Biography
Dr. Finke's scholarly pursuits are rooted in clinical research, with a predominant focus on friendship formation and maintenance during the developmental stages of adolescence and young adulthood. Central to her scholarly agenda is the enhancement of friendship outcomes, especially for autistic individuals and AAC users. Her research investigations are designed with the aim of better understanding the dynamics underlying the establishment and maintenance of friendships; understanding first person perspectives on friendship outcomes; the supports that drive friendship formation and maintenance; as well as how to construct environments that support friendships.
You can find more information about Dr. Finke's published research here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&hl=en&user=yz1npkIAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate
Dr. Finke also enjoys engaging with students through her teaching in the SPAUD undergraduate and graduate program. She currently teaches courses on early intervention, AAC, and autism.
Courses taught at Calvin:
SPAUD 503: Child Language Disorders I: Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool Children
SPAUD 512: Augmentative and Alternative Communication
SPAUD 514: Autism
Education
Education:
Ph.D. - Penn State University (2008)
M.S. - Penn State University (2002)
B.S. - New Mexico State University (2000)
ASHA Certification Status: CCC-SLP
State SLP Licensure: Michigan
Research
Publications (last 5 years):
Reagan, K.D., McCarthy, J.H., Finke, E.H. & Schwarz, I. (2026). Speech-Language Pathologist Assistants: Do They Feel Confident in Their Clinical Skills? Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1-10
Grissom, A.*, Finke, E.H., McCarthy, J., Schwarz, I., & Reilly, K. (2026). Representations of nouns and verbs during play between caregivers and children with developmental language disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 1, 1-19.
Hecker-Deel, O.* & Finke, E.H. (2025). Autistic children can and do play: Innovative perspectives on relational play. Topics in Language Disorders, 45 (4), 276-294.
Finke, E.H. & Therrien, M. (2025). Talking with friends is just different: Moving AAC forward with friendship in mind. Topics in Language Disorders, 45, 183-198.
Finke, E.H. & Dunn, D.H. (2025). “It feels like the skeleton part of my body is trying to escape my skin”: The joy, support, and discomforts in autistic friendships. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 16 (1), 140-177.
Finke, E.H., Therrien, M., Azios, J.H. & McElfresh, J.M. (2025). We all need at least one friend who understands what we do not say: A scoping review of friendship and AAC. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,34 (2), 931-958.
Sinclair, R.* & Finke, E.H. (2025). SLPs experiences working with culturally and linguistically diverse families: A scoping review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 34 (2), 908-930.
Grissom, A.* & Finke, E.H. (2024). Exploring interactive songs as a vocabulary input context. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 33(5) 2636-2644.
Grissom, A.*, Finke, E.H., Zane, E. (2024). Verbal fluency and autism: Reframing current data through the lens of monotropism. Autism Research. 17(2), 324-337 https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3071
Finke, E. H. & Dunn, D.H. (2023). Neurodiversity and double empathy: Can empathy disconnects be mitigated to support autistic belonging? Disability & Society, 1-24.
Finke, E. H. (2023). The Kind of Friend I Think I Am: Perceptions of Autistic and Non-autistic Young Adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, 3047-3064.
Kremkow, J.M.D. & Finke, E. H. (2022). Peer experiences of military spouses with children with autism in a distance peer mentoring program: A pilot study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52, 189-202.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04937-6
Book chapters (last 5 years):
Finke, E. H. & Dunn, D.H. (2025). Intellectual humility and double empathy theory: Challenges and opportunities.Double Empathy Reader.
Drager, K.D.R., Finke. E., & Serpentine, E. (2021). Augmentative and alternative communication: An introduction. In J.S. Damico, M.J. Ball, & N. Muller (Eds.) The Handbook of Language and Speech Disorders, 2nd Edition.Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
Conference presentations (last 5 years):
Grissom, A.* & Finke, E.H. (2025, November). Representation of Nouns and Verbs During Play between Caregivers and Children with Language Impairments. Poster proposed for presentation at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Washington, DC.
