Jana Parker, SLPD, CCC-SLP

Jana Parker serves as Graduate Program Director, Associate Director of the Language and Literacy Clinic, Director of the Reading Clinic, and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Dr. Parker is a licensed speech-language pathologist, trained in the Wilson Reading System, a member of the International Dyslexia Association, and a founding member of the Structured Word Inquiry Research Vanguard (SWIRV). 

Dr. Parker joined the Baylor faculty in 2006 after practicing speech-language pathology in numerous clinical settings, including public schools, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health. She served as adjunct faculty from 2009 through 2016 before rejoining Baylor as a full-time faculty member in the Fall of 2016. She currently serves on several CSD departmental committees within CSD and as an executive board member of the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association.

Dr. Parker’s scholarly interests center on the history of words and the underlying logic and structure of English spelling, along with newfound enthusiasm for sentence diagramming. Outside the clinic and classroom, she can usually be found either looking up a word’s origin on Etymonline, practicing “real script,” going for a jog, or cooking for her family.

Areas of Research Interest

• Language Development
• Spelling Development and Interventions in Children with Developmental Language Disorder
• Structured Word Inquiry
• Handwriting
• Syntax Intervention
• Adolescent Slang Vocabulary
• Written Expression
• Dyslexia
• Telepractice versus In-Person Speech-Language Therapy
• Voice Therapy

Current Courses Taught

• CSD 5149 Clinical Practicum in Speech Pathology
• CSD 5149-04 Diagnostic Practicum
• CSD 1308 Language Development
• CSD 5306 Leveling Language Development
• CSD 4V86 Health Science Leadership: Community Engagement and Service-Learning in Communication Sciences and Disorders