Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Moca Normative Data On Young Adults Using An Adapted Version And Remote Administration Via Zoom, Elizabeth Johns

Honors Theses

Overview:

Cognitive decline is often associated with the emergence of dementia and other negative developments in health. Due to the potential for harm that cognitive decline can cause, it is essential that clinicians are able to detect and identify when it is occurring. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is useful clinically mainly because of the test’s ability to identify mild cognitive impairment. Following the pandemic in 2020, telehealth has become prominent. Previous studies considering MoCA have mostly used samples of older adults, but it is important to understand the impact of traumatic brain injuries on young adults. The following study …

Functional Connectivity Of The Hippocampus In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Noah Watts

Honors Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological developmental disorder that affects around 1/44 of individuals in the United States. ASD individuals tend to struggle with things such as communication and socialization. This disorder has been found to affect many brain regions; however, autism’s effect on the hippocampus has been heavily understudied. Since the hippocampus is not commonly referred to as the brain region affected by autism, the importance of the hippocampus in ASD may have been unrecognized. While ASD hippocampi have been very narrowly researched (only size and shape), there is compelling evidence that the hippocampus could be another part …

Botulinum Toxin For Abductor Type Spasmodic Dysphonia: A Systematic Review, Keyona Sutton

Honors Theses

A systematic review was conducted to show that BTX (Botulinum Toxin) is the most effective treatment for Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia (ABSD). There were a total of 117 records screened for inclusion in this review. After the initial screening, there were seven successive rounds of screening for eligibility. This process produced a total of three eligible records that met the following conditions: patients presented with spastic abduction, electromyography BTX type A injection into the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle, and measurement of results with acoustic dimensions. After surveying all eligible studies, it was concluded that BTX is an effective treatment for ABSD. Every …

Telepractice-Based Language Intervention Training For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sarah Bryan

Honors Theses

This study closely examined the progression and fidelity of strategy implementation of parents undergoing an ASD language intervention training program. This instructional, interactive program was designed for parents of children with autism, thus catering to the needs of participants involved. This study assessed the use of parent comments and redirects, two kinds of parent strategies, during each parent-child interaction to provide more information about the impact of training sessions. The researchers hypothesized that by the end of training, parent participants would increase their fidelity of strategy implementation, increase their use of comments rather than redirects, and employ more open-ended questions …

An Examination Of The Research Addressing Evidence-Based Communication Approaches For Students With Autism, Sydni Kaye Mcatee

Honors Theses

The meta-analysis examines scholarly articles regarding research on evidence-based communication for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. More specifically, this research involves different forms of Alternative and Augmentative Communication. This form of communication is used without a voice. A variety of interventions for Manual Signing (MS), Speech Generating Devices (SGD), and Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) are reviewed within the research study. The purpose of this research is to define which evidence-based Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) interventions are most effective for children with Autism. More specifically, determining which form of communication can help lead children to more expressive language and …

Verb Tense Production Differences Across Various Discourse Tasks In People With Fluent And Nonfluent Aphasia, Madeline Ann Zurbrugg

Honors Theses

Background: Fluent and nonfluent aphasia are both seen to exhibit varying degrees of morphosyntactic difficulties, with particular difficulties in verb tense production. There is disagreement regarding why tense is particularly impaired, which type of aphasia is more impaired and why, and whether some tense forms are more impaired than others. There is also evidence that language elicitation tasks affect language production measures because they require different linguistic and cognitive processes. This is likely also true for verb tense production. To date, no studies have examined discourse elicitation task effect on verb tense production in both fluent and nonfluent aphasia. The …

The Existence Of Stuttering-Like Disfluencies In American Sign Language, Katherine King

Honors Theses

For over a century, data have documented fluency disorders and stuttering-like disfluencies (SLDs) in multiple expressive modalities outside of speech, including musical expression, writing, and American Sign Language (ASL). The presence of SLDs in multiple expressive modalities presents the argument that SLDs are not limited to speech. This study specifically surveys fluent ASL signers relative to SLDs, analyzes SLD manifestations, and documents specific examples of stuttering behaviors in ASL.

This study analyzes SLD manifestations in ASL by conducting a survey developed from all known research within the SLD paradigm. Based on all previous research, SLD manifestations are categorized and represented …

The Effects Of Calmer On The Quality Of Life In Adults With Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder, Madilyn Morris

Honors Theses

Level 1 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a high-functioning neurodevelopmental disorder (Hodges et al., 2020; Hosseini & Molla, 2023). Several features of level 1 ASD negatively impact quality of life (QOL), and auditory sensitivity (specifically hyperacusis) is one of the most prevalent and disabling features (Danesh et al., 2015, 2021; Kuiper et al., 2019; Williams et al., 2021). Hyperacusis significantly impacts QOL in the level 1 ASD population, as current hyperacusis treatment strategies often result in various forms of social isolation (Adams et al., 2021; Danesh et al., 2015; Neave-DiToro et al., 2021).

