Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Objective Estimation Of Tracheoesophageal Speech Quality, Yousef S Ettomi Ali

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Speech quality estimation for pathological voices is becoming an increasingly important research topic. The assessment of the quality and the degree of severity of a disordered speech is important to the clinical treatment and rehabilitation of patients. In particular, patients who have undergone total laryngectomy (larynx removal) produce Tracheoesophageal (TE) speech. In this thesis, we study the problem of TE speech quality estimation using advanced signal processing approaches. Since it is not possible to have a reference (clean) signal corresponding to a given TE speech (disordered) signal, we investigate in particular the non-intrusive techniques (also called single-ended or blind approaches) …

A Comparative Study Of Esl Children's Improvement In Reading, Writing, Listening, And Speaking Using The Grapeseed Program, Morgan Mainess

Honors Theses

GrapeSEED is a program currently administered in the Berrien Springs Public School System that is specifically designed to improve literacy (reading and writing), listening, and speaking skills for English as a Second Language (ESL) chi ldren. This study analyzed whether the GrapeSEED program would significantly improve participants' development when compared to their pre-tests. Empirical observational data was additionally collected at Mars Elementary during the 2018-2019 academic year. A statistical analysis indicated significant advancement in listening and literacy with increased improvement for younger participants in the GrapeSEED program.

Purpose

This study aimed to determine the improvement in participant's development in the …

The Use Of Video-Based Instruction To Teach Life Skills To Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Kori Paige Esplin

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with developmental disabilities struggle to learn important life skills. This deficit impedes their ability to function in the community and live meaningful lives. Video prompting (VP) is an evidence-based practice that has been used to teach a wide variety of skills to individuals with disabilities. VP utilizes technology to create step-by-step videos to teach academic, social, vocational and other life skills This article extends the current literature on VP interventions to hygiene skills and investigates the efficacy, skill maintenance, social validity, and level of independence that can be achieved using VP to teach hygiene skills. Three participants with developmental …

Exploring The Temporal Variability Of Speech Intensity, Speech Intelligibility, And Communicative Participation In Individuals With Hypophonia And Parkinson’S Disease, Cynthia Mancinelli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hypophonia, or reduced speech intensity, is frequently observed in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This speech deficit can impact speech intelligibility and communicative participation. However, there is little empirical evidence exploring the day-to-day variability of speech and communicative participation in individuals with PD. The purpose of this study is to investigate the temporal variability of acoustic and perceptual speech measures and psychosocial measures in individuals with hypophonia and PD. Additionally, this study seeks to examine the relationships among measures of speech intensity, speech intelligibility, self- and proxy-rated communicative participation, demographic factors, and non-speech factors. Twenty-three participants with PD, 23 primary …

Behavioural And Objective Assessment Of Binaural Hearing In Adult Listeners With Acquired Unilateral Conductive Hearing Loss Before And After Middle Ear Surgery, Parvaneh Abbasalipour

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In normally hearing listeners, binaural hearing relies on symmetrical input from the two ears. Previous studies on human listeners have assessed the effect of induced unilateral conductive hearing loss (UCHL) during adulthood via earplugging. These experiments indicated initial difficulty in sound localization followed by gradual improvement due to adaptation to the perturbed binaural cues. The limited duration of earplug use does not represent the consequences of chronic UCHL secondary to disease. Furthermore, there is insufficient information regarding the adaptation of binaural hearing abilities after treatment of late-onset UCHL.

The current study assessed the binaural hearing abilities of adult listeners with …

Outcomes In Children With Additional Disabilities Following Cochlear Implantation: A Systematic Review, Rebecca M. Tuchman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Thirty percent of children with hearing loss have an additional disability. These children may be difficult to test according to standard audiologic behavioral test protocols. Additionally, progress within this population may present differently than in children with no additional disability. Currently, no evidence-based protocol exists for assessing cochlear implant benefit and outcomes in this population.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation is to perform a systematic review on the outcomes of cochlear implantation in children with additional disabilities. Specifically, this study focused on areas of function assessed, outcome measures used, and evidence of benefit observed.

