Rate My Professor Alison Prahlat

Alison Prahl, PhD, CCC-SLP, serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Baylor University since 2020. She earned her PhD in Hearing and Speech Sciences from Vanderbilt University in 2020, focusing her dissertation on reading comprehension in Down syndrome. Previously, she received her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in 2014 and Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders in 2012, both from Texas Christian University, graduating magna cum laude from the latter. Before joining academia full-time, Prahl worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, from 2014 to 2016. She holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, as well as licenses in Texas and Tennessee.

Prahl's research specializes in literacy skills, narrative language intervention, phonological awareness, listening and reading comprehension, and functional literacy for children, adolescents, and young adults with Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. She directs the Language Impairment and Down Syndrome Laboratory at Baylor University. Her peer-reviewed publications include 'Spoken Fictional Narrative and Literacy Skills of Children with Down Syndrome' (Journal of Communication Disorders, 2019, with D. Brimo), 'Individualized Narrative Intervention for School-Age Children with Specific Language Impairment' (Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2020, with C.M. Schuele), 'Phonological Awareness Intervention Using a Standard Treatment Protocol for Individuals with Down Syndrome' (Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 2021), and 'Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension in Individuals with Down Syndrome' (American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2022, with C.M. Schuele). She has received major funding, including an NIH R21 grant (2022-2025) for optimizing language outcomes in young adults with intellectual disabilities, ASHA New Investigators Research Grant (2022), and Baylor University grants. Awards encompass the Robbins College Pure Gold Research Award (2022), inaugural Gold Standard Award for Outstanding Tenure-Track Faculty (2024), ASHA Pathways Protégé (2021-2022), Saffran Student Scholar Award (2019), and multiple travel fellowships from Vanderbilt University and ASHA. Prahl teaches courses in communication sciences and disorders, contributing to improved interventions for neurodevelopmental language disorders.