Rate My Professor Vannesa Mueller

Dr. Vannesa Mueller is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, where she also directs the Speech-Language Pathology Program and the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Laboratory. She earned her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Iowa in 2008, with a dissertation titled “The Effects of a Fluent Signing Narrator in the Iowa E-Book on Deaf Children’s Acquisition of Vocabulary, Book Related Concepts, And Enhancement of Parent-Child Lap-reading Interactions.” Mueller received her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology in 2002 and B.A. in Communication Disorders in 2000, both from Our Lady of the Lake University. She joined UTEP as Assistant Professor in spring 2008. Previously, she served as Speech-Language Pathologist at the Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (2004-2007), and at Educational Assessment Systems, Inc., Albuquerque (2002-2004). She held teaching assistant positions at the University of Iowa in courses such as Psychology of Language, Manual Communication, and Neurogenic Disorders of Language, and instructed American Sign Language at Kirkwood Community College in 2005.

Mueller's research interests include using technology to enhance language skills of individuals with autism, literacy skills of children at risk for reading difficulties such as those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing or have autism, and the impact of learning sign language on language and cognitive skills of typically developing children. The AAC Laboratory examines baby sign language's effects on early linguistic environments and speech perception in infants, develops baby sign training strategies, creates multimedia educational resources for families of children with complex communication needs, and provides clinical services for conditions including autism, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, aphasia, and head injury. Her awards include Best Presentation, Biological and Health Science Division, Jakobsen Conference, University of Iowa (2007); Graduate Merit Fellowship, University of Iowa (2004); and Bridges Grant Recipient, University of Iowa (2001). Key publications feature Vigil-Mueller, V.T., Eyer, J.A., Hardee, W.P. (2005). Relevant responding in pragmatic language impairment: the role of language variation in the information-soliciting utterance. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 21, 1-21. Recent grants are Bridging Voices: Enhancing Culturally Responsive Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology Through Bilingual Immersion and Cross-Institutional Mentorship (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2025-2026) and SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY: MOBILE HEARING SCREENING KIT (El Paso Community Foundation, 2022-2023). Certifications include ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence (2003-present), Hanen-certified Speech-Language Pathologist (2004-present), and certified site coordinator, Shared Reading Project, Gallaudet University (2005-present).