Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

An Investigation Of Observer Evaluation Accuracy Of Clinical Sessions, Douglas Scott Peterson

Dissertations and Theses

Student speech-language pathologists begin their academic preparation as observers. Observations of the clinical management session are for the purpose of providing student clinicians with insight into the management process by providing clinical models. To make observation experiences meaningful there must be some guiding framework which will demonstrate the significance of behaviors observed. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect Boone-Prescott Content and Sequence Analysis System (B-P) instruction had upon the accuracy of beginning student observation evaluations of clinical management sessions.

Developmental Sentence Scoring Sample Size Comparison, Marilyn May Valenciano

Dissertations and Theses

Assessment of language abilities is an integral part of accruing information on the development of concept formation and the learning of grammatical rules. The maturity and complexity of a child's language can be assessed through the use of a language sample. The sample consists of a specified number of utterances which are emitted spontaneously and then analyzed according to a given procedure.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference among the scores obtained from language samples of 25, 50, and 75 utterances when using the DSS procedure for ages 4.0 through 4.6 years. …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between The Degree Of Maintained Fluency Improvement Of Former Portland State University Stuttering Clients And The Overall Language Themes They Used, Karen F. Mathew

Dissertations and Theses

This research examined the relationship between the degree of maintained fluency improvement and the type of language used to respond to questions directly and indirectly related to speaking behavior. The subjects included sixteen former Portland State University stuttering clients who had participated in the Ginter (1979) study on fluency maintenance. The subjects responded to a thirteen item questionnaire dealing with themselves and their speaking behavior. Responses were recorded on the Modified Thematic Analysis Form developed by this examiner and analyzed according to guidelines set down by Stone and Casteel (1975) and this examiner.

Comparison Of Scores Obtained On The Ppvt And The Ppvt-R, Jennie L.M. Choong

Dissertations and Theses

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) is a widely used receptive vocabulary screening tool, but it is not without its limitations, such as inadvisable I.Q. usage and a standardization procedure that lacks scope. A revision of the PPVT, known as the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) was published in 1981, and contains a more complete standardization procedure as well as some structural changes of the test itself (Dunn, 1981). Speech/language pathology, whose diagnosticians most commonly use the age equivalent value, is a profession that would gain from information which deals with the equivalency of the PPVT-R to the original PPVT. …

An Evaluation Of A Talking Machine: The Hc 120 Phonic Mirror Handivoice, James Joseph Oggerino

Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to determine the basic intelligibility of synthesized speech as produced by the HC 120 Phonic Mirror Handivoice. It involved 48 male and female subjects divided into two groups. Group 1 had 40 subjects ranging in age from 18 to 44 years. Group 2 had eight subjects ranging in age from 18 to 33 years. All subjects were screened for normal hearing. Testing for normal hearing was done in an audiological suite at Portland State University. The study was designed to determine the degree to which a group of normal hearing college students could recognize words and phrases …

A Comparison Of Spanish Language Samples Elicited By The Investigator In The Clinic And By The Mothers In The Home, Soledad Chavarria Navas

Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of the present study was to compare the quality of spontaneous language samples elicited from twelve low socioeconomic, normally developing, migrant Spanish-speaking subjects by their mothers in the home and by this investigator in the clinic. The subjects ranged in age from three years, one month to six years, nine months.

The essential question sought to determine if the comparison of language samples elicited in the home by the mothers and the language samples. elicited in the clinic by the investigator yielded significant differences in syntactical language development as measured by the Developmental Assessment of Spanish Grammar …

Comparison Of Two Receptive Language Tests (Ppvt And Tacl) Used With The Developmentally Delayed, Paul H. Lamb

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the results as recorded in mental ages of the PPVT and TACL when used with developmentally delayed children. One aspect was to observe how well the mean mental age from each test would compare with the mean mental age obtained from psychometric testing (WISC-R or SB-LM results). Another aspect was to determine how well the data from the PPVT and from the TACL would correlate with the psychometric testing results.

