Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Language Pathways Defined In A Patient With Left Temporal Lobe Damagesecondary To Traumatic Brain Injury: A Qeeg & Mri Study, Janelle Lee Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

Though the current understanding of language processing is incomplete, it has been established that the left hemisphere is dominant for language in the majority of the population. Damage to language centers of the brain and to white matter tracts connecting these language centers results in a language deficit known as aphasia. Neuroplasticity in the brain can often compensate for these language deficits by strengthening neuronal connections between the right and left hemisphere, or by enhancing the neuronal connectivity of undamaged areas in the left hemisphere. Thus the brain can compensate for damaged language centers by using alternative cortical areas. These …

The Effects Of Nebulized Saline Treatments On Diphthongal Vowel Production On Female Subjects With Sjögren's Syndrome, Keri Lynn Perry

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze and quantify the effects of a nebulized saline treatment on speech production in eight females with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (SS). The duration, formant frequency onset and offset, and slope were measured to determine the quality of participants' production of diphthongal American English vowels. Acoustic data were examined before treatment began, immediately following treatment, and during a one-week follow-up to determine the effects of a laryngeal hydration program that used nebulized saline to increase hydration of structures in the vocal tract. The vowels produced during the initial baseline condition were acoustically relatively similar …

Development Of Speech Recognition Threshold And Word Recognition Materials For Native Vietnamese Speakers, Claire Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the documented need for reliable speech audiometry materials for measures such as speech recognition threshold and word recognition score, such recorded materials are not available in the Vietnamese language. The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate a set of Vietnamese bisyllabic and monosyllabic word lists for use in the measurement of speech recognition and word recognition ability, respectively. To create the speech recognition threshold materials, common Vietnamese bisyllabic words were digitally recorded by male and female talkers of Vietnamese and presented for evaluation to 20 native speakers of Vietnamese with normal hearing. …

Bilingual Language Assessment: Contemporary Practice Versus Recommended Practice, Graciela Arias

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse students within American school systems, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in school settings must be prepared to distinguish between typically developing bilingual students and those with language impairments. The purpose of this study was to identify current practices of school-based SLPs for bilingual language assessment and compare them to both American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) best practice guidelines, and mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The study was modeled to replicate Caesar and Kohler's (2007) study to include a nationally representative sample. While the survey was opened over 400 times, …

Voice Features Of Sjogren's Syndrome: Examination Of Relative Fundamental Frequency (Rff) During Connected Speech, Victoria Anne Lovett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of relative fundamental frequency (RFF) in quantifying voice disorder severity and possible change with treatment in individuals with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (SS). Participants completed twice-daily audio recordings during an ABAB within-subjects experimental study investigating the effects of nebulized saline on voice production in this population. Voice samples of the Rainbow Passage from seven of the eight individuals with Primary SS involved in a larger investigation met inclusion criteria for analysis, for a total of 555 tokens. The results indicated that RFF values for this sample were similar to previously reported …

Quantifying Voice Change After Hydration Treatment In Primary Sjögren’S Syndrome Using The Cepstral Spectral Index Of Dysphonia (Csid), Alison Miner

Theses and Dissertations

Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease that causes dehydration of the eyes, mouth, and throat. Individuals with Primary SS are at risk for voice problems associated with vocal fold dehydration. Topical hydration treatments show promise in reducing the negative effects of vocal fold dehydration on voice production. However, no studies have examined the preventive effects of topical hydration treatments on voice production in individuals at risk for vocal fold dehydration. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of a topical vocal fold hydration treatment on voice production in individuals with Primary SS using the Cepstral …

Effects Of Language Predictability And Speech Rate On Speech Entrainment Performance In Healthy Individuals, Honey Isabel Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations

Speech entrainment, a paradigm in which a participant shadows the speech of an audiovisual model in real time, has been show to benefit individuals with non-fluent aphasia. A study examining the effects of language predictability and speech rate was conducted to understand factors that influence speech entrainment performance.

