Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Tactile Stimulation For Task-Related Behaviors And Language Comprehension On Two Children With Autism, Lynn A. Patterson

Masters Theses

Previous research has investigated the effects of tactile stimulation on autistic behavior in the realm of occupational therapy (McClure, & Holtz-Yotz, 1991; Zissermann, 1991); however, no studies were found which investigated the effects of tactile stimulation on autistic behavior within the realm of speech-language pathology. This study was conducted to examine the effects of tactile stimulation on task-related behaviors and language comprehension.

The subjects were two school-aged males with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Autism) grouped for speech-language therapy. The subjects exhibited difficulties in modulating sensory input in the areas of tactile/proprioceptive functioning, as assessed by an occupational therapist. Both subjects were …

Impact Of Amateur Educational Video Viewing On Language Acquisition Of Preschool Children, Jennifer L. Radcliffe

Masters Theses

Child language-learning is a complex process that varies for each individual child. Researchers have found that children learn from viewing professional television programs specifically designed for children, such as Sesame Street. Professional television programming principles can be adopted to produce amateur educational videos. Video may also be a viable option to provide repetitive models to improve vocabulary acquisition within speech-language pathology. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of direct stimulation with amateur educational videos on a child's general and specific vocabulary acquisition.

A six-week experiment included an initial two-week control period, a two-week experimental period …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Opinions Of The Reliability Of The Modified Evan's Blue Dye Test For Detecting Aspiration, Amy N. Sanders

Masters Theses

This study attempted to determine if there was a relationship between speech-language pathologists (SLP) opinion of the reliability of the Modified Evan's Blue Dye Test (MEBDT) for assessing aspiration in tracheostomized patients and three factors: (1) number of years working in the field of speech-language pathology, (2) amount of hours per week spent treating dysphagia patients , and (3) number of seminars/conferences attended related to dysphagia management in the last two years. One hundred and six SLPs in the medical setting were surveyed, 52 responded resulting in a return rate of 49.5%. The data collected through the survey was subjected …

Predictive Factors Of Persistence And Recovery: Pathways Of Childhood Stuttering, Ehud Yairi, Nicoline Ambrose, Elaine Paden, Rebecca Throneburg

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This article presents broad preliminary findings from a longitudinal study of stuttering pertaining to differentiation of developmental paths of childhood stuttering, as well as possible early prediction of High Risk, Low Risk, and No Risk for chronic stuttering. More than 100 preschool children who stutter have been closely followed for several years from near the onset of stuttering using a multiple data collection system, with 45 nonstuttering children serving as controls. Thirty-two stuttering and 32 control subjects who have progressed through several stages of the investigation were identified for the present indepth analyses. They represent four subgroups: I. Persistent Stuttering; …

Predictive Factors Of Persistence And Recovery: Pathways Of Childhood Stuttering, Ehud Yairi, Nicoline G. Ambrose, Elaine P. Paden, Rebecca Throneburg

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This article presents broad preliminary findings from a longitudinal study of stuttering pertaining to differentiation of developmental paths of childhood stuttering, as well as possible early prediction of High Risk, Low Risk, and No Risk for chronic stuttering. More than 100 preschool children who stutter have been closely followed for several years from near the onset of stuttering using a multiple data collection system, with 45 nonstuttering children serving as controls. Thirty-two stuttering and 32 control subjects who have progressed through several stages of the investigation were identified for the present indepth analyses. They represent four subgroups: I. Persistent Stuttering; …

Parental Knowledge Of Effective Parent-Infant Communication, Jana J. Sweeney

Masters Theses

Parental knowledge of parent-infant interaction and effective communication techniques was investigated to determine what parents know about parent-infant interaction and communication, to determine who provided them with the information, to determine if more information should be available, and to determine who should serve source of information to parents regarding as the primary parent/child communication. The study also examined the potentially crucial role of the speech-language pathologist in providing education. A questionnaire and survey was developed and completed by 27 parents in two-parent homes to provide a data base for the study. Results of the survey indicated that parents are not …

The Effects Of Systematic Tactile Application On Confrontational Naming Performance And Its Influences On Motivation And Rapport In Elderly Persons, Christine M. Fraser

Masters Theses

The present study was designed to examine two questions related to speech output in the elderly population: 1) Does a regimen of touch massage therapy increase speech output as measured by confrontational naming performance on the Boston Naming Test in elderly persons residing in nursing homes or living alone in relatively non-stimulating communication environments, and 2) Is touch/massage therapy a useful method in establishing rapport between an elderly client and the clinician subsequently motivating the client to increase their desire to communicate.

