Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Assessing Candidacy For Intensive Language Therapy: A Preliminary Study, Jessica N. Bellamy

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

The goal of the present study was to examine changes in the speech and language performance of patients with chronic, non-fluent aphasia over the course of a three-hour group speech and language treatment session, a time allotment comparable to intensive therapy practices. Nine participants, (three groups of three), with chronic, non-fluent aphasia were seen for a single group therapy session three hours in length. Therapeutic activities were designed to be as similar as possible for each group of participants. Each participant was individually assessed before (time 1), during (time 2), and after (time 3) the group treatment session. Assessments included …

Social-Emotional Development In Children With Hearing Loss, Lori Gayle Harris

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Many positive outcomes have been documented for children with hearing loss utilizing current treatment approaches such as early identification and intervention, including appropriately fit sensory devices and communication modes that focus on listening and spoken language. However, challenges related to social-emotional development have been widely observed. The development of communication skills in children with hearing loss is impacted by many factors, including the degree of hearing loss, the child's age at onset and identification, the presence of other disabilities, and when the child receives intervention. While there are a variety of therapeutic options available for children with hearing loss to …

The Relationship Of Somatosensory Perception And Fine-Force Control In The Adult Human Orofacial System, Nicole M. Etter

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

The orofacial area stands apart from other body systems in that it possesses a unique performance anatomy whereby oral musculature inserts directly into the underlying cutaneous skin, allowing for the generation of complex three-dimensional deformations of the orofacial system. This anatomical substrate provides for the tight temporal synchrony between self-generated cutaneous somatosensation and oromotor control during functional behaviors in this region and provides the necessary feedback needed to learn and maintain skilled orofacial behaviors.

The Directions into Velocity of Articulators (DIVA) model highlights the importance of the bidirectional relationship between sensation and production in the orofacial region in children learning …

The Role Of Laryngeal Function In Breathing For Singing, Ellen V. Graham

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Poor breath management is problematic for singing. Voice students and singing teachers typically attribute breath management issues to abdominal-diaphragmatic breathing technique. The present study seeks to determine whether glottal insufficiency may also contribute to singer’s breath management problems. Studies have revealed a relationship between incomplete vocal fold closure and inefficiency in the speaking voice. However, the effect of incomplete vocal fold closure on vocal efficiency in singers has yet to be determined. Since the larynx cannot be observed without the assistance of clinical instrumentation, not readily available in the voice studio, issues at the glottal level may be underappreciated as …

Self-Ratings Of Communication Style And Discourse Performance Of Healthy Aging Adults, Hayley E. Besten

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

This study investigated the accuracy of healthy aging adults‟ self-rating of communication style, as measured by quantifiable measures of discourse performance. Ninety cognitively healthy adults participated and comprised three age cohorts (20s, 40s, 60s). Participants completed discourse tasks that included recounting a vacation, telling a story, and describing a picture. Participants also self-rated their communication style, placing them in a talkative or reserved cohort. Communication style was measured by discourse performance variables of interest: length of output (TNW) and informativeness (%IU). When presented with an unconstrained task (recounting a vacation), talkative and reserved groups, regardless of age, produced a similar …

Experiences Of Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students: An Exploratory Phenomenological Study, Anysia J. Ensslen

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Within the past decade little research has been conducted in the United States to examine the preparedness of beginning speech-language pathologists; the seminal article used for this research study comes from the United Kingdom (Horton, Byng, Bunning, & Pring, 2004). Literature from the past few decades indicates that there may be deficiencies in the way that beginning speech-language pathologists are being trained clinically.

The review of the literature suggests that the field may lack a clear and broadly supported learning theory or framework for the clinical supervision and training of speech-language pathology graduate students. The literature further supports the importance …

Age, Attention, And Ots In A Constrained Vs Unconstrained Task, Courtney Leann Jensen

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

The discourse of older healthy adults is commonly described as lengthy and off-topic and thought to be associated with a general cognitive decline that occurs in healthy aging. This study investigated the overall decline in attention associated with healthy aging and its relationship to instances of off-topic speech (OTS) in a constrained and unconstrained language production task. Ninety cognitively healthy adults participated and comprised three age cohorts (40 – 75+). Participants completed cognitive measures of attention and two discourse tasks that included recounting personal events and describing a procedure. Older adults exhibited poorer scores on measures of selective and shifting …

Rural Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceptions And Knowledge Of Emergent Literacy Instructional Practices: A Mixed Methods Study, Kellie C. Ellis

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

The acquisition of emergent literacy skills has become a prominent focus of early childhood education programs in recent years as research has demonstrated the significance of emergent literacy ability in the process of learning to read. The effectiveness of use of varied instructional techniques targeting the emergent literacy domains of phonological awareness, written language awareness, emergent writing, and oral language is well described in the literature. Consequently, educational service providers like speech-language pathologists are being called upon to assume roles in emergent literacy service provision. However, research has not fully explored the perceptions and knowledge speech-language pathologists possess of emergent …

