Chris Walker

Areas of Expertise

• Stuttering
• Voice Disorders
• Speech Science
• Neuropathologies

Description of Research

1. Recovery From Vocal Abuse: Dr. Walker is engaged in an on-going study involving graduate students, researching the role that physiologic recovery from vocal abuse or lack of it plays in the incidence of hyper functional voice disorders.  This involves measurement of the Jitter and Shimmer of football coaches voices during periods of heavy vocal abuse and the documentation of their recovery from these periods of increased Jitter and Shimmer. Typically their voices are hoarse during this period and recover to normal voice quality. An additional question is, what distinguishes these coaches from those who completely lose their voices and retain a slightly hoarse voice quality habitually?
2. Single Subject Research on the Lidcombe Program for Stuttering: This research beginning this Fall, will collect data from clients in the Truesdail Center using this program which will provide evidence supporting using the Lidcombe Program exclusively with preschool children who stutter in the future.

Courses Offered at Redlands

• Disorders of Voice (Graduate)
• Disorders of Fluency (Graduate)
• Speech Science
• Cleft Palate (Graduate)
• Fluency Clinic (Supervision)

Education and Degrees Held

B.A. in Rhetorical Speech and History
California Lutheran University, 1970

University of California, Santa Barbara 1970 - 1971
Major: Speech Pathology

M.A. in Speech Pathology
California State University, Northridge, 1973

Ph.D. in Speech Pathology & Audiology, 1981
University of Iowa  

Previous Teaching Experience

• University of La Verne (summer of 1983)
• California State University , Los Angeles (summers)

Professional Experience

• University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics 1975-1978
• Veteran’s Administration Hospital, Iowa City, Iowa 1977-1978

Awards and Honors

• California Speech-Language-Hearing Association Fellow, 2001
• District 10 Outstanding Achievement Award, 1998
• University of Redlands, Award for Outstanding Service/Academic Management 2002

Presentations

• "Approaching Stuttering: Understanding, Evaluation and Treatment"
  Full day Short Course presented to the Bakersfield Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, 2006
• "Stuttering: Updates and New Treatments"
  Half day Short Course presented to the Alaska Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1995
• "A Normal Approach to the Disordered Voice"
  Half day Short Course presented to the Alaska Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1995
• "Upgrading to the Master’s Degree--Post B.A. Education"
  Presentation at California Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Sacramento, 1994
• "Developmental Stuttering Syndrome"
  Full day In-service presented to the Bakersfield Audiology and Speech Pathology Association, 1993
• "Cleft Palate Seminar"
  Full day In-service presented to the Coachella Valley Unified School District, 1993

Professional Affiliations

American Speech, Language and Hearing Association

Christopher Walker is the Faculty Patron for Kappa Sigma Sigma fraternity.