Jessica Kinard, PhD CCC-SLP
Research Assistant Professor &
Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
What I Teach
My courses, presentations, and workshops focus on providing evidence-based and culturally-responsive care for families and children with developmental disabilities. Examples of topics I have covered include:
Typical communication and play development
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Parent-child interactions
Early identification of developmental disabilities
Autism spectrum disorder
Child language disorders
Early speech-language intervention
Interdisciplinary collaboration and family-centered practices
Phonetics
Child abuse and neglect
Research methods
Neural mechanisms of reward processing
Explore below to see examples of my teaching experiences.
"We Work on That as a Team": Collaborating with Hispanic/Latine Families to Support Communication Development in Young Autistic Children
International Early Childhood Inclusion Institute, Chapel Hill, NC
Invited oral presentation, 2024
In this session, participants discussed how to integrate family-centered principles and cultural humility into their work with Hispanic/Latine families of young autistic children with communication needs. Based on evidence-based research and true case examples of families’ lived experiences, participants discussed: building trust and empowerment in families, including when communicating through an interpreter; cultural and linguistic variations across Hispanic cultures that intersect with the identification and treatment of autism; and collaborating as a team with families to support the communication development of young autistic children. The session also reviewed resources that are available for practitioners and families in Spanish.
Advancing Skills and Knowledge (ASK) Conference: Strategies for Promoting Early Communication Skills
Chapel Hill, NC
Webinar Presenter, 2021
Designed for early childhood educators, the learning outcomes for this webinar were to: (1) Use information about typical communication milestones to guide observations of children; (2) Identify evidence-based contexts for working on communication skills; (3) Describe and demonstrate several evidence-based strategies for promoting children’s communication; and (4) Identify resources for continued learning on this topic
Doctoral seminar: Research methods in Appraisal, Dissemination, and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Co-Instructor, 2019
I had the opportunity to co-instruct a doctoral seminar in Spring 2019 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The course was designed for 1st and 2nd year doctoral students funded on U.S. Department of Education leadership grants in the fields of speech and hearing science, occupational science, and special education. The purpose of the course was to learn about methodological tools required for the appraisal, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based practice in the students’ field of interest. The course focused on methods for: (a) appraising evidence quality and synthesizing the strength of evidence for the effectiveness of particular practices; (b) disseminating evidence in a way that is meaningful and useful for practitioners, administrators, and policy-makers; and (c) implementing and sustaining evidence-based practices within service delivery systems. To address these topics, my co-instructor and I alternated teaching, leading class discussions, and inviting guest speakers. For their assignments, students worked in teams to complete an abbreviated systematic review on a topic of their choice. This project required students to: consult with a community stakeholder to develop their topic and research question; conduct an abbreviated search of the literature on their topic (abbreviated to fit the timeline of the course); assess the resulting articles for eligibility and quality; and synthesize the results in a meaningful way to answer their research question. The students presented their findings at the end of the year, along with a plan for how to disseminate the results to relevant stakeholders. In addition to this group project, students completed the following individual assignments: (1) presenting two “micro-lessons” to their classmates throughout the semester on a topic outlined in the syllabus; and (2) drafting a “letter of intent” to a funding agency, describing an implementation research project they would like to complete.
Advancing Skills and Knowledge (ASK) Conference: Children with Disabilities from Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Families
Chapel Hill, NC
Workshop Instructor, 2018 & 2019
For two years in a row, I led a workshop called "Children with Disabilities from Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Families." We discussed family-centered principles for working with children with disabilities from diverse backgrounds, including recommended guidelines for: (1) understanding the family’s point of view related to their child’s care and education; (2) making decisions with the family about the child’s care and education; and (3) engaging in conversations with the family about the child’s continued progress.
Undergraduate Course: Child Language Disorders
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Instructor, 2013
I was awarded a fellowship to teach an undergraduate course with the guidance of a faculty mentor, made possible by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Seminar Program. As part of this fellowship, I created and taught an undergraduate course entitled “IDST 190: Child Language Disorders.” This course included freshmen and sophomore students with a variety of interests, including education, linguistics, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, psychology, nursing, among other professions. Students learned about language disorders associated with Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and hearing loss. Language disorders in the context of bilingual language learning and diverse cultures were also discussed.
To expose students to the real-life nature of these conditions, students met with families of children with disabilities and professionals from a variety of fields. We also viewed videos of children with language disorders, completed role-play activities, and discussed case studies. A core component of the course was to complete a scientific research project. Students researched a language disorders topic of choice by either: (a) interviewing professionals and parents of children with language disorders; or (b) analyzing videos of children with language disorders. These assignments led to a final research presentation. The students seemed enthusiastic about meeting families and learning information that would help them in their future careers. Over the years since this course ended, several students have approached me to share how participating in this class sparked their interest in speech-language pathology and audiology, and how they are now pursuing careers in those professions.