Maranghi, I.*, Nace, K.*, Julian, J.*, McCarthy, J. & Finke, E. (2025, November). Everything about this presentation is upsetting: Disparities in AAC and literacy. Poster proposed for presentation at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Washington, DC.
Julian, J.*, Maranghi, I.*, Nace, K.*, McCarthy, J. & Finke, E. (2025, November). Pediatric SLPs’ roles, responsibilities, and confidence in literacy assessment and intervention. Poster proposed for presentation at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Washington, DC.
Nace, K.*, Maranghi, I.*, Julian, J.*, McCarthy, J. & Finke, E. (2025, November). Shouldn’t the view be simpler? Reimagining research instruction for students who use AAC. Poster proposed for presentation at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Washington, DC.
Hecker, O.* & Finke, E.H. (2024, November). Functional Play in Autistic Children: Reframing Using a Neurodiversity Affirming Approach. Poster presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Seattle, WA
Barry, L.*, Grissom A.*, Sinclair, R.* & Finke, E.H. (2024, November). SLP Perspectives on Caregiver-Child Paly Interactions: Elevating Caregivers in the Coaching Process. 1-hour Seminar presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Seattle, WA
Finke, E.H. (2024, April). Building friendships in everyday contexts for autistic adolescents and young adults.Poster presented at the Gatlinburg Conference, Kansas City, MO.
Finke, E.H., Therrien, M.C. & Azios, J. (2023, November). “Without a voice I feel lonely”: Addressing friendship in clinical practice with AAC users. 1-hour seminar presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Boston, MA.
Grissom, A.*, Hecker, O.*, Sinclair, R*. & Finke, E.H. (2023, November). Literacy decision model: A tool for clinicians to support individuals with complex communication needs. 1-hour seminar presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Boston, MA.
Grissom, A.* & Finke, E.H. (2023, November). Comparing responsive caregiver input for nouns and verbs in the play context. Poster presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Boston, MA.
Sinclair, R.* & Finke, E.H. (2023, November). SLP experiences working with culturally and linguistically diverse families: A scoping review. 30-minute technical talk presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Boston, MA.
Grissom, A.*, Sinclair, R.*, Barry, L.* & Finke, E.H. (2023, November). A good place to start: Planning AAC interventions around naturally occurring supports. 1-hour seminar presented at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association Convention, Boston, MA.
Finke, E. & Grissom, A.*(2022, November). Talking to friends: An exploration of the content and preferences of autistic and non-autistic friends. Seminar presented at the Annual Conference of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, New Orleans, LA.
Sinclair, R.* & Finke, E. (2022, November). Family centered practice in schools: Perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse parents. Technical research talk presented at the Annual Conference of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, New Orleans, LA.
Finke, E.H. (2021, November). How I am as a friend: Perspectives of young adults with and without autism.Seminar presented at the Annual Conference of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, Washington, D.C.
Sinclair, R.* & Finke, E.H. (2021, November). Creating solutions for increasing parent involvement in their child’s individualized education plan. Technical talk presented at the Annual Conference of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, Washington, D.C.
Invited Talks (last 5 years):
Finke, E.H. (2026, March). Friendship is not a social skill: Reframing connection in autism and AAC. Seminar presented for the Speech and Hearing Association of Virginia, Richmond, VA
Finke, E.H. (2026, March). When actions speak: Understanding “behavior” as communication. Seminar presented for the Speech and Hearing Association of Virginia, Richmond, VA
Finke, E.H. (2026, March). Friendship is not a social. Seminar presented for the ASHA Autism and Communication conference, online
Therrien, M. & Finke, E.H. (2025, November) Friendship in Context: Using the Participation Model to Plan Assessment and Support for AAC Users. Seminar presented at the Annual Conference of the American Speech –Language and Hearing Association, Washington, DC.
Finke, E.H. (2021, October). My kind of friendship: Perceptions and practices of autistic and non-autistic young adults. Seminar presented for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. PROSEM series
