Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Early Language Acquisition Through English And French, Rebecca C. Aguilar

Honors Capstones

Knowing that there is no singular event that leads to learning a language, and factoring in the extent an individual’s culture can affect language learning, this study emphasizes the importance of a cross-linguistic approach to continue to broaden the scope of language acquisition research. The primary objective is to identify and analyze the critical commonalities in the initial stages of learning English and French as first languages through two major categories: speech/language and culture. This project carried out an analytical review of 24 pieces of relevant literature, in both languages, in an effort to highlight key findings. Those findings include: …

Approaches To Examining The Role Of Auditory Evoked Potentials In Early Language Development, Alyssa Janes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Previous research has suggested a relationship between auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and spoken language proficiency, but their interactions during the earliest stages of development are not well understood. AEP-Age, an index that estimates the maturity of a child’s AEP relative to same-aged peers, has been effective in investigating this relationship in school-aged children, but has yet to be applied to younger populations. This thesis includes two Stage 1 Manuscripts (Registered Reports) for future studies to (a) assess the utility of AEP-Age to predict chronological age and language ability in 18-48-month-old children, and (b) investigate the relationship between AEP-Age and …

Communicative Participation Outcomes Of Preschool Speech-Language Services: Opportunities, Challenges, And Solutions, Elaine Yuen Ling Kwok

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

It has been estimated that speech and language disorders impact as many as 15-22% of preschoolers. In Ontario, Canada, families who are concerned about their children’s speech, language, or communication skills can access publicly funded services through Ontario’s Preschool Speech and Language Program. In this program, speech-language pathologists provide assessments and early interventions to improve children’s communication skills and lessen the negative effect of communication delays on development. Since 2012, the Program mandated the use of an outcome measure, the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six® (FOCUS), but there has been inconsistent uptake among speech-language pathologists. Using a …

Language Of Intervention In A Bilingual Child With Autism, Amelie Muzza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to address language of intervention for the rapidly-growing bilingual population of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a monolingual English or bilingual Spanish/English condition would yield a greater number of request types in a 3-year-old bilingual participant with autism. A single-subject, rapid alternating treatments design with baseline and a final maintenance phase was used to alternate between monolingual English and bilingual Spanish/English interventions. Results did not meet the criteria set for continuation of treatment in either condition; therefore, both monolingual and bilingual interventions …

The Effects Of Morphophonic Faces As A Method For Teaching Sight Words, Ashley Jean Williams

LSU Master's Theses

Previous studies exploring the use of superimposed pictures for sight word learning provide mixed results, with inconclusive benefits. One criticism is that even when sight word learning is enhanced, it does not improve the learner’s use of the alphabetic principle. A second criticism is that it is only feasible for easily depicted words. This study addressed these criticisms by using pictured sight words representing a hybrid between alphabet and sight word learning, MorphoPhonic Faces (MPF). MPF have the first letter drawn in the mouth of a face suggesting speech production cues. Thus, participants were provided alphabet cues first and then …

Non-Quiet Listening For Children With Hearing Loss: An Evaluation Of Amplification Needs And Strategies, Jeff Crukley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The goals of this project were to identify and evaluate strategies for non-quiet listening needs of children with hearing loss who wear hearing instruments.

Three studies were undertaken: 1) an exploration of the listening environments and situations experienced by children from daycare to high school during the school-day; 2) a comparative evaluation of consonant recognition, sentence recognition in noise, and loudness perception with the Desired Sensation Level version 5 (DSL v5) Quiet and Noise prescriptions and 3) a comparative evaluation of sentence recognition in noise and loudness perception with DSL v 5 Quiet and Noise paired with the hearing instrument …

Comparison Of Laryngographic Waveforms Of An Adult And Child, Elaine Hicken

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The ability to accurately identify and differentially diagnose voice disorders is an important concern for the speech-language pathologist. This need has resulted in the development of methods which focus on identifying "objective, reliable, valid procedures for assessing voice disorders" (Costello, 1985). Several methods that allow direct observation of the laryngeal mechanism are invasive and time consuming. A method that is noninvasive and that provides valuable information about the vocal fold movement pattern is needed for clinical use.