Melanie Fried-Oken,Ph.D., CCC/Sp

Associate Professor, Neurology,
Biomedical Engineering & Otolaryngology
Director, Assistive Technology Program

Ph.D., Boston University, 1984, Interdisciplinary Study of Language Behavior;
M.A., Northwestern University, 1978 in Speech-Language Pathology,
B.A., University of Rochester, 1976.

Member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication; United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication; Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America.

Melanie Fried-Oken, Ph.D., CCC/Sp is a certified speech-language pathologist and a leading international clinician and researcher in the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) where she provides expertise about assistive technology for persons with acquired disabilities who cannot use speech or writing for expression.

Fried-Oken is associate editor of the international journal, Augmentative and Alternative Communication and adjunct faculty at Portland State University where she taught the AAC graduate course in 2006.

Along with Dr. Hank Bersani of Western Oregon University, Melanie edited the book Speaking Up and Spelling It Out, a collection of essays written by adults with disabilities using speech technology. Dr. Fried-Oken has a number of federal grants to research communication technology for persons with Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases, and the normally aging population.

She is a member of the Center for Spoken Language Understanding at the OHSU School of Science and Engineering. At OIDD, she facilitates the Research and Outreach Council, a group of principal investigators and research coordinators who conduct disability-related projects. She sits on a number of national boards, review panels and committees related to augmentative and alternative communication and speech-language pathology.

Melanie Fried-Oken, Ph.D., CCC/Sp
Associate Professor, Neurology, Biomedical
Engineering & Otolaryngology
Director, Assistive Technology Program
Oregon Health & Science University
Phone: 503.494.7587
Fax: 503.494.6868
Email: friedm@ohsu.edu