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Nidhi Mahendra, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Associate Professor and Chair

Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders

E-mail:
nidhi.mahendra@csueastbay.edu
Phone:
(510) 885-3182
Office:
TR 653B
Home Page:
http://class.csueastbay.edu/commsci/mahendra.htm
Note: CSUEB does not pre-approve, monitor, or edit personal pages. Faculty members are solely responsible for their content, and are expected to conform to the policy guidelines of CSUEB.
Photo of Nidhi Mahendra

My primary research interests are in studying cognitive and communicative changes that result from healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-related conditions such as dementia and stroke.  My research aims to precisely document spared and impaired language and memory abilities in older adults, and persons with MCI, dementia, and aphasia.  Another goal of this research is to be able to better design efficacious clinical interventions to promote cognitive wellness, communicative success, quality of life, and overall wellbeing among Bay area seniors.  Also trained as a bilingual speech language pathologist, I am passionate about multicultural issues affecting speech language pathology service delivery. I teach classes on dementia, neurocognitive disorders, dysphagia (swallowing disorders), and multicultural issues.

Professional Focus

My research interests fall into two areas:

I. Cognition in aging and dementia
Cognition and communication in healthy adults, those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and those with neurogenic language disorders resulting from
dementia and aphasia

My research has been funded by the Alzheimer's Association and is aimed at documenting:

  1. Feasibility and outcomes of computer-assisted cognitive interventions for training fact and procedurelearning in persons with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia
  2. Variables influencing episodic and semantic memory performance in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia
  3. Reading speed and reading comprehension in healthy aging, MCI, and dementia
  4. Use of music as a therapeutic tool to improve communication and quality of life for persons with dementia and aphasia
  5. Strategies for training caregivers of persons with dementia and aphasia

To learn more about my research lab, visit us on the web at the Aging and Cognition Research Clinic (ACRC)
 

II. Multicultural issues in speech-language pathology and audiology

My research on this topic has been funded by the American Speech Language Hearing Association, CSUEB Research Scholarship and Creative Activity (RSCA) grants, Faculty Learning Community (FLC) grants on:

  1. Barriers faced by minority clients accessing and receiving speech language pathology and audiology services
  2. Culturally competent and evidence-based assessment and treatment of adults with communication disorders, especially for children with autism and for seniors in the Bay area
  3. High-impact practices for teaching about cultural and linguistic diversity, and its relevance for health care practitioners
  4. Effects of international accents on auditory comprehension of listeners

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Arizona

Courses

Summer or Fall Quarter
  • Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia (SPPA 6999)
Winter Quarter
  • Introduction to neurocognitive disorders (SPPA 4866)
Spring Quarter
  • Cultural and linguistic diversity (SPPA 4868)

Publications

Select Publications (2006-2012)                                            * denotes student author

Book Chapters

Mahendra, N., & Hopper, T. (2011). Dementia and related cognitive disorders. In I. Papathanasiou, P. Coppens, C. Potagas (Eds). Aphasia and Related Neurogenic Communication Disorders. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Bayles, K. A., Mahendra, N., Hopper, T. (2011). Dementia. In K. Hilari and N. Botting (Eds.) The impact of communication disability across the lifespan. London, UK: J & R Press.

Mahendra, N. (2011). Overview of aphasia and approaches to aphasia intervention. In R. Koul (Ed.) Augmentative and alternative communication for adults with aphasia. London, UK: Emerald Publishers.

Mahendra, N. (2010). An adult with dementia of the Alzheimer type: A roadmap for screening, assessment, and cognitive-linguistic interventions. In S. Chabon & E. Cohn (Eds). The Communication Disorders Casebook: Learning by Example. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Mahendra, N. (2012). The logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia: Effects on linguistic communication. Perspectives on Gerontology, 17(2), 50-59.

Mahendra, N. (2012). South Asian stories: First hand perspectives on barriers to accessing speech language pathology services. Perspectives on Communication Disorders in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, 19(1), 29-36.

Mahendra, N., Scullion, A.*, Hamerschlag, C.* (2011). Cognitive-linguistic interventions for persons with dementia: A practitioner’s guide to three evidence-based techniques. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 27:4 , 1-12.

Mahendra, N. (2011). Computer-assisted spaced retrieval training of faces and names for persons with dementia. Nonpharmacological Therapies for Dementia, Volume 3.

Mahendra, N., Engineer, N.* (2009). Effects of vascular dementia on cognition and linguistic communication: A case study. Perspectives - ASHA Special Interest Division 2: Neurogenic and Neurophysiologic Disorders, 19(4), 106-115.

