Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

The Effects Of Language Proficiency On Narrative Macrostructure In Spanish-English Bilinguals, Jenny Magallon

Dissertations and Theses

Bilingual children of the same age may have different narrative skills depending on the quantity and quality of their experiences in the two languages. Thus, children's storytelling skills can vary depending on children's oral proficiency in each language. The present study examined the effects of oral proficiency on story structure in forty 5- to 7-year-old Spanish-English speaking children using Spanish and English samples from story retelling tasks. Language proficiency was measured as continuum of performance using the Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale (SELPS; Smyk et al., 2013). To estimate the effects of Spanish and English proficiency on story structure, linear regressions …

Augmentative And Alternative Communication Use, Service Delivery Experiences, And Communicative Participation For People With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Betts Peters

Dissertations and Theses

People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) often experience changes to their speech, and may use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and techniques to maintain the ability to communicate. The use of AAC may facilitate the participation of people with ALS in various life situations involving communication. There is limited data in the literature about the AAC approaches currently used by people with ALS, the professional services they receive to support communication, or the effects of AAC on their communicative participation. This dissertation involved a nationwide online survey of people with ALS, and comprises three papers intended to add to …

Investigating The Role Of Phonological Awareness In The Training Of Phonetic Transcription With Slp Students, Jennifer Kay Binkley

Dissertations and Theses

A dissertation study was developed and completed to further explore the relationship between phonological awareness (PA) and phonetic transcription skills in undergraduate speech-language pathology students. A review of the literature provides gaps in knowledge which the proposal seeks to address. Based upon this literature review, the researcher compared PA skills of undergraduate students of various majors, to determine if there was a change in PA by taking a traditional phonetics course, and to explore phonetic transcription outcomes as the result of direct PA intervention with undergraduate SLP students. Quantitative analysis was used to answer three research questions, which were organized …

Ancillary Data For Refining Computer Adaptive Algorithms For The Assessment Of Anomia, Emily Kathryn Tudorache

Dissertations and Theses

Computer adaptive testing formats, based in item response theory (IRT), are becoming an increasingly popular approach to testing in healthcare because they offer numerous psychometric and practical advantages to assessment when compared to static tests that rely on classical test theory. Fergadiotis and colleagues (2015) have developed computer adaptive versions of the Philadelphia Naming Test (PNT) short-forms, which have demonstrated acceptable precision and standard error of measurement when compared to the static short-forms and original full-length assessment. This study sought to use synthetic data simulations using the catIrt R package (Nydik, 2014) to investigate possible advantages of the use of …

Training And Application Of Correct Information Unit Analysis To Structured And Unstructured Discourse, Audrey Bretthauer Cohen

Dissertations and Theses

Correct Information Units (CIU) analysis is one of the few measures of discourse that attempts to quantify discourse as a function of communicating information efficiently. Though this analysis is used reliably as a research tool, most studies' apply CIUs to structured discourse tasks and do not specifically describe how raters are trained. If certified clinical speech-language pathologists can likewise reliably apply CIU analysis within clinical settings to unstructured discourse, such as the discourse of people with aphasia (PWA), it may allow clinicians to quantify the information communicated efficiently in clinical populations with discourse deficits. Purpose: The purpose of this study …

Investigation Of Speech Samples From Typically Developing Preschool Age Children: A Comparison Of Single Words And Imitated Sentences Elicited With The Paba-E, Matthew William Olsen

Dissertations and Theses

Assessment of speech sound production in young children provides the basis for diagnosis and treatment of speech sound disorders. Standardized single-word articulation tests are typically used for identification of speech sound errors because they can provide an efficient means of obtaining a speech sample for analysis and comparison to same-age peers. A major criticism of single-word articulation tests is that they may not accurately reflect speech sound production abilities in conversation. Comparison of performance in single-word and conversational contexts has produced conflicting results in the available research.