Insertion Loss Values Of Earplugs, Michael Fairchild

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of measuring the insertion loss (attenuation) provided by cannon earplugs using the Knowles Electronics Manikin for Acoustic Research. Five earplugs were tested in a 90 dB sound field at discrete frequencies matching those published by NIOSH. Each plug was exposed to 10 trials. Results indicate an approximation between values obtained in the study and NIOSH published values. Some consistent differences tend to indicate that NIOSH values may overrate low frequency attenuation.

Comparisons Of Videotape Observation To Direct Observation, John W. Hanlan

Dissertations and Theses

This research examined the validity of videotaped analyses of clinical sessions in comparison to direct (live) observations. The subjects were eleven student clinicians and their respective clients, enrolled Fall Term, 1979, in Portland State University's Speech and Hearing Sciences Articulation and Language and Urban Language Clinics. The Boone-Prescott Interactional Analysis System, a numerically coded system, was used to record clinician/client interactions. Data were obtained for a randomly selected five-minute period from each of thirty clinical sessions.

Age And The Comprehension Of Spatial Adjectives, Barbara Ann Cassidy

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of chronological age on the comprehension of spatial adjectives in children. Specifically, the investigation set out to determine the age levels at which children comprehend the polar forms of various spatial adjectives and to determine the difference in age levels of comprehension of unmarked versus marked adjective forms. Seventy children between the ages of two years, +/-2 months and eight years, + 2 months, selected on the basis of chronological age, normal receptive vocabulary recognition and normal hearing, participated as subjects.

Normative Data On The Auditory Memory Test Battery, Mary Clare Mountain

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the means and standard deviations for the Auditory Memory Test Battery (Burford, 1976) using a sample of normal second, third, and fourth grade children. The study also compared span and sequence scores, low and high SES scores, and an individual's test scores with teacher judgment of intelligence group. A brief examination of the AMTB as used with LD children was also performed but not included in the statistical analysis.

A Survey Of Carryover Practices Of Public School Clinicians In Oregon, Joan Marie Cranmer Polson

Dissertations and Theses

Clinicians report that carryover management is one of the most difficult and time consuming problems they face (Johnson, 1972) yet the literature offers little data to assist clinicians in determining what methodologies should be used and which are effective in facilitating carryover. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the type of methodologies utilized by public school clinicians in Oregon to facilitate carryover with clients originally diagnosed as having articulation disorders. A secondary question dealt with the perceived effectiveness of these methodologies.

The Status In 1980 Of The Toulmin Model Of Argument In The Area Of Speech Communication, Jeffrey Robert Sweeney

Dissertations and Theses

In 1958 Stephen E. Toulmin wrote of inadequacies of formal logic and proposed a new field-dependent approach to the analysis of arguments. Despite a generally negative response to his proposal from formal logicians, Toulmin's model for the laying out of arguments for analysis was subsequently appropriated by several speech communication textbook writers. In some textbooks, the Toulmin model has become successor to the syllogism as the paradigm of logical argument. Yet, perhaps due to their seemingly uncritical acceptance of Toulmin's approach there appears to be serious disagreement and confusion among speech communication professionals about the nature and applications of the …

Central Auditory Processing In Children With A History Of Chronic Middle Ear Problems, Beverly S. Schnabel

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the central auditory processing of children who had sustained chronic middle ear problems during their early language-learning years. A 60% compressed recording of the NU-6 speech discrimination word lists was administered to twenty eight and nine year old normal hearing public school children, reported by their parents to have had repeated middle ear problems during their early years, and to twenty control subjects matched for age from the same public school classes. Differences in compressed and uncompressed word discrimination scores between the experimental and control groups were not found to be statistically …

An Electromyographic Comparison Of Muscle Action Potentials Of Adult Stutterers During Signalled Expectancy And Non-Expectancy To Stutter, Catherine Ann Miller

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship (if any) exists between signalled expectancy to stutter and a significant increase in muscle action potential in adults as measured by electromyography (EMG).

A Comparison Of Dramatic Storytelling And Puppet Storytelling As A Means Of Teaching Selected Nutritional Concepts, Edith M. Martin

Dissertations and Theses

The present study investigated the basic question: Will preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students have a greater increase in knowledge of selected nutritional concepts as a result of viewing a puppet story than a similar composite will have when the same material is presented via dramatic storytelling?

