Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Adapted Stories: Creating Accessible Stories For Children With Complex Language Problems, Janet L. Dodd

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Many children with autism spectrum and other language impairing disorders present with complicated language problems (CLP; Franke & Durbin, 2011). These children exhibit delays across multiple domains of language and often benefit from narrative- and story-based interventions. However, many children’s stories—the vehicle often employed for these types of interventions—are often too complex for them. The purpose of this article is to introduce a strategy for making stories accessible, linguistically and cognitively, for children with CLP.

Using Visual Phonics To Supplement Articulation Intervention, Mara A. Hampton

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an augmentation of traditional articulation intervention on the acquisition of speech sounds. The study examined the effect of Van Riper's traditional articulation intervention (Van Riper & Erickson, 1996) integrated with See the Sound/Visual Phonics (visual phonics) hand cues, in contrast to Van Riper's traditional articulation intervention alone. One child identified with a phonological disorder participated in a single subject multiple baseline across behaviors study. The subject was a bright, hard working two year-ten month old child who enjoyed all therapy sessions. During the first baseline/treatment phase, the child received …

Executive Functions In Preschool Children With Typical And Disordered Language, Kathleen Trainor

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in executive functions of typically developing, at-risk, and language impaired preschoolers. It also evaluated the relationship between preschool children's language skills and daily functional use of executive function skills as rated by parents.

Subjects included 45 children who attended central Illinois preschool programs. Executive functions were measured with the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions -Preschool edition (BRIEF-P), oral language skills were measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals -Preschool Edition (CELF-P), and oral narrative skills were measured using the Renfrew Bus Story. …

Inferencing Abilities Of Children With Specific Language Impairment, Kelsey J. Depew

Masters Theses

Inferencing is the ability to make judgments based upon limited information. It is necessary for basic problem solving, negation social interaction, and comprehension of oral and written language. Despite the importance of inferencing in daily life, there are currently no commercially available tests dedicated entirely to the assessment of inferencing. Previous research has demonstrated a developmental progression of inferencing abilities in neurotypical children. However, no clinical norms exist. Additionally, little research has been conducted regarding the inferencing abilities of children with language impairments. The purpose of this project was to compare inferencing abilities of children with language impairment to typically …

Self-Modeling As An Intervention For Stuttering In Elementary Students, Jason Northrup

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Stuttering is a disorder involving disruptions and disfluencies in speech that impacts overall communication and affects approximately 1% of the population. In addition to speech disfluency, stuttering is often related to physical tension, embarrassment, fear, anxiety, and other negative social-emotional problems, especially for children and adolescents. Fortunately, research indicates that stuttering can be alleviated before becoming more advanced and complex as individuals enter adolescence and adulthood. Self-modeling, an intervention that involves individuals watching themselves engage in exemplary behavior, appears to be particularly effective for individuals who stutter and can be implemented in a school setting. The purpose of this study …

Electropalatographic Measures Of Stop Consonants In Speakers With And Without Apraxia Of Speech On Repeated Sampling Occasions, Christopher Dromey, Shannon C. Mauszycki, Julie L. Wambaugh

Faculty Publications

Apraxia of speech (AOS) is an acquired motor speech disorder characterized by difficulty producing speech sounds caused by deficits in motor planning. Various tools exist to examine the physiologic aspects of articulation. Unfortunately, very few physiologic studies of AOS have been conducted. Electropalatography (EPG) is one method for examining the tongue's role in articulation by measuring tongue-to-palate contact. However, there is limited research examining the articulatory changes that are attributable to repeated exposure with wearing the pseudopalate as well as desensitization to the pseudopalate. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the impact of repeated measurement using EPG with …

Frequency Response Of Synthetic Vocal Fold Models With Linear And Nonlinear Material Properties, Stephanie M. Shaw, Scott L. Thomson, Christopher Dromey, Simeon Smith

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to create synthetic vocal fold models with nonlinear stress-strain properties and to investigate the effect of linear versus nonlinear material properties on fundamental frequency during anterior-posterior stretching.
Method: Three materially linear and three materially nonlinear models were created and stretched up to 10 mm in 1 mm increments. Phonation onset pressure (P_on), fundamental frequency (F₀) at P_on, and F₀ at 0.20 kPa above P_on were recorded for each length. Measurements were repeated as the models were relaxed in 1 mm increments back to their resting …

