Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Narrative Language Assessment And Intervention: Applications With Children With And Without Disabilities, Norah M. Almubark

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Narrative is the art of conveying a sequence of causally and temporally linked events through monologic telling. Various functions can be served through narratives including sharing experiences, expressing ideas, providing entertainment, and imparting cultural or social values. Narrative language represents an authentic type of language that is useful for assessment and intervention because it can be analyzed according to content and form. The ability to use complex narrative language and produce quality narratives is associated with long-term academic and social benefits (Uccelli et al., 2019; Suggate et al, 2018). Given this crucial link, narrative language is suitable for child language …

Head Movement Behaviors In Various Communication Environments, Angkana Lertpoompunya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a complex environment with only a single-source speech target, modern hearing aids can improve signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) by using directional microphones, and consequently, improve speech intelligibility. However, in many realistic listening situations where there are multiple sound sources, especially in a turn-taking conversation, improving the SNRs in one location may come at a cost of another equally important location. Critically, the hearing aid user is also unlikely to retain a static head orientation to which the hearing aids reference in these complex environments. For this reason, modern premium hearing aids are now equipped with motion sensors (e.g., accelerometers) to …

Aldosterone Treatment Protects Connexin 30 And 43 Expression For Age-Related Hearing Loss, Jennifer A. Pineros Valencia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), also known as presbycusis, is the number one communication disorder affecting our aged population. Connexin proteins are essential for intercellular communication throughout the human body. Mutations in connexin genes have been linked to human syndromic and nonsyndromic deafness; thus, we hypothesize changes in connexin gene and protein expression with age may be involved in the development of ARHL. In our current study, connexin mRNA gene expression for CBA/CaJ mice at different age points were examined and correlations were analyzed between the changes in gene expression and functional hearing measures, such as ABRs and DPOAEs. Moreover, we …

L-Ergothioneine Treatment In Old Cba/Caj Male Mice Slows The Progression Of Age-Related Hearing Loss, Mark A. Bauer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The naturally occurring amino acid, L-Ergothioneine (EGT), has immense potential as a therapeutic, having shown promise in the treatment of other disease models, including neurological disorders. EGT is naturally uptaken into cells via its specific receptor, OCTN1, suggesting that it is highly conserved, to be utilized by cells as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, particularly under stressed conditions. In our current study, EGT was administered over a period of 6 months to 25-26 month old CBA/CaJ mice as a possible treatment for age-related hearing loss (ARHL), since presbycusis has been linked to higher levels of cochlear oxidative stress, apoptosis and chronic …

Towards Precision Audiology: Perceptual Profiles & Their Relation To Ecologically Valid Communication Assessments, Dana Cherri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Living in a sonic world, a person with hearing loss experiences difficulty in communicating with others. One of the reasons why some people with hearing loss do not wear hearing aids (HAs) is limited perceived benefit, which may result from HAs that are not fit using “best practices” or because the best practices fail to address individual difficulties experienced by the listener. The typical audiogram provides information regarding audibility as a function of frequency and is used to establish degree, type, and configuration of hearing loss, but does not measure the ability of an individual to process various components of …

Impact Of Language Sampling Context On Language Productivity And Complexity, Trina J. Tolentino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Language sampling is a familiar tool in the speech-language pathologist’s (SLP’s) repertoire, used to assess a student’s language ability and inform treatment targets. The current literature has several studies comparing various dimensions of language sampling context, but with relatively small samples. The goal of this study was to identify what sampling contexts elicit the most productive and complex language, thereby contributing insight into what conditions may yield the most accurate representation of a child’s language skill, as well as the resulting intervention focus.

One-thousand thirty-seven kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade students (mean age [years; months] ≈ 7;5; range = 5;0-10;9), …

Cortical Organization For Encoding And Perception Of Auditory Spectral And Temporal Cues In Younger And Older Adults, Jitpakorn Pichaitanaporn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Perception of spectral and temporal acoustic cues is fundamental to most auditory tasks including speech discrimination, sound localization, and segregation of speech in background competition. Although neuroimaging studies have shown hemispheric asymmetry in processing spectral and temporal features, where right hemisphere is dominant for spectral processing while left hemisphere is dominant for temporal processing, the effects of aging on hemispheric asymmetry and associated auditory perceptual consequences have not been well studied. Neurocognitive aging studies support that due to limited neural resources, older adults may use different neural circuits than younger adults to maintain perceptual and cognitive performance during the same …

Transitioning From Face-To-Face To Telehealth Speech And Language Services Due To The Covid-19 Pandemic: Perceptions Of Persons With Aphasia And Their Ehelpers, Emma Logan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the perceptions of the aphasia community, as well as their caregivers, that are provided speech and language services and how their services were affected due to transitions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recency and novelty of the pandemic warrants research of many areas related to health care, including that of speech language pathology.