Methods: A comprehensive search …

A Musician Centered Toolkit For Audiologists, Ava Bonavita

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The toolkit for audiologists working with musicians includes a set of materials for use in a musician centered audiology practice. Given the rise in streaming of music by individuals of all ages and the recognition of susceptibility of musicians to hearing loss, the prevalence of hearing loss is on the rise necessitating the need for materials and protocols to better protect, educate, and treat music lovers of all ages who may be prone to hearing loss. Music induced hearing loss typically falls under the category of recreational noise exposure, a subset of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Musicians are the …

Parkinsonian Speech And Voice Quality: Assessment And Improvement, Amr Gaballah

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Statistics show that nearly 90% of people impaired with PD develop voice and speech disorders. Speech production impairments in PD subjects typically result in hypophonia and consequently, poor speech signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in noisy environments and inferior speech intelligibility and quality. Assessment, monitoring, and improvement of the perceived quality and intelligibility of Parkinsonian voice and speech are, therefore, paramount. In the first study of this thesis, the perceived quality of sustained vowels produced by PD patients was assessed through objective predictors. Subjective quality ratings of sustained vowels were collected from …

The Role Of Auditory Feedback For Speech Intensity Regulation In Parkinson’S Disease, Dona Abeyesekera

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hypophonia (low speech intensity) has been found to be the most common speech symptom experienced by individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Previous research suggests that, in the PD population, there may be abnormal integration of sensory information for motor production of speech intensity. In the current study, auditory feedback was systematically manipulated during sensorimotor conditions that are known to modulate speech intensity in everyday contexts. Twenty-six individuals with PD and twenty-four neurologically healthy controls were asked to complete the following tasks: converse with the experimenter with varying distances between the participant and listener (near and far distances), vowel prolongation, read …

Carer Information Needs Following A Family Member's Right Hemisphere Stroke, Christyn Davidson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Previous studies have explored information needs for carers of persons with aphasia; however, there is minimal research on information needs of carers with right hemisphere disorder (RHD). RHD describes cognitive and communication impairments a person experiences following a right hemisphere stroke or brain injury. Carers have an important role in rehabilitation and the long-term quality of life of a person with RHD. This study explores the information needs for carers following a family member’s right hemisphere stroke throughout different periods of recovery.

Methods/Procedures: Participants completed online surveys and a semi-structured phone interview. Analysis of the interviews revealed four major …

Reparation Of Dignity: A Literature Review Of Trauma-Informed Addiction Treatment With Expressive Arts Therapy, Courtney R. Battistelli

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Substance Use Disorder is a public health problem that impacts society and individuals on many levels. In 2016, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) documented 64,000 deaths in America due to overdose (NIDA, 2017). The economic burden related to substance abuse is estimated at $740 billion annually in the United States (Priddy et al., 2018). High rates of relapse, approximately 60% in the first year after treatment, (Priddy et al., 2018, p.103), suggest the need for more effective treatment. A combination of trauma-informed practice and creative therapies in the treatment of substance use disorders show promising results. This literature …

Effects Of Visit Frequency On Swallowing Function During Organ Preservation For Head And Neck Cancer, Mathew Blaine Vansant

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Chemoradiotherapy is not without risk of injury to the muscles and nerves associated with swallowing function. Current research supports the use of prophylactic behavioral swallowing exercise in the HNC population, however, wide variations in swallowing treatment methodologies exist and no optimal SLP-patient visit frequency has been established. In addition, poor patient adherence to swallowing exercise appears prevalent. The current study explored the impact of speech language pathologist (SLP)-patient contact time, adherence to prophylactic behavioral swallowing exercises, and explored effects of exercise intensity on immediate post-radiation swallowing outcomes. Groups included a high frequency group (5 weekly SLP-patient visits, n = 15), …

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Speech-Language Pathologists’ Perceptions Of Infants With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Lauren Fabrize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics, assessment, and treatment of infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) as perceived by Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) and whether it differed from those of other Neonatal Intensive Care Unit populations.