Oral Narrative Skills And Executive Functions In Elementary School Children, Sarah Marie Lambeth

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral narrative abilities and executive function skills in typically developing first and third grade children. Several studies have begun to identify differences in executive function profiles of different groups of children, while other studies have determined a relationship between individual language skills and isolated executive function abilities. Few studies have examined the relationship between applied language tasks, such as narrative ability, and functional displays of executive functions. Subjects included 27 first and third grade students attending a central Illinois public school. The current study investigated the relationship between oral …

Social Differences Of Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism And Asperger's Syndrome, Miranda J. Clark

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study evaluated the social skills of adolescents with high-functioning autism (HFA), Asperger's syndrome (AS), and neurotypical development (NT). Currently, it is unknown whether there are significant differences in the social skills of individuals in these three groups, especially in the adolescent population. This study employed a group comparative design with 5-10 subjects in each respective group. The Social Language Development Test-Adolescent (SLDT-A) yielded standard scores for quantitative analysis that were analyzed using appropriate inferential statistics.

This study found that adolescents with AS performed somewhat better on a standardized measure of social skills than those with HFA. As predicted, neither …

Treatment Of Written Discourse After Traumatic Brain Injury, Cassie L. Fuller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Traumatic brain injury often leads to cognitive communication disorders, commonly disorders of written discourse. Research in the field of written discourse after traumatic brain injury does not provide a strong protocol for improvement of functional written skills. The aim of this study was to create an effective treatment plan to address written discourse impairments in two college students from Eastern Illinois University with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Individualized treatment plans were developed for participants based on the need for improvement in productivity, efficiency, and coherence (both global and local) in written discourse. Treatment was developed based on individual needs and …

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 …

Development Of The Tagalog Version Of The Western Aphasia Battery-Revised, Carmina Ozaeta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been limited research done in the Philippines in the area of aphasia, a frequent concomitant symptom of strokes and presents as impairment in any area of the input and output of language. Diagnosis is generally conducted by clinicians based on sites of lesion of speakers with aphasia and clinical observations of language symptoms and unpublished translation of the WAB. The lack of relevant research and formal assessment tools in the Philippines motivated this current study. The development of this type of assessment battery for the Tagalog (pronounced /təˈɡɑːlɒɡ/ in English) speaking population will provide a means for differential …

Effects Of A Reading Strategy With Digital Social Studies Texts For Eighth Grade Students, Melissa Doan Malani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent data indicate that only 34% of American eighth grade students are able to demonstrate grade-level proficiency with academic reading tasks (NCES, 2011). The staggering nature of statistics such as this is even more profound when considering that high level literacy skills combined with mastery of digital texts have become practical requirements for success in secondary education, post-secondary education, and virtually all vocational contexts. Despite this incongruent scenario, little research has been conducted to evaluate instructional methods and reading comprehension strategies with digital texts. To address this critical issue, the present study examined the effects of a metacognitive reading comprehension …

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 …

Assessment Of Single-Word Production For Children Under Three Years Of Age: Comparison Of Children With And Without Cleft Palate, Nancy J. Scherer, A. Lynn Williams, Carol Stoel-Gammon, Ann Kaiser

ETSU Faculty Works

Background. This study reports comparative phonological assessment results for children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) to typically developing peers using an evaluation tool for early phonological skills. Methods. Children without clefts (NC = noncleft) and 24 children with CLP, ages of 18–36 months, were evaluated using the Profile of Early Expressive Phonological Skills (PEEPSs) [1]. Children interacted with toy manipulatives to elicit a representative sample of target English consonants and syllable structures that are typically acquired by children between 18 and 27 months of age. Results. Results revealed significant differences between the two groups with regard to measures of …

Sensitivity To Probabilistic Orthographic Cues To Lexical Stress In Adolescent Speakers With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Typical Peers, Joanne Arciuli, Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Lexical stress refers to the opposition of strong and weak syllables within polysyllabic words and is a core feature of the English prosodic system. There are probabilistic cues to lexical stress present in English orthography. For example, most disyllabic English words ending with the letters “-ure” have first-syllable stress (e.g., “pasture”, but note words such as “endure”), whereas most ending with “-ose” have second-syllable stress (e.g., “propose”, but note examples such as “glucose”). Adult native speakers of English are sensitive to these probabilities during silent reading. During testing, they tend to assign first-syllable stress when reading a nonword such as …

