Jack S. Damico is a Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder where he has also served as Department Chair of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Previously, he was the Doris B. Hawthorne Eminent Scholar in Communicative Disorders at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He also served as Assistant Vice President for Research at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette prior to his retirement from that institution. Originally from Alexandria Louisiana, Damico received a M.S. in Communicative Disorders from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of New Mexico. He has worked for nearly 48 years in the area of communicative disorders with interests in language disorders, clinical aphasiology, ADHD, cultural and linguistic diversity and adult neurogenics in many clinical settings including the public schools, hospitals and university clinics and he has published over 190 articles and chapters and 15 books and manuals in these and related areas of communication disorders. He is the Co-Founding Editor (with M.J. Ball) of one international academic journal, The Journal of Interactional Research in Communicative Disorders, is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and an elected member of the Center for Expansion of Language and Thinking and DOMI International. He has directed 33 doctoral dissertations. His research interests include clinical aphasiology, social action theory, language and literacy, language disorders, language assessment, and applications of qualitative research methodology to human communication sciences and disorders. Address: Lafayette, United States
Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing, 2009
Abstract This article explores the ways that one's language and culture shapes the expectatio... more Abstract This article explores the ways that one's language and culture shapes the expectations and clinical recovery of individuals with aphasia and the expectations and reactions of their families. Employing interview data from five Jewish individuals with aphasia, five Palestinian individuals with aphasia, and six caregivers, phenomenological analyses were performed to determine the extent to which cultural elements contribute to the shaping of treatment perspectives. Careful analysis demonstrated that the specific cultural values and traditions of an individual with aphasia and his or her family, as manifested in one's lexicon, idiomatic usage, and metaphoric language, greatly impacts the social construction of one's recovery from aphasia.
Journal of interactional research in communication disorders, May 29, 2022
Background: In the field of communication disorders, practitioners work regularly with school-age... more Background: In the field of communication disorders, practitioners work regularly with school-age children with autism. Routinely, socialization issues impact literacy in this population and consequently become areas of clinical concern. This study addressed common themes from an inquiry into the socialization processes of school-age children with autism as they engaged in writing events as a sociocultural tool in clinical contexts. Method: A qualitative methodology was employed to investigate how three students with autism used writing as a sociocultural tool, and what opportunities the writing activities created for socialization over the course of one semester in a group intervention setting. Results: Three general patterns emerged that highlight the strategies employed by participants which demonstrated their use of writing for socialization, and the sociocultural opportunities the writing process provided. Discussion/conclusion: This study demonstrated that the context of the writing events, where the sociocultural nature of writing was appreciated and valued, created unique opportunities for the participants to engage, socialize, and essentially create a local peer culture.
Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 2020
Oral reading fluency is recognized as an important variable associated with the assessment of rea... more Oral reading fluency is recognized as an important variable associated with the assessment of reading proficiency. Frequently, fluency assessments distill a child’s overall reading fluency to a single numerical score. Even when multiple dimensions are considered, the processes informing the nuance of the reading fluency variations are ignored. In order to shed light on the issue, we use an instrumental case study approach to illuminate how a reader’s fluency varies within a passage. We describe the insight this variability provides to teachers and researchers interested in understanding how readers transact with print. Specifically, we apply a multiple lens approach to analyze one child’s oral reading fluency and address the question: What variables contribute to a reader’s fluency? We combine eye movement miscue analysis and Flurkey’s oral reading flow and compare these assessments to Rasinski’s well-established fluency instrument. This methodology led to the identification of six ...
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1999
A qualitative research study was completed using ethnographic and conversation analysis methodolo... more A qualitative research study was completed using ethnographic and conversation analysis methodologies to explore characteristics and functions of feedback in traditional aphasia treatment sessions. The investigators identified and described multiple functions of clinician feedback based on analysis of 15 aphasia treatment sessions. Feedback not only provided general motivation and shaped targeted language behavior, but also assisted in establishing the discourse structure of treatment and in managing important interactional aspects of the exchange. Understanding the multiple roles of feedback in treatment interactions might help clinicians improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aphasia treatment and assist in training student clinicians.
The ICIDH classification system has had an important effect on many areas of rehabilitation. In t... more The ICIDH classification system has had an important effect on many areas of rehabilitation. In this article an application of the handicap category of the ICIDH system within the assessment of aphasia is described. This assessment procedure, Communicative Profiling System, provides an example of how detailed and authentic examination of complex social phenomena can be accomplished. A case study and implications of this procedural application are provided.