However, Flare Audio markets a product (“Calmer”) …

The Relationship Between Coping Behaviors And Misophonia Symptom Severity And Impairment, Ruth Emmon Tyson

Honors Theses

Misophonia is a complex disorder that is characterized by an extreme disliking of sounds. Individuals with misophonia may engage in anxiety-driven coping behaviors that constitute avoidance and safety behaviors. Current literature shows that while coping behavior may offer temporary relief of anxiety and distress, they can lead to persisting anxiety and avoidance of experiences. Given preliminary evidence demonstrating a link between coping behaviors and maintained or worsening symptoms, additional research is warranted to further understand the role of coping behaviors in misophonia. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between coping behaviors and maintenance or worsening of misophonia symptom severity …

Functional And Location Context Effects On Reading Sentences In Healthy Young Adults: Evidence From Eye Tracking Methods, Elizabeth Baird

Honors Theses

Spreading activation theory proves the way our brains are semantically wired to accept outside information and understand it. Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of spreading activation theory in different settings and activities. These effects are important to understand because they can be used in therapy and assessment for communication disorders. This study explores how the context of sentences affects reading time on noun targets in healthy young adults using an eye tracking method. Specifically, we compared functional and location context types and manipulated the context to be incongruent or congruent to the targets. Our research questions were (1) whether …

Resting-State Functional Connectivity Of The Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex In Parkinson's Disease: A Longitudinal Study, Kaler Terry

Honors Theses

Understanding the role of brain network reallocation and adaptation within neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, is key in tracking disease progression and identifying potential biomarkers. In recent years, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has been applied in order to better understand the cognitive decline and overall pathophysiology in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The present study aimed to determine the potential role of functional connectivity changes in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. This is a key brain region associated with cognitive skills and executive functions. Using rs-fMRI, clinical, and demographic data obtained from the Parkinson's …

The Role Of The Pcc And Acc In Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Functional Connectivity Study, Claudia Gonzalez

Honors Theses

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts behavior control and social skills. Currently, ASD diagnoses are largely qualitative; thus, having more quantitative means of identification would aid in earlier diagnosis of ASD. However, more research is needed to pinpoint observable neurobiological markers of ASD. Our study focused on the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) due to past evidence suggesting its involvement in ASD symptomatology. The PCC has been linked to behavioral control and executive functioning. Moreover, previous studies support executive functioning’s responsibility for the repetitive and restricted behaviors (RRB) in ASD.

Method: Our study sought to …

A Survey Of Speech-Language Pathologists' Academic Preparation In Craniofacial Anomalies, Francesca Myerski

Honors Theses

Craniofacial anomalies occur in 1 of 750 newborns a year with the three main types being cleft lip, cleft palate, and cleft lip and/or cleft palate. There are six main factors that affect craniofacial anomalies that are focused on in this research, including genetics, environmental factors, medications, diet, health risks, and surgical procedures/surgeons. The research found that there is a lot of information on craniofacial anomalies and speech-language pathologists need to learn about as much as possible. The lack of knowledge and academic preparations speech-language pathologists have in craniofacial anomalies has decreased their awareness in the birth defect and has …

Indirectly And Directly Involved Students' Perspectives On Multi-Modal Communication Treatment In Persons With Aphasia, Emily Lewis

Honors Theses

Our study investigated the perspectives of students who were either directly or indirectly involved in the Multi-modal communication treatment (MCT) sessions for persons with aphasia. Two undergraduate and two graduate students were recruited from the University of Mississippi who participated in the MCT sessions. We collected their perspectives through semi-structured interviews and used thematic qualitative analysis to analyze our data. We reported themes from the indirectly involved students and the directly involved students and compared how the themes were similar and different between the indirectly and directly involved students. We discussed that both direct and indirect experience for clinical therapy …

Resilience Training & Parental Support For Children Who Stutter - A Systematic Review, Rachel Elizabeth Davis

Honors Theses

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional resilience and family/parental/caregiver support for children who stutter, and to review existing research on resilience training and family support relative to enhancing the quality of life in children who stutter. Thus, A systematic review of appropriate published studies was conducted utilizing the electronic databases PubMed and Google Scholar. Analysis revealed that there is an abundance of research supporting parental support and resilience training; however, there was limited direct clinical application relative to the unification of these concepts. Data indicates that the clinical application of emotional resilience and cognitive …