The purpose of the present study was to compare speech samples obtained using …

High Frequency Pure Tone Audiometry And High Frequency Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions: A Correlational Analysis, Kimberly J. Lavoie

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies show that pure tone thresholds are strongly correlated with distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitudes when evaluating the frequency range from 1 to 8 kHz (Avan & Bonfils, 1993). Little is known about correlations between these two measures at higher frequencies from 9-16 kHz. This study compared pure tone thresholds and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in this high frequency range for 29 normal hearing subjects ages 18-30. Pure tone thresholds were obtained at 250-16 kHz and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) 2,211-17,675 were measured in the same ears. DPOAE amplitudes were measured using a constant F1/F2 ratio of …

Effects Of Three Training Components In An Aac Intervention For An Adult With Severe Broca’S Aphasia, Bradley Josef Hendershott

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals with severe nonfluent aphasia may lose functional verbal communication. With the loss of fluent speech, one may also lose the capacity to share in the casual conversation that enriches our lives. A rehabilitative course that seeks to stimulate restoration of verbal abilities can be lengthy with uncertain outcomes. Fortunately, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventions have shown promise in treating aphasia by providing non-verbal means of communicating. Communication aids designed around specific topics and comprised of words and pictures have been used by persons with aphasia to participate in conversations. Such aids have shown promise in facilitating successful conversation …

The Effect Of Using Averaged Versus Custom Real-Ear To Coupler Difference Values In The Desired Sensation Level Approach To Prescribing Hearing Instrument Gain, John Aaron Coverstone

Dissertations and Theses

Because there are many variables and much missing information when fitting young children with hearing instruments, it is necessary to rely on prescriptive procedures such as the Desired Sensation Level (DSL) Method to create target 2cc gain values for ordering and fitting hearing instruments. Inherent in creating 2cc targets is a conversion process known as a real-ear to coupler difference (RECD) measurement. The DSL algorithms make allowances for averaged data to be used in lieu of this measurement.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of using averaged real-ear to coupler difference values included in the DSL …

An Evaluation Of Earobics I In Improving Phonological Awareness In 6- And 7-Year-Old Boys Who Are At-Risk For Reading Disabilities, Wendy Goughnour Gunter

Dissertations and Theses

Earobics Pro PLUS Step I (Earobics I) is a software program designed to increase the auditory processing and phonological awareness skills of children when used in conjunction with traditional intervention. Phonological awareness is the ability to manipulate the sounds of a language and has been shown in previous studies to have a strong relationship with reading ability. Phonological awareness can be taught, and studies have been conducted in an effort to determine effective methods for teaching phonological awareness. No studies have been published on Earobics I to this date.

In this study, the effectiveness of Earobics I was analyzed with …

The Effectiveness Of Hypermedia Training Vs. Traditional Classroom Instruction In Stuttering, Micheal Dean Baran

Dissertations and Theses

A study by Henri (1994) showed that fluency is one of two areas where speech-language pathology clinicians feel least prepared and Sommers and Caruso (1995) advocated improved training in fluency. The use of computer technology to train students in the field of stuttering has been proven effective in previous studies (Strang, Meyers & Hall, 1989; Tetnowski & Martin, 1996).

The purpose of this study was to further develop a hypermedia training module for stuttering identification and to determine whether this hypermedia training module was as effective as traditional classroom teaching methods.

Subjects in this study were undergraduate students in speech …

Career Orientation Levels In Adolescents : A Comparison Of Cleft And Noncleft Subgroups, Tara Darice Gaddis

Dissertations and Theses

The current research studied career orientation levels during adolescence utilizing previously collected cross-sectional data on 80 subjects. The subjects had participated in a study focusing on the ways in which clefting, gender, self-concept, mental ability, and socioeconomic status impact career development. Preliminary analysis of the data found that self-concept, mental ability, self-ratings of facial appearance, and desired level of future educational status were the factors most predictive of level of career development. In the initial analysis of the data, subjects, cleft and noncleft, who demonstrated high self-esteem, high mental ability, reported a more advanced level of desired higher education, and …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Career Maturity Patterns Of Individuals With Clefts, Joyce Johnson Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

This longitudinal study sought to examine career maturity, and the variables thought to influence career maturity, in a sample of individuals with the congenital craniofacial anomaly of clefting by following them from adolescence (ages 14 to 18) into young adulthood (ages 22 to 26).

