Education Commons^™

One Font Doesn’T Fit All: The Influence Of Digital Text Personalization On Comprehension In Child And Adolescent Readers, Shannon M. Sheppard, Susanne L. Nobles, Anton Palma, Sophie Kajfez, Marjorie Jordan, Kathy Crowley, Sofie Beier

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Reading comprehension is an essential skill. It is unclear whether and to what degree typography and font personalization may impact reading comprehension in younger readers. With advancements in technology, it is now feasible to personalize digital reading formats in general technology tools, but this feature is not yet available for many educational tools. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of character width and inter-letter spacing on reading speed and comprehension. We enrolled 94 children (kindergarten–8th grade) and compared performance with six font variations on a word-level semantic decision task (Experiment 1) and a passage-level comprehension task (Experiment 2). …

Aac Intervention As An Immersion Model, Janet L. Dodd, Megan Gorey

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) based interventions support individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) in becoming effective and efficient communicators. However, there is often a disconnect between language models, communication opportunities, and desired intervention outcomes in the intervention process. This paper outlines a service delivery model that unites these elements of intervention. The social theory of language acquisition provides the foundation of this immersion model (Paul & Norbury, 2012; Pence & Justice, 2013) while adaptations of indirect language stimulation strategies create (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013; Paul & Norbury, 2012) the support system necessary to develop an independent and functional communicator. …

Aac Camp As An Alternative School-Based Service Delivery Model: A Retrospective Survey, Janet L. Dodd, Darla K. Hagge

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

School-based speech-language pathologists are obligated to apply evidence-based practice and document progress of their students’ response to intervention in compliance with federal law. The purpose of this preliminary study was to explore the effects of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)–based intervention provided in a camp format and begin the exploration of examining strategies to monitor and document progress. Through the use of a survey, data were also collected regarding the demographics of camp attendees and their response to the camp-based intervention model. Results indicated children with autism and intellectual disability comprised a significant portion of the children referred for …

Comprehensive Multi-Disciplinary Assessment Protocol For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Janet L. Dodd, Lauren K. Franke, Jeanette K. Grzesik, Jenna Stoskopf

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Legal mandates established under IDEA specify a student must be assessed in all areas of suspected disability. Never is this task more overwhelming than its application to the assessment of a student suspected of a diagnosis of autism. The assessment of an individual suspected of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis is a complex task and is dependent on the integration of information gleaned from assessments conducted by an array of professionals, each with their own distinct area of expertise. The purpose of this article is to introduce the Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Assessment Protocols-Autism Spectrum Disorder, referred to as the CMAPs, …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Opinions On Communication Disorders And Violence, Dixie Sanger, Barbara J. Moore-Brown, Judith Montgomery, Susan Hellerich

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: This study investigated the opinions of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding their role, education, and training in serving students with communication disorders who have been involved in violence.

Method: A survey consisting of 26 items was given to 598 SLPs from eight states representing geographic regions of the United States.

Results: Participants acknowledged that violence is an increasing concern. They also recognized the valuable role they have in planning prevention programs and serving on multidisciplinary teams. In contrast, SLPs' opinions suggested that they did not feel well trained to deal with violence, nor did they feel that …

Action: School Services - Respondent #2, Judy Montgomery, Phd, Ccc-Slp, Associate Professor, Chapman University, Judith Montgomery

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Presents news briefs related to school health services in the United States, as of April 2000. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's establishment of a professional issues forum on its Web site; Educational opportunities for disabled children resulting from the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act; Documents developed by ASHA as a result of an ASHA 1999 Priority Issue.

Adolescent Pragmatic Skills: A Comparison Of Latino Students In English As A Second Language And Speech And Language Programs, Alejandro Brice, Judith Montgomery

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

The purpose of this study was to compare the pragmatic performance of students from two adolescent groups-students receiving English as a second language (ESL) instruction versus bilingual students receiving speech-language (BSL) therapy. A pragmatics Screening scale (i.e., the Adolescent Pragmatics Screening Scale, Brice, 1992a) was used to measure pragmatic performance. The findings of this study indicated that the BSL students differed from the ESL students in expressing themselves, establishing greetings, initiating and maintaining conversations, listening to a speaker, and cueing the listener regarding topic changes. Both groups of students had difficulties regulating others through language. Thus, even language-intact students may …