Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

How Engaged Are Infants And Toddlers While Picture Book Reading?, Zoe Lawless

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: Literacy is a very important skill that begins to be acquired at birth. Most children start to develop pre-literacy skills by being read to by their parents or other adults around them. Being read aloud to can occur at many different ages and can start as early as infancy. As children grow, they interact and engage with books in different ways. This thesis aims to investigate the read-aloud behaviors of two different groups of young children, to reveal differences in engagement interactions among infants and young toddlers when being read picture books by their teacher.

Methods: The …

The Relationship Between Communicative Confidence And Identity In Everyday Life For People With Aphasia, Karina Escobar

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Aphasia is primarily a neurological language disorder, which can also affect cognition, attention, and executive functioning skills. In recent years, researcher has taken an interest in understanding quality of life for people with aphasia, specifically communicative confidence, social relationships, and identity. The aim of this study was to determine how communicative confidence and social relationships affect a person’s identity, as well as the importance of therapy groups. We designed and used confidence and independence survey scales pre-aphasia, post-aphasia but before attending aphasia therapy groups, and post-aphasia and after having attended aphasia therapy groups. We also asked clarifying questions based on …

Measuring Awareness Of Spd And Interprofessional Collaboration And Practices Among Professionals In An Elementary Public School Setting, Kyra Resende

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a neurological condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to sensory information, which can lead to sensory dysregulation (Rodden, 2023). Because everyone constantly receives sensory input, having SPD can impact a child’s life in numerous ways, such as academic and social success. Research indicates that 5% to 16% of students may have this neurological condition (Bunim, 2013), which is significant enough to expect that school professionals have appropriate awareness about SPD. Additionally, there is usually an overlap of professionals who serve students experiencing SPD, resulting in a need for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) …

An Examination Of The Spelling Patterns Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Elementary School Students, Emma Villanueva

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Learning how to spell and applying knowledge from the five domains of language to spelling (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) is an essential component of academic success. In order to excel in school, all students need to learn how to spell. Students who are D/deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) often struggle with spelling due to most methods of spelling education involving connecting spoken/heard sounds to letters, syllables, and words. There is limited research available regarding the methods deaf and hard-of-hearing students use to spell as well as error patterns typically made by this population.

The purpose of this research …

Assessment And Treatment Of Childhood Apraxia Of Speech: The Perspective Of Current Speech-Language Pathologists, Sabrina White

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

“Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a neurological childhood (pediatric) speech sound disorder in which the precision and consistency of movements underlying speech are impaired in the absence of neuromuscular deficits (e.g. abnormal reflexes, abnormal tone)” (ASHA, 2007b, Definitions of CAS section, para. 1). The role of speech-language pathology in conjunction with childhood apraxia of speech is the treatment of whichever speech sound disorders exist. The variable nature of CAS creates challenges for SLPs. Presently, “there are no validated diagnostic features that differentiate CAS from other childhood speech sound disorders.” (ASHA, 2007b, Signs and Symptoms, para 1). Due to this …

The Presence Of The Halo Effect In Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Neurotypical Individuals, Margo Mainord

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulty perceiving subtle social cues such as tone of voice, facial expressions, body language, and physical boundaries. These difficulties are well-established in the literature and lead to the social communication challenges characteristic of the disorder. Although the detection of subtle social cues is critical to all human interaction, there are other processes at play as humans relate and interact on a day-to-day basis. One such principle that has been firmly established but seldom considered is a cognitive bias known as the Halo Effect (HE), which is the tendency to assign numerous traits to …

Effect Of Intervention Of Low-Tech Aac Access Through Triadic Gaze On Communication From School-Aged Children With Multiple Disabilities, Bailey Norton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of instruction in teaching triadic gaze to communicate by accessing low-tech AAC. The low-tech AAC was an Eye-Com board with two target words laterally fixed to the board via Velco backing. Three school-aged participants completed the study, each with multiple disabilities, severe motor restrictions, and limited speech. This study utilized a multiple baseline across participants design. Laminated color photos depicting individualized, motivating vocabulary for each participant were used as probe materials. All three participants demonstrated increased performance in accurately utilizing triadic gaze for selecting from a field of two from baseline to intervention …

Examination Of The Colorful Semantic Approach Via Telepractice For Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Samadhi Pusuba Devayalage

