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Outcomes Of An Emotion Word Intervention For Children With Social Communication Impairments, Rebecca Cloward Mansfield Dec 2013

Outcomes Of An Emotion Word Intervention For Children With Social Communication Impairments, Rebecca Cloward Mansfield

Theses and Dissertations

Children with social communication disorders have been found to exhibit deficits in emotional intelligence, including the ability to identify emotions attributed to facial expressions. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the efficacy of a social communication intervention program designed to increase the accuracy of emotion based word use in three elementary school-aged participants with social communication disorders. The participants took part in a multiple-baseline, 20-session treatment including story enactment, journaling procedures, and supplementary activities. The story enactment portion of the intervention centered on Mercer Mayer's A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog (1967) wordless picture book series. Participants' …


Brain Mapping Of The Mismatch Negativity Response To Vowel Variances Of Natural And Synthetic Phonemes, Lyndsy Marie Smith Nov 2013

Brain Mapping Of The Mismatch Negativity Response To Vowel Variances Of Natural And Synthetic Phonemes, Lyndsy Marie Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is a specific event-related potential (ERP) component used frequently in the observation of auditory processing. The MMN is elicited by a deviant stimulus randomly presented in the presence of repeating stimuli. The current study utilized the MMN response in order to determine the temporal (timing) and linguistic processing of natural and synthetic vowel stimuli. It was hypothesized that a significant MMN response would be elicited by natural and synthetic vowel stimuli. Brain mapping of the MMN response was hypothesized to yield temporal resolution information, which would provide detail regarding the sequential processing differences between natural and …


A Boot Camp Approach To Remediating Interdental /S/ In A School-Aged Child, Melanie Ellen Peris Nov 2013

A Boot Camp Approach To Remediating Interdental /S/ In A School-Aged Child, Melanie Ellen Peris

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between speech articulation therapy dose (frequency, intensity, duration) and treatment outcomes are poorly understood. Identifying optimal therapy doses for specific articulation disorders is essential to providing efficient clinical care. Recent research indicates that intensive speech therapy doses-known as boot camps-may promote rapid improvement and generalization for certain speech disorders. Therefore the present investigation examined the effects of a boot camp speech therapy approach to remediate interdental /s/ production in an 8-year-old male. The boot camp included two days of speech therapy involving visual, tactile, and auditory feedback approaches. Therapy was administered 5.5 hours per day across morning and …


Examining Parents' Interactions With Their Children During Literacy Activities, Kerianne Frodsham Allsop Jul 2013

Examining Parents' Interactions With Their Children During Literacy Activities, Kerianne Frodsham Allsop

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of conversational interactions between parents and their children during early literacy instructional activities. Parents engaged their children in interactions within hands-on activities designed to teach specific literacy skills as part of a kindergarten project entitled Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy (SEEL). Data for this study were extracted from audio and video recordings of parent-child interactions during three targeted literacy activities. Specialized software (LENA Pro) was used to analyze the interactions regarding adult and child use of targeted words (word count) and turn taking. To gain additional information about the exchanges, …


The Effectiveness Of Systematic And Engaging Early Literacy (Seel) Intervention On Word Reading In Kindergarten Students Receiving Tier 3 Services, Christina Haley Cole Jul 2013

The Effectiveness Of Systematic And Engaging Early Literacy (Seel) Intervention On Word Reading In Kindergarten Students Receiving Tier 3 Services, Christina Haley Cole

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy (SEEL) intervention method to improve consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) reading in four students receiving Tier 3 services. The SEEL intervention method was also combined with the use of digital books on an iPad to investigate the effects of using technology in reading intervention sessions. Previous research indicates effectiveness for the foundational principles of SEEL, which include instruction in engaging, meaningful contexts that provide frequent and intense opportunities to practice. This research involved 4 kindergarten students who qualified for Tier 3 services based on their performance on an index of difficulty …


Social Networks Of Children With Language Impairment, Serena Marita Louisa Mickelson Jul 2013

Social Networks Of Children With Language Impairment, Serena Marita Louisa Mickelson

Theses and Dissertations

Children with language impairment (LI) often exhibit social difficulties along with language issues that can affect their friendships with peers. This study sought to identify the self-reported social networks of children with LI and compare them to the self-reported social networks of children with typical language development. Sixteen children with LI (9 girls and 7 boys) between the ages of 5-11 years, and sixteen children with typical language development matched for age and gender were studied. Children were asked to name interactants in four social circles (Blackstone & Hunt Berg, 2003): family, friends, acquaintances, and paid interactants. A parent also …


The Effect Of Using Low Dose Exposure To A Humanoid Robot To Elicit Social Engagement Behaviors In Children With Autism Interacting With A Familiar Adult, Cambrie Nicole Roueche Jun 2013

