Ph.D. - Communicative Disorders
University of Wisconsin - 1981

M.S. - Communicative Disorders
University of Montana - 1977

B.A. - Linguistics
Wesleyan University - 1974

Paradise, J. L., Campbell, T. F., Dollaghan, C. A., Feldman, H. M., Bernard, B. S., Colborn, D. K., Rockette, H. E., Janosky, J. E., Pitcairn, D. L., Kurs-Lasky, M., Sabo, D. L., & Smith, C. G. (2005). Developmental outcomes after early or delayed insertion of tympanostomy tubes. New England Journal of Medicine, 353, 576-586. 2005 - Publication

Dollaghan, C. A. (2004). Taxometric analyses of specific language impairment in 3- and 4-year-old children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 464-475. 2004 - Publication

Paradise, J. L., Feldman, H. M., Campbell, T. F., Dollaghan, C. A., Colborn, D. K., Bernard, B. S., Rockette, H. E., Janosky, J.E., Pitcairn, D. L., Sabo, D. L., Kurs-Lasky, M., & Smith, C. G. (2003). Early versus delayed insertion of tympanostomy tubes for persistent otitis media: developmental outcomes at the age of three years in relation to prerandomization illness patterns and hearing levels. Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 22, 309-314. 2003 - Publication

Feldman, H. M., Dollaghan, C. A., Campbell, T. F., Colborn, D. K., Janosky, J., Kurs-Lasky, M., Rockette, H.E., Dale, P. S. & Paradise, J. L. (2003). Parent-reported language skills in relation to otitis media during the first three years of life. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46, 273-287. 2003 - Publication

Paradise, J. L., Dollaghan, C. A. Campbell, T. F., Feldman, H. M., Bernard, B. S., Colborn, D. K., Rockette, H. E., Janosky, J. E., Pitcairn, D. L., Kurs-Lasky, M., Sabo, D. L., & Smith, C. G. (2003). Otitis media and tympanostomy tube insertion during the first three years of life: Developmental outcomes at the age of four years. Pediatrics, 112(2), 265-277. 2003 - Publication

Campbell, T. F., Dollaghan, C. A., Rockette, H. E., Paradise, J. L., Feldman, H. M., Shriberg, L. D., Sabo, D., Kurs-Lasky, M. (2003). Risk factors for speech delay in three-year-old children. Child Development, 74, 346-357. 2003 - Publication

Paradise, J. L., Feldman, H. M., Campbell, T. F., Dollaghan, C. A., Colborn, D. K., Bernard, B. S., Rockette, H. E., Janosky, J. E., Pitcairn, D. L., Sabo, D. L., Kurs-Lasky, M., & Smith, C. G. (2001). Early versus late tympanostomy tube placement for persistent otitis media: developmental outcomes at age 3 years. The New England Journal of Medicine, 344(16), 1179-1195. 2001 - Publication

Feldman, H. M., Dollaghan, C. A., Campbell, T. F., Kurs-Lasky, M., Janosky, J. E., & Paradise, J. L. (2000). Measurement properties of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories at ages 1 and 2 years. Child Development, 71, 310-322. 2000 - Publication

Paradise, J. L., Dollaghan, C.A., Campbell, T. F., Feldman, H. M., Bernard, B. S., Colborn, D. K., Rockette, H. E., Janosky, J. E., Pitcairn, D. L., Kurs-Lasky, M., & Smith, C. G. (2000). Language, speech sound production, and cognition in 3-year-old children in relation to otitis media in their first 3 years of life. Pediatrics, 105, 1119-1130. 2000 - Publication

Dollaghan, C. A., Campbell, T. F., Paradise, J. L., Feldman, H. M., Janosky, J. E., Pitcairn, D. L., & Kurs-Lasky, M. (1999). Maternal education and measures of early speech and language. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, 1432-1443. 1999 - Publication

Professor
University of Texas at Dallas (Dallas, Texas) [2006–Present]

Professor
University of Pittsburgh [2001–2006]

Associate Professor
University of Pittsburgh [1994–2001]

Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh [1989–1994]

Director, Speech
University of Pittsburgh [1987–1992]

Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh [1987–1989]

Acting Director
Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) [1986–1986]

Clinical Associate Professor
Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) [1983–1987]

Adjunct Professor
Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) [1983–1987]

Education Coordinator
Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) [1982–1987]

Separating lexical and phrasal stress: An investigation of stress clash resolution

2003–2003 Rusiewicz, H. L., Dollaghan, C. A., & Campbell, T. F., Poster, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Chicago, 11/03.

Making clinical sense: results of a major language intervention trial

2006–2007 Gillam, R., Dollaghan, C., Fey, M., Hewitt, L., & Schuele, C. M., Presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Miami, 11/06.

Speech change in young children after severe traumatic brain injury

4–4 Campbell, T. F., & Dollaghan, C. A., Presented at the Seventh World Congress on Brain Injury, Lisbon, Portugal, 4/08.