Sixteen subjects (6 males, 10 females) during adolescence and in young adulthood completed (a) a biographical questionnaire which provided educational and occupational information, (b) the Career Development Inventory, (c) the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, (d) the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, and (e) self-ratings of speech and facial appearance acceptability to provide information concerning career maturity, mental …

Speech Production Patterns Following Management Of Velopharyngeal Inadequacy, Debra Lynn Childs

Dissertations and Theses

This descriptive study investigated the pattern of speech sound production before and after surgical management of velopharyngeal inadequacy in two subjects. The research questions asked were: (a) What type of speech patterns do subjects referred for surgical management of velopharyngeal incompetence demonstrate presurgically? (b) What changes in the speech patterns of the subjects are observed in the immediate month following surgery for velopharyngeal incompetence? (c) Do these changes settle into a stabilized pattern of speech production by 4 months postsurgery?

The subjects' speech productions were audio recorded for analysis using the Broen CVC Probe to obtain imitated single word elicitations …

The Effect Of Diastema Closure On The Remediation Of Lateral /S/: A Case Study, Reta Price

Dissertations and Theses

An important morphological-marker and one of the most frequently occurring speech sounds in English, the /s/ phoneme is also one of the sounds most often in need of remediation. Often, air emission during /s/ production, a particularly stubborn, often residual production error, is not remediated through traditional treatment methods, and yet the negative effect /s/ distortions have on listeners has been well-documented.

The subject of this investigation was a forty-eightyear-old male who received treatment for a lateralized /s/ during grade-school. It was hypothesized that his exerting high anterior pressure to prevent air from escaping from a diastema between his two …

Concurrent Validity Of Mental Ability Screening Tools : A Comparison Of Normal Students’ Performance On The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test And The Shipley Institute Of Living Scale-Revised, D. Melanie Peters

Dissertations and Theses

This study compared the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), a verbal and nonverbal mental ability screening tool, to the Shipley Institute Living Scale (SILS), a nonverbal screening tool of mental ability, as part of a larger, ongoing study which is examining the effects of orofacial clefts on early career maturity. In terms of general intellectual ability, the K-BIT and the SILS provide descriptive categories, percentile ranks, raw scores, standard error of measurement, standard scores, standardization and norms, subtest scores, and total scores. The K-BIT provides normative curve equivalents and stanines, which the SILS does not. The SILS provides abstract and …

Examination Of Benefits Of Binaural Auditory Stimulation For Children With A Cochlear Implant And A Hearing Aid In The Contralateral Ear, Evonne Nicol Altesleben

Dissertations and Theses

Congenital or acquired hearing impairments put children at risk of delayed language development. Today the cochlear implant (Cl) is a viable amplification option for some children with profound hearing losses. Audiologists often recommend that children with hearing impairments be fitted with binaural hearing aids in the hope that maximum stimulation will occur and that auditory deprivation will be lessened. An area lacking investigation is whether binaural stimulation will be beneficial to the cochlear implant recipient.Controversy also exists regarding the use of a hearing aid in the non-implanted ear.

The focus of this study was to compare binaural auditory stimulation benefits …

A Comparison Of Listener And Speaker Perception Of Stuttering Events, Anne Jocelyn Schagen

Dissertations and Theses

Stuttering identification, measurement, research, and treatment have for many years had their basis in listener judgment of stuttering, but the covert aspects of stuttering are not behaviorally observable, and inter-rater reliability has repeatedly been shown to be low. Perkins (1990) has emphasized the importance of consulting the speaker for the most reliable perspective on stuttering identification. The question raised in this study is whether there is a significant correlation between stuttering identification based upon internal perception by a speaker who stutters, and identification based upon external perception of listeners, with points of inter-rater disagreement removed. Six adult males, aged 18 …