A total of ten subjects were selected to participate in the study. Eight were residents of nursing homes, …

Investigation Of The Relationship Between Language & Mathematics In Regards To Problem Solving, Heather A. Grant

Masters Theses

While previous research has established language as a component of mathematical performance (Kintsch, 1988; Simon, 1985), none have identified a relationship between language and mathematics. This study was conducted to examine the relationships between language and mathematical abilities, specifically problem solving abilities and concept knowledge.

The subjects consisted of 29 fifth-grade students selected from an elementary school in central Illinois. These students were not receiving special education services. Each subject was administered the Test of Problem Solving (Zachman, et al., 1984) to assess the subjects' ability to utilize reasoning skills and expressive language to solve situational problems; and The WORD …

Relation Between Phonologic Difficulty And The Occurrence Of Disfluencies In The Early Stage Of Stuttering, Rebecca Throneburg, Ehud Yairi, Elaine Paden

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

People who stutter, especially children, have often been reported to exhibit a wide range of concomitant communication problems including articulation and phonologic deficiencies. This study investigated the relation between the phonologic difficulty of words and the point at which stuttering-like disfluencies occurred in the speech of preschool children identified as having a stuttering problem (n = 24). The children were divided into subgroups according to stuttering severity and phonologic ability. A spontaneous speech sample of approximately 1,000 words was tape-recorded from each child, and perceived disfluencies were identified. The phonologic difficulty of each word on which there was a stuttering-like …

Relation Between Phonologic Difficulty And The Occurrence Of Disfluencies In The Early Stage Of Stuttering, Rebecca Throneburg, Ehud Yairi, Elaine P. Paden

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

People who stutter, especially children, have often been reported to exhibit a wide range of concomitant communication problems including articulation and phonologic deficiencies. This study investigated the relation between the phonologic difficulty of words and the point at which stuttering-like disfluencies occurred in the speech of preschool children identified as having a stuttering problem (n = 24). The children were divided into subgroups according to stuttering severity and phonologic ability. A spontaneous speech sample of approximately 1,000 words was tape-recorded from each child, and perceived disfluencies were identified. The phonologic difficulty of each word on which there was a stuttering-like …

The Prevalence Of Developmental Apraxia In School-Aged Children Of Illinois, Mary Jo Seibert

Masters Theses

Current research involving developmental apraxia of speech has focused on two areas: 1) determining a unique set of speech and language characteristics of the disorder; and 2) determining an etiology or cause of developmental apraxia. Failure of researchers to determine these issues has lead to increased controversy over the existence of developmental apraxia. Further, no studies have been conducted which discuss the prevalence of developmental apraxia. This researcher suggests that determining the prevalence of developmental apraxia would assist in establishing the disorders' existence, as well as aid researchers in determining if speech-language pathologists have adequate training and knowledge in the …

The Early Months Of Stuttering: A Developmental Study, Rebecca Throneburg, Ehud Yairi, Nicoline Ambrose

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Objective data on the development of stuttering during its first several months are sparse. Such a deficit is due to parents' tendency to postpone professional consultation regarding early stuttering until later in the course of the disorder and to a lack of longitudinal studies beginning close to onset. This report presents information on a rare group of 16 preschool subjects who were evaluated within several weeks after stuttering onset and followed for 6 months using multiple measures. The findings show that often early stuttering takes on a moderate-to-severe form. Substantial changes occurred, however, during the 6 months of the study, …

The Early Months Of Stuttering: A Developmental Study, Rebecca Throneburg, Ehud Yairi, Nicoline Grinager Ambrose

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Objective data on the development of stuttering during its first several months are sparse. Such a deficit is due to parents' tendency to postpone professional consultation regarding early stuttering until later in the course of the disorder and to a lack of longitudinal studies beginning close to onset. This report presents information on a rare group of 16 preschool subjects who were evaluated within several weeks after stuttering onset and followed for 6 months using multiple measures. The findings show that often early stuttering takes on a moderate-to-severe form. Substantial changes occurred, however, during the 6 months of the study, …

The Use And Effectiveness Of Facilitated Communication For A Child With Autism, Danielle Gayton

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Perceptual Ratings Regarding Individuals With High Functioning Autism, Melanie A. Manhart

Masters Theses

A perceptual rating scale evaluating appropriateness/inappropriateness of eight communicative behaviors was designed to determine if the general population perceives adult individuals with high functioning autism as different. In addition, the rating scale results were examined to determine which of the eight communicative characteristics were perceived as most different. The results were also evaluated to determine if a rating difference between genders existed.

