For Students – Intellectual DisAbilities Communication Lab at UIUC

How to Get Involved

The IDCL considers opportunities for undergraduate students to join our lab’s team on a rolling basis. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept new students every semester. Once you apply, we keep your application on file for one year and will contact you if there is an opportunity for you to get involved. If it has been more than one year since you applied, please reapply.

IDCL Undergraduate Research Application

Graduate students who are interested in working in IDCL research opportunities should email Dr. Channell at channell@illinois.edu.

Recent Student Projects

IDCL students presented their research at the 2023 UIUC Undergraduate Research Symposium.

(Left) Sarah Pechtl, Emma Mueller, and Ashley Yun presented their work on the relationship between levels of communication and features of autism in children with Down syndrome.

(Right) Madison Barrera, Alexa Mendoza, and Abigail Keasler presented data on caregiver education and expressive language development in children with Down syndrome.

IDCL students presented their independent research projects at the 2022 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention in New Orleans, LA.

(Left) PhD student Beka Bosley presented her research on caregiver interactions with their children with Down syndrome.

(Right) Alumna Melissa Bruce presented her undergraduate thesis research on preschoolers’ mental state language use during narrative storytelling.

IDCL students presented their work at the 2022 UIUC Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Student standing next to poster — (Left) **Melissa Bruce’s** senior thesis examined the language that preschool children use when discussing other people’s emotions and mental states during narrative storytelling. (Right) **Kelsey Libert** presented her senior project with co-author **Madison Barrera**. They surveyed educators about the ways they promote disability awareness and inclusion in preschool and elementary school classrooms.

2 students standing next to poster — (Left) **Melissa Bruce’s** senior thesis examined the language that preschool children use when discussing other people’s emotions and mental states during narrative storytelling. (Right) **Kelsey Libert** presented her senior project with co-author **Madison Barrera**. They surveyed educators about the ways they promote disability awareness and inclusion in preschool and elementary school classrooms.

(Left) Senior **Nadia Hernandez** presented part of her work on PhD student **Beka Bosley’s** Early Research Project. The poster highlighted a new way to measure how mothers of children with Down syndrome talk to their children during a shared storybook interaction. (Right) Juniors **Sarah Pechtl** and **Raquelle Riffle** presented their study which examined developmental profiles of expressive language skills in school-age children with Down syndrome.

Two students standing next to poster — (Left) Senior **Nadia Hernandez** presented part of her work on PhD student **Beka Bosley’s** Early Research Project. The poster highlighted a new way to measure how mothers of children with Down syndrome talk to their children during a shared storybook interaction. (Right) Juniors **Sarah Pechtl** and **Raquelle Riffle** presented their study which examined developmental profiles of expressive language skills in school-age children with Down syndrome.