Sara Kover, Ph.D.
Sara Kover joined the Speech and Hearing Sciences faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2014. She completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her doctorate in Educational Psychology there as well.
Dr. Kover’s research focus is on the development of language abilities in children and adolescents with a variety of developmental pathways, especially neurodevelopmental disorders. Her research has included individuals with fragile X syndrome, which is the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability, as well as Down syndrome and autism. The overarching goal of this research is to understand how cognitive processes and learning mechanisms interact with the learning opportunities afforded by the environment over the course of development. Ultimately, this work informs what is known about language development in a wide variety of children and will help guide intervention. Dr. Kover's most recent research addresses the experiences of practitioners who serve children with communication challenges of a range of backgrounds in early intervention and school settings, with the goal of informing how future clinicians are prepared and how to best meet families' needs.