraxia of Speech; motor speech, phonological, and literacy difficulties associated with neurodevelopmental syndromes, such as autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and 7q11.23 Duplication syndrome (which was just identified in 2004)

Education

  • Ph.D., Linguistics; University of Texas at Austin
  • M.A., Communication Disorders; University of Massachusetts
  • M.A., Applied English Linguistics; University of Wisconsin
  • B.A., Comparative Literature; Wellesley College

CV

PDF icon Shelley_Velleman_CV_2021.pdf

Contact

Email:

shelley.velleman@med.uvm.edu