Diagnosing our diagnostic indicators: An evidence-based analysis

2004–2004 Dollaghan, C. & Campbell T.F. Seminar, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Philadelphia, 11/04

Speech skills one-year following severe pediatric traumatic brain injury

2005–2006 Rusiewicz, H. L., Campbell, T. F., & Dollaghan, C. A., Poster, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, San Diego, 11/05.

Professional Activities and Honors

• Chair, Science Advisory Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2008-present
• Chair, Advisory Committee on Evidence-Based Practice of ASHA, 2005-2008
• Consultant, Canadian Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs project on culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment , 2007-present
• Chair, Research and Scientific Affairs Committee of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2001-2004
• Member, Joint Coordinating Committee on Evidence-Based Practice, ASHA, 2004
• Marden Fellow, University of Hong Kong, 2004
• Member, National Outcomes Measurement Survey Task Force, ASHA, 2003-2004
• Member, Data Safety Monitoring Committee, National Institutes of Health, 2001-2005
• Member ad hoc, NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Clinical Trials Review Committee, 2002
• Member, NIH Behavioral and Biobehavioral Processes Subcommittee 3,1999-2002
• Associate Editor - Language, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 1995-1998
• Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1998
• Member, NIH Human Development and Aging Subcommittee 3, 1998-1999
• Member ad hoc, NIH Human Development and Aging Subcommittee 1, 1996, 1997
• Reviewer ad hoc, NIH National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2009
• Reviewer ad hoc, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; The Wellcome Trust Neurosciences Section (United Kingdom); United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation
• Reviewer ad hoc, Bamford-Lahey Foundation research scholarship competition; American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation New Century Scholars Competition; University of Texas-Southwestern Clinical and Translational Science Initiative Pilot Grant Program
• Member, National Advisory Board, Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999-present
• Chair, Program Committee on Language Science, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, 1989; member, 1985, 1993, 1997, 2000
• Reviewer, Society for Research in Child Development 2001 Biennial Meeting
• Member, Review Committee, Arlene Matkin Student Scholarship Competition, American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation, 1990-92, 1998, 1999
• Chair, Program Committee, Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1980
• Editorial Consultant: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research; American Journal of Speech-Language-Pathology, Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention

Personal Statement

Chris Dollaghan completed her BA in linguistics at Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT) and her MA and PhD in communicative disorders at the University of Montana and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. She was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh prior to joining the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences in 2006. She received the Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2012.

Research Aims for Better Diagnosis of Language Impairments

Recent studies by a UT Dallas researcher aim at finding better ways to diagnose young children with language impairments. Dr. Christine Dollaghan, a professor at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders and the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, is author of a paper in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. The study evaluated data collected from a large sample of about 600 children. Some of the participants had specific language impairments, or SLI. She wanted to deterimine whether SLI should be regarded as a discrete diagnostic category. As in the earlier investigation, she found the 6-year-olds with SLI did not represent a distinct group with unique characteristics Instead, they fell at the lower end of a continuous distribution of language skills. The results of the study could help in developing diagnostic protocols for children with language impairment and tailoring treatments to the characteristics of individual children. Dollaghan said the categorical-continuous question is being examined by investigators interested in many other diagnostic categories, including autism, schizophrenia and ADHD.

Speech-Language Researcher Awarded Top Honors

Dr. Christine Dollaghan, a professor in UT Dallas’ School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS), received the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) top award during this fall’s national convention. Dollaghan was selected for Honors of the Association, which recognizes members who have made distinguished contributions to the field of communication sciences and disorders. Recipients have earned the respect of colleagues around the world for long careers of innovative and insightful research, impressive clinical practice, outstanding teaching or for other significant accomplishments. Dollaghan conducts research and teaches at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders. She has played a leading role in shaping evidence-based practice in communication disorders, chairing ASHA’s Research and Scientific Affairs Committee and the Advisory Committee on Evidence-based Practice. Dollaghan’s Handbook of Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders is widely used by researchers, clinicians, faculty and students.

Report Details Rising Trends in Children's Communication Disorders

A panel of national experts — which included a UT Dallas professor — recently released a report that said the number of children diagnosed with speech and language disorders in the U.S. is increasing. 

The committee was organized by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at the request of the Social Security Administration’s Office of Disability Policy. The Social Security office has seen an increase in the number of children receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for speech and language disorders and wanted to get the facts from industry experts. 

Child development in relation to early otitis media

$4,629,089 - National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Maternal and Child Health [1996–2000]

Preparation of speech-language pathologists and audiologists to serve children with complex communication disorders

$484,636 - U.S. Department of Education [1994–1998]

Research Supplement for Under-represented Minority Graduate Research Assistants

$44,201 - National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders [1994–1996]

Spoken word recognition in language-impaired children

$350,000 - National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders [1993–1998]

Child development in relation to early otitis media

$6,371,069 - National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Maternal and Child Health [1991–1996]