Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Examining Perception And Understanding Of Stroke And Its Risk Factors In A Rural Population, Mackenzie King, Gabrielle Scarpa, Mary Gardiner

Theses & Honors Papers

Stroke, also sometimes referred to as a brain attack, occurs when there is a blockage in blood supply to the brain or when a blood vessel bursts within the brain (CDC, 2022). Rural populations have a higher incidence of stroke and higher stroke mortality in the United States (Howard et al., 2017). Although there is a higher incidence rate of stroke in rural populations, researchers have also found that these populations appear to have limited knowledge on stroke and its risk factors. The current study employed a non-experimental descriptive design that explored stroke knowledge in adults residing in rural populations …

Graduate Student Transcription Of Accented Speech, Emily Covington

Theses & Honors Papers

There are many speech sound differences between Standard American English and English spoken by an individual from a different language background, who speaks with an accent. The purpose of this study is to research graduate students' preparedness and ability to transcribe speech from varying cultural backgrounds. A transcription assessment was administered to current speech-language pathology graduate students with results compared to professionals in the field who completed the transcription based on both listening and spectrogram images. Graduate students were also surveyed regarding their phonetics education experiences. Overall, students were able to transcribe accented speech with 64.2% accuracy. Participants’ transcription of …

The Relationship Between Recent Csd Graduates' Comfort And Training With Aac And Their Knowledge Of Aac, Delanie Amend, B.S.

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this research was to investigate the perspectives of recent Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduate students regarding their comfort and training around Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and examine the Dunning-Kruger effect between recent CSD graduates’ knowledge with AAC versus their perceived expertise of AAC. The researcher distributed an online survey via email, social media, American Speech-Language- Hearing Association (ASHA) Special Interest Groups to individuals who graduated from a CAA- accredited Speech-Language Pathology master’s program with a graduation year of 2018-2022 who now currently hold either their Certificate of Clinical Competency (CCC-SLP) or their Clinical Fellowship license …

Access To Gender-Affirming Voice Services Among Emerging Adults In The Gender-Expansive Community, Erin O. Wind

Theses & Honors Papers

Emerging adulthood, occurring between the ages of 18 to 25, is a time of significant identity exploration. This age group has the highest prevalence of individuals who are transgender or nonbinary; however, there is minimal current research on access to gender-affirming voice services among this demographic. This study utilized a healthcare access framework by Levesque et al. (2013) to analyze organizational barriers to care including approachability, acceptability, availability, affordability, and appropriateness for this population.

The researchers collected data from 104 participants with an electronic survey. Survey data showed most participants (64%) are aware of and desire gender-affirming voice services. Of …

Caregiver Rights, Virtual Meetings, And The Multidisciplinary Team: Communication Of Legal Rights Within Special Education, Amber Gordon, Kurustun Musick

Theses & Honors Papers

During the COVID-19 pandemic many professional settings used virtual platforms to conduct meetings that typically took place in person. Within the United States public schools, special education programs faced unique challenges when conducting students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. These meetings are mandatory and essential in creating an individualized plan to provide the necessary services and support for students or for monitoring their progress. As mandated through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it is a legal right of parents and/or guardians to be afforded the opportunity to attend any meetings regarding the “identification, evaluation, and educational placement” of …

Dysphagia Practice Patterns Of Virginia Speech-Language Pathologists, Molly Kathleen Dailey

Theses & Honors Papers

Currently, there are a variety of screening tools, clinical, and instrumental assessments used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to diagnose dysphagia and plan for treatment. Anecdotal reports and empirical evidence suggest that dysphagia assessment and treatment practice patterns vary considerably across patient populations, work settings, and clinicians. Understanding the SLP assessment and treatment practices across settings and factors that may influence their decisions will help inform future directions in dysphagia education, training, and clinical practice components. These findings will enable the provision of quality care that will ultimately lead to positive patient health outcomes. Thus, this survey study was designed to …

Speech-Language Pathologists’ Estimates Of Bolus Sizes Used During Dysphagia Evaluations, Joyanna E. Struzzieri

Theses & Honors Papers

Dysphagia evaluations play an important role in the assessment and treatment of people with swallowing problems. Protocols and methods for assessment vary greatly among clinicians, however, all assessments involve trials of food and liquid boluses given across different consistencies and in varying amounts. Thin and thick liquids, thin puree, thick puree or pudding, and solid consistencies are widely utilized for dysphagia evaluations. The amounts of food and liquids that are given drive therapeutic recommendations for bite and sip sizes. It is unknown if the bite and sip sizes used during dysphagia assessments also vary among SLPs and/or if these amounts …

Speech-Language Pathoogists' Practices & Perspectives Pertaining To Animal-Assisted Therapy, Jessica S. Popp

Theses & Honors Papers

Purpose: The precise beneficial role of animals to serve as facilitators or incentives for human communication has received limited attention to date in the field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD). This study addresses the need within the field of communication sciences and disorders for qualitative research that focuses on the use of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) by speech-language pathologists . The researcher aimed to answer the following research question: What are speech-language pathologists' practices and perspectives pertaining to animal-assisted therapy? The researcher hypothesizes that the data from this survey research study will indicate patterns worth further analysis through single subject …