A recent study by Fridriksson and colleagues (2012) demonstrated that training with speech entrainment significantly increased the number of words participants with non-fluent aphasia were able to produce. Perhaps even more remarkably, these effects showed generalization. As a result, speech entrainment could be used to rehabilitate speech impairment in stroke. However, there …

Comparing Speech Movements In Different Types Of Noise, Sarah Jane Scott

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of several noise conditions on speech articulator movements during a sentence repetition task. Sixty participants in three age groups ranging from 20 to 70 repeated a sentence under five noise conditions. Lower lip movements during production of a target sentence were used to compute the spatiotemporal index (STI). It was hypothesized that STI would be lower (indicating greater stability) in the silent baseline condition. There were changes in speech production under several of the noise conditions. The duration for the 1-talker condition was significantly shorter when compared to the silent condition, which could be due …

The Spanish Language Proficiency Of Sequential Bilingual Children And The Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale, Jessica Maribel Tavizón

Theses and Dissertations

The challenge facing children learning language bilingually has led to efforts to improve the assessment and treatment of language learning difficulties. One of these efforts is the development and validation of the Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale (SELPS). Previous research has been performed to validate the scale for English language proficiency but not for Spanish language proficiency. Twenty-four sequential bilingual children produced spontaneous narrative language samples that were rated using the SELPS and coded for language sample variables using the Systemic Analysis of Language Transcripts software. Several language sample variables, most notably the Subordination Index, the number of omitted bound morphemes, …

Story Generation Ability In Four Children With Language Impairment, Monica Leroy Chamberlain

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project focused on the complexity of story generations produced by four children with language impairment across treatment sessions. Specifically, the participants' utterances were analyzed to determine if the children produced simple story elements and/or more complex cause/effect story elements. The children's utterances were also analyzed to identify emotion words in order to consider the children's awareness of the emotions experienced by characters in the stories. All participants approached the story generation task by describing characters and actions based on pictures from the book. Two participants did not express any causal relationships and two participants expressed some awareness of …

A Model Of Grammatical Category Acquisition In The Spanish Language Using Adaptation And Selection, Camille Lorraine Judd

Theses and Dissertations

Most typically developing children have achieved a knowledge of the grammatical categories of the words in their native language by school age. To model this achievement, researchers have developed a variety of explicit, testable models or algorithms which have had partial but promising success in extracting the grammatical word categories from the transcriptions of caregiver input to children. Additional insight into children's learning of the grammatical categories of words might be obtained from an application of evolutionary computing algorithms, which simulate principles of evolutionary biology such as variation, adaptive change, self-regulation, and inheritance. Thus far, however, this approach has only …

A Model Of Children's Acquisition Of Grammatical Word Categories Using An Adaptation And Selection Algorithm, Teresa Young

Theses and Dissertations

Most children who follow a typical developmental timeline learn the grammatical categories of words in their native language by the time they enter school. Researchers have worked to provide a number of explicit, testable models or algorithms in an attempt to model this language development. These models or algorithms have met with some varying success in terms of determining grammatical word categories from the transcripts of adult input to children. A new model of grammatical category acquisition involving an application of evolutionary computing algorithms may provide further understanding in this area. This model implements aspects of evolutionary biology, such as …

The Efficacy Of Social Communication Intervention On Teacher Report Of Sociability For Children With Language Impairment, Julianne Grover Smith Guerra

Theses and Dissertations

Recent research indicates that many children with Language Impairment (LI) have difficulty with social communication skills. This study assessed the impact of a social communication intervention on teacher perceptions of social withdrawal in children who received the treatment. The intervention targeted emotion understanding using the presentation of children's stories, facial picture cards, and journaling. Teacher perception was measured using the three withdrawal subscales of the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS): Solitary-Active withdrawal, Solitary-Passive withdrawal, and Reticence. Following treatment all five participants received lower ratings of withdrawn behavior on some of the subscales. Only one participant received a rating indicting increased …

Children's Adaptation To Electropalatography: Evidence From Acoustic Analysis Of /T/ And /K/, Kara Brianne Knapp

Theses and Dissertations

Electropalatography (EPG) is a computer-based device that uses a fitted pseudopalate (similar to an orthodontic retainer) with embedded electrodes to track tongue-to-palate contact during speech for the purposes of providing treatment for a variety of communication disorders. This study evaluated six elementary school-aged children's ability to adapt their speech to the presence of the pseudopalate in their mouth. The participants' adaptation for the consonants /t/ and /k/ was examined over eight time intervals throughout a two and half hour time period. Adaptation was evaluated by measuring the duration, spectral mean, spectral variance, and relative intensity of the target sounds. The …

A Model Of Grammatical Category Acquisition Using Adaptation And Selection, Sarah Zitting Cluff