An online survey was completed by nine persons with aphasia and three eHelpers. Participants were recruited through a university clinic and by informational fliers through social media. Participants with aphasia qualified by having experiences with speech and …

The Effect Of Aac-Modeling Intervention (Aac-Mod) Within Dialogic Reading On Vocabulary Learning In Children With Down Syndrome, Emily A. Mchugh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of aided Alternative and Augmentative Communication-Modeling (AAC-MOD) intervention on the communication skills of preschool-age children with Down syndrome (DS) during dialogic book reading. The study investigated to what extent AAC-MOD is effective in increasing the acquisition of target vocabulary and expressive communication acts by children with DS who use few words functionally. Two children aged 3;10 and 5;4, with repertoires of less than 75 intelligible words were selected. A repeated acquisition experimental design was used to examine the effects of instruction on target vocabulary word learning and symbolic communication. …

Successful Aging In Adults Who Stutter: Exploring Predictors Of Physical And Mental Health-Related Quality Of Life, Amanda Kelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to investigate predictors of physical and mental health quality of life in aging adults who stutter (AWS). Our goal was to identify factors contributing to successful aging in this talker group. The aging population is expected to increase exponentially over the next twenty years. Factors influencing self-perceived health-related quality of life have yet to be investigated in aging AWS.

An online survey was completed by a total of 40 AWS, age 50 years and older, recruited from the Greater Tampa Bay region and nationally. The survey comprised multiple measures that probed for information regarding self-perceived health …

A New Age Of Telehealth: Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology Services During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Beyond, Deborah R. Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic potentially changed the landscape of how speech-language pathologists provide services. Prior to March 2020, pediatric speech-language therapy provided via telehealth was limited; however, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a worldwide conversion from in-person care to a remote service delivery model. This conversion brought to the fore possible benefits and utility of telehealth use. Yet, clinicians potentially experienced barriers to its use, including the lack of validity and reliability evidence for remote administration of several pediatric assessments. For the viability of remotely delivered speech-language services to continue and evolve in a post-pandemic world, further research is needed to identify …

The Perceptions Of Speech-Language Pathologists Toward Augmentative And Alternative Communication In Thailand, Wansiya Kamonsitichai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems have gained increasing acceptance in the US, they are not well-known and broadly used in Thailand. To begin introducing AAC systems and interventions to children with complex communication needs (CCNs) in Thailand, understanding Speech-Language Pathologists’ (SLP) perceptions toward various AAC systems is considered an important first step. This study assessed SLPs’ perceptions toward three AAC modalities: gestural communication, communication boards, and speech-generating devices. All SLPs in Thailand (n ~ 200) were invited to participate. A total of 78 SLPs watched three video vignettes with a Thai child illustrating each AAC mode. They then …

Directing Attention In Second Language Phonological Contrast Learning, Laura Conover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Why are some people better at learning new languages than others? There is a rich body of research examining this issue from multiple perspectives and at all levels of language. This study attempts to add to that knowledge at the most fundamental level of language by examining potential influences on the learning of novel phoneme contrasts. The purpose of this study was to explore whether individual differences in attentional capabilities would help adults learn a non-native phonological contrast, and whether providing explicit directions that would guide the learners’ attention could help boost their performance. VCV recordings of the Thai /p/ …

Hearing Aid Acclimatization In The Context Of Central Gain Mechanisms, Peter J. Hutchison

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary goals of this dissertation were to 1) identify markers of central gain in the auditory system following short-term acoustic attenuation via earplugging and acoustic enhancement via sound generators, and 2) determine if acoustic enhancement is effective in modulating central gain in older adults with age-related hearing loss, and if so, to what extent. Additionally, a further goal of this dissertation was to explore the possibility that central gain is related hearing aid acclimatization. The results described in Chapter 2 are further evidence that altering acoustic input to the peripheral auditory system modulates central auditory plasticity and is evident …

Indicators Of Mild Cognitive Impairment Associated With Language Processing And Production, Diana Julbe-Delgado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research purpose of the present study was to (1) examine cognitive-linguistic features related to processing and production across a series of tasks that are representative of everyday discourse and (2) compare older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) across linguistic features. Twenty-seven participants, including 12 individuals with- and 15 individuals without MCI, were enrolled from a larger study (Hudak et al., 2019). Cognitive status was initially assessed as part of the larger study using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; Nasreddine et al., 2005). Participants who scored ≤ 25 on the MoCA received a standardized neuropsychological evaluation and …

