Dr Sheela S.

Associate Professor

Department of Speech and Hearing

Qualification: Phd

CURRENT ACADEMIC ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

    Dr. Sheela S. is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Speech and Hearing, MCHP.

    She is:

    • V Semester (BASLP) Class Coordinator
    • Clinical supervision & patient care
    • Speech-Science  Lab Incharge
    • Teaching: Undergraduate/Postgraduate
    • Guide: Conferences / Paper presentations/Dissertations
    • MSc (SLP) JC Incharge
    • Laryngectomy Certificate Course – Deputy Co-ordinator
    • CPC Incharge
    • Dept. Alumni Co-ordinator

SUBJECTS CURRENTLY TEACHING

Subject Semester / Year
Structural Anomalies and Speech Disorders III BASLP, 5th Semester
Clinical Practicum I MSc (SLP), 2nd semester
Clinical in Speech-Language Pathology BASLP, 4th semester

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

Degree Specialisation Institute Year of passing
Ph.D Speech-Language Pathology Department of Speech and Hearing Manipal College of Health Professions (MCHP) Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Manipa 2020
MAHE-FAIMER two- year fellowship program Leadership in interprofessional education (IPE) and practice interprofessional practice (IPP) MAHE-FAIMER Regional Institute, Manipal, India. 2019
MSc Speech-Language Pathology All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore University, Mysore 2011
BSc Speech and Hearing All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore University, Mysore 2009

Experience

Institution / Organisation Designation Role Tenure
Dept. of Speech & Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professions (MCHP), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal Associate Professor June 2021-Till date
Dept. of Speech & Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professions (MCHP), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal Assistant Professor-Senior July 2018-May 2021
Dept. of Speech & Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal Assistant Professor November 2013 - July 2018
Naseema Institute of Speech & Hearing (NAISH), Banglore Assistant Professor August 2013 –November 2013
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore University, Mysore Speech-Language Pathologist May 2013 –August 2013
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore University, Mysore Research Officer March 2012 – May 2013
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore University, Mysore Speech-Language Pathologist September 2011 –March 2012

AREAS OF INTEREST, EXPERTISE AND RESEARCH

Area of Interest

Speech-Language Pathology

Area of Expertise

Voice disorders, laryngectomy rehabilitation, cleft lip & palate, glossectomy, mandibulectomy and fluency disorders

Area of Research

Voice disorders, laryngectomy rehabilitation, swallowing and fluency disorder

Professional Affiliations & Contributions

Membership of the Professional bodies:
  • Life member of Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI)
  • Life member of Indian Speech & Hearing Association (ISHA)
  • Life member of Laryngology and Voice Association (LVA)
  • Life member of Indian Speech & Hearing Association –Manipal Chapter (ISHA-MC)

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

  • Received second prize in MAHE-Dedalus Mental Health Hackathon-2022, held on 26th & 27th August 2022, organized by MCHP, MAHE, Manipal.
  • Received funding for MAHE-FAIMER fellowship program by MAHE, Manipal
  • Received travelling grants from ‘Cancer Aid and Research Foundation (CARF) and Prof. Bellur Rajashekhar, Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research and Voice Restoration’, MAHE, Manipal, India for attending conference at the 9th Asia Pacific Conference of Speech, Language & Hearing (APCSLH) held from 9th -11th October 2015 at Guangzhou, China
  • Received Best Presentation Award at 9th APCSLH Conference held from 9-11th October, 2015 at Guangzhou, China
  • Received Second Prize for Oral Presentation at 5th TAN-ISHACON Conference held from 3rd-4th October 2015 at Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
  • Received funding for PhD by ‘Cancer Aid and Research Foundation (CARF) and Prof. Bellur Rajashekhar, Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research and Voice Restoration’ for the thesis titled ‘Aerodynamic and Perceptual Measures in Non-indwelling and Indwelling Tracheoesophageal Prosthetic Voice’.
  • Received Best Clinical Case (CC) Presentation Award for the year 2007-2008, from AIISH, Mysore.