The Effects Of Three Stress Modes On Error Productions Of Children With Developmental Apraxia Of Speech, Alan R. Horowitz

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of three modes of stress on error productions of children with developmental apraxia of speech during a sentence repetition task. The study was designed to answer the question: Will there be a significant difference in the number of errors for each mode when: a) training to distinguish among the stress modes is not provided? b) training to distinguish among the stress modes is provided?

The Clinical Application And Practical Limitations Of Bone Conducted Speech, Terry Scott Cochrane

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of increased intensity on the bone conducted speech discrimination ability of normal listeners utilizing standard audiological equipment. The NU-6 word lists were utilized to test the bone conducted speech discrimination skills of ten normal hearing subjects, 21 to 30 years of age, on standard clinical equipment. Both the hearing levels (dB HL) and the sensation levels (dB SL) of the test administration were considered. In general, it was recommended that 100 dB Hl is the most appropriate dial setting for the administration of bone conducted speech discrimination tests even though …

A Comparison Of Maternal Remarks To Normal And Language Delayed Children, Vanessa Jow Bunker

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation compared maternal remarks to language delayed offspring and maternal remarks to normal language developing offspring in an attempt to determine if and where differences occurred. The following questions were asked:

1) Do mothers of language delayed children present their children with a significantly different percentage of verbal constraints (commands and question) than do mothers of normal language developing children in a play situation?

2) Do mothers of language delayed children present their children with an equal number of utterances as mothers of normal language developing children in a play situation?

3) Is the maternal mean length of response …

The Effects Of Morning And Afternoon Scheduling On The Clinical Performance Of Severe Aphasic Adults, Judith Ann Fisher

Dissertations and Theses

Concern regarding variables which influence the performance of aphasic adults has been demonstrated in the literature. Marshall et al. (1978) found that one such variable, scheduling of intervention, influenced significantly the test performance of their subjects. They determined that the aphasic subjects performed better in the morning than in the afternoon. The purpose of the present study was to determine if performance of severe aphasic adults on easy and difficult, single-word picture-identification tasks, presented in a clinically reinforcing manner, is differentially affected by morning and afternoon scheduling.

The questions posed in this investigation were: 1) Does morning versus afternoon scheduling …

An Investigation Of The Consistency Of Stimulus Overselection Of Autistic Children, Patricia O'Meara Walker

Dissertations and Theses

A review of the literature indicated that not all of the research in the area of overselectivity of autistic children has been in agreement. It does seem evident that some autistic children overselect. This could be the result of an attentional factor or a modality preference. This has important implications for the education of autistic children. In the light of the inconsistency of autistic children's reactions to sensory stimuli this investigator believed there was a need to determine if overselection is consistent before referring to the overselected modality as a preferred modality or comparing overselected modalities with the child's mode …

An Investigation Of Client Fluency Maintenance Between 1972-1977 At Portland State University, Pricilla Lynn Ginter

Dissertations and Theses

The use of so many different therapeutic approaches to stuttering raises frequent questions about methodology and treatment. Confidence in a methodology and treatment approach depends upon follow-up research conducted with systemic analysis of the individuals prior to treatment and following treatment.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a follow-up evaluation on R.L. Casteel's Four Stage Stuttering Program at Portland State University and to examine the degree of maintained fluency in relation to entering baseline, time in program, and exit stage.

Progressive Relaxation Training : Effects On The Communicative Ability Of Aphasic Adults, Mary T. Watts Withers

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of progressive relaxation training on the verbal ability of adult aphasics. Sixteen adult aphasics (15 males and 1 female) were administered a battery of four, 16 item verbal tests (VTB) following a period of relaxation training and a control period. The tasks of the VTB paralleled the four verbal subtests of the PICA (Porch, 1967). Subjects were required to give the function of 15 common objects, to name each object, to produce the name of each object after hearing a carrier phrase and to repeat the name of each object. …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Visual Short Term Memory And Speechreading In Hearing Impaired Geriatrics, Catherine Hollevoet

Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between visual short term memory (as measured by the Memory for Designs Test) and speechreading ability (as measured by the Barley Speechreading Test) was investigated in a sample of twenty-seven hearing impaired geriatrics. Correlation analysis verified a statistically significant relationship between Memory for Designs Test scores and Barley Speechreading Test scores. Partial correlation revealed the relationship between speechreading scores and short term memory scores was rot influenced significantly by variance in chronological age or speech discrimination ability. Memory for Designs Test scores were shown to be accurate predictors of scores achieved on the Barley Speechreading Test.