Enhancing Intergenerational Conversation Using Visual Cues: Effects Of A Historical Timeline, Allyson Lindsay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interacting with individuals with expressive aphasia can be particularly challenging not only because of the language impairments, but also because of the frequent age difference between the clients with aphasia and student clinicians. Although students learn a variety of strategies to support language impairments, there remains a need to bridge the age gap in historical knowledge to enhance conversation. The current study explored the use of a timeline as written and pictorial cue to support conversations between individuals with aphasia and students. This study consisted of Two Experiments. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to identify the differences in knowledge …

Aligning Voice And Communication With Identity – A Survey On Transgender And Gender Diverse Populations, Rachel T. Chalom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This research has two goals. The first goal is to examine transgender (TG) and gender diverse (GD) voice and communication functioning and the impact of voice on their everyday lives. The second goal is to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs speech-language pathologists (SLP) have about the TG and GD community and to investigate the relationship between self- and listener-perception and its correspondence to quality of life (QoL).

Methods: A total of 59 participants took part in this research. The research was separated into two parts, the first included 24 TG and GD individuals who participated in a Qualtrics …

Vocal Health Of Choral Singers From Kenya And The United States: Dysphonia And Vocal Fatigue In Relation To Musical Genres, Morgan Jolley Burburan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the vocal health of choral singers from Kenya and the United States and to determine whether genre (classical choral, traditional Kenya, and Contemporary Commercial Music [CCM]) had any impact on healthy vocal production, particularly as it related to vocal fatigue. Participants were adult singers (N = 94) in two semi-professional choirs, the Nairobi Chamber Chorus (NCC) from Kenya (n = 25) and the Festival Singers of Florida (FSOF) from the United States (n = 69). Singers’ perceived overall vocal health was measured using multiparametric clinical self-reporting instruments and acoustical assessment. Singers’ …

Auditory Perception And Neural Encoding Of Spectral Modulation, Sittiprapa Isarangura

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most natural acoustic sounds consist of multiple frequencies. An important auditory perceptual ability to resolve such acoustic properties is referred to as spectral processing and includes frequency resolution, frequency selectivity and spectral envelope perception. Frequency resolution, as demonstrated by masking techniques, indicates that our auditory system functions as an auditory filter bank with overlapping bandpass filters. These filters allow for the effective separation of sounds into different frequency bands or channels. Acoustic components that fall within a given filter or passband are considered to be processed “within channel” and are perceptually resolved using “local” spectral cues, whereas components in different …

Supporting Persons With Dementia In Communicating Their Care Preferences, Vanessa L. Burshnic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Person-centered care is important to the quality of life of nursing home residents with dementia. Preference assessments enable person-centered care by documenting residents’ preferred activities. Residents with severe dementia are less likely to have a role in preference assessment due to communication challenges associated with the disease. External supports (visual and text cues) are effective in improving the communication of residents with dementia, but these cues are often not used in practice. Standard assessment (verbal questioning) places greater demands on short-term memory and attention, which are known deficits in dementia.

Applying a within-subjects design, this study evaluated two conditions (standard …

The Effect Of Narrative Language Intervention On The Language Skills Of Children With Hearing Loss, Stephanie M. Raymond

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with hearing loss have limited auditory access to their native language and struggle to develop appropriate language skills. These children consistently demonstrate less complex oral language output, smaller vocabulary inventories, and delays in overall communicative proficiency. With the extensive implications hearing loss has on language development, a child with hearing loss requires immediate access to appropriate and effective intervention to address deficits and curb long-term language delays. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the effects of various language intervention programs with children with hearing loss. Much of the existing research focuses on the consequences of a selected …

Script Training For Adults Who Stutter, Courtney M. Rankin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Treatment for adulthood stuttering traditionally focuses on some combination of stuttering management and fluency management and may also target emotional and cognitive reactions to stuttering. However, long-term gains are often limited, and there is a need for continued development of approaches for mitigating impacts of stuttering. We know of no evidence-based therapy approaches designed to target functional communication in adults who stutter (AWS), despite widespread interest in improving functional communication in members of this speaker group. Script training is an intervention approach designed to improve accuracy and automaticity in functional communication. Script training was originally designed for use with adults …

Neuro-Correlates Of Word Processing Among Four-And-Five-Year-Old Children From Homes Varying In Socio-Economic Status, Wendy Olsen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A large body of research relates families’ socioeconomic status (SES) to child language development (Hoff & Tian, 2005). Results from these studies indicate preschoolers from low SES backgrounds may have underdeveloped linguistic foundations required for future academic success (Sirin, 2005; Lacouri & Tissington, 2011). These differences have been said to create a 30 million word-gap between the language experiences of low and middle to high SES children by the age of 3 years. Thus, children who come from lower SES backgrounds often lack the vocabulary knowledge used in school and in textbooks (Hart & Risley, 1995). One index of SES …

