Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Conversational Alignment: A Study Of Neural Coherence And Speech Entrainment, Kristen M. Jensen, Stephanie A. Borrie, Breanna E. Studenka, Ronald B. Gillam

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Conversational alignment refers to the tendency for communication partners to adjust their verbal and non-verbal behaviors to become more like one another during the course of human interaction. This alignment phenomenon has been observed in neural patterns, specifically in the prefrontal areas of the brain (Holper et al., 2013; Cui et al., 2012; Dommer et al., 2012; Holper et al., 2012; Funane et al., 2011; Jiang et al., 2012); verbal behaviors such acoustic speech features (e.g., Borrie & Liss, 2014; Borrie et al., 2015; Lubold & Pon-Barry, 2014), phonological features (e.g., Babel, 2012; Pardo, 2006), lexical selection (e.g., Brennan & …

Interprofessional Patient Simulation Training Compared To Online Training For Learning To Use In-Line Speaking Valves, Kristi A. Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Restoring speech in persons who are tracheostomy and ventilator dependent, through the use of a Passy-Muir Speaking Valve (PMSV), requires specific training. Methods of training interprofessional team members to assess in-line PMSVs are unclear. This study used a pretest/ post-test design to compare effects of online training and online training plus simulation training on knowledge acquisition, skills performance, and comfort levels when working with persons who are tracheostomy and ventilator dependent. Twenty-six students studying either respiratory therapy (N=13) or speech-language pathology (N=13) were assigned to the control group or experimental group. Results revealed that online training proved beneficial for increasing …

Comparison Of In Vivo Simulation Training Compared To Video Simulation Training For Identifying Clinical Markers Of Distress When Feeding Preterm Infants, Emily M. Wagner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Preterm infants have multiple health complications due to their underdeveloped neurological systems. Bottle-feeding difficulties are one complication that leads to pulmonary illness secondary to aspiration. Preterm infants exhibit clinical markers when experiencing distress during bottle-feeding. Training caregivers to identify clinical markers reduces the risk for aspiration. Simulation training provides a safe learning environment without harming patients. Twenty-two speech-language pathology and pre-requisite students divided into two simulation groups, video-simulation (N=12) and in-vivo simulation (N=10), were trained to document clinical markers of distress exhibited by preterm infants and make clinical judgments about bottle-feeding. Students rated their levels of anxiety during simulation training. …

Effects Of Vocal Fold Nodules On Glottal Cycle Measurements Derived From High-Speed Videoendoscopy In Children, Rita R. Patel, Harikrishnan Unnikrishnan, Kevin D. Donohue

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this study is to quantify the effects of vocal fold nodules on vibratory motion in children using high-speed videoendoscopy. Differences in vibratory motion were evaluated in 20 children with vocal fold nodules (5–11 years) and 20 age and gender matched typically developing children (5–11 years) during sustained phonation at typical pitch and loudness. Normalized kinematic features of vocal fold displacements from the mid-membranous vocal fold point were extracted from the steady-state high-speed video. A total of 12 kinematic features representing spatial and temporal characteristics of vibratory motion were calculated. Average values and standard deviations (cycle-to-cycle variability) of …

Genetic Candidate Variants In Two Multigenerational Families With Childhood Apraxia Of Speech, Peter Beate, Ellen M. Wijsman, Alejandro Q. Nato Jr., University Of Washington Center For Mendelian Genomics, Mark M. Matsushita, Kathy L. Chapman, Ian B. Stanaway, John Wolff, Kaori Oda, Virginia B. Gabo, Wendy H. Raskind

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a severe and socially debilitating form of speech sound disorder with suspected genetic involvement, but the genetic etiology is not yet well understood. Very few known or putative causal genes have been identified to date, e.g., FOXP2 and BCL11A. Building a knowledge base of the genetic etiology of CAS will make it possible to identify infants at genetic risk and motivate the development of effective very early intervention programs. We investigated the genetic etiology of CAS in two large multigenerational families with familial CAS. Complementary genomic methods included Markov chain Monte Carlo linkage …

Verification And Quantification Of Surface Electromyographic (Emg) Activity Of The Masseter Muscle, Kelsey Bowles

Honors Theses

Purpose: The goal of the present study is to develop and evaluate an automated technique for measuring biting and chewing related surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of the masseter muscle.

Methods: Data from 28 neurologically healthy participants between the ages of 18-40 were selected for this study. The procedure for collecting the bite/chew data consisted of the participant biting down and chewing three small breath mints while an EMG sensor recorded the masseter muscle activity. A five-step Matlab-based algorithm was created to accurately identify onsets and offsets of each bite and chew event.

Results: Compared to manual measurements using standard …

Acoustic Correlates Of Speech Naturalness In Post-Treatment Adults Who Stutter: Role Of Fundamental Frequency, Jacqueline Schmitt

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Acoustic Correlates Of Speech Naturalness In Post-Treatment Adults Who Stutter: Role Of Speaking Rate, Caylee Jessen

Honors Theses

Purpose: While many stuttering therapy programs can result in a decrease in stuttering behaviors among participants, some clients leave therapy with speech sounding unnatural due in part to the therapy techniques themselves. The aim of the current study is to examine associations between selected acoustic measures of speaking rate and listener ratings of speech naturalness in a group of adults who stutter following participation in an intensive fluency shaping treatment program.

