WashU was host to the first international and interdisciplinary conference to explore speech communication difficulties in older adults. The Cognition, Aging and Speech Communication conference was held May 6-9 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the WashU Medicine campus.
Aging affects speech communication through a combination of physical, neurological, and cognitive changes. These result in reduced processing speed, diminished working memory, and age-related hearing loss, which challenges older adults’ ability to quickly interpret or produce rapid speech. These changes can be manifested in slower speech rates, word-retrieval difficulties and decreased comprehension in noisy environments.
The event drew 85 participants from 19 US states and from seven countries. WashU conference co-host and Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology Kate McClannahan, PhD, was impressed with the turnout and spirit of the meeting.
“The invited talks were all well received with lively question and answer periods,” she said. “The contributed talks and posters were also excellent and highlighted work across several different labs, representing academia, clinicians and industry scientists. And, because of our NIH R13 funding, we were able to provide travel scholarships to every trainee presenter that applied.”
Larry Humes, PhD, professor emeritus at Indiana University, delivered the opening keynote address on, “Aging, Auditory Wellness and Quality of Life”.
Co-host and Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Mitchell Sommers, PhD, was impressed with the range of topics discussed.
“Talks and posters covered the entire range of interests to this field, from the neural basses of speech perception to psychosocial aspects of hearing loss.”
WashU contributions were multidisciplinary
The WashU scientific contribution to the conference included presentations by faculty, graudate students and residents:
“Lipreading Across the Adult Lifespan: Individual Differences in Lipreaders and Talkers”
Mitchell Sommers
“Insertion depth and age affect older adult cochlear implant performance”
James Bao, Amit Walia, Shannon Lefler, Jordan Varghese, Katelyn Berg, Timothy Holden, Pawina Jiramongkolchai, Nedim Durakovic, Jacques Herzog and Matthew Shew
“Predictors of auditory communication difficulties and hearing empowerment in older adults with hearing loss”
Callie Boren, Sarah McConkey and Kate McClannahan
A successful conference by all standards
The success of the conference was apparent to attendees and visiting speakers, including Kelly Harris, PhD, professor of otolaryngology at Medical University of South Carolina.
“The inaugural conference was an exceptionally well-organized and engaging meeting,” said Harris. “The balance of junior and senior speakers created an environment that was both intellectually rigorous and highly collaborative, with plenty of time for meaningful discussion between talks. The conference size was ideal for fostering new connections and in-depth conversations, and the focus on cognition, aging, and communication made the topics especially timely and impactful.”
The 2nd CASC conference will be held in Linköping, Sweden, in the summer of 2028. Check the conference page for photo highlights and 2028 updates.