First Language And Gesture Acquisition In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Ann Christine Friel

Dissertations and Theses

Many children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) will receive speech and language intervention throughout their lives. However, there is a lack of descriptive data for language and gesture development of children with CP. When assessing the skills of children with CP, standardized tests and clinical observations have several inherent faults due to time constraints, normative data, and physical constraints. An alternative method used to gather data in the area of language and gesture development is parent questionnaire. The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Words & Gestures was chosen for this study because it has been shown to be an efficient, valid, and …

Effects Of Orofacial Clefts On Early Career Maturity, Jeanniekay Mccall

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate career maturity in 14- and 17- year-old male and female adolescents with cleft lip and palate. Career maturity is defined as the repertoire of behaviors pertinent to identifying, choosing, planning, and executing career goals available to a specific individual as compared with those possessed by a peer group. Clefting is a congenital anomaly that occurs in approximately 1 in every 600 newborns and can result in facial scarring and speech deviations that may last throughout life, and may result in complications such as withdrawal, inhibition, lower self-esteem, and increasing self-doubt regarding interpersonal …

Real Ear To Coupler Differences In Children And The Effects Of Hearing And Microphone Location, Cindy Richardson

Dissertations and Theses

The early identification of hearing loss and selection of appropriate amplification are the most important goals for children with hearing impairment. Selection of appropriate amplification for a pediatric population involves maximizing the hearing impaired child's residual hearing, for development of speech and language. In addition, it is important to consider the acoustic differences between the 2 cc coupler versus the real ear.

During the hearing aid selection process, it is customary to predict how a hearing aid will respond in the real ear, based upon a given 2 cc coupler response. Killion and Monser (1980) developed a formula for converting …

A Study Of The Level Of Knowledge Of Adult Foster Care Home Providers In Multnomah County In The State Of Oregon About Hearing Loss, Hearing Aids And Communication Strategies, Marsha Peters Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

The level of knowledge about hearing aid use, function, and maintenance of caregivers of the elderly persons who are hearing impaired and residing in adult foster care homes in Multnomah County in the state of Oregon was assessed via a 1 7 question survey. Twenty subjects participated in the study. Subjects' responses demonstrated poor knowledge about this subject and indicated that residents' needs are unmet. The results clearly demonstrate the subjects' limited knowledge of the operation of hearing aids, poor grasp of the basic troubleshooting methods for repair, and inaccurate perceptions of hearing aid adjustment. Access to professional audiologic care …

Comparison Of Intelligibility Estimation And Orthographic Transcription Methods By Preprofessional Speech-Language Pathologists, Kristi M. Mowe

Dissertations and Theses

When the fundamental means of communications is speech, the main component for successful communication is intelligibility. The speech of children with disordered phonologies is often unintelligible; therefore, accurate and reliable methods of measuring intelligibility are essential when determining eligibility, and in selecting and providing appropriate treatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the percentage estimation method and the orthographic transcription method when measuring speech intelligibility by preprofessional listeners. For this study, the standard measurement of intelligibility was defined as the percentage of words understood in a continuous speech sample derived from orthographic transcription of the …

Ethnography Of Communication As On Organizational Communication Assessment Tool: A Test Of The Method, Francisca Inez Trujillo-Dalbey

Dissertations and Theses

Professional organizational consultants and researchers performing organizational communication assessments with non-profit boards of directors have few tools available to them and many of these tools under emphasize the centrality of communication and overlook the power-asdomination (Mumby, 1994) issues present in organizations. This study tested the ethnography of communication (Hymes, 1972) as an organizational communication assessment tool with a board of directors of a non-profit organization in Oregon and examined the results by employing Mumby's (1994) construct, thereby conducting a critical ethnography of communication.