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Hearing loss, deafness or hard of hearing are considered to be the inabilityof perceiving sounds beyond 20 dB. Due to a direct impact of a hearing loss, a developing brain undergoes difficulties in acquiring age-appropriate syntax and speech sounds. As a result, children with hearing loss present language, speech, and literacy disabilities. The current study discusses the efficacy of the colorful semantics approach in order to see its impact on sentence structure development. Methodology: A single subject withdrawal experimental study conducted following ABAB model. Two participants (6 years and 10 years) were recruited to the study following an inclusion …

The Lived Experiences Of Transmasculine Speakers: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Vocal Quality And Function In Relation To Gender, Micah Wylie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to learn how transmasculine individuals perceive the quality and function of their voices, and how those perceptions influence how they experience gender identity and communicate with others. This qualitative study adopted a hermeneutical phenomenological approach that involved using content analysis and thematic analysis to describe and interpret phenomena. This approach assumes that the researcher is not biased, but is a part of the world being studied and, therefore, understands the phenomenon by interpretive means. Saturation was achieved when all relevant information was introduced, and patterns of information had been identified. Sixteen interviews were conducted. …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Academic Preparation For Transition Services, Kathleen Bridgforth

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

When individuals with disabilities reach their senior year of high school, they undergo a transition period. Speech-language pathologists are often tasked with working on an interdisciplinary team to assist individuals undergoing transition. While research has been done on how professionals as a group can help with transition, there has been little to no research done on how SLPs can be better prepared to assist during this process. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the preparedness of SLPs in high schools to assist individuals undergoing the transition period. The requirements for the participants include being a practicing or past …

Examination Of Spelling Skills Of Elementary Students Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Lacey Simpson

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Spelling is a crucial skill that children must learn to read, write, and communicate effectively, but this comes with challenges for students with hearing loss. Linguistic processes, such as phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic awareness, semantic awareness, and mental graphemic representations are building blocks to understanding how to spell words accurately but are more difficult to grasp and apply with hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spelling skills of deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students to identify which linguistic processes need to be corrected and strengthened. By identifying which linguistic processes need remediation, educators …

Does Whispering Improve Children’S Memory? Comparing Auditory Vigilance And Salience Hypotheses, Christina M. Barnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oral communication is one of the primary tools children use to learn new information and speech registers can deliver additional meaning to the words someone uses. Cirillo’s (2004) vigilance hypothesis states “Whispering can affect the psychobiological state of recipients, and in particular raise their auditory vigilance” (Cirillo, 2004, p. 76). Building on this theory, the current study investigates the role of whispering and children’s memory by examining a whispering vigilance, whispering salience which focused on the changes between normal and whisper registers, and combined vigilance and salience hypotheses to determine if whispering contributes to the recall of information. Using video …

Phonological Processing Abilities And Reading Skills In Young Adults, Sarah Thompson

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

This case study examined the relationship between phonological processing abilities and reading skills of three young adults who had a history and formal diagnosis of a reading, writing, and/or auditory processing impairment. In addition to a standardized reading assessment, the participants were asked to complete a series of assessments that measured a specific aspect of auditory or visual phonological processing abilities including phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatic naming skills. These assessments included the Decoding Subtest of the Phonological Awareness Test (PAT-2), the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-5), and the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2). Processing of degraded …

Language Abilities Of Children Who Qualify For Both Speech And Language Therapy And Play Therapy, Rylee Atkins

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Play is an essential role in the development of children’s language and social-emotional well-being. Intervention methods with the use of play are used by both registered play therapist and speech-language pathologists. This study aims to explore if students who have met the eligibility requirements for speech-language therapy services are also eligible for child-centered play therapy services, as well as examine if students who qualify for both services have common characteristics. Findings demonstrated that students who qualified for CCPT and had individualized education plans (IEPs) for speech-language services had significantly lower poor peer social skills, as determined by teacher’s rating scores, …

Bimodal And Bilingual: Language Characteristics Of Asl And English Users, Caitlin Bumpass

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Bimodal bilingualism is the use of both an oral and a sign language, which in the United States often includes the ability to perceive and produce both American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English (Emmory, Borinstein, Thompson, & Gollan, 2008). The primary focus of this research is to examine the operational definition of bilingualism, specifically when English and ASL are the two languages used, within the scholarly journals in the related field of deaf education. There is an abundant amount of research regarding language of children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh); however, it is unclear …

Noise Exposure And Hearing Protection In Marching Band Students, Emily Myers

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research project was to investigate collegiate marching band members’ use of hearing protection during rehearsals and performances. A second purpose was to identify the concerns of marching band members about the use of hearing protection. Finally, the third purpose was to determine if the type of protection used, standard or custom, impacted wearing time. Hearing threshold sensitivity, tympanometry, and use of hearing protection were measured prior to the fitting of the custom earmolds and again at the end of the marching season.

