Individual and group voice services are provided by graduate student clinicians in our MA-SLP program during their clinical voice team rotation. We offer both in-person and telehealth sessions. The student clinicians are supervised by Louise Pinkerton, a licensed and certified SLP, who specializes in voice and upper airway disorders across the lifespan. Student clinical experiences will be drawn from the services described below.    

At the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic, we provide voice and upper airway treatment across this lifespan. Common diagnoses treated include vocal fold nodules, muscle tension dysphonia, presbyphonia, and chronic cough. We also work with clients with vocal fold paralysis, tremor, spasmodic dysphonia, puberphonia, and vocal fold dysfunction (paradoxical vocal fold motion). Many referrals come from the Voice and Swallowing Clinic at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and we may also do evaluations in our clinic. We have a Visi-Pitch system for voice analysis and a stroboscopy tower in our clinic. Hands-on-training in laryngoscopy is available in coursework. 

Professional Voice Rehabilitation: Professional voice users are people who depend on their voices for their livelihood, such as singers, actors, broadcasters, teachers, courtroom lawyers, clergy and telemarketers. The goal of therapy is to return them to a professional level and prevent future injury. Graduate student-clinicians may have an opportunity to serve these elite clients in collaboration with Louise Pinkerton who has a unique background in speech pathology, vocology, and vocal performance. 

Treatment for Hypophonia and Parkinson's Disease: We offer SPEAK OUT!® for adults with Parkinson’s Disease and LSVT LOUD® for adults with Parkinson’s Disease and adults and children with other neurological conditions. These intensive, research-based therapies target increasing vocal effort to increase the quality, loudness, and intelligibility of the speaker. 

For more information about voice and upper airway disorders, visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) website.

Read our webpage, Voice Treatment for Neurologic Diagnoses, for more information.

Professional Voice Training 

Individual voice habilitation services are available on a limited basis to educate healthy voice users about voice use and to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of their voice for speaking and singing. These services are different than rehabilitative services for disorders because they address improving the voice or maintaining vocal health instead of the guiding the recovery process.  
 

Educator Workshops: In the Fall 2023, we are starting a new program in collaboration with the Regents Alternative Pathway to Iowa Licensure. RAPIL is a collaboration between the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa to prepare people with real world experience to become teachers in Iowa. Our new vocal health for educators program will include workshops with RAPIL students during their first semester of study and later during their student teaching experience. For information about scheduling an educator workshop, contact Louise Pinkerton at louise-pinkerton@uiowa.edu. 

For more information about keeping your voice healthy, visit the National Institutes of Health (NIH) webpage.

Independent Study 

Louise Pinkerton, M.M., M.A., CCC-SLP guides both graduate and undergraduate students in independent studies or special projects. Students have presented posters and talks for regional organizations, completed a group independent study on Professional Voice Rehabilitation, and joined an undergraduate discussion group.