Effects Of External Memory Aid Assessment And Treatment On Everyday Task Performance Of Individuals With Mild Neurocognitive Disorder, Alyssa M. Lanzi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with mild neurocognitive disorder complete many activities of daily living independently; however, they may require the use of compensatory strategies while performing everyday tasks. Compensatory strategies, such as external memory aids, incorporate a strengths-based approach to enhance the functional needs of individuals. Although external memory aids have a strong evidence-base, limited assessment tools and interventions are available to facilitate the development of individualized treatment plans that promote sustained strategy use. To better support the everyday needs of individuals with mild neurocognitive disorder and to inform clinicians who are developing interventions, the current dissertation includes four paper that examine a …

Factors Related To Hearing Aid Use Among Older Adults From Hispanic/Latino Backgrounds: Findings From The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos, Michelle L. Arnold

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand perceived hearing loss and hearing health care use among older adults from Hispanic/Latino backgrounds using the Andersen model of health care utilization as a framework. A cross sectional analysis of audiometric and survey data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos was used to estimate factors that characterize perceived hearing handicap and hearing aid use, and to determine hearing aid use rates in a large group of older Hispanic/Latino adults. Data came from 6970 adults aged 45 to 76. Results revealed that self-perceived hearing handicap is significantly correlated to measured hearing …

Early Literacy Abilities In Spanish-English Emergent Bilingual Children From Varied Dialectal Backgrounds, Antonietta Mastrota

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Hispanic population within the United States has grown to a considerable amount. The state of Florida’s population is 25% Hispanic, with projected estimates of this population continuing to grow in the coming years (Ortman & Shin, 2011). Statistics show that 28.3% of the state’s population, over the age of five, speak a language other than English at home. With this considerable number of Spanish-speakers comes the responsibility to adjust certain educational practices to best meet their needs. Literacy is an essential part of learning, and therefore assessing early literacy is an essential part to any child’s academic development.

Phonological …

Validity Of A Dynamic Spanish Assessment Of Phonological Awareness In Emergent Bilingual Children, Kelsey R. Wyman Chin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the current decade, the number of Hispanic students has doubled so that about 16% of the total student population within the United States are Spanish-speakers (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). With this growing population comes a responsibility to understand and implement best practices for educating these students. Because literacy is a building-block for learning, one integral part of this responsibility consists of developing valid and reliable means of assessing pre-reading skills that are predictive of later reading abilities (Lonigan, Burgess, & Anthony, 2000; Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1994).

English-language learning children are being identified for having reading difficulties and disabilities …

Articulatory Patterns In Children Who Use Cochlear Implants: An Ultrasound Measure Of Velar Stop Production In Bilingual Speakers, Katherine Javier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coarticulation occurs in running speech when one speech sound or phoneme overlaps with another. It can be considered a result of the way we sequence and organize our articulators to efficiently produce consecutive consonants and vowels in fluent speech. Previous research has suggested that measures of coarticulation can provide insight into the maturity of the motor speech planning system (Barbier, Perrier, Ménard, Payan, Tiede, & Perkell, 2013; Zharkova & Hewlett, 2009; Zharkova, Hewlett, & Hardcastle, 2011). Speech stability has also been suggested as an indicator of motor speech maturity in previous research using ultrasound imaging of velar-vowel targets (Frisch, Maxfield, …

Relationship Between Intelligibility And Response Accuracy Of The Amazon Echo In Individuals With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Exhibiting Mild-Moderate Dysarthria, Caroline A. Layden

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is an ever-growing and increasing amount of technology options that use speech recognition software. Currently, the market includes smartphones, computers, and individual smart home personal assistants that allow for hands-free access to this technology. Research studies have explored the utility of these assistive devices for the completion of activities of daily living; however, there is limited research looking at the accuracy of voice recognition software within smart home personal assistants in populations with disordered speech. In persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), symptoms include changes to motor functions, speech in particular, and it is unknown how some of these …

The Impact Of Vocabulary Knowledge On Nonword Judgments In Spanish-English Bilinguals, Marisa E. Leyden

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis suggests that the range of vocabulary in an individual’s lexicon has an influence on in their assessment of nonword wordlikeness. The study included thirteen Spanish-English bilinguals who participated in a language dominance questionnaire, standardized assessments of Spanish and English vocabulary knowledge, and Spanish and English wordlikeness judgment tasks. Resulting data demonstrated moderate correlations between vocabulary knowledge and performance on nonword wordlikeness judgement tasks in Spanish and English. Participants with larger lexicons appeared more tolerant of less probable nonwords, those with low phonotactic probability, while those with smaller lexicons were less accepting of nonwords with low phonotactic probability. The …