The Effect Of Using Low Dose Exposure To A Humanoid Robot To Elicit Social Engagement Behaviors In Children With Autism Interacting With A Familiar Adult, Cambrie Nicole Roueche

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of low dose exposure to a humanoid robot on the social engagement skills of four children with autism during select activities with a familiar adult. Participants included two males and two females who ranged in age from four to nine at the commencement of the study. The current study was part of a larger investigation focused on the effect of exposure to a robot on social engagement with a variety of social partners and situations. Children participated in variable multiple baseline sessions followed by a varied number of sessions of traditional treatment. After traditional treatment, …


The Effect Of Age On Speech Motor Performance During Divided Attention, Dallin J. Bailey Jun 2013

The Effect Of Age On Speech Motor Performance During Divided Attention, Dallin J. Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the divided attention effects of three non-speech tasks on concurrent speech motor performance. These tasks targeted linguistic, cognitive, and manual motor activity. Participants included 60 healthy adults separated into three different age groups of twenty participants each: college-age (20s), middle-aged (40s), and older adults (60s). Each participant completed a speech task once in isolation and once concurrently with each of the three non-speech tasks: a semantic decision task, a quantitative comparison task, and a manual motor task. The non-speech tasks were also performed in isolation. The speech task involved repeating a target phrase each time a …


Automated Identification Of Relative Clauses In Child Language Samples, Erika E. Ehlert Jun 2013

Automated Identification Of Relative Clauses In Child Language Samples, Erika E. Ehlert

Theses and Dissertations

Relative clauses are grammatical constructions that are of relevance in both typical and impaired language development. Thus, the accurate identification of these structures in child language samples is clinically important. In recent years, computer software has been used to assist in the automated analysis of clinical language samples. However, this software has had only limited success when attempting to identify relative clauses. The present study explores the development and clinical importance of relative clauses and investigates the accuracy of the software used for automated identification of these structures. Two separate collections of language samples were used. The first collection included …


The Effects Of Emotion On Acoustic Characteristics Of Vocal Vibrato In Trained Singers, Sharee Oakes Holmes Jun 2013

The Effects Of Emotion On Acoustic Characteristics Of Vocal Vibrato In Trained Singers, Sharee Oakes Holmes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of emotion on several key acoustic features of vibrato including vibrato rate, extent, and steadiness (measured by FM rate COV and FM extent COV). We hypothesized that intensity of emotion would have a significant effect on vibrato rate, extent, and periodicity, although the direction of these changes was undetermined. There were 10 participants, including eight females and two males, who were graduate student singers with high competency ratings. Each participant completed a series of tasks including sustained vowels at several pitch and loudness levels, an assigned song that was determined …


Brain Imaging Of Event Related Potentials In Children With Language Impairment, Hillary Ann Benton Jun 2013

Brain Imaging Of Event Related Potentials In Children With Language Impairment, Hillary Ann Benton

Theses and Dissertations

Event related potentials (ERPs) may provide specific information about how particular aspects of language are processed by the brain over time. This study investigated the electrophysiology of language processing in two children with language impairment (LI) when compared to five typically developing children. The N400, P600, and the early left anterior negativity (ELAN) were analyzed after participants listened to linguistically correct, syntactically incorrect, and semantically incorrect sentences. Participants were instructed to indicate whether the sentences were correct or incorrect. Latency and amplitude of the ERP components were compared between the two groups of participants and sentence types. Results from the …


The Effectiveness Of Using Electropalatography To Remediate A Developmental Speech Sound Disorder In A School-Aged Child With Hearing Impairment, Kristina Lynne Pickett Jun 2013

The Effectiveness Of Using Electropalatography To Remediate A Developmental Speech Sound Disorder In A School-Aged Child With Hearing Impairment, Kristina Lynne Pickett

Theses and Dissertations

Advances in instrumentation and computer technology such as electropalatography (EPG) have offered additional types of feedback to more traditional therapy for individuals with speech disorders, specifically those with hearing impairment. The purpose of this study was to document whether therapeutic integration of EPG visual feedback in combination with traditional articulation therapy for a school-aged child with an articulation disorder secondary to hearing impairment was more effective than traditional therapy alone. One participant received five sessions of each therapy approach. Six adult listeners rated the quality of the participant's production of /r/ in words recorded during the therapy sessions. The EPG …


The Effects Of Intervention Involving A Robot On Compliance Of Four Children With Autism To Requests Produced By Their Mothers, Holly Jeanne Nelson May 2013

The Effects Of Intervention Involving A Robot On Compliance Of Four Children With Autism To Requests Produced By Their Mothers, Holly Jeanne Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

