Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Let's Talk Speech! Volume 6 Issue 1, Barbara T. Schmidt Ph.D.

Communication Sciences and Disorders Newsletter

The fall 2012 semester has been a memorable one. Faculty, staff and students experienced the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. Powerless, cold and sometimes feeling isolated, the Molloy community pulled together to assist those in need in the aftermath of the storm. Though many of our own suffered great personal losses, we are grateful for the resilient spirit of the Community as everyone completes the semester with a positive attitude. Despite the devastation that was left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, we have many things to be grateful for and many positive things have transpired over the past 6 months. …

Relationships Between Vocabulary Size, Working Memory, And Phonological Awareness In Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners, Brenda K. Gorman

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: The goals of this study were to evaluate the impact of short-term phonological awareness (PA) instruction presented in children's first language (L1; Spanish) on gains in their L1 and second language (L2; English) and to determine whether relationships exist between vocabulary size, verbal working memory, and PA in Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs).

Method: Participants included 25 kindergartners who received PA instruction and 10 controls. A 2-way within-subjects repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to evaluate gains. Relationships between PA gains, Spanish and English vocabulary, and memory, as measured using nonword repetition and experimental …

Cortical Gyrification In Velo-Cardio-Facial (22q11.2 Deletion) Syndrome: A Longitudinal Study, Arun Kunwar, Seethalakshmi Ramanathan, Joshua Nelson, Kevin M. Antshel, Wanda Fremont, Anne Marie Higgins, Robert J. Shprintzen, Wendy R. Kates

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Introduction: Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) has been identified as an important risk factor for psychoses, with up to 32% of individuals with VCFS developing a psychotic illness. Individuals with VCFS thus form a unique group to identify and explore early symptoms and biological correlates of psychosis. In this study, we examined if cortical gyrification pattern, i.e. gyrification index (GI) can be a potential neurobiological marker for psychosis.

Method: GIs of 91 individuals with VCFS were compared with 29 siblings and 54 controls. Further, 58 participants with VCFS, 21 siblings and 18 normal controls were followed up after 3 years and longitudinal …

Spatiotemporal Coupling Of The Tongue In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Mili S. Kuruvilla, Jordan R. Green, Yana Yunusova, Kathy Hanford

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The primary aim of the investigation was to identify deficits in spatiotemporal coupling between tongue regions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The relations between disease-related changes in tongue movement patterns and speech intelligibility were also determined.

Methods: The authors recorded word productions from 11 individuals with ALS with mild, moderate, and severe dysarthria using an x-ray microbeam during word productions. A coupling index based on sliding window covariance was used to determine disease-related changes in the coupling between the tongue regions across each word.

Results: The results indicated decreased spatiotemporal coupling of mid-posterior tongue regions and reduced tongue speed …

Let's Talk Speech! Volume 5 Issue 1, Barbara T. Schmidt Ph.D.

Communication Sciences and Disorders Newsletter

The 2011-2012 academic year has been wonderful and full of exciting changes. You are probably all getting tired of hearing me say that each semester! I cannot avoid saying it. We have new full time and part time faculty, great students, plans for an upcoming “relaxation retreat,” an annual scholarship fundraiser, a 2013 trip to Ireland, and so much more. However, as I reflect on the year and the articles that were submitted to the Newsletter, I feel compelled to point out that the SpeechLanguage Pathology Department is facing one major problem: we have too many exceptional students and faculty …

Ototoxic Hearing Loss And Retinoblastoma Patients, Shaum Bhagat

Faculty Publications

Chemotherapy is often used in the conservative management of retinoblastoma. Chemotherapy drugs, while ameliorative, can produce long-lasting side effects that potentially can affect survivor quality of life. Carboplatin is a common chemotherapy agent with known ototoxic side effects that is used in the treatment of retinoblastoma (Rodriguez-Galindo et al., 2003). The potential for carboplatin-induced hearing loss is of concern to the medical professional, given that retinoblastoma is often diagnosed in early childhood and children with retinoblastoma have visual impairments. This chapter will outline the mechanisms underlying carboplatin ototoxicity. The extent of knowledge concerning the pathophysiology of carboplatin-induced hearing loss will …

Effect Of Parallel Talk On The Language And Interactional Skills Of Preschoolers With Cochlear Implants And Hearing Aids, Sharon A. Raver, Jonna Bobzien, Corrin Richels, Peggy Hester, Anne Michalek, Nicole Anthony

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Children with profound congenital hearing loss often do not have the same prelinguistic opportunities for social and verbal interaction as their peers with typical hearing [14]. Consequently, language and social skills may be challenging for this group, even after they are provided with amplification or a cochlear implant. This pilot study examined the effectiveness of using a parallel talk intervention to increase the language and interactional skills of three preschoolers with deafnesss. Results revealed that all participants increased verbal turn-taking and that two of the three increased initiated and responded vocal/verbal comments, and initiated and responded nonverbal responses during a …

'Computerized Profiling' Of Clinical Language Samples And The Issue Of Time, Steven Long

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

This collection is a resource book for those working with language disordered clients in a range of languages. It collects together versions of the well-known Language Assessment Remediation Screening Procedure (LARSP) prepared for different languages. Starting with the original version for English, the book then presents versions in more than a dozen other languages. Some of these are likely to be encountered as home languages of clients by speech-language therapists and pathologists working in the UK, Ireland, the US and Australia and New Zealand. Others are included because they are major languages found where speech-language pathology services are provided, but …