Methods: A secure web-based questionnaire with 62 questions collected information on NAS, caseloads, treatment environment, and demographics. Twenty-six respondents initiated the survey; 42% completed most or all questions. Response analyses included descriptive and nonparametric inferential statistics.

Results: Infants with NAS were on the caseloads of 73% of respondents. The majority (79%) only saw infants with NAS and feeding problems. Primary …

Changes In Speech Intelligibility And Acoustic Distinctiveness Along A Speech Rate Continuum In Parkinson’S Disease, Thea Knowles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Asking a person to speak slowly is a common technique in speech therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Slowed speaking rates are thought to bring about changes in speech production that make it easier for people with speech impairments associated with PD to be understood, but this is not always the case. Furthermore, research suggests that using faster speech does not necessarily lead to decreases in speech intelligibility for some people with PD. Most studies of rate modification in PD have only included one or two rate adjustments to investigate the relationship between speech rate, intelligibility, and acoustic aspects …

Multi-Frequency Electrophysiological Estimates Of Auditory Temporal Acuity, Negar Ahzan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Auditory temporal acuity, a listener’s ability to discriminate rapid changes in the envelope of an auditory signal over time, is crucial for understanding speech. Electrophysiological measurement of auditory temporal acuity is beneficial when we cannot achieve reliable behavioural responses. The envelope following response (EFR) evoked by a changing (swept) amplitude-modulated (AM) stimulus is significantly correlated with behavioural measures of temporal acuity in humans. Previous research using AM broadband noise carriers may have been affected by the cancellation of evoked potentials at the measurement electrodes due to out-of-phase interference of parallel responses initiated at different times due to cochlear travelling wave …

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 …

Speech Entrainment To Improve Spontaneous Speech In Broca's Aphasia., Helga Thors

Theses and Dissertations

Speech entrainment, a treatment method that requires participants to mimic the speech of an audiovisual model in real time, has been shown to benefit individuals with non-fluent aphasia when they speak about trained topics. It is unclear if it improves spontaneous speech, which does not pertain to trained items, in the same way. In an effort to investigate this matter, the current study examined the effects of speech entrainment on spontaneous speech that does not relate to trained items, it also estimated effect sizes associated with improvements in speech production as a result of this treatment approach, and explored participant …

Developing A School-Age Language Screening For Sli, Logan Douglass

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study explored past tense marking in oral reading as a clinical marker of specific language impairment (SLI). A School-Age Language Screening Assessment (SALSA) was evaluated to determine whether it can be used to improve the identification of school-age children with SLI. The first aim was to calculate overall accuracy with children with TL and SLI on reading regular and irregular past tense verbs in oral reading of connected text. The second aim was to determine the overall diagnostic accuracy of SALSA.

Method: 96 children with TL and 3 children with SLI (N = 99) in grades 2-4 were …

Exploration Of Early Spelling In Children With Hearing Loss, Carson Aho

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine differences in spelling errors between children with normal hearing and children with hearing loss in kindergarten.

Method: Participants included 21 children with normal hearing and 23 children with hearing loss. All children used spoken English as their primary language. The children with hearing loss all utilized a hearing amplification device. Participants completed three single-word spelling assessments, a language assessment, and an oral reading assessment. An independent samples t-test was used to determine if the groups had differences in the number of spelling errors and whether a difference was observed within the …

The Effect Of Spectral Shaping On Perceptual, Acoustic, And Listening Effort Measurements In Young Normal Hearing Adults, Rachel Madorskiy

Theses and Dissertations

Amplification is necessary to restore audibility to individuals with hearing impairment. However, frequency-specific amplification alters the spectral shape and level of speech. Previous research has demonstrated that amplification is associated with better speech recognition outcomes as compared to unaided listening (e.g. Humes, 2013). However, many hearing aid listeners report a lack of perceived benefit associated with hearing aids, and adherence is low (McCormack and Fortnum, 2013). This may, in part, be reflected by a common complaint of hearing aid users that speech is audible, but additional effort is required to understand speech. As amplification alters the spectral shape and overall …