This study offers important insights into boards of directors of nonprofit organizations and has important implications for …

The Generalization Of Stridency From Treated To Untreated Misarticulated Phonemes, Kathleen Ann Ozanich

Dissertations and Theses

This single-subject study was developed to investigate the potential of treating one misarticulated strident phoneme to induce generalization to other misarticulated strident phonemes. One male, age 4 years 4 months, was trained on /s/ in words. A training program, modified from the Hodson and Paden (1991) phonological cycling approach, was used. Two untreated phonemes from separate and distinct sound classes were monitored as control sounds for across-feature class change. A total of 24 treatment sessions of 50 minutes each were provided. The results from the pretest and posttest showed an increase of 51% correct stridency production for all untreated stridents …

Rethinking Appropriateness: A Look At Hegemonic Ideals As Related To Perceived Communication Competence In Women, Kristi L. Meade

Dissertations and Theses

The author argues that the hegemonically-constructed criteria of "appropriateness," as related to communication competence, is not palatable or functional for female communicators much of the time for it serves a social milieu which marginalizes women. Spitzberg and Duran (1993) state, "appropriateness seems spring loaded towards the status quo'' and may work against the interests of certain groups. In this paper, the author attempts to illuminate evidence of power imbalances covertly imbedded in the ideologically complex determination of appropriateness as a central criteria for communication competence in women. Competence theory is problematic and must be re-evaluated: it is contradictory and confusing, …

Effects Of Lifestyle Change And Satisfaction With Voice On Psychosocial Adjustment Of Laryngectomees, Susan M. Nicks

Dissertations and Theses

This research sought to examine the level of psychosocial adjustment in a sample of laryngectomees by describing demographic characteristics, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use pre-cancer diagnosis and currently, satisfaction with voice, and by examining the relationship between each subject's level of psychosocial adjustment and lifestyle change, i.e. cessation of tobacco and/or alcohol consumption, and satisfaction with voice.

Twenty-one subjects completed (a) Demographic Questionnaire, (b) Lifestyle Questionnaire, (c) Satisfaction with Voice Scale, and (d) Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self Report (PAIS-SR). Descriptive and inferential statistics were completed.

The average age of the subject group (16 males, 5 females) was 72.5 years, …

A Survey Of Swallowing Symptoms Associated With The Premenstrual Cycle, Jill Gigi Calcagno

Dissertations and Theses

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) has been associated with a vast number of physical, emotional, social, and behavioral symptomatology. Laryngeal disturbances invoked by hormonal imbalance may affect swallowing as a component of PMS. Previous studies regarding swallowing ability during the premenstrual cycle were nonexistent.

This study examined the relationship between PMS and swallowing disorders. One hundred thirty-seven females completed a written survey that elicited information regarding biographical data, presence and severity of cyclically recurring symptoms associated with PMS, and perceived presence and severity of dysphagia during premenstruum.

Spearman Rank (Rho) correlation coefficients were computed to determine the extent of the relationship between …

Conflict Is Optional, Difference Is Not : Toward A Difference-Based Approach To Interpersonal Communication, James Arthur Gieseking Jr

Dissertations and Theses

An examination of the discussion of conflict in general, interpersonal and small group communication texts indicates that the conceptualization of conflict theory in the U.S. is increasingly dependent upon three theoretical pillars: the qualities of ubiquity, utility and necessity. A critical, deconstructive analysis of these operational characteristics in relation to the actual human experience of conflict reveals that they are more appropriately associated with the essential condition of difference, rather than conflict, and the concepts of conflict and difference are generally conflated in U.S. communication texts. The synergistic interaction of a variety of specific cultural constructs can be seen as …

Perceptions Of Stuttering Intervention Services Received At Portland State, Franklin Wayne Bender

Dissertations and Theses

As consumers become more knowledgeable and more demanding of accountability, health care workers, including speech-language pathologists, are being required to justify the effectiveness of their work by documenting the results of their treatment programs. There are different ways to measure treatment outcomes. Outcomes may be measured qualitatively and/or quantitatively. Qualitative or subjective outcomes are difficult to define and measure and few studies of this type have been reported in the literature. Because few studies have been reported in the literature regarding client satisfaction, this area was investigated in this research project. The focus of this project was to ascertain whether …