Intensive, Interprofessional Therapy: A Case Approach, Emma C. Schrotenboer

Honors Theses

This research looks at the impacts of intensive, interprofessional therapy for children with disabilities. There is very little literature currently published on this topic, although what is available generally finds that more intense therapy is more beneficial. The child who was studied was a camper at Adam’s Camp therapy camp, a week-long program that involves six hours of therapy each day with therapists from five different fields. Her progress over the week, as well as her retention of skills several weeks later, were determined by pre- and post-camp surveys sent to the mother and the therapists’ notes from during the …

Resilience Training And Quality Of Life In Stuttering Therapy: A Systematic Review, Ashley Koehler

Honors Theses

Abstract

This study investigated correlations between resilience and quality of life relative to stuttering therapy. A systematic review and meta-analysis of articles published with focuses on stuttering, resilience training, and quality of life was conducted. Electronic databases, PubMed, and Google Scholar, were used to gain results of relevant published articles. Both search engines in this review produced relevant articles. Google Scholar produced more articles that met all 3 inclusion criteria, while PubMed produced more results that met at least 1 or 2 inclusion criteria. From both databases, numerous articles included the need for a multidimensional therapy emphasizing personal resilience. However, …

The Efficacy Of The Student Communication Repair Inventory And Practical Training Program On Adolescent’S Self-Advocacy Skills In Communication Breakdowns, Karlye Tolbird

Honors Theses

Purpose

Hearing loss can affect several aspects of an adolescent’s life, particularly their self-advocacy skills and ability to communicate their needs in the classroom. Literature shows that adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years have a prevalence of hearing loss between 14.9 percent and 19.5 percent (Shargorodsky et al., 2010). Therefore, early identification and intervention of hearing loss are necessary to reduce the adverse effects on the development of cognition, verbal communication skills, and self-advocacy skills (Michael & Zidan, 2018). This research study aimed to determine if the implementation of the SCRIPT program changes the communication repair behavior …

Patients’ Perspective Of Patient-Centered Approach Vs. Biomedical Approach, Lakynn Hillhouse

Honors Theses

Evidence-based practice in audiology may consist of a patient-centered approach or a biomedical approach when offering individuals the results of hearing evaluations. Boisvert et al. (2017) and the Institute for Defense Analysis confirmed that audiologists preferred to select one approach. The question was if an audiology patient is presented with two options of explaining the hearing health issues, which model/approach will be his or her preference?

Participants may have had unconscious biases related to race or gender that could have unknowingly impacted their perception of the videos. The results of this research will facilitate clinical understanding of individual preferences regarding …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Skills And Knowledge In Dysphagia Management In Long-Term Care Facilities, Madelyn Griffin

Honors Theses

An increasing amount of current research indicates the prevalence of oral and pharyngeal dysphagia in all age groups, with a higher number of cases present in the geriatric population. Dysphagia is common in age-related diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Dementia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and skills of speech- language pathologists (SLPs) working in long-term care, in the area of oral and pharyngeal dysphagia. Participating SLPs responded to a survey asking to self-identify their knowledge/skills in oral and pharyngeal dysphagia. The findings from this study revealed the variety of expertise of SLPs …

Effects Of Parent Intervention Via Tele-Practice On Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Rural Mississippi, Erin Bowens

Honors Theses

Background

The present study explored the use of parent intervention via tele-practice for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and how effective that intervention was in increasing the child’s language and communication skills and the parents’ strategy use in the rural state of Mississippi.

Methods

Two dyads of participants were used. Dyad 1 included a mother and her 4-year-old son with high-functioning ASD, and Dyad 2 included a mother and her 4-year-old daughter with severe ASD. Standardized tests were administered to gather data about the children’s diagnoses. The study included four phases across four months, including pre-test, intervention, post-test, and …

Pharmacological Treatment For Bipolar Mania: A Systematic Review And Network Meta-Analysis Of Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trials, Taro Kishi, Toshikazu Ikuta, Yuki Matsuda, Kenji Sakuma, Makoto Okuya, Ikuo Nomura, Masakazu Hatano, Nakao Iwata

Faculty and Student Publications

A systematic review and random-effects model network meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy, acceptability, tolerability, and safety of pharmacological interventions for adults with acute bipolar mania. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase databases for eligible studies published before March 14, 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of oral medication monotherapy lasting ≥10 days in adults with mania were included, and studies that allowed the use of antipsychotics as a rescue medication during a trial were excluded. The primary outcomes were response to treatment (efficacy) and all-cause discontinuation (acceptability). The secondary outcomes were the improvement of mania symptoms and …

Pragmatic Deficits In Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Paige Kessler

Honors Theses

Background: Most studies have found pragmatic language skills to be poorer in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) populations, but there is no conclusive evidence.

