About Me
Janet Sturm, Ph.D, CCC-SLP, ASHA-F, BCS-CL, is a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Central Michigan University. She is a Fellow of ASHA and a Board-Certified Specialist in Child Language. Dr. Sturm has been working in general and special education classrooms for over 30 years. Her research and development work focuses on writing instruction for students with disabilities, computer-supported literacy, formative and summative assessments of beginning writers, and classroom communication. She has numerous peer-reviewed publications in speech and language and literacy journals.
Sturm has served as the principal investigator for two National Institute of Health, Small Business Technology Transfer Research Grants titled FirstAuthor: A Writing Process Software Tool. The objective of the grant projects was to produce an innovative integrated writing software tool that supports beginning writers across the writing process and is accessible to students with severe speech and physical impairments. The First Author Writing Software was published by Don Johnston Incorporated in the spring of 2013. Sturm also developed the First Author Writing Curriculum for students with significant disabilities that draws upon a writing process approach and integrates self-regulatory strategy development (SRSD) and social interaction training.
She is currently serving on the editorial board for the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. She also served on the Council for Exceptional Children Speech and Language Learning Disabilities Committee, Division for Communicative Disabilities and Deafness from 2002-2020.
My Motivation
I am a speech-language pathologist who has worked in general and special education classrooms for over 30 years. My research and development work focuses on writing instruction for students with disabilities, computer-supported literacy, formative and summative assessments of beginning writers, and classroom communication. My passion is to develop science-based resources and tools that support literacy, language, and communication for students with complex learning needs. My thinking is fueled by research in multiple areas and disciplines including language and literacy development, cognitive psychology, evidence-based practice in general and special education, social and classroom interaction, augmentative and alternative communication, and assessment of reading and writing.
Consulting
For over thirty years, I have presented internationally and nationally and at the state and regional level. I have extensive experience working closely with state projects and school systems to bring about change for students with moderate to severe disabilities. When targeting implementation and system change, I do best with multiple sessions (in person and/or virtual) and classroom-level coaching and consulting. Success is enhanced when we have key stakeholders engaged from upper-level administration to paraprofessionals.
Meet Janet
My mother was a kindergarten and first grade teacher for over 35 years – She loved teaching reading, especially phonics, and never lost her zest for the job. I have fond memories taking the bus to her school to read with her students in a decorated cardboard refrigerator box. This past December, my Mom and I had fun going through her extensive collection of literacy materials. While I already have a vast collection of children’s books, I was over-the-moon to inherit her phonics blending tray and multisensory colored sand. I can’t wait to use them with students!
As the daughter of a sixth-generation farmer, I also appreciate our earth and the gifts it brings to us. I carry that legacy forward by serving on the Board of Directors for the Green-Tree Co-op Market a locally owned community grocer that provides healthy, earth-friendly food that supports local farmers.
During the spring and summer months, it is a treat to assist my friend Anna Monfils with Flowerbird Farm, where I help with a range of tasks from watering to special events and marketing. In the spring of 2022, Anna broke ground to create a specialty cut flower farm and garden. Anna specializes in dahlias, growing them as cut flowers for the mid-Michigan region and selling the tubers across the United States. I get great joy being in the garden at dusk, seeing the sunset, and then heading inside to create many beautiful arrangements in Anna’s kitchen.
FlowerBird Farm & Garden | Cut flowers
I also enjoy reading, cooking, and all types of fitness. In July of 2021 I got certified as a POUND instructor. POUND fitness is a fun and intense cardio, conditioning and strength workout using lightly weighted drumsticks set to music. My goal is to bring POUND events to my undergraduate and graduate students as a tool to relieve stress and support work/life balance.
Most importantly, I am a mother to three amazing daughters, Olivia, age 20, and twins, Francesca and Gabriella, age 17. My girls share a love of life, a curiosity about the world, and a strong ability to express their thoughts – It is never a dull moment in our home.
