Ms. Richards obtained her B.A. in Mass Communications at Truman State University in 1990 and her M.Ed. in Communication Disorders at Northeastern State University (Oklahoma) in 1995.
Andrea Richards is a licensed and certified SLP providing class instruction and clinical supervision in the CMDS department since 2004. Prior to Truman, Ms. Richards worked as a medical speech-language pathologist in the areas of early intervention, acute care, rehabilitation, skilled-nursing, home-health, newborn hearing screenings, and outpatient clinics. Her specialties include dysphagia (swallowing disorders), early intervention, and adult acquired disorders (stroke and traumatic brain injury). Ms. Richards teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Introduction to Communication Disorders, Fluency Disorders, Aphasia, Medical Speech-Language Pathology, and Dysphagia. She is a VitalStim therapy provider, an Independent Provider for Missouri First Steps and provides PRN services for the local hospital. Ms. Richards is the current President of the Missouri Speech-Language & Hearing Association (MSHA).
In May, 2011, Ms. Richards, along with Dr. Janet Gooch and alumni Bridget Conant, organized and supervised the first CMDS 9-day Experience in Mexico, with 24 CMDS students. This has since become an annual May interim event led by Ms. Richards.
Ms. Richards supervises a wide variety of student clinical assignments, including services provided via Zoom in the Truman Speech and Hearing Clinic and regional Missouri First Steps clients.