Assessment Of Single-Word Production For Children Under Three Years Of Age: Comparison Of Children With And Without Cleft Palate, Nancy J. Scherer, A. Lynn Williams, Carol Stoel-Gammon, Ann Kaiser

ETSU Faculty Works

Background. This study reports comparative phonological assessment results for children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) to typically developing peers using an evaluation tool for early phonological skills. Methods. Children without clefts (NC = noncleft) and 24 children with CLP, ages of 18–36 months, were evaluated using the Profile of Early Expressive Phonological Skills (PEEPSs) [1]. Children interacted with toy manipulatives to elicit a representative sample of target English consonants and syllable structures that are typically acquired by children between 18 and 27 months of age. Results. Results revealed significant differences between the two groups with regard to measures of …

Tracking Articulator Movements Using Orientation Measurements, An Ji, Michael T. Johnson, Jeffrey J. Berry

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

This paper introduces a new method to track articulator movements, specifically jaw position and angle, using 5 degree of freedom (5 DOF) orientation data. The approach uses a quaternion rotation method to accomplish this jaw tracking during speech using a single senor on the mandibular incisor. Data were collected using the NDI Wave Speech Research System for one pilot subject with various speech tasks. The degree of jaw rotation from the proposed approach is compared with traditional geometric calculation. Results show that the quaternion based method is able to describe jaw angle trajectory and gives more accurate and smooth estimation …

A Strategic Plan For Engaging Undergraduate Speech Pathology And Audiology Students In The Research Enterprise, Stephen M. Tasko

Academic Leadership Academy

The goal of this project is to develop a strategic plan for the Speech Pathology and Audiology Research Experience, which is a program designed to increase undergraduate student engagement in research activities. The emphasis on undergraduate students is based on the view that the sooner research opportunities are introduced and ‘demystified’, the sooner students envision this as a viable professional option.

Enhancing The Application And Evaluation Of A Discrete Trial Intervention Package For Eliciting First Words In Preverbal Preschoolers With Asd, Ioanna Tsiouri, Elizabeth Schoen Simmons, Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention package including a discrete trial program (Rapid Motor Imitation Antecedent Training (Tsiouri and Greer, J Behav Educat 12:185–206, 2003) combined with parent education for eliciting first words in children with ASD who had little or no spoken language. Evaluation of the approach includes specific intervention targets and functional spoken language outcomes (Tager-Flusberg et al., J Speech Lang Hear Res 52:643–652, 2009). Results suggest that RMIA, with parent training, catalyzes development of verbal imitation and production for some children. Three of five participants acquired word production within the DTT framework and achieved milestones …

Acoustic Differences In The Imitation Of Prosodic Patterns In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Joshua J. Diehl, Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

In research, it has been difficult to characterize the prosodic production differences that have been observed clinically in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Moreover, the nature of these differences has been particularly hard to identify. This study examined one possible contributor to these perceived differences: motor planning. We examined the ability of children and adolescents with ASD to imitate prosodic patterns in comparison to a group with learning disabilities (LD) and a typically developing (TD) comparison group. Overall, we found that both the ASD and LD groups were significantly worse at perceiving and imitating prosodic patterns than the TD comparison group. …

The Pacific Assessment Of Confabulation, Larry Boles

School of Pharmacy Faculty Presentations

This paper presents data on the Pacific Assessment of Confabulation (PAC), which was designed to accomplish two goals. First, the PAC is intended to quantify confabulation. Confabulation has been described as dichotomous (i.e., present or absent), without attempts to quantify it. A second goal is to test the hypothesis that occurs in the normal population. Literature related to witness testimony suggests this may be true.

Endoscopic And Stroboscopic Presentation Of The Larynx In Male-To-Female Transsexual Persons, Derek Palmer, Angela M. Dietsch, Jeff Searl

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Background. Male-to-female transsexual (MFT) persons often attempt to produce a female-sounding voice as part of the transition process. Endoscopic and stroboscopic data about how they accomplish this with an anatomically male larynx are lacking.

Objectives. To describe vocal fold activity in MFT persons producing their feminine voice and identify signs of vocal misuse or hyperfunction in MFT speakers, if any.

Study Design. Prospective, nonrandomized, descriptive study of a convenience sample of MFT persons.

Methods. All MFT persons had endoscopic and stroboscopic procedures completed. Images were rated on a range of parameters by two experienced voice therapists to derive the descriptions. …

Augmented Input: The Effect Of Visuographic Supports On The Auditory Comprehension Of People With Chronic Aphasia, Sarah E. Wallace, Aimee R. Dietz, Karen Hux, Kristy S.E. Weissling

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Background: Augmented input (AI), or the use of visuographic images and linguistic supports, is a strategy for facilitating the auditory comprehension of people with chronic aphasia. To date, researchers have not systematically evaluated the effects of various types of AI strategies on auditory comprehension.

Aims: The purpose of the study was to perform an initial evaluation of the changes in auditory comprehension accuracy experienced by people with aphasia when they received one type of AI. Specifically, the authors examined the effect four types of non-personalized visuographic image conditions on the comprehension of people with aphasia when listening to narratives.

Methods …