College Professor
Department of Communication Disorders
646-3337
spencer1@nmsu.edu
Biography
Dr. Spencer received her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. She was a research scientist on an NIH-funded Grant in the department of Otolaryngology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for fifteen years.
Dr. Spencer first joined the department at NMSU in the fall of 2011 and served as the program director between 2013 and 2016, when she moved to Provo, UT, to serve as the founding program director for the Medical Speech-Language Pathology at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. She retired from that position in the Fall of 2024 and returned to the department at NMSU to continue as a college professor. Her research interests include the development of speech, language, and literacy in children who have profound hearing loss. She teaches courses in phonetics, aural rehabilitation, and language development.
Areas of interest
Dr. Spencer’s research investigates the cognitive underpinnings of the development of speech, language, and literacy in children who were born with hearing loss. She has been a co-PI on an NIH project with collaborators at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY.
Recent Publications
Liu, H. M., Hsu, C. Y., Tsai, C. L., Spencer, L., Weiler, B., & Guo, L. Y. (2025). Using the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives for Evaluating Language
Skills in Mandarin-Speaking Children at Early School Ages: Initial Validity. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 1-18
Luo, J., Xu, L., Wang, M., Li, J., He, S., Spencer, L., Liu, H., & Guo, L.-Y. (2024). The contribution of noun and verb lexicon sizes to later grammatical outcomes in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(8), 2761-2773. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00131
Guo, L. Y., Lee, P., Hsu, H. J., & Spencer, L. (2024). Validating the Use of Percent Grammatical Utterances for Assessing Mandarin-Speaking Children's Grammatical Skill: Evidence From 3-Year-Olds. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 1-13.
Luo, J., Xu, L., Want, M., Xie, D., Li, J., Liu, X,., He, S. Spencer, L., Rost, G. and Guo, L., (2022). Characteristics of early expressive vocabulary in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65(4), 1630-1645 65(11) 4369-4384.
Xu, L., Luo, J., Wang, M., Xie, D., Chao, E. Li, Lu, X, He, S., Spencer, L., Guo, L., (2022). Vocabulary Growth in Mandarin-speaking Children with Bilateral Cochlear Implants, Bimodal Stimulation, or Unilateral Cochlear Implants during the First Year after Activation. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65(4), 1630-1645
Guo, L. Y., Eisenberg, S., Schneider, P., & Spencer, L. (2019). Finite Verb Morphology Composite Between Age 4 and Age 9 for the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument: Reference Data and Psychometric Properties. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 1-16.
Guo, L. Y., Eisenberg, S., Schneider, P., & Spencer, L. (2019). Percent grammatical utterances between 4 and 9 years of age for the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument: Reference data and psychometric properties. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1-15.
Lehnert-LeHouillier, H., Spencer, L. J., Machmer, E. L., & Burchell, K. L. (2019). The Production of Question Intonation by Young Adult Cochlear Implant Users: Does Age at Implantation Matter?.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(2), 257-271.
Spencer, L.J., Marschark, M., Machmer, E., Durkin, A., Borgna G., Convertino, C., (2018). Communication skills of deaf and hard-of-hearing college students: Objective measures and self-assessment. Journal of Communication Disorders. 75, 13-24.
Marschark, M., Machmer, E., Spencer, L.J. Borgna, G., Durkin, A., Convertino, C., (2017). Language and psychosocial functioning among deaf learners with and without cochlear implants. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 23 (1). 28-40.
Guo, L.Y. Spencer, L.J. (2017). Development of grammatical accuracy in English-Speaking children with cochlear implants: A longitudinal study. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. 60 (4) 1062-1075.
Marschark, M. Paivio, A., Spencer, L.J. Durkin, A., Borgna, G., Convertino, C., Machmer, E. (2016). Don’t Assume Deaf Students are Visual Learners. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. 29 (1). 153-17
Selected Recognitions
Selected for CAPCSD Leadership Academy, 2015
Lessons for Success participant, ASHA Foundation, 2014
New Mexico State Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research 2014
Editor’s Award: Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Association, Fall 2009
Academic Background
The University of Iowa, Iowa City
Ph.D. Speech and Hearing Science, Dissertation title: The development of phonological awareness and its relationship to reading in children with profound hearing impairment
M.A. Speech Pathology, Thesis titleThe effect of vibrotactile information on speech production in profoundly deaf children
B.S. with Honors Speech and Hearing Science