Pre-season results indicated that the majority of band members reported they did not wear …

Perspectives Of Caregivers On Early Onset Dementia: An Investigation Of The Role Of Attachment And Shifts In Identity, Claire Wood

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Early onset dementia (EOD) alters the lives of person with dementia (PWD) and caregivers as it broadens from helping with the instrumental activities of daily living to full time assistance with essential activities of daily living. Research literature reports that pre-morbid attachment style continues to be emotionally and behaviorally expressed over the course of dementia; individual and shared narratives contribute to maintenance of personhood and identity; and that maintenance of self and other contributes to quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in caregiver perceptions of themselves and their quality of life in the caregiving …

How Music Shapes Our Identities And Why It Matters: Case Studies Of Professional Musicians, Annabelle C. Linker

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Brain research has demonstrated that music uniquely contributes to neural functioning, but little is known about how losing the ability to produce music, which may be inherent to personal identity for professional singers, impacts quality of life. This study explored identity and music in the lives of five well-known vocal music professionals selected because they have publicly talked about the role of music in their lives via books, televised interviews, and documentaries. The careers of three of the individuals were disrupted by neurogenic disease; one lost the ability to sing after treatment for vocal nodules; and the fifth individual remains …

Telepractice In The Communication Treatment Of Individuals With Post-Stroke Aphasia: Systematic Review, Gayanthi Kodituwakku-Wewalwala

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Telepractice, a branch of telehealth, which is the delivery of services to distant sites employing telecommunication, has been developing rapidly nowadays. Owing to the nature of the condition and treatment foci in aphasia, telepractice has been identified as a potential mode for intervention to persons with aphasia (PWA) in the field of speech-language pathology. Based on the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (2005), telepractice is considered a means to extend services to a wider context overcoming the barriers of transportation, costs, and limited availability of services. Thus, exploration of treatment accessibility to underserved populations in middle/low-income countries or rural areas via …

Loss And Attainment Of Identity For Individuals Experiencing Early Onset Dementia, Benjamin Wright

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Qualitative research over the last decade suggests that connection with others and continued engagement in everyday life contribute to quality of life for those with EOD. This study aimed to map how personal and socially attributed identity shifted as everyday life changed over the dementia continuum. The goal was to determine if common narrative and life story themes marked key indicators of perceptions about and maintenance of self, others, and everyday life roles. The materials of the study were eleven open-source video, audio, and written documents submitted by individuals experiencing EOD and their family members for public use. The selected …

A Qualitative Case Study: Exploring The Application Of Physiological Measures In Prelinguistic Aac Intervention, Chloe Putnam

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: The goal of completing this research was to explore the potential promise of the novel approach of applying physiological measures to AAC intervention for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who are prelinguistic communicators. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to investigate the primary forms of prelinguistic communication and aided AAC used by a family with an individual with IDD and how taking physiological measurements might improve AAC intervention. Methodology: One family with an individual diagnosed with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) who primarily utilized prelinguistic communication and frequently uses aided, linguistic augmentative and alternative communication …

Social Conformity And The Line Judgement Task For Adolescents With Asd, Jamie Mcclendon

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The primary intent of this study is to add to the growing research regarding social functioning and theory of mind (ToM) of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study takes into account the Solomon Asch line judgement tasks effect on peer pressure and social conformity. Previous research has shown that there is a discrepancy in the conformity exhibited by typically developing individuals (TD) and ASD individuals. This study seeks to address the degree to which ASD individuals are affected by social influence and how likely they will be to conform. Conformity rates will be compared to that of …

Examination Of Language Skills In Children Who Attend Head Start Programs, Madilyn Littlefield

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Socioeconomic status and poverty can greatly affect child development and have lasting impacts throughout life. Children who are raised in a low socioeconomic status homes may experience limited parent sensitivity, limited parental engagement, and limited access to stimulating materials. These factors may also limit opportunities to experience rich language and literacy experiences which can negatively impact development of emergent literacy skills and later educational growth. To reduce the effects of poverty on school readiness, income-based childcare programs allow families access to affordable early school readiness opportunities that are developmentally appropriate. Head Start programs are designed to facilitate child development, provide …

