Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Histopathological Assessment Of The Effects Of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes On The Ears Of Chinese Hamsters, Karen Ailsworth

Masters Theses

Research has produced evidence associating progressive, bilateral, sensorineural hearing loss with diabetes mellitus in human and animal subjects. The microangiopathy which is presumably the cause of hearing loss appears similar to the microangiopathy leading to retinal and renal atrophy.

In the present study the temporal bones of six streptozotocininduced diabetic Chinese hamsters and six nondiabetic Chinese hamsters were histologically processed. Sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin were assessed for total auditory and vestibular otopathology and revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Sections stained with periodic acid-Schiff's were evaluated for vascular basement membrane changes and revealed no statistically …

Vocal Pitch Range And Habitual Pitch Level: The Study Of Normal College Age Speakers, Patricia Jo Huss

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship between the habitual speaking pitch levels and the total pitch ranges.of 15 male and 15 female normal young adults and to compare these relationships to those which have been reported previously for male and female superior speakers. The difference between normal male and normal female speakers was significant, as was the difference between normal male speakers and superior male speakers. The difference between normal female speakers and superior female speakers was non-significant.

Audiological Characteristics Of The Monge Family Of Costa Rica, Christine Moulton

Dissertations and Theses

The audiological characteristics of the Monge family of Costa Rica were investigated in a sample of fifty-two affected members and twelve unaffected members. Through laboratory analysis by staff personnel from the University of Costa Rica and audiological test results obtained in the present investigation, it was concluded that affected Monge members demonstrate a slowly progressive low frequency sensorineural hearing loss of autosomal dominant transmission. The initial site of lesion appears to be the apical portion of the cochlea, with significant onset occurring during early childhood following normal speech and language acquisition. The rate at which the hearing loss progresses and …

The Expressive Acquisition Of Locative And Directional Prepositions By Severely-To-Profoundly Hearing Impaired Children, Joann Warlick

Dissertations and Theses

Prepositions are important for the syntactical structure of the sentence and also to relate meaning, particularly meaning associated with concepts of place and time. Expressive acquisition of function words, including prepositions, is significantly delayed in the hearing impaired population. Yet, acquisition sequence for expressive prepositions has not been determined for this population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the oral expressive acquisition of locative and directional single word prepositions in severely-to-profoundly hearing impaired children. The question this study sought to answer was: At what age levels are seventeen locative and directional single word prepositions expressively acquired by severely- …

Implementing Augmentative Communication For Aphasic Patients In Convalescent Facilities, Susan H. Mcgann

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A one-hour Blissymbol in-service training program was developed for presentation to staff members of a skilled nursing facility. The purpose was to determine whether the program would produce significant learning to justify its use in similar facilities to bridge the communication gap between nonspeaking/nonwriting aphasic patients who communicate with Blissymbols and their direct care personnel as well as family members and others who are significant in their lives.

After development, the in-service program was given two "dry-runs" in skilled nursing facilities similar to the "study facility". It was then revised to improve clarity and to make it fit within time …

The Correlation Between Expressive Language Delay In Children And Their Motor Abilities, Gail G. Cunningham

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the present study was to determine the correlation between expressive language delay in children and their gross and fine motor skills. Twenty children five years through six years, eleven months with a diagnosed expressive language delay, were selected to participate in the study. Each was screened on the basis of normal hearing, receptive vocabulary skills, motor functioning, and an expressive language delay of one year or more. After screening procedures, each child was administered the Preschool Language Scale-PLS (Zimmerman, et al., 1969) and the short form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-BOMP (Bruininks, 1978). …

Comprehension Of Abstract And Concrete Commands By High And Low Level Aphasic Subjects : Effects Of Presentation Mode, Karen Jaruckis Lambrecht

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the influence of three presentation modes (live voice, tape recorded, and videotape recorded) on aphasic subjects' comprehension of concrete and abstract commands.

A Hearing Assessment Using Operant Audiological Testing With A Severely Retarded Deaf-Blind Child, Patricia Timpson

Masters Theses

This study assessed the feasibility of teaching a 7-year-old severely retarded, hearing and vision impaired girl to respond consistently to a pure tone stimulus using operant audiometric techniques. The experimenter first shaped a head turn response using the opportunity to rock on a rocking horse as reinforcement. Following response shaping, the experimenter used a bone conduction transducer (BCT) as a tactile stimulus in training the subject to turn her head to the left in a similar fashion to a 500 Hz, 65 dB tone/vibration. After 15 days of transfer training, designed to bring the left head turn response under control …

A Comparison Of Level Of Knowledge In Communicative Disorders Between Senior Medical Students And Senior Speech-Language Pathology Students, Cynthia R. Huffman

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In California, physicians are required to "refer and prescribe the extent and duration of hearing, speech and equilibratory services for their patients who are beneficiaries of the state's Medicaid program (Title 22, Division 3 and 4 of the Medi-Cal Utilization Controls #51096). The present study was designed to determine whether senior medical students have knowledge in all areas of Communicative Disorders which is equal to or better than that of the senior speech-language pathology students to whom they will "prescribe" when they enter professional practice.