A Comparison Of Group Versus Individual Therapy On The Output Of Appropriate Utterances In A Six-Year-Old Girl With Autism: A Case Study, Mckinzie Craig Sheridan

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Children with autism spectrum disorders typically experience language deficits in multiple areas, including form, content, and use. These children often receive speech therapy with individual sessions (one child and clinician), group sessions (several children), or a combination of both. Although research has deemed individual therapy successful, there is still debate regarding the success of group therapy, and there is virtually no literature examining a comparison between individual and group therapy. The current case-study investigated the relative effectiveness of individual versus group therapy for one six-year-old female with moderate autism spectrum disorder. The child underwent ten alternating therapy sessions of similar …

Effects Of Response Elaboration Training On Sentence Production Of Persons With Chronic Agrammatic Aphasia, Ryan S. Husak

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Purpose: Response Elaboration Training (RET) is a treatment program for increasing the amount of information contained in the speech of individuals with aphasia. This study employed a sentence production task (SPT) to examine whether RET will (1) generalize to a task not worked on in treatment and (2) affect syntactic performance.

Methods and Procedures: Three adults with chronic non-fluent Broca’s aphasia received RET in this prospective, repeated case study. The dependent variable was a SPT requiring the participant to put a verb in a sentence. Changes in the syntactic performance of the participant’s sentence productions were classified across …

Analysis Of Student & Teacher Outcomes From Pre-Existing Data Obtained Through The Low Incidence Initiative: Teaching Academic Age-Appropriate Learning Via Communication Project, April M. Holman

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Students with significant cognitive disabilities frequently exhibit reduced communicative and academic competence. The Low Incidence Initiative (LII) project was a professional development model designed to train school-based teams to facilitate increased communicative and academic competence with such students via distance-technology coaching. This study analyzed pre-existing data from year one of the LII. Data were analyzed to determine effectiveness of the project on communication status of students and on training school personnel to accurately identify student levels of communication, and for overall satisfaction with the project. Results indicated that all student participants demonstrated improvement in expressive communication output. 100% of students …

Central Neural And Behavioral Correlates Of Voice Secondary To Induced Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis, Ashwini Joshi

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding the involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) in voice production is essential to incorporating principles of neuroplasticity into therapeutic practice for voice disorders. Early steps to attaining this goal require the identification of specific neural biomarkers of the changes occurring in the CNS from a voice disorder and its subsequent treatment. In the absence of an adequate animal vocalization model, the larynx has not been acutely and reversibly perturbed to concurrently examine the effect on both peripheral and central processing of the altered input/output.

Using a unique, reversible perturbation approach, it was the purpose of this study to …

Everyday Speech Production Assessment Measure (E-Spam): Reliability And Validity, Tracy N. Watts

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Purpose: The Everyday Speech Production Assessment Measure (E-SPAM) is a novel test for assessing changes in clients‟ speech production skills after intervention. This study provides information on reliability and validity for the test and overviews its clinical application.

Method & Procedures: E-SPAM, oral reading, and sequential motion rate tasks were administered to 15 participants with motor speech disorders (MSDs). E-SPAM responses were scored using a 5-point system by four graduate students to assess inter-scorer and temporal reliability and to determine validity for E-SPAM.

Results: Findings of this study indicate that the E-SPAM can be scored with sufficient …

Auditory Training At Home For Adult Hearing Aid Users, Anne D. Olson

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Research has shown that re-learning to understand speech in noise can be a difficult task for adults with hearing aids (HA). If HA users want to improve their speech understanding ability, specific training may be needed. Auditory training is one type of intervention that may enhance listening abilities for adult HA users.

The purpose of this study was to examine the behavioral effects of an auditory training program called Listening and Communication Enhancement (LACE™) in the Digital Video Display (DVD) format in new and experienced HA users. No research to date has been conducted on the efficacy of this training …

A Comparison Of Syntax Training For Students With Developmental Disabilities Utilizing Clinician-Directed Versus Self-Determined Session Paradigms, Jane O'Regan Kleinert

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Self-determination is the ability to control one’s life and to actively participate in the decisions which affect the direction of one’s life. This ability is considered a critical life skill for individuals with developmental disabilities. The ability to make choices, plan, and self-evaluate are among the primary skills included in the development of self-determination. Currently, there is very limited emphasis on the importance of self-determination in the literature of communication disorders. This study was designed to determine if a teaching paradigm which incorporates key elements of self-determination is as or more effective and efficient in teaching syntax than a traditional, …