The subjects consisted of 453 college students who viewed videotaped interviews with five individuals, two considered "normal" and three diagnosed with high functioning autism who had received varying levels of remediation. After viewing each interview, subjects rated the …

Effects Of Information And Physical Positioning On Attitudes Toward An Individual Who Is Nonspeaking And Physically Disabled, Paige M. Lepak

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effects of printed information and four physical positions in space on attitudes of individuals who are nondisabled toward a person who is nonspeaking with severe physical disabilities. Employing a 4 (positions in space) X 2 (presence/absence of information) factorial design, subjects were presented with four photographs depicting a male who is both physically disabled and nonspeaking having a communicative interaction with a male who is nondisabled. Subjects in Condition 1 viewed 4 photographs depicting the individual who is nonspeaking sitting in a chair; Condition 2 subjects viewed photographs of the individual sitting in a wheelchair; Condition …

The Effects Of Partner Training On Request Behaviors With An Aac User, Amy J. Fiala

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to examine the effects of partner training on request behaviors with an AAC user. A review of literature indicated that AAC users are often placed in respondent roles rather than initiator roles. Additionally, speaking individuals tend to dominate conversations over individuals who are nonspeaking. Such domination puts AAC users at risk for a loss of independence in communication of the basic communication interactions. Thus, inadequate social interaction skills are a common problem among AAC users. Utilizing communication partner training as an intervention target may serve to increase active participation in all areas of communication. The purpose …

The Critical Elements Of Collaborative Consultation, Kurt T. Kruger

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the critical elements necessary for speech-language pathologists to implement an effective collaborative consultation model. A survey was mailed to 300 ISHA member speech-language pathologists working in Illinois schools. The survey contained elements of collaborative consultation originally identified by researchers and professionals in the field of communication disorders and sciences. Those elements identified by the survey respondents as being most critical were, (a) planning time, and (b) acceptance and support of administrators, teachers, and parents. The elements on the survey instrument ranked significantly lower than the rest were, (a) time to observe those …

The Incidence Of Word Retrieval In Children With Language And/Or Learning Disabilities, Kathleen Nordmann-Ochs

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to determine the percentage of incidence of word-retrieval deficits in three diagnostic groups: language disabled, learning disabled, and language-learning disabled children. Forty-five children between the ages 9 and 12.9 years were chosen from elementary schools in central Illinois, including ten language disabled, fifteen learning disabled and fifteen language-learning disabled subjects. The Test of Word-Finding was administered to determine the presence or absence of a word retrieval deficit. Testing revealed that 90% of the language disordered subjects demonstrated a word-retrieval deficit; 94% of the learning disabled population displayed a word-retrieval deficit; and 100% of the language-learning disabled …

The Effects Of Closed Head Injury On The Learnability Of Blissymbols, Andrea J. Rabish

Masters Theses

This study attempted to determine the effects of cognitive-communicative functioning in individuals who have sustained closed head injury on learnability of Blissymbols. Two features of Blissymbols, translucency and complexity, were examined to find their effects on Blissymbol learnability. Another focus of the study was to determine the effects of translucency and complexity interaction on learnability. The final research question concerned the relationship of cognitive-communicative functioning and Blissymbol learnability. Nine Subject, each rated with the Ranch Los Amigo Scale of Cognitive Functioning, participated in a task that required learning forty Blissymbols in a paired-associative learning task. The subjects were divided into …

A Statewide Survey Of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Kathryn S. Bach

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Knowledge Of Accrued Clinical Clock Hours On Supervisors' Evaluations Of Clinical Competence, Julie Ann Johnston-Palmer

Masters Theses

Supervision in speech-language pathology is one facet of the field in which all speech-language pathologists have had to engage. The more that is known about the process of supervision the better future speech-language pathologists can be prepared to interact in a professional setting. Many variables are present in supervision related to the field of speech-language pathology. One variable which has received only minimal attention relates to the effect knowledge about a student clinician's number of accrued clinical clock hours has on the evaluation of the clinician's skills. The assumption is often made that a student clinician with more clinical clock …

The Effectiveness Of Auditory Bombardment In The Remediation Of Phonological Processes, Lisa M. Gangloff

Masters Theses

Current research examining the efficacy of different stages of phonological remediation is limited to the use of minimal pairs and the integration of language therapy to assist children with accompanying language deficits. Auditory bombardment, however, although frequently used, has not been researched as to its effectiveness in the remediation of phonological processes. Auditory bombardment is currently being presented through word lists. This researcher suggests that a language-based bombardment, in the form of children’s stories, would aid in the reduction of phonological processes and the acquisition of language skills.

