Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Speech Reading Training And Audio-Visual Integration In A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kara L. Saulsbury

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) typically have deficits in communication abilities. Deficits include social, linguistic, and pragmatic difficulties and difficulties in the ability to perceive and integrate audiovisual (AV) stimuli. It is also common for those with ASD to have weaker speech reading skills as compared to typically developing, age-matched peers. Speech reading skills are known to enhance speech perception in naturalistic, noisy environments. In children with ASD, the combination of both poor AV integration and poor speech reading is thought to have significant effects on vocabulary acquisition. Studies have demonstrated that speech reading training can significantly enhance syllable …

Assessing Vocabulary Of Children: Investigating The Evaluation And Instruction Of Basic Concepts, Rebecca Elizabeth Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge of preschool children is a key factor in predicting literacy success in elementary school (Hammer, Farkas, & Maczuga, 2010). However, few deliberate attempts to teach basic concept vocabulary have been studied (Bowers & Schwarz, 2013; Wilson, 2004). The purpose of this research is to determine if large group explicit instruction with interactive activities of specific basic concept vocabulary will increase preschool children's understanding of basic concept terms when measured by a standardized basic concept assessment. This research will also assess the validity of a basic concept-curriculum based measure (BC-CBM) as an efficient tool to monitor a child's understanding …

The Discrimination Of Cv Synthetic Syllables As A Function Of Phonetic Training And Noise Conditions, Ryan Mulligan, Antony Joseph

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

The aim of this preliminary study was to examine the effect of two signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and formal phonetic training on auditory discrimination of just noticeable differences (JND) among consonant vowel (CV) synthetic syllables. Fine-grain auditory discrimination abilities of 16 young-adults with undergraduate studies that included phonetic training and 17 young-adults with no phonetic training were assessed using a same/different discrimination task in a +3 SNR and a +13 SNR listening condition. Subjects listened to pairs of CV contrasts presented in rapid succession and indicated whether the contrastive syllables were the same or different. Results revealed a significant difference …

Examining Factors Used By Students To Select A Major In Communication Sciences And Disorders, Mackenzie Mccartney

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

There is a shortage of practicing speech-language pathologists (SLP) and this is not improving. Within the profession, this shortage is felt mostly in a public school. This study explored factors used by graduate students to decide about their profession and applying the knowledge of these factors to the recruitment process. Specifically, this study looked at the following questions: 1. What are the current factors that influence the selection of communication sciences and disorders as a major? 2. Was there a particular person influencing the decision to major in communication sciences and disorders? 3. What prompted students to enter into their …

Implementing The Speakall! Ipad App And Intervention Protocol With A Child With Autism: A Pilot Study, Olivia Downs

HIM 1990-2015

The ability to communicate is essential for children with developing language systems, and ultimately to being successful academically and eventually vocationally. In a world where communication is vital, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a disadvantage and require additional options to express themselves; augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies have presented promising options for helping these children communicate. One technology option that has proven to be of particular interest to families of children with ASD involves the use AAC iPad apps. Research has been conducted in AAC, ASD, and music, but there is limited research to date, which …

Precoding And The Accuracy Of Automated Analysis Of Child Language Samples, Rachel Christine Winiecke

Theses and Dissertations

Language sample analysis is accepted as the gold standard in child language assessment. Unfortunately it is often viewed as too time consuming for the practicing clinician. Over the last 15 years a great deal of research has been invested in the automated analysis of child language samples to make the process more time efficient. One step in the analysis process may be precoding the sample, as is used in the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software. However, a claim has been made (MacWhinney, 2008) that such precoding in fact leads to lower accuracy because of manual coding errors. No …

Dysarthria: A Study Of Effects On Communication, Casey Johnsen

Senior Honors Projects

Dysarthria is an impairment characterized by slow, weak, and imprecise muscle movements that affect one’s speech and communication. The specific characteristics of dysarthria vary depending on the site and extent of the lesion. Some general examples include articulatory-resonatory incompetence, imprecise consonants, distorted vowels, hypernasality, low pitch, harshness, strained-strangled voice and prosodic disturbances including slow rate. Dysarthria can be found in both children and adults, and is caused by neurologic disorders such as stroke, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, or muscular dystrophy. Dysarthria can negatively impact one’s social participation. The extra effort it takes to speak and the frustration of …

The Efficacy Of A Social Communication Intervention On Teacher Report Of Withdrawal For Children With Language Impairment, Allyson Roscher