Results of …

Variability In Test-Retest Of Maximum Duration Of Sustained /A/ In Children, Elena Diane Norwood

Dissertations and Theses

Maximum phonation time has been widely utilized as a simple clinical evaluation of the vocal function. Its importance has been emphasized by Van Riper (1954), Westlake and Rutherford (1961), Boone (1971), and other authors. A review of the literature revealed three trials of sustained phonation have been utilized by most researchers to determine maximum duration of phonation. Additionally, the review revealed a lack of test-retest reliability in maximum phonation time in children.

The present study was designed to determine the variability in test-retest of maximum duration of· sustained /a/ among prepubescent male and female children. Eighty subjects, twenty at each …

A Comparison Of The Articulatory Proficiency Between Stutterers And Nonstutterers While In A State Of Oral Sensory Deprivation, Clifford Saul Goldman

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to determine if stutterers monitor speech production differently than nonstutterers while in a state of oral sensory deprivation. The specific questions asked were:

1. Does an imposed oral somesthetic feedback deficit hinder articulation proficiency more in a nonstuttering sample than in a stuttering sample?
2. If the articulation proficiency is deficient in both samples, does the nature of the errors differ between the two samples?

A Comparative Study Of Language Deficits Of Reservation And Urban Indian Children, Lezlie Kaye Pearce

Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to determine if there are any differences in an analysis of language samples between urban Indian, reservation Indian, and urban White first-grade children. The Mean Length of Response (MLR), Developmental Sentence Score (DSS), and individual DSS items were used to analyze language used by the three groups of children. The study involved thirty-nine children, thirteen children in each group, between the ages of six years, six months, and seven years, four months. All subjects were screened to determine grade, residency, Indian blood, speech, language, hearing, and physical status. Testing for hearing vocabulary was performed at the beginning …

An Analysis Of Staggered Spondaic Word Test Performances Of Dyslexic Children And Their Parents, Nancy Jane Maxwell

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of a familial lineage for dyslexia by analyzing certain auditory processing characteristics of dyslexic children and their parents. The Staggered Spondaic Word test was administered to twenty-one dyslexic children, eight to thirteen years of age, their natural parents and normal reading siblings.

The experimental test data were tabulated and analyzed according to listening condition for each of the four groups: dyslexic children, normal reading siblings, affected parents and non-affected parents. A statistical analysis of the experimental data revealed significantly poorer Staggered Spondaic Word test performances for dyslexic children and their …

A Comparative Study Of The Short-Term Auditory Memory Span And Sequence Of Language/Learning Disabled Children And Normal Children, Kathleen M. Mccausland

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation compared the auditory memory span and sequence of language/learning disabled children with that of normal children to determine if there was a difference between the two groups on short-term auditory memory, ordering of stimulus type difficulty and performance on subtests using various stimulus types. Fifteen LD subjects were matched with fifteen normal subjects for mental age as measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The Auditory Memory Test Battery (AMTB) was administered to each subject. The AMTB consists of five tape recorded subtests of recall for sentences, digits, related words, unrelated words, and nonsense words. Each subject responded …

A Comparative Study Of Perceptual Ratings And Fundamental Frequency In Female And Male Esophageal Voices, Anne Terese Heinrich

Dissertations and Theses

This study proposed to determine if male and female esophageal voices were rated in the same manner by naïve listeners. Answers to the following questions were sought:

1. Is there a difference in the social acceptability ratings given to female esophageal voices compared to male esophageal voices, when the speakers are matched for speaking ability?
2. Does a relationship exist between the fundamental frequencies of female esophageal voices and ratings of social acceptability given by naïve listeners?
3. Does a relationship exist between the fundamental frequencies of male esophageal voices and ratings of social acceptability given by naïve listeners?
4. Do male and female …