Aim: Our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis of pragmatic language abilities in ADHD populations to more definitively demonstrate the extent of pragmatic language deficits in these populations as compared to typically developing (TD) populations.

Methods and procedures: Journal articles were identified using the search terms ((attention deficit) OR (adhd)) AND (pragmatics). Identified studies were screened and reviewed for inclusion criteria, descriptive information, and outcome variables. A meta-analysis was conducted, and individual effect sizes and overall effect size …

The Evolution Of Telepractice Use During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives Of Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists, Ying Hao, Saijun Zhang, Austin Conner, Na Youn Lee

Faculty and Student Publications

The study investigated how pediatric speech-language pathologists (SLPs) applied teleprac-tice to compensate for the loss of in-person services and the dynamics of telepractice use during the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural state. We conducted interviews with 10 SLPs and then a statewide survey in which 51 SLPs participated. The qualitative interviews revealed themes including changes in service environment due to the pandemic (e.g., transition to telepractice, losing clients), challenges in the transition to telepractice (e.g., limited training, difficulty engaging clients), worsening well-being of clinicians and clients, and SLPs’ perspectives and suggestions towards telepractice in the future. Survey results showed service …

The Functional Connectivity Of The Auditory Cortex In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katherine Wilson

Honors Theses

Disturbance of the auditory cortex in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is well known as well as its influence on hearing. Functional connectivity within the brain is also known to be affected by ASD. However, functional connectivity of the auditory cortex in ASD has yet to be studied. In this study, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), functional connectivity of the auditory cortex was examined by comparing 68 individuals with ASD and 75 individuals with ASD. Four brain regions showed smaller functional connectivity to and from the auditory cortex; the occipital cortex, …

Early Intervention Service Delivery Models In Mississippi: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Claire Harper

Honors Theses

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to compare two models of service delivery for early intervention in Mississippi from a health care sector perspective: (1) face-to-face therapy in the home environment and (2) a hybrid model (i.e., telepractice and face-to-face therapy in the home environment), in order to compare costs and determine the most cost-effective service delivery of early intervention.

Methods: Children (n = 10) were recruited and determined to qualify for early intervention services through the Mississippi First Steps Early Intervention program. One early intervention provider, a certified SLP, from the northern health region provided early intervention …

Light And Heavy Verb Usage By People With Non-Fluent Aphasia, Chase Sophia Kozak

Honors Theses

The purpose of the study was to investigate the discourse elicitation task effect and whether it affects the production of verbs with different semantic weight (light verbs with vague semantic representations, e.g., ‘do’, or heavy verbs with specific semantic representations, e.g., ‘deliver’). Thirty people with non-fluent aphasia and twenty people without aphasia were included. The light and heavy verb ratios over the total number of verbs were calculated for two discourse elicitation tasks: sequential picture description and storytelling. The results for the healthy control group showed that they produced a significant higher heavy verb ratio in sequential picture description than …

The Effects Of Disclosure On Perceptions Of Different Overt Stuttering Severity Levels, Katelyn Geringswald

Honors Theses

This study measured perceptions of a 17-year-old adolescent male who stutters, relative to select speech skills and personality characteristics, as a function of self-disclosure at various overt severity levels. 983 participants were assigned one of the four conditions, including (1) a no-disclosure control group, (2) mild stuttering severity self-disclosure, (3) moderate stuttering severity self-disclosure, and (4) severe stuttering severity self-disclosure. Participants assigned to the control condition viewed only a primary video stimulus of a 17-year-old adolescent who stutters. Participants assigned to one of the three experimental conditions (mild, moderate, or severe severity disclosure) watched a brief self-disclosure statement, followed by …

The Interhemispheric Connectivity Of The Auditory Cortices, Taylor Stansberry

Honors Theses

Objectives: The corpus callosum of the brain is an important and complex structure that allows communication between the two cerebral hemispheres. In the absence of knowledge about the relationship between the corpus callosum and the auditory cortices, this study aimed to investigate how the structure changes. Specifically, we explored the age associated changes of interhemispheric connectivity between left and right cortices through the corpus callosum.Methods: Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data from enhanced Nathan Kline Institute- Rockland Sample (NKI-RS), we isolated the auditory corpus callosum, or the section of the corpus callosum that transfers auditory information, in each individual subject …

Functional Connectivity Of The Inferior Frontal Gyrus In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emma Miller

Honors Theses

ABSTRACT

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association defines Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as a “neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction” which is heavily impacts language abilities. There is an abundance of research on the neurological aspects of the disorder, which appear to have major differences of activation and functionality when compared to typically developing peers. Specifically, in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a key language region of the brain, functional connectivity levels tend to be significantly less in ASD groups. This study recognizes these trends and aims to expand the research by locating specific functional connections …