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies and literature regarding children with language impairment (LI) indicate that these children have difficulty with social communication skills. This study assessed the effect of a social communication intervention on teacher perceptions of withdrawal in six elementary school age participants with LI. The social communication intervention included story sharing, identifying pictures of facial expressions, and journaling to target emotion understanding. The Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS) was utilized to measure teacher perception of withdrawal. The TBRS examined three subscales of social withdrawal: solitary-active withdrawal, solitary-passive withdrawal, and reticence. Following treatment, teacher ratings of withdrawn behavior decreased for all six …

Central Auditory Processing And The Link To Reading Ability In Adults, Lisa M. Brody

Honors Scholar Theses

What makes someone a good reader? What makes someone a poor reader? The root biological marker of reading ability has yet to be determined. Many scientists agree that phonological awareness, the understanding of speech sounds, and phonological decoding are key components of reading ability (Melby-Lervag, Lyster, & Hulme, 2012). In addition to this, new research suggests that the auditory system, specifically the timing of auditory processing in the brain, provides a crucial platform that supports the development of reading ability (Banai et al., 2009). This thesis provides empirical data to support the link between reading skill …

College Professors’ And Students’ Perceptions Toward College Students Who Stutter, Patricia N. Chastain

Honors Theses

Research on stuttering has reflected the perceptions of speech-language pathologists (Swartz, Gabel & Irani, 2009; Crichton-Smith, Wright & Stackhouse, 2003; Cooper & Cooper, 1996; Kalinowski, Armson, J., Stuart, A., & Lerman, J. W., 1993; Daniels, Panico, & Sudhoolt, 2011), students (Mayo & Mayo, 2013; Dorsey & Guenther, 2000), and professors (Dorsey & Guenther, 2000; Silverman, 1990; Ruscello et al., 1990) toward people who stutter (PWS). The findings of the aforementioned studies indicated there is neither a wholly positive or negative attitudinal trend in the perceptions towards PWS within or across groups. Only one study was conducted (15 years ago) that …

The Efficacy Of A Social Communication Intervention To Increase Syntactic Complexity In Narratives Of Children With Language Impairment, Alexandra Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that children with Language Impairment (LI) struggle with social communication skills in addition to their characteristic syntactic difficulties. This pilot study analyzed the potential change in grammatical complexity in narratives of five children with LI when enrolled in a social communication intervention. The intervention itself focused on teaching emotion understanding by reading and reenacting children’s stories and journaling. Grammatical limitations were indirectly addressed by clinician modeling of complex forms during the intervention sessions. Each child’s productions were assessed and analyzed for grammatical complexity during retelling a book in the Mercer Mayer “a boy, a dog, and a …

The Skinny On Eating Attitudes, Body Image, And The Thin-Ideal In College Women, Lyndsay N. Greene

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

There is evidence of a link between body image and disordered eating among females, and some research that suggests exposure to the media exacerbates both body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. Despite these claims, little research has been done on the effects that exposure to photo-shopped images specifically has on body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. The present study sought to further understand the relationship between cognitive distortions of body image and eating attitudes and to examine the effects that exposure to the thin-ideal found in the media has on body dissatisfaction among college aged women. Eighty female college students answered questions …

Preliteracy Skills Promoted In Children’S Spanish-Language Books, Katherine Marie Suter

Masters Theses

As of July 1, 2013, the latest census figures indicate that there are approximately 54 million Latinosliving in the U.S. (US Census Bureau, 2013). However, many Latino children still do not receive the services or resources they need to perform well academically. The primary aim of this research study is to determine if the books available to Spanish-speaking Latino¹ populations in two Michigan Counties contain features that might be used to facilitate beginning pre-literacy skills.

Children’s Spanish-language books from bookstores and public libraries were analyzed to determine the presence of features that might facilitate print awareness, phonological awareness, and …

Productions Of Metalinguistic Awareness By Young Children With Sli And Typical Language, Lucy E. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to: (1) determine if differences exist between children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) compared to age-matched (AM) and language- matched (LM) children with typical language development (TL) in rates and proportions of five types of metalinguistic productions and (2) test theories of metalinguistic production. Forty-five children, 24 with TL and 21 with SLI, paired for age or language level, formed two groups. Previously collected data from two studies of verb learning (Proctor-Williams & Fey, 2007; Proctor- Williams, unpublished) were analyzed for rates and types of metalinguistic productions. Results yielded no within or between group significant differences in …

Training Clinical Judgment Skills For Interpreting Feeding Behavior In Preterm Infants: A Comparison Of Video And In Vivo Simulation, Jamesa R. Ewing