CERTIFICATIONS:

  • Certificate course in qualitative research methods conducted by Transdisciplinary Center for Qualitative Methods (TCQM), MAHE, from April-July 2018
  • Certificate course in Bioethics conducted by Centre for bioethics, MU, Manipal from September-November 2016
  • Certificate Course in Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Methodology conducted by the Department of Statistics, MU, Manipal from February 2014-July 2014.
  • Certified Specialist in Laryngectomy Rehabilitation (SLR), completed the course on ‘Voice Rehabilitation after Laryngectomy”, and the mandatory hands-on training as partial fulfilment, during the period of January 2013 to June 2013, Department of Speech and Hearing, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences (MCOAHS), MU, India.

Laryngeal aerodynamic analysis of vocal nodules

2013-01-01

Abstracts: The present study is aimed to investigate the effects of vocal nodules on the aerodynamic analysis of the voice. The study included twelve females with normal laryngeal and respiratory functions and twelve age, gender and language matched females with bilateral vocal nodules within the age group of 18-40 years. All participants were subjected to non-invasive aerodynamic analysis using Aeroview 1.4.4 version (Glottal Enterprises Inc, USA). The participants were instructed to produce the CV syllable train "papapapa" into the circumvented mask at comfortable pitch and loudness. The recorded stimuli were analyzed to obtain laryngeal aerodynamic measures such as estimated subglottic pressure, mean airflow rate, laryngeal airway resistance, and laryngeal airway conductance. Mean and standard deviation for all the four laryngeal aerodynamic measures were calculated separately for both control and clinical groups. The results revealed significant effect of voice on laryngeal measures such as estimated subglottic pressure and mean airflow rate. Thus, results suggest that indirect measurement of laryngeal aerodynamic parameters are effective and essential investigative tools in assessment of vocal nodules. Journal of Laryngology and Voice, 3(1), 10-13. 2013

Comparison of Nasalance Values Obtained from Nasality visualization system and Nasometer II.

2012-01-01 Reddy, B, M Gopi Kishore. P.

Abstract: This study was designed to compare nasalance scores obtained with the Nasality visualization system (NVS) and Nasometer II (NM), and to evaluate test-retest reliability of nasalance scores on each of these instruments. Twenty two adult females, without any resonance or articulation disorders, in the age range of 17 to 25 years were considered for the study. Nasalance values were obtained using NVS and NM for the stimuli vowels (/a/, i// and /u/), syllables (/pa/, /ta/, /ka/, /ba/, /da/ and /ga/), eight oral and eight nasal sentences. Following familiarization task, the participants were instructed to read the stimuli with the headset/separator handle for the actual recording. Results indicated trends of increase in nasalance values with increase in vowel height, place of articulation moving backward in the oral tract, and voicing. Paired sample t test revealed significant difference between the nasalance measured by NVS and NM instruments across all the stimuli at p < 0.05 level of significance. Chronbach's alpha revealed good test retest reliability for both NVS and NM for most of the stimuli (α > 0.70). From the findings of the study it may be concluded that nasalance values obtained from the Nasometer II and Nasal visualization system are not interchangeable and cannot be compared directly. The normative data, cutoff scores, sensitivity, specificity and other data of NM might not be applicable to nasalance values obtained from NVS and therefore, has to be established separately for NVS. Good test retest reliability obtained in the present study for NVS makes it a reliable nasalance measuring tool for clinical and research purposes. However, further studies investigating diagnostic efficacy using clinical population and correlations of perceptual analysis of nasalance might verify the validity of this instrument. Journal of All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, 31, 1-9. 2012

Pre-post comparison of stuttering awareness program among prospective teachers: A preliminary study.

2012-01-01 Geetha, M. P Shwetha, C Mahesh,S

Abstract: As stuttering exists worldwide, among different culture/people, it is essential in identifying attitudes, concern, nature of problem in different cultural groups. The main objectives of the study are to identify effectiveness of sensitization program on stuttering immediately after program and also to determine the gender difference in attitude towards stuttering. A questionnaire was modified and adapted, and administered prior and after the sensitization program. The seven domains included in the questionnaire were myths/facts, attitude, causes, treatment, awareness, characteristics and occurrence of stuttering. Results indicated improved scores on few domains such as attitude, characteristics and treatment. Remaining domains such as myths/facts causes and occurrence of stuttering showed no significant difference prior and after the sensitization program on stuttering. Male participant's perception on stuttering was better compared to female participants on all domains except characteristics domain. Improved scores on few domains after awareness Journal of All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, 31, 68-75. 2012

Laryngeal aerodynamic measures in normal adults.

