Researcher Profile:

Gilson J. Capilouto, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, ATP

Principal Interests

After arriving at UK, Dr. Capilouto developed a strong working relationship with colleague Heather Harris Wright, Ph.D. (ASU). She and Dr. Wright developed a student project for Dr. Capilouto’s undergraduate language development class. The project involved collecting and analyzing narrative language samples. From that humble beginning, Drs. Capilouto and Wright have developed a robust line of research investigating multiple aspects of narrative discourse in healthy adults and adults with aphasia. Questions of interest include: 1) the impact of stimulus on narrative discourse production; 2) the influence of direction-type on discourse sampling; and, 3) discourse processing in healthy aging (pending RO1 application-Co PI).

Background

Gilson Capilouto received a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Alabama in 1978. Following graduate school, Dr. Capilouto took at job in a community based speech and hearing facility. After two years, she opened a private practice in speech-pathology which she maintained until her recruitment into academia. While in private practice, Dr. Capilouto focused on pediatrics with an emphasis on infants and toddlers. She worked extensively in the areas of oral-motor feeding deficits and concomitantly communication technologies. As her work in communication technologies expanded, her clinical practice reflected that expansion and she began seeing significant numbers of adults with neurologically based communication deficits.

In 1992, Dr. Capilouto was recruited to the Medical University of South Carolina to serve as a faculty member in the newly established graduate CSD program and Project Director for the MUSC Assistive Technology Education Demonstration Center. In 1994, after practicing clinically for sixteen years she began work on a doctoral degree. Because of her particular clinical experience, she elected to pursue a doctorate in Motor Control and Learning at the University of South Carolina. She received her doctorate in 2001 and then came to the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Capilouto holds numerous professional certifications including: Assistive Technology Professional; Neurodevelopmental Treatment (8 week-pediatrics), and certified administrator of the Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS®). In her spare time, Dr. Capilouto enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her adopted Dalmatian mix, Petey.

Current Projects

Population description of young children with feeding and swallowing disorders enrolled in community-based feeding programs
Narrative Discourse Production in Healthy Adults: What is the impact of stimulus?
Auscultation and Developmental Outcomes
Discourse Processing in Healthy Aging (Pending)

Recent Publications

Pugh, B. & Capilouto, G.J. (in press) Augmentative and alternative communication and employment: An evidence based review. Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention

Marshall, R.C., Capilouto, G.J., & McBride, J. (2007) Treatment of problem solving in Alzheimer's disease: A short report. Aphasiology, 21 (2), 235-247.

Capilouto, G.J., Wright, H.H., & Wagovich, S.(2006). Reliability of main event measurement in the discourse of individuals with aphasia. Aphasiology, 20 (2/3/4), 205-216.

Gilson Capilouto, Ph.D.,
CCC-SLP, ATP
Assistant Professor
Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders
gjcapi2@uky.edu