Debra C. Vigil, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Ph.D., University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 1999
Associate Professor

Contact Information

Department of Speech Pathology
Redfield Building/Mail Stop 152
Reno, NV 89557

(775) 784-4887
Fax: (775) 784-4095

dvigil@unr.edu

Courses Taught

SPA 340 Language Development in Children
SPA 467 Language Disorders in Children
SPA 667 Assessment and Intervention of Children with Language Disorders
SPA 723 Language Theory

Research Interests

Identification of cultural differences in language acquisition, cultural diversity issues in treatment of minority children with language disorders, social interactive predictors of language disorders, and autism. With regard to normal development, Dr. Vigil is interested in how social and cultural behaviors of adults and siblings in a child's environment effect language acquisition. Interests with children with language disorders include how cultural socialization may effect direct intervention with children and how parents from diverse cultures may help to facilitate language development in children with language disorders. An additional interest includes how to effectively provide therapeutic services to children with autism.

Current Projects

A collaborative project with University Center for Excellence in Disabilities organizing the Nevada Autism Summit (http://repc.unr.edu/NAS/); comparing parental language input to preschool children with and without language disorders in a Spanish-speaking population, analyzing Spanish-speaking children’s gesture use for assessment purposes. Dr. Vigil's ongoing research involves students on projects at different levels of competence depending on graduate or undergraduate status.

Publications & Presentations

Vigil, D.C., Klee, T., & Hodges, J. (2005). Quantity and quality of language input to late-talking toddlers during play. Child Language Teaching and Therapy.

Vigil, D.C. (2005). Evidenced-based management of phonological impairment in children – Clinical Review. Word of Mouth, 16:5, 1-5.

Vigil, D.C. & Westby, C.E. (2004). Assessment of caregiver interaction style. American Speech Language Hearing Association, Special Interest Division 1 & 14 Newsletter. ASHA: Baltimore, MD. Invited submission

Vigil, D.C. & Hwa-Froelich, D.A. (2004). Interaction styles in minority caregivers: Implications for intervention. Communication Disorders Quarterly. Invited submission

Hwa-Froelich, D. & Vigil, D.C. (2004). Three aspects of cultural influence on communication: A literature review. Communication Disorders Quarterly. Invited submission.

Vigil, D.C. (2004). What’s involved in theory of mind tasks? Word of Mouth, 15:3, 4-7.

Vigil, D.C. (2004). What do we know about neuromotor treatments? Word of Mouth, 15:4, 1-6.

Vigil, D.C. (2002). Cultural variations in attention regulation: A comparative analysis of British and British-born Chinese. International Journal of Communication Disorders, 37, 433-458.

Peer reviewed presentations:

Vigil, D.C. & Kayser, H. (2005). Language input to Spanish-speaking children with and without language delay. Poster presented at American Speech Language Hearing Association, San Diego, CA.

Vigil, D.C. (2005). Attention regulation, culture, and word learning. Invited panel presentation. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Vigil, D.C. & Ross, S. (2003). Cultural interaction style and vocabulary acquisition. Poster presented at American Speech Language Hearing Association, Chicago, Ill.

Westby, C., Hammer, C., Vigil, D.C., & Rodriguez, B. (2003). Caregiver interactions across the multicultural spectrum: Research & application. Panel presentation at American Speech Language Hearing Association, Chicago, Ill.

Vigil, D.C. & Hwa-Froelich, D. (2002). Interaction styles in minority caregivers: Implications for intervention. Seminar presented at American Speech Language Hearing Association, Atlanta, GA.

Vigil, D.C., Wendel, J., Lamb, J., Flores, A., & Kuhles, N. (2002). Collaboration of school personnel in intervention for children with autism. Poster presented at American Speech Language Hearing Association, Atlanta, GA.

Vigil, D. C. (2001). Parent style inventory: A system to evaluate cultural differences in attention regulation. Poster presented at the 2001 Texas Research Symposium on Language Diversity, Austin, TX.

Vigil, D.C., Hodges, J., Klee, T. (2001). Quantitative and qualitative aspects of language input to late-talking toddlers during play. Poster presented at the 22nd Annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI.

Vigil, D.C. (2001). Caregiver interaction styles in a Mexican-immigrant population. Poster presented at the 2001 American Speech Language Hearing Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.

Vigil, D.C. (2001). Attention regulation, culture, and the relation to vocabulary acquisition. Paper presented in technical session at the 2001 American Speech Language Hearing Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.

Vigil, D.C., Tolbert, L., & Tyler, A.A. (2001). Speech and language screening in Early Headstart. Poster presented at the 2001 American Speech Language Hearing Association Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.

Vigil, D.C. (1999). Joint attention in cultural context. Poster presented at American Speech Language Hearing Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA.