Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Time To Get In The Game: Opportunities For More Involvement In Sport-Related Concussion Management, Karle M. Linden, Ryan S. Husak, Evelyn Klein, Meredith Kneavel

Undergraduate Research

Many college athletes who have a sport-related concussion experience changes in cognitive-communication abilities. Unfortunately, nearly half of all sport-related concussions go unreported. Information on why collegiate athletes report or conceal their symptoms is important for improving reporting rates and increasing athletes’ access to services for cognitive-communication impairments. This study examined whether changes in cognitive-communication abilities affected college athlete’s intentions to report a sport-related concussion. Findings showed that approximately two-thirds of the college student-athletes who participated in the research were unlikely to report that they had a sport-related head injury. The study found that participants’ concerns for cognitive-communication deficits differentiated student-athletes …

Readability Levels Of Speech-Language Pathology And Audiology Online Patient Education Materials In English And Spanish, Astrid Olivera, Sarah Gallagher, Dana Bitetti

Undergraduate Research

Clinicians have role in educating patients and their families about communication disorders. Therefore patient materials must have an appropriate level of readability. Studies are needed that investigate the readability of online patient education materials. This study investigated 30 online patient handouts in English and Spanish using several readability indices. The results indicated that few handouts met the recommended readability levels.

Code Mixing In Narratives Of Spanish-English Dual Language Learners, Janine Peca

Undergraduate Research

As the U.S. diversifies, the number of Spanish-English dual language learners (DLLs) has grown significantly and is projected to continue to do so through 2060 (Colby & Ortman, 2015). Although research has shown that DLLs implement strategies, like code mixing, to compensate for varying language proficiencies (Vu, Bailey, & Howes, 2010), what elements of code mixing are typical has not been widely researched. This study aims to add to the body of work on typical development of DLL children by examining code mixing in narratives of 212 Spanish-English dual language learners at the beginning of preschool, to determine if differences …

Students’ Perceptions Of Female Faculty Members Based On Vocal Characteristics, Molly M. Kitchell, Cesar E. Ruiz Slp.D., Ccc/Slp., Bcs-S

Undergraduate Research

This study examines the relationship between the acoustic properties of female faculty members’ voices and the perception of the female faculty members age and personality characteristics by undergraduate students. A standardized acoustic analysis using the Multidimensional Voice Program (MDVP) and the RealPitch program was performed to determine the participating faculty members’ fundamental frequency (habitual and conversation), vocal jitter, and vocal shimmer. Faculty members were then recorded reading a brief preselected passage. Student participants listened to the recorded audio samples and completed a survey regarding the faculty members’ ages and personality characteristics. A Pearson product-moment correlation (Pearson r) analysis completed in …

Development Of Rhyming Tasks In Preschool Aged Children With Hearing Loss, Kaylie Mcnally, Mary Katherine Connelly

Undergraduate Research

Numerous studies have shown that children with hearing loss are at significant disadvantage in regards to skills required for reading. Rhyming has been shown to be a strong indicator of early literacy development. This study examines the relationship between rhyming skills to

1) the degree of hearing loss , and 2) listening device type. Results showed no significant difference in rhyming skills in relation to either condition.