The current study presents the use of a humanoid robot to facilitate compliant behaviors to two types of directives in four children with autism. The children participated in a three-month intervention program that incorporated core components of the SCERTS model in order to facilitate social communication (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, & Laurent, 2003). Treatment sessions were comprised of 40 minutes of traditional treatment and 10 minutes of interaction with a humanoid robot. Pre- and post-intervention assessment were conducted, each involving a 5 minute interaction with the child's mother, in which they were presented with directives in the form of physical manipulation …


Test-Retest Reliability In Word Recognition Testing In Subjects With Varying Levels Of Hearing Loss, Meghan Elizabeth Grange Mar 2013

Test-Retest Reliability In Word Recognition Testing In Subjects With Varying Levels Of Hearing Loss, Meghan Elizabeth Grange

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of digitally recorded word recognition materials. Word recognition testing is included in a complete audiological evaluation to measure an individual's ability to discriminate what they hear. A phonetically balanced list of 50 monosyllabic words was presented to each participant at four different sensation levels (SL) using the American Speech Language Hearing Association recommended protocol for word recognition score testing. Each participant took a 10 minute break before the test was readministered. Participants included 40 subjects with varying levels of hearing loss, from normal hearing to severe hearing loss. The …


Intervention With Children With Autism: The Effect Of Using A Robot On Participation In Reciprocal Play, Shereen Ririe Mar 2013

Intervention With Children With Autism: The Effect Of Using A Robot On Participation In Reciprocal Play, Shereen Ririe

Theses and Dissertations

The current study was part of a larger work investigating the effects of intervention incorporating a robot on the social engagement behaviors of children with autism. The larger study implemented a single-subject, multiple-baseline research design in which four children with autism participated in baseline sessions, traditional intervention, intervention including a robot, and follow-up sessions. The current study focused on the participant's responses to directives from the clinician and the parent during collaborative activities that included the robot. Children's responses were analyzed to determine if they responded to directives without assistance, responded with hand-over-hand assistance, or did not comply. Sessions were …


Effects Of Syntactic Complexity On Speech Motor Performance, Kelsey Lewis Boyce Mar 2013

Effects Of Syntactic Complexity On Speech Motor Performance, Kelsey Lewis Boyce

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the possible influence of linguistic demands on speech motor control by measuring articulatory movement stability during conditions of increasing grammatical complexity. There were 60 participants in three age groups: 20-30 years, 40-50 years, and 60-70 years, with equal numbers of men and women in each group. These speakers produced 10 repetitions of five different sentence or phrase conditions. These five conditions included two baseline measurements and three sentences of varying complexity. Each complexity condition had an MLU count of 23, word length of 17, syllable length of 25, and contained the phrase open boxes of pompoms. …


Test-Retest Reliability Of Speech Recognition Threshold Material In Individuals With A Wide Range Of Hearing Abilities, Karin Leola Caswell Mar 2013

Test-Retest Reliability Of Speech Recognition Threshold Material In Individuals With A Wide Range Of Hearing Abilities, Karin Leola Caswell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an updated list of digitally recorded Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) materials for test-retest reliability. Chipman (2003) identified 33 psychometrically equated spondaic words that are frequently occurring in English today. These digitally recorded words were used to determine the SRT of 40 participants using the American Speech-Language Hearing Association guidelines. The participants were between the ages of 19 and 83 years and presented with hearing impairment ranging from normal to severe. The individual's pure-tone averages classified 16 participants with normal hearing to slight loss, 12 participants with mild loss, and 12 participants with …


The Effect Of A Robot On Children With Severe Autism During A Song Activity, Michelle Nelson Mar 2013

The Effect Of A Robot On Children With Severe Autism During A Song Activity, Michelle Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a small portion of a larger work examining the effects of low dosage robot use in interactive and social engagement therapy for children with autism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the participation of the subjects during song activities. Four children were used as participants, each receiving a total of 20 play-based treatment sessions targeting engagement and social interaction. The clinician incorporated the robot into these treatment sessions for 10 minute long segments within a 50 minute session. The current study analyzed these 10 minute segments with the robot, coding turn-taking behaviors. Results indicated that, …


Automated Identification Of Adverbial Clauses In Child Language Samples, Brittany Cheree Brown Feb 2013

Automated Identification Of Adverbial Clauses In Child Language Samples, Brittany Cheree Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Adverbial clauses are grammatical constructions that are of relevance in both typical language development and impaired language development. In recent years, computer software has been used to assist in the automated analysis of clinical language samples. This software has attempted to accurately identify adverbial clauses with limited success. The present study investigated the accuracy of software for the automated identification of adverbial clauses. Two separate collections of language samples were used. One collection included 10 children with language impairment, with ages ranging from 7;6 to 11;1 (years;months), 10 age-matched peers,and 10 language-matched peers. A second collection contained 30 children ranging …