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 …

Mismatch Negativity Event Related Potential Elicited By Speech Stimuli In Geriatric Patients, Dana Lynn Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

Hearing loss, as a result of old age, has been linked to a decline in speech perception despite the use of additional listening devices. Even though the relationship between hearing loss and decreased speech perception has been well established, research in this area has often focused on the behavioral aspects of language and not on the functionality of the brain itself. In the present study, the mismatch negativity, an event related potential, was examined in order to determine the differences in speech perception between young adult participants, geriatric normal hearing participants, and geriatric hearing-impaired participants. It was hypothesized that a …

Agreement Between Parent And Teacher Ratings Of Social Communication Abilitieson The Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition, Courtney Lynn Hammond

Theses and Dissertations

The Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition (CCC-2) is a behavior rating scale developed to address the difficulties of assessing social communication in children. It was designed to be completed by a parent rater. However, since it would be helpful to know the extent to which ratings are context-dependent, this study looked at the agreement between parent and teacher ratings on the CCC-2 as well as the percent agreement on the severity of disorder. Twelve parent-teacher pairs completed the CCC-2 for children who had a documented developmental language disorder with specific impairment in social communication. Cohen's kappas, Cohen's weighted kappas, and percent …

Kinematic And Acoustic Vowel Changes In Adult Bite Block Speech, Tanner Keith Low

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the lingual kinematic and acoustic effects of bite blocks on vowels in a sentence context. Twenty adult native English speakers (10 male, 10 female) with no speech, language, or hearing deficits participated in the study. The corner vowels found in the sentence, The blue spot is on the black key again (i.e., /u/, /É‘/, /æ/, /i/), were measured kinematically and acoustically immediately before and after bite block insertion. The participants' speech was audio-recorded and their lingual articulatory movements were measured with a Northern Digital Instruments Wave electromagnetic articulograph. The sensor coils were attached to three different …

Emotional And Behavioral Disorders Screening In Utah Schools, Oakley Dean Banks

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive study provides insight on the prevalence of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) screening and school psychologists' roles in that screening process in Utah schools. EBD screening plays an important role in implementing Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). An electronic questionnaire was sent to 260 practicing Utah school psychologists. A total of 89 of those school psychologists completed the survey resulting in a 34% participation rate. Twelve percent (n=11) of participants reported that EBD screening was happening in their schools. Participants reported that the lack of resources to address student needs, the lack of administrative support, and the school …

Teaching Physical Education Skills To A Student With A Disability Through Video Modeling, Robin Huddleston

Theses and Dissertations

Video modeling (VM) is a video-based intervention (VBI) that has been implemented with individuals with disabilities to teach various life and educational skills. It is a tool that allows learners to watch a target skill modeled on a pre-recorded video. The learner is able to re-watch a new skill as many times as needed, and the teacher is given the flexibility needed to work with multiple students while providing individualized instruction. The participant in this study was a 13-year-old male with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intellectual disability (ID). The participant was enrolled in a life skills class at …

Sociability In Children With Developmental Language Disorder, Miranda Elizabeth Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This study employed the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS) to investigate two aspects of sociability, likeability and prosocial behavior, in 143 children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and 131 of their typically developing peers. Initially, measurement invariance analysis was performed to determine if teachers evaluated likeability and sociability in a similar manner for both children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Likeability items on the TBRS were invariant, and 4 of the 5 prosociability items were invariant. Subsequent analysis revealed that teachers rated children with DLD lower in both likeability and prosociability in comparison to their typically developing peers. …

The Effect Of Retrieval Practice On Vocabulary Learning For Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Casey Krauss Reimer

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the current study was to determine if students who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh) would learn more new vocabulary words through the use of retrieval practice than repeated exposure (repeated study). No studies to date have used this cognitive strategy—retrieval practice—with children who are d/hh. Previous studies have shown that children with hearing loss struggle with learning vocabulary words. This deficit can negatively affect language development, reading outcomes, and overall academic success. Few studies have investigated specific interventions to address the poor vocabulary development for children with hearing loss. The current study investigated retrieval practice …