The Relationship Between Children's Nonmainstream English Dialect Density And Their Emergfent Reading Achievement, Katelyn Danielle Rodrigue

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between children’s use of nonmainstream dialect and their emerging reading ability. The data were from 79 kindergarteners; 39 were AA and 40 were non-AA; 38 were male and 41 were female. All children presented with varying language abilities and dialect densities, as measured by the DELV-ST. Dialect densities ranged from Mainstream American English (MAE), some variation of MAE, and strong variations of MAE. The children’s reading abilities were measured by the DIBELS, which was administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Preliminary results showed that children’s …

Enhancing The Application And Evaluation Of A Discrete Trial Intervention Package For Eliciting First Words In Preverbal Preschoolers With Asd, Ioanna Tsiouri, Elizabeth Schoen Simmons, Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention package including a discrete trial program (Rapid Motor Imitation Antecedent Training (Tsiouri and Greer, J Behav Educat 12:185–206, 2003) combined with parent education for eliciting first words in children with ASD who had little or no spoken language. Evaluation of the approach includes specific intervention targets and functional spoken language outcomes (Tager-Flusberg et al., J Speech Lang Hear Res 52:643–652, 2009). Results suggest that RMIA, with parent training, catalyzes development of verbal imitation and production for some children. Three of five participants acquired word production within the DTT framework and achieved milestones …

Acoustic Differences In The Imitation Of Prosodic Patterns In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Joshua J. Diehl, Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

In research, it has been difficult to characterize the prosodic production differences that have been observed clinically in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Moreover, the nature of these differences has been particularly hard to identify. This study examined one possible contributor to these perceived differences: motor planning. We examined the ability of children and adolescents with ASD to imitate prosodic patterns in comparison to a group with learning disabilities (LD) and a typically developing (TD) comparison group. Overall, we found that both the ASD and LD groups were significantly worse at perceiving and imitating prosodic patterns than the TD comparison group. …

Bridging The Research Gap: Making Hri Useful To Individuals With Autism, Elizabeth Kim, Rhea Paul, Frederick Shic, Brian Scassellati

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

While there is a rich history of studies involving robots and individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), few of these studies have made substantial impact in the clinical research community. In this paper we first examine how differences in approach, study design, evaluation, and publication practices have hindered uptake of these research results. Based on ten years of collaboration, we suggest a set of design principles that satisfy the needs (both academic and cultural) of both the robotics and clinical autism research communities. Using these principles, we present a study that demonstrates a quantitatively measured improvement in human-human social interaction …

Overt Cleft Palate Phenotype And Tbx1 Genotype Correlations In Velo-Cardio-Facial/Digeorge/22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome Patients, Sean Herman, Tingwei Guo, Donna M. Mcdonald Mcginn, Anna Blonska, Alan L. Shanske, Anne S. Bassett, Eva Chow, Mark Bowser, Molly Sheridan, Frits Beemer, Koen Devriendt, Ann Swillen, Jeroen Breckpot, Maria Christina Digilio, Bruno Marino, Bruno Dallapiccola, Courtney Carpenter, Xin Zheng, Jacob Johnson, Jonathan Chung, Anne Marie Higgins, Nicole Philip, Tony J. Simon, Karlene Coleman, Damian Heine Suñer, Jordi Rosell, Wendy R. Kates, Marcella Devoto, Elaine Zackai, Tao Wang, Robert J. Shprintzen, Beverly Emanuel, Bernice Morrow, International Chromosome 22q11.2 Consortium

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Velo-cardio-facial syndrome/DiGeorge syndrome, also known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is the most common microdeletion syndrome, with an estimated incidence of 1/2,000 – 1/4,000 live births. Approximately 9–11% of patients with this disorder have an overt cleft palate (CP), but the genetic factors responsible for CP in the 22q11DS subset are unknown. The TBX1 gene, a member of the T-box transcription factor gene family, lies within the 22q11.2 region that is hemizygous in patients with 22q11DS. Inactivation of one allele of Tbx1 in the mouse does not result in CP, but inactivation of both alleles does. Based on these data, …

Semantic Feature Distinctiveness And Frequency, Katherine Marie Lamb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lexical access is the process in which basic components of meaning in language, the lexical entries (words) are activated. This activation is based on the organization and representational structure of the lexical entries. Semantic features of words, which are the prominent semantic characteristics of a word concept, provide important information because they mediate semantic access to words. An experiment was conducted to examine the importance of semantic feature distinctiveness and feature frequency in accessing the lexical representations of young and older adults in an off-line task using features of animals. The McRae, Cree, Seidenberg, and McNorgan (2005) feature norm corpus …