Methods: Twenty-nine adults who stutter, drawn from an existing database of speech samples, served as participants. All participants had recently completed a four-week group-based intensive fluency shaping treatment program. …

Exploring The Impact Of Globalization On Linguistic Culture, Autumn Kearney

Honors Theses

Awareness and mastery of a country’s cultural norms provides a person with access to public services, ceremonies, traditions and an unlimited number of other dimensions that would be otherwise unavailable. This study looks specifically at linguistic culture, which is the entirety of views, attitudes, assumptions and other ideas people acquire about language (Schiffman, 2012). Although the linguistic climate in the U.S Midwest is different than that in Senegal, one cannot fully understand either culture without knowledge of the linguistic culture in both country contexts. This study examines the linguistic cultures in both country contexts and uses ethnomethodology to examine the …

The Effects Of Globalization On English Language Learning: Perspectives From Senegal And The United States, Anna Poggensee

Honors Theses

This study is an analytical comparison among perspectives about English as a nonnative language and its function in Senegal, West Africa and the U.S. Midwest. The purpose of this study is to establish a better understanding of the effects of globalization in both countries by focusing on the increasing use of the English language (Crystal, 2003) and how it is used within diverse societies. Globalization can be defined as “the interconnections of global economic, political, cultural and environmental processes that continually transform present conditions” (Steger, 2003, p.7-8).Within the context of globalization, this topic allows for a broader understanding of the …

Memory Support For Adults With Alzheimer’S Disease: Applications For Speech-Language Pathologists, Laura Dober

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is known to cause progressive and severely debilitating impairments in cognition, especially in memory. Deficits in memory and cognition are clearly reflected in the communication of people diagnosed with this progressive, degenerative, incurable disease, placing speech-language pathologists as important members of a care team for adults with AD. Speech-language pathologists provide treatment to support memory, and therefore communication, in people with AD through direct and indirect methods. Some examples of memory supportive strategies include spaced-retrieval learning, the use of external memory aids and assistive technology, Montessori methods, and manipulations …

Increasing Confidence In Evidence-Based Information Gathering For First Year Aud Students, Mickel Paris, Jiong Hu, Veronica Koo, Susanna Marshall, Gabriella Musacchia

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Presentations

Success of students in Doctor of Audiology programs largely depends on the ability of the learner to find and evaluate scholarly evidence. The purpose of this study is to measure changes in student information gathering confidence and behavior following training in evidence-based information gathering strategies. Results support the hypothesis that understanding foundational concepts in evidence-based practice (EBP) early in the first year of doctoral education allows the learner to gain confidence in information gathering and produce higher quality scholarly output.

The Role Of Continuous Low-Frequency Harmonicity Cues For Interrupted Speech Perception In Bimodal Hearing, Soo Hee Oh, Gail S. Donaldson

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Publications

Low-frequency acoustic cues have been shown to enhance speech perception by cochlear-implant users, particularly when target speech occurs in a competing background. The present study examined the extent to which a continuous representation of low-frequency harmonicity cues contributes to bimodal benefit in simulated bimodal listeners. Experiment 1 examined the benefit of restoring a continuous temporal envelope to the low-frequency ear while the vocoder ear received a temporally interrupted stimulus. Experiment 2 examined the effect of providing continuous harmonicity cues in the low-frequency ear as compared to restoring a continuous temporal envelope in the vocoder ear. Findings indicate that bimodal benefit …

The Elicitation Method For Past Tense Verb Production In Children With Specific Language Impairment And Typical Language, Morgan Geise, Heather Green, Olivia Hart, Abbi Leitnaker, Kerry Proctor-Williams

ETSU Faculty Works

Past tense verb production in children with specific language impairment and language-matched children with typical language was compared using language samples and a standardized probe (Rice/Wexler Test of Early Grammatical Impairment). Analyses revealed accuracy and error type differences between elicitation types and groups. Results have important clinical practice implications.

Practices Supporting Breastfeeding In The Nicu: A National Survey, Elizabeth E. Nottingham

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

Babies who are born early are at risk for developing serious life-threatening conditions and developmental delays. Providing babies with breast milk, and helping them breast feed has been shown to reduce the chances of these conditions and delays. However, hospitals across the country have adopted wildly different practices when it comes to feeding these babies. By understanding the current practices in hospitals across the country, we can begin to understand how to affect change.

