Current Projects

Learning in Older Adults

The Cognitive-Communication Rehabilitation Lab at the University of Georgia is inviting older adults for a research study examining learning and engagement with fall prevention education. Specifically, we are looking for participants who:

are between the age of 65 to 115, both with and without a history of traumatic brain injury
able to speak, read, and write in English with a high degree of fluency,
able to sit upright for two hours at a time,
able to see text and images in print at approximately 20 inches,
have independent transportation to and from the UGA campus,
have no hearing impairment beyond what is correctable via hearing aid,
have no previous diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias

The study will ask you about your general health (sleep, physical activity, social, engagement), health beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions, and cognitive function. This is a two-part study. The first part will be on the UGA main campus at Aderhold Hall and will take up to 2.5 hours. The second part will be virtual and will take 30-90 minutes. There are no risks to your health, although you could become bored or tired. There is no direct benefit to you for taking part in this study. Your participation is helpful for understanding how older adults’ engagement and implement fall prevention education.

Contact Amy to Schedule an eligibility call

After Part 1, you will receive $15 and a UGA swag pack (hat, mug/cup, office supplies). After Part 2, you will receive $15 for the survey and an additional $10 for the interview.

Please email amy.kemp@uga.edu to schedule an eligibility and informational phone call.

The lead investigators on this research study are Amy Kemp, a PhD Student, and Dr. Katy O’Brien, an assistant professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Special Education at the University of Georgia. You can contact the principal investigator directly at amy.kemp@uga.edu or khobrien@uga.edu, or email the Cognitive Communication Rehabilitation Lab with any questions about this study at info@cogcomlab.org.

Reading and Concussion

TAKE THE SURVEY

The Cognitive-Communication Rehabilitation Lab at the University of Georgia is inviting adults for a research study examining reading following concussion. Specifically, we are looking for participants who:

are between the age of 18 to 35,
speak and read English fluently,
have normal or corrected to normal vision (i.e., can read 18-point font on a computer screen).

This survey should take about 20 minutes. The survey will ask you about your reading, reading habits, and learning, which will take about 15 minutes to complete.
TAKE THE SURVEY HERE: https://ugeorgia.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_73ZHbXGcGnQHqxo
You can click on the link above or copy and paste the address into your browser.

There are no risks to your health with this study, although you could become bored or tired. There is no direct benefit to you for taking part in this study. Your participation is helpful for understanding sources of reading self-efficacy in college students with and without disabilities.
At the end of the survey, you can enter to win 1 of 20 $10 gift cards. You do not have to participate in the research to enter the drawing; email us at info@cogcomlab.org to receive a link to be entered into the drawing.

All research data will be collected via the internet. Feel free to contact Yalian Pei, a Ph.D. Student, at Yalian.Pei@uga.edu or Dr. Katy O’Brien, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education at the University of Georgia, at khobrien@uga.edu, or email the Cognitive Communication Rehabilitation Lab with any questions about this study at info@cogcomlab.org.
Thank you so much for your help with this project!

Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS)

Take the Eligibility Survey

We are looking for college students to participate in the Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS) program being conducted in collaboration with Shepherd Center’s Complex Concussion Clinic. SUCCESS is a research project conducted by Shepherd Center and the University of Georgia that is developing and testing a peer mentoring program for college students with concussion.

SUCCESS connects college students who have had concussions and successfully returned to school with students currently in recovery. The program is housed in a mobile app that connects mentors and mentees and provides access to a library of resources for support during recovery.

You are eligible if you:

have a history of concussion while you were a college student,
are a current college student or graduated in the last two years,
were diagnosed with concussion by a medical professional,
are over the age of 18, and
speak English.

There are two opportunities available:

Becoming a mentor in the SUCCESS program; and/or
Developing a video and/or written testimonial about your concussion experience and recovery as a college student that will be added to our library of resources in the app.

You may participate in both opportunities if you so choose.

Peer Mentoring
Briefly, if you become a mentor, you will:

Complete online trainings in mentoring, concussion, and the SUCCESS program;
Be paired with a mentee who is a college student currently recovering from concussion;
Provide support to your mentee on an as needed basis through video calls and chats;
Share SUCCESS resources with your mentee; and
Participate in virtual group meetings with other mentors and mentees.

You will receive a stipend of $100 after successful completion of the online training, and $200 for each peer mentored.

Testimonials
If you contribute by developing a video and/or written testimonial about your concussion experiences, these will be used as part of SUCCESS programming, so that other students can learn from your experiences. If you choose to participate, you can:

Record a video testimonial describing your experience with concussion or concussion recovery generally,
Record a video testimonial describing your experience with a specific topic of your choosing related to concussion recovery, or
Provide a written account of your concussion story.

The SUCCESS team will provide you with support for recording or writing your testimonial, including guidance on information to include and how to record/write your testimonial.
You will be receive a stipend of $25 per testimonial provided.

If you are interested, please complete the eligibility survey below and the SUCCESS research coordinator will follow up with you.
Eligibility Survey
https://bit.ly/3pMJQxp
Thank you again for your interest in the peer mentoring program. If you have questions about this project, you can respond to this email or contact the principal investigators for the study (University of Georgia: Katy O’Brien, khobrien@uga.edu; Shepherd Center: Tracey Wallace, tracey.wallace@shepherd.org).