Susan Loveall, Ph.D.
Email: sloveall-hague2@unl.edu
Dr. Susan Loveall is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. She earned her Ph.D. in developmental science and cognitive psychology from the University of Alabama in 2013. Her research focuses on learning, language, and literacy abilities in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and a majority of her research focuses on the Down syndrome phenotype. Dr. Loveall loves working with individuals with IDD and their families. Prior to moving to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the LifeSpan Institute at the University of Kansas. She then worked as an assistant professor at the University of Mississippi where she oversaw a grant-funded language and literacy preschool laboratory program for children with moderate-to-severe language delays, many of whom had autism or other neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Doctoral Students
Melinda Henson – Lincoln, Nebraska
Melinda Henson is a doctoral student in Special Education. She is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Melinda received her master's degree in special education with an emphasis on autism education through the University of Missouri, and completed her Behavior Analysis coursework through Florida Institute of Technology. Her career has included positions within university, state agency, home and school settings supporting individuals with autism across the life span. Her primary research interests are young adulthood, autism, and quality-of-life outcomes. She is particularly interested in behavioral and mental health interventions across the lifespan.
Ashley Struebing
Ashley Struebing is a doctoral student in Special Education. She graduated from the University of Nebraska- Omaha in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She was an elementary teacher in Omaha Public Schools (OPS) for 4 years, achieved her master's degree from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln in teaching middle level math in 2016, then transitioned to a 6th grade middle school setting to teach a project-based math course called Intro to Architecture and Engineering for 3 years. During her final year of teaching, she served as her building's math interventionist for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Throughout her 8 years with OPS, she was an active member of the Omaha Education Association and served for 3 years as the building coach for their multi-tiered systems of support for behavior. Her primary research interest is culturally responsive teaching in middle school mathematics.
Graduate Students
Emma Conradi – Minnetonka, Minnesota
Speech-Language Pathology Master's student | Graduate Assistant
Study: NIH Reading Comprehension | Undergraduate Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders | Undergraduate Minor: Education studies
Grace Faltin – Omaha, Nebraska
Speech-Language Pathology Master's student | Research Assistant
Study: Early Intervention | Undergraduate Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders | Undergraduate Minor: Education studies
Undergraduate Students
Abby Lutjeharms – Lincoln, Nebraska
Study: NIH Reading Comprehension | Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders | Minor: Education studies
Grace Fowler – Blair, Nebraska
Study: Early Intervention | Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders | Minor: Education studies
Emma Smith – Waverly, Nebraska
Study: Adaptive Behavior in Down Syndrome | Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders | Minor: Education studies