Based upon an emergent account of pragmatic ability and disability, this article provides theoret... more Based upon an emergent account of pragmatic ability and disability, this article provides theoretical and empirical support for a conceptually deeper understanding of some systematic behaviors that have served as diagnostic indices in communicatively impaired populations. Specifically, by employing conversation analysis, several examples of problematic behaviors in autism are analysed as a specific type of compensatory adaptation. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing, 2009
Abstract This article explores the ways that one's language and culture shapes the expectatio... more Abstract This article explores the ways that one's language and culture shapes the expectations and clinical recovery of individuals with aphasia and the expectations and reactions of their families. Employing interview data from five Jewish individuals with aphasia, five Palestinian individuals with aphasia, and six caregivers, phenomenological analyses were performed to determine the extent to which cultural elements contribute to the shaping of treatment perspectives. Careful analysis demonstrated that the specific cultural values and traditions of an individual with aphasia and his or her family, as manifested in one's lexicon, idiomatic usage, and metaphoric language, greatly impacts the social construction of one's recovery from aphasia.
Journal of interactional research in communication disorders, May 29, 2022
Background: In the field of communication disorders, practitioners work regularly with school-age... more Background: In the field of communication disorders, practitioners work regularly with school-age children with autism. Routinely, socialization issues impact literacy in this population and consequently become areas of clinical concern. This study addressed common themes from an inquiry into the socialization processes of school-age children with autism as they engaged in writing events as a sociocultural tool in clinical contexts. Method: A qualitative methodology was employed to investigate how three students with autism used writing as a sociocultural tool, and what opportunities the writing activities created for socialization over the course of one semester in a group intervention setting. Results: Three general patterns emerged that highlight the strategies employed by participants which demonstrated their use of writing for socialization, and the sociocultural opportunities the writing process provided. Discussion/conclusion: This study demonstrated that the context of the writing events, where the sociocultural nature of writing was appreciated and valued, created unique opportunities for the participants to engage, socialize, and essentially create a local peer culture.
Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 2020
Oral reading fluency is recognized as an important variable associated with the assessment of rea... more Oral reading fluency is recognized as an important variable associated with the assessment of reading proficiency. Frequently, fluency assessments distill a child’s overall reading fluency to a single numerical score. Even when multiple dimensions are considered, the processes informing the nuance of the reading fluency variations are ignored. In order to shed light on the issue, we use an instrumental case study approach to illuminate how a reader’s fluency varies within a passage. We describe the insight this variability provides to teachers and researchers interested in understanding how readers transact with print. Specifically, we apply a multiple lens approach to analyze one child’s oral reading fluency and address the question: What variables contribute to a reader’s fluency? We combine eye movement miscue analysis and Flurkey’s oral reading flow and compare these assessments to Rasinski’s well-established fluency instrument. This methodology led to the identification of six ...
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1999
A qualitative research study was completed using ethnographic and conversation analysis methodolo... more A qualitative research study was completed using ethnographic and conversation analysis methodologies to explore characteristics and functions of feedback in traditional aphasia treatment sessions. The investigators identified and described multiple functions of clinician feedback based on analysis of 15 aphasia treatment sessions. Feedback not only provided general motivation and shaped targeted language behavior, but also assisted in establishing the discourse structure of treatment and in managing important interactional aspects of the exchange. Understanding the multiple roles of feedback in treatment interactions might help clinicians improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aphasia treatment and assist in training student clinicians.
The ICIDH classification system has had an important effect on many areas of rehabilitation. In t... more The ICIDH classification system has had an important effect on many areas of rehabilitation. In this article an application of the handicap category of the ICIDH system within the assessment of aphasia is described. This assessment procedure, Communicative Profiling System, provides an example of how detailed and authentic examination of complex social phenomena can be accomplished. A case study and implications of this procedural application are provided.
Based upon an emergent account of pragmatic ability and disability, this article provides theoret... more Based upon an emergent account of pragmatic ability and disability, this article provides theoretical and empirical support for a conceptually deeper understanding of some systematic behaviors that have served as diagnostic indices in communicatively impaired populations. Specifically, by employing conversation analysis, several examples of problematic behaviors in autism are analysed as a specific type of compensatory adaptation. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
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Papers by Jack S Damico