Six subjects were included in the research study. The subjects ranged in …

The Effects Of Discrimination Therapy Administered To Preschool Children, Steven E. Deal

Masters Theses

Recent research in the area of phonological development has indicated phonemes are mastered earlier than previous research demonstrated. Research has also indicated phoneme discriminatory skills are acquired with a similar pattern of development as phoneme production skills. Additionally, many research studies have demonstrated a relationship between children's ability to discriminate phonemes and their ability to articulate phonemes. Phonological skill development at younger ages implies that children will be eligible for articulation therapy at younger ages. Traditionally, articulation remediation begins with sensory/perceptual or discrimination training. Currently, available research has not addressed the effectiveness of discrimination training at pre-school age levels.

Six …

The Relationship Between Untrained Listener Perceptions And Disordered Voices, Donald S. Finan

Masters Theses

The ability of trained listeners to make judgments of voice quality has been well documented. This study is designed to investigate untrained listeners' ability to make quality judgments of male and female produced normal, breathy, harsh, and hypernasal voice qualities. Research purposes are as follows:

1. To test if untrained listeners tend to reliably assign specific positive or negative descriptive adjectives according to vocal quality.

2. To determine if specific disordered vocal qualities carry more negative rating than others.

A series of actors and actresses were trained to produce the disordered voice qualities of breathy, harsh, and hypernasal according to …

A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Three Language Intervention Strategies: Imitation, Modeling, Combination, Margaret I. Slattery

Masters Theses

The literature on language acquisition and the treatment of language disorders in children has been dominated by two variables. These variables are imitation and modeling. Research regarding the best technique for eliciting, generalizing and changing overall language performance in children has been inconclusive.

This study compared the effectiveness of three language intervention strategies: imitation, modeling, and a combination of imitation and modeling in eliciting and generalizing basic concepts and improving pre and post treatment scores on three standardized tests. Six language delayed kindergarten children served as subjects. The subjects were seen twice a week for five weeks.

No significant differences …

The Implementation Of A Teacher Referral Behavioral Checklist In The Identification Of Language Processing Deficits, Barbara T. Voss

Masters Theses

The identification of language processing deficits has been acknowledged as a difficult task for the speech/language clinician. The literature has cited certain observable behaviors associated with language processing deficits, but these behaviors are often subtle enough to escape detection during routine speech and language screenings. Therefore, many language processing deficits are not identified until after the children have begun to experience academic struggle and/or failure. Several authors (Chalfant & Foster, 1974; Shepherd, 1982; Wiig & Semel, 1980) have suggested that classroom teachers may be useful in aiding speech/language pathologists in identifying these deficits. The purpose of this study was to …

A Comparison Of Norm-Referenced, Traditional, And Computer-Assisted Language Assessments, Michel P. Helmke

Masters Theses

Current literature in the field of communication disorders suggests that traditional norm-referenced tests may yield erroneous or misleading information regarding a child's level of language acquisition. Additional research suggests that the most valid and reliable technique for determining a client's level of linguistic expertise is language sampling and analysis. Language sampling and analysis has traditionally been rejected as a means of evaluation, especially for the school-age child, due to the length of time necessary to complete such analyses. In recent years, language sampling and analysis techniques have been redesigned as computer software application programs. Computer software application programs may significantly …

The Use Of Traditional Articulation Tests In Phonological Analysis, Teri L. Moser

Masters Theses

Phonological analysis is an established, comprehensive, and effective means of assessing the speech patterns of unintelligible children. However, many practicing speech-language pathologists have not incorporated this procedure into their diagnostic batteries and continue to use traditional articulation tests because of convenience and familiarity of the tests (Garber, 1984). If articulation tests could be modified to assess phonological simplification processes, speech-language pathologists may be more likely to use this method of speech analysis. The purpose of this study was to determine if traditional articulation tests employing a phonological analysis procedure are a valid measure of phonological simplification processes.

This study compared …

The Effects Of Language Processing Strategies Upon Reading Comprehension, Kathy Ann Kirby

Masters Theses

In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed providing educational services for children with exceptionalities. Learning disabilities was one of those exceptionalities whose definition used a language disorder as its major criteria for the identification and classification of a specific learning disabilities. The inclusion of language disorders within its definition brought about greater interest in language and the understanding of language development, acquisition and processing and how these aspects related with academic learning, particularly with reading.

The purpose of this study was to address the issue of language processing strategies in the remediating of language deficits and …