Dual Lanaguage Learning and Development Lab (DLLD)

Explore DLLD

Team Members

Publications & Presentations

For BYU Students

Dr. Connie Summers, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

June 24, 2024 05:20 PM

Dr. Summers is an associate professor at BYU and has been a licensed speech language pathologist for over 20 years. Her research focuses on culturally responsive practices for children with language disorders and their families. She is passionate about preparing students to serve multilingual populations. As a bilingual clinician, she has experience with children from birth through adolescence. She enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and reading and listening to interesting stories.

Graduate Students

Megan Buckley

October 18, 2024 10:14 AM

Megan Buckley is a first-year graduate student in the Communication Disorders program. She is from Kimberly, Idaho and obtained her undergraduate degree from Utah State University. Megan loves reading, crafting, swimming, playing board games, and spending time with loved ones. After graduation, Megan hopes to work in post brain injury speech and language rehabilitation.

Jessica Driskill

October 19, 2024 11:10 AM

Jessica Driskill is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Disorders program. She grew up in a military family, living in Germany and five different US states before graduating high school. She double majored in Communication Disorders and Portuguese Studies at BYU. Jessica enjoys outdoor activities like running and hiking as well as indoor activities such as reading and binging tv shows with her husband. Upon her graduation in 2025, Jessica is excited to pursue her career as a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist.

Alexa Darracq

October 21, 2024 05:02 PM

Alexa Darracq-Vainerere is from Arkansas! She is currently a second-year graduate student at BYU studying communication disorders for speech-language pathology. She hopes to work as a bilingual SLP, and her thesis is about the undergraduate COMD peer mentoring program. Alexa loves to act, sing, and run!

Jessica Folsom

October 22, 2024 12:44 PM

Jessica Folsom is a first-year graduate student in the Communication Disorders program. She obtained her undergraduate degree from BYU with a minor in Family Life and a Spanish Certificate. She is from Issaquah, Washington and enjoys wake surfing, hiking, painting, crafts, snow skiing, pickleball, bowling, and watching movies.

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Undergraduate Students

Iva Nelson

September 12, 2024 11:06 AM

Iva Nelson is from Farr West, Utah. She is a senior in the Communication Disorders program with a minor in Spanish. Iva loves to travel and learn about new cultures/food with her family and friends. Iva plans to get her Doctor of Audiology and eventually participate in hearing humanitarian missions in Spanish-speaking countries.

Maddy Ward

September 16, 2024 10:11 PM

Maddy Ward is from Saratoga Springs, Utah. She is a senior in the Communication Disorders program with a minor in Music. Maddy plans to get her master’s in Speech Language Pathology and is interested in using music to help future clients to further develop their speech, language, and auditory skills. Some of her hobbies include playing the violin and piano, being outside, running, and petting dogs.

Kylie Van Dyke

October 08, 2024 11:17 AM

Kylie Van Dyke is from Bakersfield, California. She is a senior in Communication Disorders with a minor in Family Life and Gerontology. Kylie enjoys spending time with friends and family, hiking, camping, reading, playing and watching sports, cooking, singing, and learning different cultural dances. Kylie plans to receive her master's in Speech Pathology and hopes to work in either schools or medical settings with the intention of eventually opening a private practice from her home.

Kylee Wasano

October 21, 2024 10:08 AM

Kylee Wasano is from Aiea, Hawaii. She is a Junior in the Communication Disorders program with a minor in Family Life. Kylee enjoys playing volleyball, boogie boarding, spending time with loved ones, and eating delicious food. Kylee plans to get her Doctorate in Audiology and eventually do baby hearing screenings and cochlear implants.

Allison Craner

October 22, 2024 12:48 PM

Allison Craner is from Portland, Oregon. She is a junior in the Communication Disorders program with a secondary major in Spanish. Allison loves to be outside exploring and is usually found on the ski slopes during the winter weekends. After graduating, she plans to get her master’s in Speech Language Pathology and hopes to help those who come from Spanish speaking backgrounds.

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The following publications are open source:

Smith, V., Cano, I., Valles, L., & Summers, C. (2021). Adapting a picture description task for grammatical analysis in English-Spanish bilingual preschool children. Communication Disorders Quarterly 42(3). 185-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525740120950274

Gibson, T., Summers, C., Peña, E., Bedore, L., Gillam, R., Bohman, T. (2015). The role of language structure and experience in bilingual children’s nonword repetition performance. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18(3), 551-560.
doi:10.1017/S1366728914000248

Bedore, L.M., Peña, E.D., Summers, C., Boerger, K., Resendiz, M., Greene, K., Bohman, T., & Gillam, R.B. (2012). The measure matters: Language dominance profiles across measures in Spanish/English bilingual prekindergarten students. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 616-629.
doi: 10.1017/S1366728912000090

Summers, C., Bohman, T., Peña, E.D., Bedore, L.M., & Gillam, R.B. (2010). Bilingual performance on nonword repetition in Spanish and English. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 45, 480-493.
doi:10.3109/13682820903198058

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