DALS Faculty & Staff

Introduction

Dr. Welland is a registered Speech-Language Pathologist. He completed the M.H.Sc. degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto in 1980. He later obtained his Ph.D. degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences at The State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. His doctoral research investigated whether conventionalized gestures (Amer-Ind) might facilitate spoken language comprehension in adults with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT).

Dr. Welland began teaching full-time at Brock University in 1997

Publications

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Teaching

Dr. Welland teaches courses that are integral to the Speech and Language Sciences major, the Certificate in Speech and Language Sciences and the Certificate for Communication Disorders Assistants programs.

During the 2009-2010 academic year, Dr. Welland is teaching LING 2P90 (Anatomy & Physiology of Speech Production) and LING 4P35 (Speech & Swallowing Disorders in Adults).

Research

Dr. Welland’s research currently has two distinct foci. The first research focus involves age-related changes to cognitive-linguistic abilities, framed specifically within an environmental/social participation approach to communication. More specifically, Dr. Welland is interested in the following research topics:

• Discourse comprehension and executive function skills of adults with and without a variety of neurologically-based language and cognitive-linguistic disorders (e.g., aphasia, Alzheimer disease, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson disease)
• Comprehension of Amer-Ind Gestural Code and other gestures by adults with aphasia and older adults with Alzheimer disease
• The influence of speech-accompanying gestures on cognitive-linguistic skills among adults with Alzheimer disease and other dementias
• The efficacy of social participation approaches to aphasia rehabilitation
• Speech and gestural accommodations when addressing older adults with perceived cognitive impairment
• First impressions of young and older adults with communication disorders

Dr. Welland’s second research focus involves the development of professionalism and professional practice among Speech-Language Pathologists. A current project employs qualitative research methods to investigate the experiences and perceptions of novice Speech-Language Pathologists, as they transition from graduate students to practicing clinicians

Service

Dr. Welland currently serves as a member of the following committees and boards: Department of Applied Linguistics Committee; the Admissions Committees for the Certificate in Speech and Language Sciences and the Certificate for Communication Disorders Assistants; and the Research Ethics Board. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Departmental Chair. Prior to that, he contributed hundreds of hours of service toward development of the current major and certificate programs in Speech and Language Sciences and Hearing Sciences, toward development of the Certificate for Communication Disorders program, and toward student advising. He is also a former member of University Senate, the Research Ethics Board, and other university-wide committees.

Outside of the University, Dr. Welland has among other things served on the Interim Planning Committee for the Niagara Aphasia Centre, and as an ad hoc reviewer for such eminent journals as Brain & Language, The Journals of Gerontology, and the Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. He has also been an invited speaker of Brain Injury Community Re-Entry (Niagara), the Work Group & Research Forum (University of Toronto), the Hamilton and Region Adult Neurogenic Study Group, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Health Care, and the 1997 annual convention of the New York Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Links

Some of the links to other sites on the World Wide Web that Dr. Welland finds of interest are categorized and listed here. Eventually, this section will also include course websites.