Theses and Dissertations

By the later preschool years, most children have a knowledge of the grammatical categories of their native language and are capable of expanding this knowledge to novel words. To model this accomplishment, researchers have created a variety of explicit, testable models or algorithms. These have had partial but promising success in extracting grammatical word categories from transcriptions of caregiver input to young children. Additional insight into children's learning of the grammatical categories of words might be gained from evolutionary computing algorithms, which apply principles of evolutionary biology such as variation, adaptive change, self-regulation, and inheritance to computational models. The current …

Speech Adaptation To Electropalatography In Children's Productions Of /S/ And /ʃ/, Marissa Celaya

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has investigated adults' ability to adapt their speech when a electropalatographic (EPG) pseudopalate is placed in the oral cavity; however, less is known about how younger speakers who are continuing to develop their motor speech abilities might adapt their speech to the presence of the device. This study examined the effect of an EPG pseudopalate on elementary school-aged children's ability to produce the fricatives /s/ and /ƒ/. Audio recordings of six children were collected at eight time intervals including before placement of the pseudopalate, at 30-minute increments for two hours with the pseudopalate in place, immediately following removal …

The Effects Of Laryngeal Desiccation And Nebulized Isotonic Saline In Trained Male Singers, Robert B. Fujiki

Theses and Dissertations

Vocal fold hydration is important for healthy function of the vocal mechanism. Vocal fold surface fluid protects the mucosa and facilitates efficient vocal fold oscillation. Dry air exposure, mouth breathing, insufficient intake of liquids, and behavioral factors may contribute to laryngeal dehydration. Singers are believed to be particularly at risk for voice problems related to dehydration due to environmental and voice use factors. Laryngeal desiccation and nebulized hydration treatments have been shown to influence phonation threshold pressure (PTP) and self-perceived phonatory effort (PPE) in females. However, little research exists exploring the effects of hydration in males. Additionally, few studies have …

The Effects Of Laryngeal Desiccation And Nebulized Isotonic Saline In Male Speakers, Whitney Jane Robb

Theses and Dissertations

Hydration of the vocal folds is important for the production of normal voice. Dehydration makes voice production more difficult and increases vocal effort. Laryngeal desiccation has been shown to increase phonation threshold pressure (PTP) and self-perceived phonatory effort (PPE) in females. Nebulized saline may reverse or offset this effect. However, few data exist regarding the effects of laryngeal desiccation and nebulized treatments in males. Further, the dose-response relationship between laryngeal desiccation and nebulized hydration treatments is unknown. This study examined the effects of two doses of nebulized isotonic saline following a laryngeal desiccation challenge in healthy male speakers. In a …

The Effect Of Metalinguistic Strategy Instruction On The Oral And Written Expression Of School-Aged Children, Karen Lara Dudek

Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge is critical for academic success; and research has indicated that students with low vocabularies can learn metalinguistic strategies that can improve their performance in school. In this study, I investigated the impact of metalinguistic strategy instruction on the oral and written expression abilities of elementary-aged children (third grade). The strategy was the Expanding Expression Tool (EET; Smith), which can help students to increase their oral and written expression by describing words using semantic features. I used a pretest-posttest-posttest between groups design to investigate the impact of three experimental conditions on oral and written expression over a nine week …

The Accurate Productions Of Emotion Words During A Social Communication Intervention In Children With Language Impairment, Emily Marie Gibbons

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines a social communication intervention that targets the emotional competence of children with language impairment (LI). Three elementary school-aged children with LI received twenty, 20-minute intervention sessions over four months. Each intervention session involved a combination of activities targeting emotion recognition and emotion inferencing. The emotion-based word productions were counted and analyzed. Categorized words belonged to the emotional categories of happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. The percentage of appropriate usage was calculated to represent how often the participants used each emotion-based word in a semantically correct manner. Emotion word productions that did not match the intended …

Efficacy Of Video Modeling For Treatment Of Selective Mutism In Children, Danielle Newberry Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

Selective mutism is an extremely rare socio-pragmatic communication disorder that affects less than 1% of the population. The treatment of selective mutism may be addressed via many different approaches, including drug therapies and behavioral approaches or combinations of both. Self-modeling is a behavioral approach and is similar to that of video modeling. Video modeling treatment is becoming a more popular approach to serve individuals with social and behavioral disorders. Video modeling has been documented to improve social and behavioral deficits in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Because selective mutism is a rare condition and because the effects of video modeling …