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Health and feeding outcomes for preterm infants depend upon healthcare providers’ ability to recognize non-verbal signs of distress during bottle-feeding. Methods of training future providers’ to interpret feeding behavior in preterm infants are unclear. This study used a pre-test/post-test design to compare the effects of in- vivo simulation and video-simulation training on students’ knowledge of feeding abnormalities, clinical judgment, and documentation accuracy. Fifty-two graduate level speech-language pathology students were assigned to the in-vivo (N= 27) or video-simulation (N= 25) group. Results revealed that both methods proved beneficial for increasing knowledge and clinical judgment skills. Participants trained using video-simulation training documented …

Bridging Theories Of Phonological Awareness For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children: Perspectives From Verbotonal Specialists In The United States, Jazmin Rambeau

Honors Theses

Approaching literacy instruction for children who are deaf and hard of hearing is one of the most significant challenges within global education because there are various evidence-based theories in the literature as to why children who are deaf and hard of hearing often manifest impaired reading abilities compared to children with normal hearing, and how they may acquire literacy skills differently. This study aims to identify agreements within the literature regarding the role of phonological awareness in literacy acquisition for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, and how tools such as the Verbotonal method of auditory therapy may …

A Call For Hearing Loss Prevention Programs In College Music Education Programs, Jason Taurins

Honors Theses

Music educators, ensemble conductors, and students who participate in musical ensembles are exposed to sound pressure levels which exceed the criteria for NIOSH. As such, this population should be enrolled in hearing loss prevention programs. Ensemble directors (many music educators fall into this category) have a direct role in influencing the sound pressure levels produced in rehearsals. Music educators have a role in influencing the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors of their students. Because of the health risks of noise exposure, and the role music educators (and ensemble directors in general) have in influencing their students, hearing loss prevention should …

Incidental Phonological Awareness Instruction In Early Childhood Education: The Development Of An Observational Tool, Emma Cooper

Honors Theses

Explicit phonological awareness instruction in preschool curricula has been established as playing a fundamental role in improving reading outcomes in children (Carroll, Snowling, Stevenson, & Hulme, 2003). However, to date, there has been a lack of evidential research data that assess the value of incidental phonological awareness instruction as a supplement to regular instruction within these preschool classrooms (Phillips, Clancy-Menchetti, & Lonigan, 2008). This study covers the development and evaluation of an observational tool designed to capture, quantify, and assess instances of incidental phonological awareness instruction in preschool and early childhood education classrooms.

After a review of extant measures, a …

Teacher Perceptions Of Elementary Students With An Articulation Disorder Of Varying Degrees, Morgan Lee Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The purpose of this study is to examine teacher perceptions of elementary students who have an articulation disorder. An electronic survey was given to teachers in two elementary schools within Indianapolis, and specifically, Pike Township. The teachers rated six hypothetical student profiles on competence, intelligence, and various behaviors. Utilizing a standard Likert scale, the different hypothetical student profiles yielded scores that showed how positively the teachers viewed the hypothetical students. To ensure validity, there were control student profiles with no label or other, non-speech related disorders. It was hypothesized that the profiles for typically developing students would be given the …

Conversational Scaffolding With Couples With An Aphasic Partner, Mary Jo Bissmeyer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Aphasia is an acquired language disorder experienced by approximately one million Americans today, many recovering from stroke or traumatic brain injury. Traditional therapy has focused solely on regaining specific linguistic skills, including auditory comprehension, speech, reading, and/or writing. Conversation partner training is a newer trend in aphasia intervention that has emerged thanks to an increasingly social model of disability and the pressure to deliver meaningful and cost effective health services. It fits nicely with the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia, which encourages clinicians to help individuals with aphasia and their families set and meet their own goals for therapy, which …

Unsteady Nasalance Traces Among Sustained Vowels In Typical Adult Speakers: Prevalence & Potential Causes, Catherine Hearit

Honors Theses

Background. Vowels are a commonly used stimulus for evaluating speech resonance because hypernasality is best detected in vowel sounds. It was observed that steady-state sustained vowels show considerable within sample nasalance variance, although nasalance is expected to be stable for this speech target.

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the prevalence of variability among normal speakers in steady state vowel nasalance traces and to determine the variables that predict variability.