Clinical Affective Neuroscience Lab
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mentor and Instructor, 2015 – present
Through my research at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, I have the opportunity to mentor and teach undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students in our research lab. Our lab meets weekly throughout the year, during which I have provided presentations of a variety of topics, including: criteria for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan; reward processing in autism spectrum disorder, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); parent-mediated intervention programs targeting social-communication in toddlers and preschoolers; and parent-child interactions among infants at-risk for autism spectrum disorder. In addition to lab presentations, I have provided: (a) individual mentorship to undergraduate students in the lab completing independent studies and honors theses; (b) research mentorship to master’s and doctoral students completing research experiences in the lab; and (c) mentorship on doctoral coursework as part of a doctoral student's program planning committee. These students have majored in a variety of health- and education-related fields, such as speech-language pathology, maternal and child health, special education, and psychology. I also mentor graduate students completing training in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, which is designed to foster leadership and interdisciplinary skills through clinical and research experiences. As part of their LEND program, I supervise the students’ research experiences and individual research projects.
North Carolina Partners of the Americas
Professional Exchanges and Workshops
2014 – present
I volunteer as Co-Chair of the Autism Project Committee, Board Member, and former Executive Board Member at the North Carolina Partners of the Americas, a volunteer organization that fosters collaborations with families and professionals across North Carolina and Bolivia. In this role, I have: (a) traveled to Bolivia with UNC-CH faculty to serve as a Spanish-language interpreter and provide intensive training in autism and communication interventions; (b) hosted Bolivian professionals as they attend training in the United States; (c) helped develop a distance-education video series in Spanish about autism spectrum disorder, which my collaborators and I have had the opportunity to create through a Hyatt Rotary Public Service Award from the UNC Carolina Center for Public Service; and (d) provided oversight and feedback on projects in the organization, such as our autism project, a teacher-in-residence training program, and an early literacy program.
Our autism video training series is available for free at the link below.
DuBay, M., Kinard, J.L., & Watson, L.R. (2018). Atención al trastorno de espectro autista: Videos de Formación/Focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder: Training Videos [Video Series]. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Partners of the Americas.
T32 Postdoctoral Seminar in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Course Organization and Guest Lecture, 2015 – 2017
During my T32 postdoctoral research fellowship, I helped organize guest speakers for our cohort’s seminar on neurodevelopmental disorders. This seminar series was geared toward postdoctoral fellows with backgrounds in basic science, as well as clinical research, in order to cultivate translational and interdisciplinary research. I also provided a guest lecture about “Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Autism Spectrum Disorder,” where I discussed the importance of considering cultural and linguistic diversity in our research. I presented family-reported beliefs about bilingualism in autism spectrum disorder, along with literature on typical bilingual development, bilingualism in populations at-risk or diagnosed with a disorder, and bilingualism in autism spectrum disorder.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention (ASHA)
Orlando, FL
Oral Presentation, 2014
I had the opportunity to present the findings from my dissertation at the 2014 ASHA Convention, an annual conference for speech-language pathologists and audiologists. My session was entitled “Parent-Mediated Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Families of Toddlers and Preschoolers with Autism.” I described my original research about implementing a parent-mediated intervention with Spanish-speaking families of young children with autism spectrum disorder, focusing on clinical implications for providing culturally-relevant and family-centered interventions. To provide practical tools for clinicians, I showed sample interviews, data collection forms, and videos of the intervention. The presentation was targeted toward speech-language pathologists who provide services to young children with autism from culturally and linguistically diverse families, particularly Spanish-speaking families.
Masters Course: Interdisciplinary Autism Seminar
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Instructor, 2012
Along with two doctoral students in occupational therapy and special education, I co-taught the master’s course “SPHS 802: Interdisciplinary Autism Seminar.” The course included speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, school psychology, and special education master’s students, and gave an overview of autism spectrum disorder from an interdisciplinary perspective. In the first part of the course, students learned background information about autism spectrum disorder, including: the history of the disorder; proposed etiologies and theories; myths related to the autism; signs and symptoms of autism; and the screening and diagnostic process. The second part of the class exposed students to intervention techniques geared toward speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and special educators. Overall, the course provided students with a practical, culturally-diverse, and interdisciplinary perspective on autism spectrum disorder. Students also gained tools and resources that they could apply in their professional settings.
Advancing Skills and Knowledge (ASK) Conference: Language and Play Skills in Early Childhood
Chapel Hill, NC
Workshop Instructor, 2013
The Advancing Skills and Knowledge (ASK) is an annual conference for professionals in early childcare and school age education. My workshop was entitled "Language and play skills in early childhood: Typical development, red flags, and useful activities." I designed the workshop for teachers specializing in the birth-to-five age range. We discussed how language and play typically develop within this age group, and practiced identifying “red flags” in these domains, including warning signs of autism. We also brainstormed activities to support children’s language and play development in their natural routines.
Workshop: Language Development in Early Childhood
Durham’s Early Childhood Faith Initiative: Congregations & Early Childhood Lunch & Learn Series, Durham, NC
Workshop Instructor, 2012
Durham's Early Childhood Faith Initiative offers a "lunch and learn" series of educational talks, geared toward early childcare providers in local congregations. In this workshop, we discussed typical language development in the birth-to-five age group, as well as signs that may indicate the need for early intervention.
Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Phonetics
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Teaching Assistant, 2010
I was a teaching assistant for the undergraduate course SPHS 530: Introduction to Phonetics. For this course, I taught speech-language pathology undergraduate students about typical phonological development, delayed and disordered phonological development, and how phonological development is usually assessed in children.
