Logopedics

Students majoring in logopedics can complete both the Bachelor of Arts degree (first-cycle degree) and the Master of Arts degree (second-cycle degree).

The Bachelor of Arts degree in logopedics aims to provide graduates with fundamental knowledge of the various fields in logopedics, as well as the research methods used. In addition to basic and intermediate studies in the major subject, the degree structure includes studies in general linguistics and medicine. Psychology is a mandatory minor subject for students with logopedics as their major subject. The Bachelor’s thesis included in the Bachelor of Arts degree is written during the third year of studies. Students with logopedics as the major subject will complete altogether four brief training periods during their studies leading to a Master’s degree. Three of these periods are included in the Bachelor of Arts degree programme.

The objective of the Master of Arts degree is to advance the knowledge attained during intermediate studies and provide the skills needed to conduct research. The degree includes advanced studies in logopedics, a written examination and a Master’s thesis. Clinical studies in the Master’s degree programme include a brief training period, as well as a longer, four-month training. The long training period is completed under the supervision of a licensed speech therapist in a social or health care services unit.

Doctoral students in logopedics conduct their studies under one of the doctoral programmes belonging to the Doctoral School in Health Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine, including the following: the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research, the Doctoral Programme Brain & Mind, and the Doctoral Programme in Population Health. Doctoral students in logopedics can also study under the Doctoral Programme in Psychology, Learning and Communication, which belongs to the Doctoral School in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Doctoral students completing their dissertation in logopedics hold two to four joint seminars each year, coordinated by the professor in logopedics.

Interaction and Intervention Group (PI Minna Laakso) 
Interaction and Intervention Research Group studies language, speech and multimodal behaviour in human interaction, and interventions supporting people with communication challenges. The current research projects include COMPAIR, MULTILINGUA, and VIRE. COMPAIR examines conversational repair practices in everyday interactions involving people with different communication disorders, MULTILINGUA studies language development in 4-to-9-year-old multilingual children, and VIRE explores virtual reality game as a method for assessing 6-to-9-year-old children's social language comprehension.

Early Language Development (ELD) Group (PI Suvi Stolt) 
Understanding dynamics of language development during the childhood years. The main aim of the Early Language Development (ELD) group is to acquire further information on language development process and factors associating with it, on the early identification and intervention of language delay, and on the possible longitudinal pathways of different language domains during the childhood years. In the ELD group, the acquisition of language capacity, and factors affecting it, are investigated in different populations, such as prematurely born children.

Voicing the Costs – The Economic Burden of Voice Problems (Researcher responsible for the project, Sofia Holmqvist-Jämsén)
The research project "Voicing the Costs – The Economic Burden of Voice Problems" explores the significant impact of vocal impairments on function, quality of life, and economic factors. The voice is our most widely used tool for communication and human interaction. The voice is also a crucial tool for many professions. Voice problems can lead to restricted activity, reduced participation, absenteeism or decreased productivity. This project investigates the consequences of voice problems, particularly focusing on their effects on public economy, occupational health and productivity. It aims to identify prevention strategies, improve healthcare and education for at-risk groups, and advocate for legislative changes. 

The research highlights the importance of addressing voice ergonomic risk factors and the societal costs associated with absenteeism and presenteeism due to vocal issues. By expanding the understanding of voice problems beyond specific occupational groups, this study seeks to inform healthcare workers and policymakers about the broader implications of vocal health and the need for comprehensive preventive measures. 

Afasia research group (PI Anu Klippi) 
Aphasia research group explores problems of language and its use resulting from brain damage, usually in the left hemisphere. Generally speaking, aphasia hampers the ability to produce and to comprehend language in its spoken as well as written form. Aphasia is observed in all linguistic levels: in producing and understanding words, grammatical constructions and broader narrative language. Besides the problems in linguistic processing, aphasia has always consequences to conversational interaction and the use of language.

Pragmatic Issues in Alternative Communication (PI Kaisa Launonen)
The alternative communication research group focuses its observations on non-speaking people and their speaking partners. These people may use un-aided or aided communication forms for various and multifaceted functions, such as having conversations and narrating, as well as interaction based on developmentally very early means of expression and interpretation.

Speech, language and communication needs of young people who have committed a crime (in Finnish) (PI Seija Pekkala) 
The research group develops new solutions for the field of criminal sanctions using speech-language therapy to support the agency and participation of young people who have committed a crime and have speech, language and communication needs (developmental language disorder). The project also produces an online training program in Finnish and Swedish to increase awareness of the staff in the field of criminal sanctions about developmental language disorder and to support their interaction skills. In addition, a report is made on the identification, evaluation and implementation of research-oriented social innovations related to the project's themes. 

Naming, verbal fluency and reading in school-aged children (NISULUKO) (Researcher responsible for the project Paula Salmi) 
Linguistic skills such as naming and word fluency have been found to be connected to reading skills and contribute to the development of reading and writing skills. It is important to identify language difficulties and reading difficulties early in order to provide the student with adequate and targeted support. More research data on reading difficulties and their underlying linguistic skills and research-based assessment tools are needed. Our specific target is to add knowledge of identification of language disorders and develop research-based language assessment tools for school-aged children.

Aided Communication in Rehabilitation (Researcher responsible for the project, Irina Savolainen)
The project examines the rehabilitation of aided communication within the context of standard speech therapy and as part of group-based Reco intervention.

MULAPAPU-project: How musical training and singing improve speech and language skills of children with hearing loss (PI Ritva Torppa) 
The project examines the effects and connections of formal and non-formal musical activities and singing to spoken language, the underlying mechanisms and listening effort in children with hearing loss (aged 0-6 years). The project includes music intervention (pdf) and utilizes modern methods such as tablet application and brain imaging with FNIRS. Because speech communication and effortless listening is important for education and social relationships, the research project can have a widespread effect on the rehabilitation and quality of life of children with hearing loss. 

New word learning in aphasia (Researcher responsible for the project, Leena Tuomiranta)
The project focuses on new word learning ability and cognitive-linguistic skills in post-stroke aphasia at two time points: at max. 3 months and at 12 months post-stroke. The ability to learn is the basis for effective aphasia rehabilitation. New word learning has been studied to some extent in chronic aphasia but not in people with more acute aphasia. The objectives of this project are to explore word acquisition in acute, sub-acute and chronic aphasia with a task resembling natural language learning contexts and study the association between learning ability, the cognitive-linguistic profile as measured with traditional aphasia tests as well as various background factors.