Methods: Sixty-one participants aged 18 through 30 years were recruited. All participants were lifelong residents of the lower peninsula of Michigan with normal hearing sensitivity and no …

Personal Interviews: Do They Make Sense In 2015?, Larry Boles, Kerry Mandulak

School of Pharmacy Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Grant Proposal: Effects Of Sound Field Amplification On Standardized Test Scores, Jessica Ivey Coker

Doctoral Dissertations

Research has shown that the majority of classroom environments lack appropriate acoustical standards to ensure optimal learning conditions. During the early school grades, it is especially crucial that students overcome poor listening environments to obtain the fundamental educational skills necessary for academic success. Furthermore, the State of Louisiana conducts standardized test assessments (LEAP and iLEAP) to measure the students' knowledge and skills gained. These standardized test scores not only determine if the student progresses to the next grade, but also influences the amount of federal revenue and how the revenue is allocated to the schools. A proposed remedy to …

Ear Specific Anl Measurements In Individuals With Unilateral And Asymmetrical Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Rebecca Howard

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study sought to determine if ANLs differ between ears within subjects with unilateral or asymmetrical SNHL. ANL was measured in four conditions (i.e., binaural, better ear, poorer ear unmasked, and poorer ear masked) in fifteen adults, nine with unilateral SNHL and six with bilateral asymmetrical SNHL. A significant difference between ANL in the four conditions (i.e., binaural, better ear, poorer ear unmasked, and poorer ear masked) was identified; however, the subjects with unilateral and asymmetrical SNHL behaved similarly throughout the testing. When comparing the four conditions, the results showed a significant difference between both the binaural ANL and …

The Effect Of Auditory Processing Abilities On Acceptable Noise Levels, Brandee E. Richardson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to determine typical acceptable noise levels (ANLs) in children diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (APD) and compare those to ANLs in children without APD. Sixteen participants, eight children with APD and eight children without APD, were administered a complete audiological evaluation and a series of APD tests [Filtered Words, Competing Sentences, and Auditory Figure Ground (0) subtests of the SCAN– 3C; Staggered Spondaic Word test; and Pitch Pattern test] to determine normal or abnormal auditory processing ability. Conventional ANLs were measured on each participant to determine acceptance of background noise. The results …

Source Localization In Cross Modality Matching Of Brightness And Loudness Of Young Adults, Tawnya Nadine Coates

Theses and Dissertations

Cross modality matching is a magnitude matching procedure, developed to study the relationships between sensory modalities. Auditory and visual sensory integration can be examined through cross modality matching of brightness and loudness. Brightness and loudness are natural correlates of one another as they both represent the parameter of intensity for their respective sensory modalities. Past studies have demonstrated that typical individuals tend to match brighter lights with louder sounds and dimmer lights with softer sounds. The current study utilized a modified cross modality matching procedure, combined with electroencephalography (EEG) data, to examine the cortical response to sensory integration. It was …

Different Neural Mechanisms For Causal Processing In Language And Perception: An Fmri Study, Brett B. Bankson, Dirk B. Den Ouden

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Information that is used to establish and evaluate causal relationships between objects and events can be gleaned from many sources, especially those that rely on language and perception. For example, sentences with a verb structure using change of state verbs such as “to break” or “to freeze” imply sequential events that express understood causal relationships. At this time, little research has examined the neural correlates of causal verb processing or has compared them to the more well researched brain activity involved in perceptual causal processing. This study investigated the extent to which the evaluation of causal verbs and causal image …

Effects Of Moderate-Level Sound Exposure On Behavioral Thresholds In Chinchillas, Maria Sandra Carbajal De Nava

Open Access Theses

Normal audiometric thresholds following noise exposure have generally been considered as an indication of a recovered cochlea and intact peripheral auditory system, yet recent animal work has challenged this classic assumption. Moderately noise-exposed animals have been shown to have permanent loss of synapses on inner hair cells (IHCs) and permanent damage to auditory nerve fibers (ANFs), specifically the low-spontaneous rate fibers (low-SR), despite normal electrophysiological thresholds. Loss of cochlear synapses, known as cochlear synaptopathy, disrupts auditory-nerve signaling, which may result in perceptual speech deficits in noise despite normal audiometric thresholds. Perceptual deficit studies in humans have shown evidence consistent with …

Let's Talk Speech! Volume 8 Issue 1, Barbara T. Schmidt Ph.D.

Communication Sciences and Disorders Newsletter

This has been an AMAZING year for all of us here at Molloy College. First, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) awarded the M.S. Program the opportunity to offer teacher certification to our graduate students in speech-language pathology. This certification is commonly referred to as the TSSLD and was the result of the tireless efforts of Professor Joanne Ascher, who initiated the application and the discussions with NYSED. Second, the Council of Academic Accreditation in Audiology and SpeechLanguage Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, awarded the MS degree program accreditation for a period of five years. This was …

March 13, 2015 Annual Retreat, Communication Disorders & Sciences

Faculty Meeting Minutes & Agendas

Meeting minutes of the March 13, 2015 annual retreat.