The study was conducted with the cooperation of students from the Loma Linda University School …

Effect Of Tinnitus Maskers On Speech Discrimination Among Those Wearing Tinnitus Maskers, John Alexander Chonka

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect(s) of tinnitus maskers and tinnitus instruments on speech discrimination utilizing a population of subjects who currently have tinnitus and are presently wearing these devices. The hypothesis which guided this investigation states that there is no difference between discrimination scores with and without tinnitus maskers. In an attempt to test this hypothesis, speech discrimination scores were obtained from 26 listeners both in quiet and in the presence of cafeteria noise, with and without use of their tinnitus maskers.

One-Third Octave Band Augmented Speech Discrimination Testing For Cochlear Impaired Listeners, Dianne Heath

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a 500 Hz and 3,150 Hz one-third octave band augmentation on the speech discrimination ability of listeners with cochlear hearing impairments. The results were analyzed both within the experimental group of subjects included in the present study and in comparison with data collected on a control group of normal hearing subjects reported earlier.

Increasing Staff Use Of Sign Language, Melanie Hepworth Neville

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two procedures, a visual cue and performance posting, to modify the use of sign language by psychiatric technicians. The visual cue was first introduced alone, then paired with performance posting to encourage staff use of sign language with the developmentally disabled children in their charge. Application of the visual cue alone produced little change in staff sign useage. The visual cue plus performance posting condition increased staff use of sign language during mealtimes. Four weeks of follow-up data indicated that the use of sign language remained at a level well above baseline.

Toward A Behavioral Analysis Of Attentiveness As A Style Of Communication, Ray Alan Coker

Dissertations and Theses

Attentiveness, a variable of communication, primarily serves a stylistic function in the communicative process by providing behavioral evidence that an individual is actively involved in message reception. Past research suggests that while both verbal and nonverbal behaviors signal attentiveness, nonverbal cues are more closely associated with this construct. Among the many nonverbal behaviors of individuals in interactions, postural positions have been deemed highly indicative of attentiveness. At present however, most of the empirical evidence attesting to this notion has been established through the use of self-report measures. As a result of the felt need by this author to improve upon …

The Effect Of A Small-Stepped Computer-Based Program On The Graphic Output Of Chronically Asphasic Adults, Cynthia Rubin

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an especially designed small-stepped treatment program utilizing the Apple II microcomputer on the graphic output of eight chronically aphasic adults. The subjects manifested moderate/ severe to severe communicative impairment as determined by performance on the Aphasic Language Performance Scales (ALPS) (Keenan and Brassell, 1974) and were receiving management at the Communicative disorders Clinic at the University of Central Florida. Pretreatment status of each subject was measured via a visual and hearing screening. In addition, the Aphasia Language Performance Scales were administered as an indicant of overall communicative ability. Spelling …

Pragmatic Conversational Skills Of Young Adults In Normal, Emr, And Tmr Classrooms, Jane Nicholson

Dissertations and Theses

Current language theory focuses on how a person communicates within a context (Bates, 1976a). A person's communicative competence depends on how effectively she translates her cognitive and social knowledge into linguistic forms to interact in the specific situation, following pragmatic rules (Prutting, 1982b). Thus, in order to assess a person's language ability accurately, the clinician needs to assess pragmatic skills as well as cognitive, social, and linguistic skills. A person's pragmatic development culminates in the ability to participate in a conversation (Rees, 1978).

Preliminary Study : The Effects Of Instrumentation On The Air Intake Times Of The Esophageal Speaker, Sandra I. Pasak Neuburger

Dissertations and Theses

This research examined the use of visual feedback provided by electronic instrumentation to reduce air intake times of esophageal speakers during speech management. The subjects were six esophageal speakers from the Portland Metropolitan area. Three subjects made up the experimental group and three were placed in the control group. Prototype instrumentation was used to measure air intake times and give visual feedback to the experimental group during twelve sessions of speech management. The control group participated in traditional speech management procedures to reduce air intake times without benefit of instrumentation. Rate of improvement was measured using the prototype instrumentation without …

Adult Oral Diadochokinesis Rates : Preliminary Normative Data, Carol Kafton-Minkel

Dissertations and Theses

In the clinical evaluation and management of speech disorders, a speech-language pathologist may observe disturbances in a client's motor abilities that suggest possible neurological dysfunction. One possible disturbance is in oral diadochokinesis (DIO), an individual's ability to start and stop the movement of the articulators rapidly and execute repetitive, alternating, sequential movements typically associated with speech articulation. It is often recommended that a speech-language pathologist test DIO speed and compare the performance to available norms. There is, however, a lack of normative DIO data spanning all ages of adulthood. The purpose of this study was to develop preliminary normative data …

Pragmatic Deficits In Normal, Articulation Disordered, And Language Delayed Samples, Karen Jean Lucas

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this investigation were to identify, via the Pragmatic Protocol, the incidence of pragmatic disorders within public school articulation and language caseloads and a control group of normal students and to specify the pragmatic areas, i.e., utterance propositional, and/or illocutionary/perlocutionary act categories in which deficits occur.

Toward A Phenomenological-Based Perspective Of Acculturation With Application To Scottish Immigrants, Dorothy M. Sermol

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is an attempt to construct a perspective of the acculturation of immigrants drawing on certain communication- based phenomenological assumptions. From these phenomenological assumptions a Framework of Acculturation is constructed as a guide through which to examine the acculturation process. The Framework of Acculturation is then applied to the particular group of Scottish immigrants who live in the Northwest of the United States.