Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Upper Extremity Function In Women With And Women Without A History Of Breast Cancer, Mary Insana Fisher, Gilson J. Capilouto, Terry Malone, Heather M. Bush, Timothy L. Uhl

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Publications

Background

Breast cancer treatments often result in upper extremity functional limitations in both the short and long term. Current evidence makes comparisons against a baseline or contralateral limb, but does not consider changes in function associated with aging.

Objective

The objective of this study was to compare upper extremity function between women treated for breast cancer more than 12 months in the past and women without cancer.

Design

This was an observational cross-sectional study.

Methods

Women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mean post-surgical treatment time of 51 months (range = 12–336 months) were compared with women …

Impact Of Nicu Design On Feeding-Related Outcomes In Preterm Infants, Emma Kate Calvert

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Many NICUs around the country are moving away from traditional open-bay designs in favor of single-family rooms (SFRs) as more is understood about the impact of the sensory environment on neurodevelopment in preterm infants. SFRs house one infant and their family for the length of the infant’s stay and are associated with improvements in numerous outcomes, including increased milk intake and weight gain and earlier transition to enteral feeding. Oral feeding remains a critical requirement for NICU discharge; however, the impact of NICU design on feeding outcomes remains unknown.

The purpose of this study was to compare feeding outcomes between …

Legibility Of Communicative Writing And Drawing In Aphasia: Does The Orthographic Medium Matter?, Nicole Waugaman

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Expressive language difficulties are commonplace in aphasia and are often further complicated by co-occurring motor speech disoders. Therefore, many people with aphasia (PWA) are unable to meet all their communication needs by speaking, and they may compensate with the use of communicative writing and drawing. Communicative writing and drawing can be defined as preserved, but imperfect, orthographic skills that PWA use to compensate for expressive language deficits resulting from aphasic and/or motor speech difficulties. The purpose of this study was to determine if the orthographic medium used by a PWA to write and draw influenced the legibility of their writing …

The Effects Of Three Service Delivery Models On Vocabulary Learning By Second-Grade Children, Laura Stone

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) provide services to children in schools across the United States primarily in a direct small group service delivery model outside of the regular education classroom. To date little research exists to indicate that direct pull-out service delivery is an effective model in elementary schools for students requiring speech and language therapy. One area that has been studied is the effectiveness of vocabulary intervention among service delivery models. Preliminary findings suggest that students with language and literacy deficits learn vocabulary well within a regular education environment with SLP support. However, there is little consensus on how service delivery …

Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation To Improve Naming Ability In Post-Stroke Aphasia: Evaluating Evidence And Optimizing Outcomes, Mohammed Alharbi

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Introduction. Aphasia is a devastating acquired language disorder that affects about one third of stroke survivors. Aphasia can severely affect quality of life and can be associated with economic burdens due to the need for long-term communication rehabilitation. Traditional aphasia therapies are known to be effective; however, progress is often slow and limited in severe cases – full restoration of communication abilities is rarely achieved. Thus, there is a critical need for therapeutic solutions that can reduce the associated burden of aphasia. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive and inexpensive neuromodulation technique that has the potential to boost …

Experiences Of Adolescents In The General Education Setting Interacting With Peers With Intellectual Disability, Katie Goldey

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Social interaction is critical to health, quality of life, and linguistic and cognitive development. However, young people with intellectual disabilities are unlikely to have equitable opportunities for social interaction. This may be particularly true of adolescents. This study used qualitative phenomenological methods to examine the lived experiences of students in the general education setting interacting with their peers with intellectual disability. Twenty participants engaged in one on one interviews with the author. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for overarching themes. Four main themes emerged from the data including: (1) Teens just don’t have many opportunities to interact with …