Sharon M. DiFino is a clinical assistant professor in the department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Florida, where she teaches a range of undergraduate courses and is the University of Florida chapter advisor for the National Student Speech, Language, and Hearing Association. She is also a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) and has experience with pediatric and adult populations. Dr. DiFino is Lee-Silverman Voice Therapy-Loud certified, trained in brain injury prevention education, and is NOMS certified for adults.
Dr. DiFino’s research areas include oral and written language acquisition, second language acquisition, learning disabilities with a special interest in the college population, and transgender voice perception. She has been a SLP at Brooks Outpatient Rehabilitation, where she was on the concussion team and held the position as the co-director of the ThinkFirst brain injury prevention program in Duval county of Jacksonville, Florida. Previously Dr. DiFino held the position of assistant professor at Jacksonville University in Communication Sciences Disorders. Most notably, before obtaining her Certificate of Clinical Competence in SLP, she was an associate professor of Germanic Studies for over 20 years at the University of Florida. In addition, she has taught at Wellesley College, and Universiteit Utrecht, the Netherlands. Dr. DiFino has published in foreign language acquisition and communication science disorders journals, and has extensive experience in directing study abroad programs in Europe.