Meet the HELD Research Team
Undergraduate Research Students
Meet the HELD Research Lab Team
Lab Director
Alliete Alfano, PhD, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT
Dr. Alfano is a bilingual speech-language pathologist and LSLS Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist with over 25 years of clinical experience. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Florida International University where she has been teaching since 2010. Additionally, Dr. Alfano is the founder of the Alfano Center which provides Speech, Language, and Occupational Therapy services for children in the Miami, Florida area.
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Dr. Alfano earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Florida State University and her Ph.D in Teaching and Learning from the University of Miami. She is trained and certified in multiple therapeutic techniques. Specifically, an AG Bell's Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist, PROMPT, Beckman Oral Motor, Asanas for Autism and Special Needs, and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.
Dr. Alfano has worked in a variety of settings including a pediatric hospital, private practice, a state university, and the Miami Dade County public school system.
Fluent in English and Spanish
Proficient in American Sign Language
Research:
Dr. Alfano's Media:
Dr. Alfano's research foci includes culture and communication issues in Hispanic-Deaf families, the speech and language development of bilingual children with cochlear implants, and test development and adaptation in Spanish for children with hearing loss. Her research has lead her to publish a multitude of papers and test assessments to benefit the speech, language, and hearing community.
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Please see a sample of Dr. Alfano's recent publications here.
Leadership:
Dr. Alfano has presented her work at local, state, national, and international levels. Presentation topics have included "Speech and Language Production in Bilingual Children with Hearing Loss","Development of the CASP-S", "Introductorio a la Terapia Auditivo Verbal", “Deafness: A Multicultural Case Study”, “Assessment and Treatment Options for Bilinguals”, “Bilingualism Myths”, and “Language Development in Bilingual Adolescents with Hearing Loss”.
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Dr. Alfano is actively involved in many organizations that work with the speech, language, and hearing community. Leadership roles that she has held include Vice President for Communications for the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists (FLASHA), Co-Chair of the Education Program for the AG Bell Convention for 2020, Steering Committee member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) Special Interest Division 14-Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Populations; and Chair, Committee for Membership Development for Special Interest Division 14. She is also a field examiner for Pearson, Janelle Publications, Western Psychological Services, Super Duper Publications, The Psychological Corporation, Pro-ed, and Academic Therapy Publications.