2012-01-01 Gopi Kishore, P Pushpavathi, M

Laryngeal aerodynamic analysis measures respiratory and laryngeal functions reflecting the coordinative nature of voice production. The present study primarily aimed at establishing the normative data for four laryngeal aerodynamic parameters viz. Estimated Sub- Glottic Pressure (ESGP), Mean Air Flow Rate (MAFR), Laryngeal Airway Resistance (LAR), and Laryngeal Airway Conductance (LAC) in adult Indian population. A second purpose was to examine the effect of age and gender on these measures. Eighty five participants including 54 males and 31 females in the age range of 18-40 years, with no known problems in voice were considered for the study. Aeroview from Glottal Enterprises was used to record and analyze the data. The participants were instructed to produce CV syllable train "papapapa" into the circumvented mask at comfortable loudness and pitch. Thus recorded stimuli were analyzed to obtain all four parameters (mentioned earlier). Mean and standard deviation for the all the parameters were calculated separately for both the groups of males and females. Box plots were drawn and 8 outliers were removed manually from the main data. Two way MANOVA (performed on remaining data) revealed significant main effects of age for the parameters ESGP and LAC. No significant main effects of gender were observed for the any of the laryngeal aerodynamic parameters studied. The data obtained from this study can be used as normative for laryngeal aerodynamic analysis in the adult population in the age range of 18-40 years. Journal of All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, 31, 56-63. 2012

Symbolic Play and Language: Its Relationship in Children with Mental Retardation.

2011-01-01 Swapna, N.

Abstract: The present study investigated the symbolic play behaviours in children with mental retardation and its relationship with language in both the receptive and expressive domains. In addition, the age and gender related changes in the symbolic play behavior and the toy and play preference between gender if any, was examined. The study included twelve typically developing children and twelve mental age and gender matched children with mild mental retardation within the age group of 3-4 years. The subjects were tested in two play conditions viz., free play and structured play condition. The video recorded play behavior responses were transcribed and the data was subjected to appropriate statistical analysis. The results revealed significantly lesser symbolic play behaviours in children with mild mental retardation than the typically developing children. In addition it was found that they do benefit from prompts and thus perform better on symbolic play activities. Further, gender and age related differences were seen in play behaviours. A strong correlation existed between play and language in both the groups which supported that both play and language develop parallely. The study implies the inclusion of symbolic play assessment in the diagnostic protocol of children with communication disorders and a productive remediation strategy for such children would be to provide language stimulation within a pretend play context. Student Research at AIISH, Vol. IX, Part – B- Speech – Language Pathology.230-244. 2011

Development and validation of multidimensional quality of life questionnaire for tracheo -esophageal speakers in Kannada (MDQOL questionnaire - TE speakers)

2016 Eve Susan Dass Dr. B Rajashekhar

Role: Co-guide

Analysis of phonatory and respiratory functions in physical fitness instructor

2019 Anju Susan Philip Rajashekar B,

Role- Co-guide

Harmonic organization and frequency measures of different notes in female carnatic singers – A exploratory study

2020 Lydia Edwin Venkataraja Aithal U

Role-Co-guide

    Vocal Health Care Tips

    5th April 2020

    Published in Udayavani (Arogyavani)-Manipal edition

    20 tips for healthy voice

    11th April 2021

    Description: Published in Udayavani (Arogyavani)-Manipal edition

    Awareness about tongue cancer and management: A Speech Pathologist Perspective

    8th November 2020

    Description: Published in Udayavani (Arogyavani)-Manipal edition

    Speaking after removal of cancerous ‘voice box’!!!

    16th April 2017

    Published in Udayavani (Arogyavani)-Manipal edition