Newborns With Feeding Issues: Parental Perceptions Of The Hospital Discharge, Transition Home And The Role Of Speech Pathology, Katie Louise Ilich

Theses : Honours

This study explored the perceptions of discharge from hospital and the transition home for mothers of newborns with feeding issues. To gain an understanding of their experiences, mothers were interviewed twice, once at discharge and once up to a month later. Participants had a strong desire for their babies to be discharged from hospital, but felt anxious and underprepared. Once home, more questions typically arose. Mothers found this a highly stressful and emotional experience, especially for those without consistent speech pathology involvement. Mothers valued being involved in the decision-making process, and found this an effective coping mechanism. The value of …

Current Practices Of Speech-Language Pathologists In Treating Presbyphonia, Erin Taylor Carey

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the research was to determine the current practices of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) who treat presbyphonia, deterioration of the voice resulting from age-related changes in the larynx, observed mostly in elderly males. Recent research indicates voice therapy may hold promise for treatment of presbyphonia. However, concern exists for finding the best method of voice therapy for this condition. Several physiologic methods have been shown efficacious in the treatment of voice disorders, yet only one physiologic treatment has been examined in the treatment of presbyphonia. Information about SLPs’ treatment choices will expand the knowledge base of the field. The …

Signal-To-Noise Ratio Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Devices Across Educational Settings, Hope Elizabeth Lorenz

Masters Theses

The use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices is important for individuals whose natural speech is inadequate for communication. Research conducted to make improvements to AAC devices has included exploring the effectiveness of color-coding symbols, linguistically based arrangement of symbols, and intelligibility of the devices. However, little attention has been given to the volume adequacy of AAC devices in a variety of educational settings. It is hypothesized that volume levels of AAC devices are often inappropriate for adequate communication when compared to noise levels in the classroom. The present study measured the volume output level of AAC devices compared …

The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Delivered Via Distance Therapy, Kate Harrington

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) on improving the vocal loudness in patients with Parkinson's disease when delivered via distance therapy. This study utilized a non-concurrent multiple baseline across subjects research design. Subjects were recruited through local Parkinson's Support Groups. A total of five subjects participated in the study and each subject received the standard LSVT techniques which included focus on using correct breath control to project voice, projecting a range of high to low notes, and speaking written sentences and words as loud as possible.

Three subjects received …

Brain Maturation In The Adolescent Athlete And It's Implication On Concussion Management, Jacqueline Picone

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As the adolescent brain develops, any event that interrupts the process, such as a concussion, may result in long-term academic and social effects (Dennis & Levin, 2004). To date, there is no specific assessment or protocol published that consider the cognitive and development of the adolescent brain when managing concussion (Patel, et al., 2005). Purpose: to investigate whether there is a statistically significant difference between the composite scores and sub-test scores in the subtests on the ImPACT battery: Word Memory, Design Memory, X's and O's, Symbol Match, Color Match, and Three Letters, of high school male athletes between the ages …

Assessing Cortical Electrophysiologic And Behavioral Activity In Individuals With Aphasia And Participants With No Brain Damage Responding To Spoken Sentence Length Messages, Patricia Lara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study, six individuals with aphasia and twelve participants with no brain damage responded to spoken sentence length messages using a modified version of the Revised Token Test (McNeil & Prescott, 1978) while cortical activation was recorded using event related potentials (ERP). ERP is a non-invasive imaging procedure that measures cortical activation reflected in the electrical activity that is produced at the level of the cortex in response to internal or external stimulus.

Participants were presented with a visual display that provided eight different token arrangements per trial that were displayed on the computer screen. Spoken messages that increased …

Phonological Memory Associations Of Language Impairment In Bilingual Children, Marcela Susa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Knowledge-based assessments of language impairments have been found to contain bias for assessing performance in bilingual children from diverse cultural backgrounds. As an alternative, measures related to performance of phonological working memory are becoming more popular for bilingual children. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how bilingual children with language impairment (BILI) would perform on nonword repetition and sentence repetition when compared to typically developing peers (BITD). Also, the current study investigated the extent to which the nonword repetition task and sentence repetition task were associated with each other in bilingual (English-Spanish) children. Results demonstrated that typically …