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Predictors Of Language Outcome For Children In The Ontario Infant Hearing Program, Olivia M. Daub

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Ontario Infant Hearing Program (OIHP) provides early interventions (i.e., hearing aids) to children who are hard of hearing (CHH) because research consistently demonstrates their benefit to language outcomes. The impact of pre-fitting language abilities on these outcomes are not well understood.

This retrospective cohort analysis examined the performance of OIHP children on the Preschool Language Scale-4 at the time of (n=47), and after (n=19), initial hearing aid intervention. Regression analyses revealed that, before amplification, hearing loss severity predicted language abilities. However, after amplification, severity of hearing loss did not uniquely predict language achievement, but rather …

Exploring The Conceptual Foundations Of Social Communication In Preschool And School-Aged Children, Kristen H. R. Izaryk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Introduction: Social communication is a complex and dynamic construct that is an important component of human functioning. However, an agreed upon conceptual understanding of social communication within the field of Speech-Language Pathology has been a persistent challenge. Among main issues that obscure our current understanding are those pertaining to terminology, classification, and the boundaries of social communication within social skill. All three impede the advancement of knowledge and sound clinical application. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to investigate the conceptual foundations of social communication.

Method: Two approaches were taken to begin to address these issues. The Delphi …

Exploring Communication Apprehension And Its Relationship To Communication Attitude And Socio-Communicative Functioning In Children With Velopharyngeal Insufficiency, Agnieszka Dzioba

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Myriad findings on children with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) indicate the potential for this population of children to experience feelings of apprehension specific to communication and the potential for other psychological and social difficulties. The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the construct of communication apprehension (CA) and its potential relationship to social and communicative functioning in a diverse group of children with VPI. Potential linkages between CA and multiple socio-communicative constructs including attitude, speech satisfaction, speech and language skill, social competence, and speech severity were explored in a cohort of children with and without VPI, followed by an …

Development And Evaluation Of An Audiological Outcome Measure Guideline For Use With Infants, Toddlers, And Preschool Children, Marlene P. Bagatto

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The goals of the current work were to: 1) identify caregiver report questionnaires for inclusion in an outcome evaluation guideline for infants, toddlers, and preschool children who wear hearing aids and 2) evaluate the chosen tools to determine their usefulness for the population of interest. A critical review of auditory-related subjective outcome evaluation tools for infants, toddlers, and preschool children is presented (Chapter 2). Good psychometric properties and clinical feasibility were considered important elements for the guideline (Andresen, 2000). Existing norms for the chosen questionnaires were validated with normal hearing children from Canadian English-speaking families (Chapters 3 and 5). Finally, …

An Integrated Knowledge Translation Experience: Use Of The Network Of Pediatric Audiologists Of Canada To Facilitate The Development Of The University Of Western Ontario Pediatric Audiological Monitoring Protocol (Uwo Pedamp V1.0)., Sheila T F Moodie

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The goals of this project were: (1) to determine the important factors that influence implementation of evidence-based practice by Canadian audiologists; and (2) to utilize the knowledge-to-action process (Graham et al., 2006) during the development of a guideline for outcome measures to evaluate the auditory development and performance of young children who wear hearing aids, to facilitate clinical uptake and identify barriers to implementation (Bagatto, Moodie & Scollie, 2010; Bagatto et al., 2011; Bagatto, Moodie, Seewald, Bartlett, & Scollie, 2011; Moodie, Bagatto et al., 2011; Moodie, Kothari et al., 2011).

Two projects (Chapters 3 and 4) included the participation of …