Development Of The Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (Cast) Scale: A Pilot Study On Caregiver Implementation Via International Telepractice, Elizabeth Ocampo-Roman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parent engagement is a key component during early language development for all children, but particularly for a child with hearing loss. Through the application of technology-based models of service delivery such as telehealth, researchers have found an increase in parent-child engagement during auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) sessions due to the physical absence of the provider and parents becoming the primary language facilitators. However, current measures of parent-child interactions do not have a coding system to monitor facilitation of auditory skills. This present study will discuss the development of the Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (CAST) Scale to track progress of caregiver implementation …

Effect Of Consistent Singing On Maintenance Of Speech Intelligibility Following Lsvt®: A Retrospective Longitudinal Case Study, Rachel Ricca Beck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s Disease is a common neurodegenerative disease affecting one’s ability to hone and refine volitional movement. Many with Parkinson’s report significant effects on voice and communication. Speech-language pathologists have long targeted the achievement of increased vocal volume through intensive voice therapy, with the most common program being Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® (LSVT®) (Ramig et al., 1994). While LSVT® is the most prominent type of voice therapy for individuals with Parkinson’s, other researchers have begun investigating therapeutic singing because of the similar functions it employs (e.g., increased breath support, utilization of entire vocal range).

The current project is a retrospective, longitudinal …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Motor Planning With Core Vocabulary: A Behavior Analytic Account, Alison Judith Karnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) increases, it is important for practitioners to continue to improve evidence-based practices (EBP) for the treatment of ASD symptoms (i.e., impairments in social communication and repetitive behaviors and restricted interests; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). It is estimated that 30-50% of individuals with autism do not acquire functional speech (Wodka, Mathy, & Kalb, 2013). These individuals would make appropriate candidates for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC; Mirenda, 2003). One form of AAC is the speech-generating device (SGD). Over the last ten years, tablet-based technologies including iPad minisⓇ have been emphasized in the …

Family Dynamics And Auditory Verbal Therapy, Casey Baldwin

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) is an intervention approach that is structured around caregiver involvement. While this model emphasizes the need for interventions to occur throughout the week within activities of daily living, many families have different dynamics and are drifting away from the “standard” two-parent structure. This study aims to explore the different family structures and dynamics of children who are receiving AVT services. Findings demonstrated that AVT does not seem to interfere with participation in extracurricular activities, it may be beneficial for families to have different people in the family taking the child to therapy and facilitating therapy at …

Musical Ear Syndrome: What Do We Know?, Cara D. Pestel

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to review the existing literature regarding Musical Ear Syndrome and other related auditory hallucinations. While the existence of auditory hallucinations is evident, their cause is unclear and widely understudied. There was a need for existing information to be compiled for use in the healthcare field. This review of existing literature will aid speech-language pathologists, audiologists, nurses, psychologists, and physicians in understanding this condition and what differentiates it from other various disorders. This will allow these professionals to better understand the experiences and needs of those with Musical Ear Syndrome.

The Impact Of Technology On Individuals With Down Syndrome And Their Families, Morgan N. Fritz

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the role technology plays in the everyday lives of individuals with Down syndrome and their families. Data was collected via an online questionnaire for parents of adolescents with Down syndrome and took place in two phases: the pilot phase and the large-scale data collection phase. The pilot phase consisted of constructing, giving, and modifying the questionnaire. The large-scale data collection phase included disseminating the questionnaire through social media and resulted in 107 responses. These revealed that technology is widely used by individuals with Down syndrome. As a main outcome, technology provided these …

Need For Speech-Language Pathologists In Juvenile Detention Centers In Arkansas, Jessica R. Stephenson

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Young offenders in juvenile detention centers (JDCs) have a higher than average incidence of communication difficulties. There is limited published research on incidence of communication disorders and intervention techniques on this population in Arkansas. Speechlanguage pathologists (SLP) have been implemented in the JDC setting in other countries to determine if having speech-language therapy services will benefit juvenile offenders with their legal experiences and their lives post release. The limited research that is available identifies the need for a full range of speech-language therapy services to lower recidivism rates and provide offenders with the necessary tools for functional communication. The first …