Zientz, J., Rackley, A., Chapman, S. B., Hopper, T., Mahendra, N., Cleary, S. (2007). Evidence-based practice recommendations for dementia: Caregiver-administered active cognitive stimulation for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, 15 (3), liii-liv.

Zientz, J., Rackley, A., Chapman, S. B., Hopper, T., Mahendra, N., Kim, E., & Cleary, S. (2007). Evidence-based practice recommendations for dementia: Educating caregivers about Alzheimer’s disease and training communication strategies. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, 15 (1), liii-lxiv.

Mahendra, N., Arkin, S., Kim, E. (2007). Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease achieve implicit and explicit learning: Previous success replicated with different stimuli. Aphasiology, 21(2), 187-207.

Mahendra, N. (2006). A multicultural perspective on assessing TW, a bilingual client with aphasia. Perspectives - ASHA Special Interest Division 2 Newsletter, 16(3), 9-18.

Kim, E., Cleary, S., Hopper, T., Bayles, K.A., Mahendra, N., Azuma, T., Rackley, A. (2006). Evidence-based practice recommendations for working with individuals with dementia: Group reminiscence therapy. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, 14(3), xxiii-xxxiv.

Bayles, K., Kim, E., Tomoeda, C.K., Chapman, S. B., Zientz, J., Rackley, A., Cleary, S., Mahendra, N., Azuma, T., & Hopper, T. (2006). Evidence-based practice recommendations for working with individuals with dementia: Simulated presence therapy. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, 14(3) xiii-xxii.

Mahendra, N., Hopper, T., Bayles, K., Azuma, T., Cleary, S., Kim, E. (2006). Evidence-based practice recommendations for working with individuals with dementia: Montessori-based interventions. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology,14(1), xv-xxv.

Presentations

Select Presentations (2010-2012)                                            * denotes student author

Invited Presentations

Mahendra, N. (May 2012). Adult neurogenic language disorders: Preparing speech language pathologists to work with South Asian clients. 60-minute webinar, San Jose State University (part of OSEP Grant Curriculum).

Mahendra, N. (September 2010). Evidence-based intervention for dementia management. Live Web Seminar, American Speech Language Hearing Association.

Peer-reviewed Presentations

Maghazil, A.*, Mahendra, N. (May 2012). Aphasia awareness among persons of Arab origin in the Bay area and in Saudia Arabia. Poster presentation, Diversity Day, California State University East Bay.

Mahendra, N., Bernstein-Ellis, E. (April 2012). Promoting cognitive and communicative wellness among persons with dementia and aphasia. 1st Conference on Healthy Aging in Multicultural Populations (CHAMP), San Jose.

Mahendra, N., Fremont, K.*, Dionne, E.*, & Heckenberg, J.* (April 2012). Teaching future providers about aging and dementia: Combining reflective practice, multiculturalism, and service learning. 1st Conference on Healthy Aging in Multicultural Populations (CHAMP), San Jose.

Mahendra, N., & Hamerschlag, C.* (March 2012). Three types of dementia: Case studies for clinicians. Mini-seminar, Annual Convention of the California Speech Language Hearing Association (CSHA), San Jose.

Mahendra, N. (November 2011). Computer-assisted video-enhanced spaced retrieval training (CAVE-SRT) for persons with dementia. Technical Paper, Annual Convention of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), San Diego.

Scullion, A.*, Mahendra, N., Ituarte, S. (November 2011). Training future first responders about aphasia: Knowledge is power. Poster presentation, Annual ASHA Convention, San Diego.

Mahendra, N., Hamerschlag, C.*, Scullion, A.*, Cooper, S.*, & La, J.* (March 2011). Barriers influencing minority clients’ access to speech language pathology services. Platform presentation, Annual CSHA Convention, Los Angeles.

Mahendra, N., Scullion, A*., Hamerschlag, C*. (November 2010). The route less travelled: Assessment of procedural memory in dementia. Poster, Annual ASHA Convention, Philadelphia.


Grant Awards

Current Funding

External

2012-2015       Training Grant, The California Wellness Foundation.

                         Title: Project R2M2 - Recruitment, Retention, and Mentoring of Minority Students: Diversifying the Speech Pathology Pipeline (PI: Nidhi Mahendra) 

Internal

2012-2013       Research and Scholarly Creative Activity (RSCA) Grant, CSUEB

                        Title: No Community Left Behind: Developing multilingual resources about communication disorders and quantifying their utilization.

Web Sites

Page Last Updated: October 12, 2012

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