People

Suvi Stolt, PhD                                                                                    

Professor in Speech and Language Pathology (Logopedics)

Prof. Stolt has a special interest in language acquisition process during the childhood years in different populations. Her research has focused on longitudinal follow-up studies on typical development in full-term children as well as on the language development of children born very preterm (<32 gestational weeks). 

Prof. Stolt is a principal investigator of the following studies 'Clear Path for the Language Development of Very Preterm Children (Pikkukeskosen kielipolku]', ´Auditory Environment by Parent of Preterm Infants. Language Development Eye Movements, part II (APPLE II),  'The validation and norming study of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories III' (the FinCDI III Study; LEINIKKI Study), and 'The norming study of the Finnish short form versions of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories' (the FinCDI-SF Study; Sanaseula Study).

Research database TUHAT

Research gate

ORCID: 0000-0002-6029-5459

Eva Ståhlberg-Forsén, MA

Postgraduate student in Speech and Language Pathology (Logopedics)

MA Eva Ståhlberg-Forsén has long clinical experience from working as a speech and language pathologist in the field of pediatric neurology.

MA Ståhlberg-Forsén is pursuing her PhD within the APPLE-II Study. The focus of her study is on early language development of preterm children, on the suitability of new methods to identify language problems and on the possible effects of very early parental language use on communication and language development.

Eva Ståhlberg-Forsén has received a 4-year salaried position for her PhD studies from the doctoral program of Cognition, Learning, Instruction and Communication (CLIC), University of Helsinki, in November 2018. Her PhD study has also been supported by the Swedish Cultural Foundation of Finland / Ostrobothnia.

Eva will defend her thesis in autumn 2023

Eveliina Joensuu, MA

Postgraduate student in Speech and Language Pathology (Logopedics)

Eveliina Joensuu graduated from the University of Oulu in 2015. Throughout her undergraduate studies she has been interested in research projects in the multidisciplinary field of logopedics. Now Eveliina is performing her PhD studies in the University of Helsinki. She is also working as a clinical speech and language pathologist in a health clinic.

MA Joensuu’s PhD thesis is part of the multidisciplinary cohort study called PIPARI (The Development and Functioning of Very Low Birth Weight Infants from Infancy to School Age). The focus of her thesis is on the possible association between the features of early language development and later literacy and language skills in children born very preterm.

Eveliina Joensuu recieved a 4-year salaried position for her PhD studies from the doctoral program of Congition, Learning, Instruction and Communication (CLIC), University of Helsinki from the beginning of 2020. 
 

Riikka Mustonen, MA

Postgraduate student in Speech-Language Pathology (Logopedics)

Riikka Mustonen graduated from the University of Helsinki in 2010, and has been working since then as a clinical speech and language pathologist in a health clinic and in the field of child psychiatry.

MA Mustonen is preparing her PhD thesis in the FinCDI III Study (LEINIKKI Study). The focus of her study is on the possible association between background factors (reading, telling stories, singing to a child and screen time of a child and parent) and language skills in pre-school aged children.

Riikka Mustonen's PhD study is supported by a 4-year grant from Finnish Cultural Foundation. 

Sirpa Tarvainen, MA

Postgraduate student in Speech and Language Pathology (Logopedics)

MA Sirpa Tarvainen has a clinical background as a speech and language therapist. In addition, she has worked as the chair of the Finnish Association of Speech and Language Therapists.

MA Tarvainen is preparing her PhD thesis on oral language comprehension interventions in children and adolescents with language disorder or difficulties.  

Sirpa Tarvainen’s PhD study is supported by Olvi-Foundation. She is also involved in a project examining intervention features related to the efficacy of oral language comprehension interventions funded by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela).

Marianna Visapää, MA

Postgraduate student in Speech and Language Pathology (Logopedics)

MA Marianna Visapää graduated from the University of Helsinki in 2010 and has been working since then as a clinical speech and language pathologist in the field of peadiatric neurology. 

MA Visapää's PhD thesis is part the FinCDI-SF Study (Sanaseula Study). The focus in her study is on very early pre-reading skills and the associations between early pre-reading skills and emerging language ability during the childhood years.

Susanna Surakka, MA

Postgraduate student in Speech and Language Pathology (Logopedics)

MA Susanna Surakka graduated from the University of Helsinki in 2015 and she has been working since then as a clinical speech and language pathologist. 

MA Surakka's PhD thesis is part the FinCDI-SF Study (Sanaseula Study). The focus in her study is on the early screening methods, the relationship between cognitive and language development, and stability in language development between 2;0 and 5;0 years of age.

Anna Markkula, MA

Postgraduate student in Speech and Language Pathology (Logopedics)

MA Anna Markkula graduated from the University of Oulu in 2020 and she has been working since then as a clinical speech and language pathologist.

MA Markkula's PhD thesis is part of the project "Early identification and intervention of weak language skills of very preterm children in the context of cognitive and social factors (Pikkukeskosen kielipolku -hanke)". The focus in her study is on examining the effectiveness of a language intervention for very preterm born children with weak language skills.