UMSS20 Student Profile: Sophia Palangas

Sophia Palangas, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Assessing Health Related Quality Of Life, Language Impairment, and Psychosocial Factors in Post-Stroke Aphasia
Mentored by Christopher Grindrod

Sophia Palangas studies the quality of life and mood of stroke survivors when they have aphasia, which is the inability to speak and comprehend language. This project will help stroke survivors with aphasia receive mental health services through the development of a screening tool that can be used by speech therapists.

“Becoming a speech-language pathologist allows me to help others to effectively communicate and conduct research to provide better practices,” says Palangas. “My project impacts a community that can sometimes be invisible, but they matter. My project will impact someone’s world, and that matters.”