The Effect Of Noise Fluctuation And Spectral Bandwidth On Gap Detection, Joseph W. Hall Iii, Emily Buss, Erol J. Ozmeral, John H. Grose

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Publications

Experiment 1 investigated gap detection for random and low-fluctuation noise (LFN) markers as a function of bandwidth (25–1600 Hz), level [40 or 75 dB sound pressure level (SPL)], and center frequency (500–4000 Hz). Gap thresholds for random noise improved as bandwidth increased from 25 to 1600 Hz, but there were only minor effects related to center frequency and level. For narrow bandwidths, thresholds were lower for LFN than random markers; this difference extended to higher bandwidths at the higher center frequencies and was particularly large at high stimulus level. Effects of frequency and level were broadly consistent with the idea …

Assessing An Ethical Global Service Learning Experience, Chelsey Peterson

Communication Sciences and Disorders: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

With more college students going abroad to developing countries for research and service work, it is important to understand the possible benefits and harms that can occur during such an experience. When professors take their students abroad, they need to facilitate student learning to enhance benefits and lessen harms. Student reflection has proven to be a way to assess student learning; there needs to be an approach to assessing reflection during service learning experiences to ensure the effectiveness of an ethical experience. This study is a replication of a pilot study using a Service Learning Engagement Rubric to assess student …

The Elicitation Of Descriptive And Procedural Discourse In Expressive Aphasia, Kailey E. Vitale

Communication Sciences and Disorders: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Currently, there are no clear clinical guidelines for determining the method that will elicit the best discourse sample from individuals with expressive aphasia. Additionally, there is no universal method used to evaluate discourse samples. Archival data was collected from a 42-year old male who experienced a cerebrovascular accident 15 years ago and was then diagnosed with expressive aphasia. Two consecutive 8-week courses of treatment periods were analyzed to determine the best discourse elicitation and evaluation method. A comparison of descriptive and procedural discourse elicitation techniques revealed that procedural discourse results in a higher average percent Correct Information Units (%CIUs), words …

An Intensive Aphasia Needs Assessment Tool, Dalana Marie Henson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Persons with aphasia (PWAs) often demonstrate challenges in the areas of expressive language, comprehension, reading, and writing. Due to these deficits, PWAs have limited opportunity to express their opinions and contribute to treatment planning. This project focused on the development of a self-report needs assessment tool for PWAs that facilitates PWAs participation in treatment planning. The needs assessment tool was designed using aphasia-friendly features including pictographic/visual analog scale, key words in bold, simple wording, large font, consistent question formatting, flexible administration, and the use of a communication partner/interview. The needs assessment tool was administered to seven PWAs in the Bowling …

The Use Of And Readiness For Speech-Language Telepractice In Medical Settings Of Rural Areas Of Nevada, Corinne Balliette

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was developed to investigate the readiness or willingness of providers, speech language therapists (SLPs), and patients to participate in telepractice for speech-language therapy services in rural areas of Nevada. Nevada has not ranked high in healthcare for several years and was noted to have low SLP to patient ratios, especially in rural areas of Nevada. A thorough literature review identified international and national studies that have shown resistance to telepractice expressed by patients and providers, but it has also shown an increase in interest post telepractice therapy. Nevada does not have current research on readiness to participate in …

Ua61/1 Nursing Spirit, Volume 1, Neal Chambler, Dean, Mary Bennett, Director, Susan Megahee, Editor, Creative, Wku School Of Nursing

School of Nursing Publications

No abstract provided.

Deficits In Sound Pattern Sequencing In Children With Specific Language Impairment: A Networks Approach, Sara J. Benham

Open Access Theses

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate primary deficits in morphosyntax, which has served as the central theme in theoretical and clinical approaches. However, a striking number of children with SLI also exhibit speech sound deficits, characterized both by increased error patterns and by high levels of variability. These speech sound deficits have been under-studied and are not explicitly tied to accounts of SLI. In the present study, theoretical approaches drawn from dynamical systems and sequence learning are used to address speech production learning in children with SLI. Standard approaches to sound accuracy and variability and articulatory variability are integrated …

The Effect Of Cost, Benefit, And Level Of Technology On Patient Preference And Satisfaction With Hearing Aids, Lindsay M. Young

Doctoral Dissertations

The present double blind study sought to determine if experienced hearing aid users can differentiate between different levels of hearing aid technology. Specifically, the following research questions were addressed: (1) Are HINT scores affected by level of hearing aid technology for experienced hearing aid users?; 2) Is benefit/satisfaction of hearing aids affected by level of technology for experienced hearing aid users?; and (3) How do hearing aid users rank different levels of technology? If a perceptual difference in hearing aid technology is identified by hearing aid users, participants were asked to identify how money much they would be willing to …

Deaf Or [Insert Ethnicity Here]? The Impact Of South African Sign Language And Deaf Community Membership On The Ethnic Identities Of Three Deaf Students In Cape Town, Leanna Quach

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

South African Sign Language (SASL) is the language used by most members of the Deaf community in South Africa. SASL, much like other signed languages, has a long history of development, acceptance, and non-acceptance. The history of SASL is undeniably intertwined and affected by the political history of South Africa. This article examines the relationship between ethnicity, language, and identity in the context of South African Sign Language and the Deaf community. It seeks to understand how the use of South African Sign Language as one’s main language affects one’s identity and their identification with their racial group. The article …

Attention Demands Of Language Production In Adults Who Stutter, Nathan D. Maxfield, Wendy L. Olsen, Daniel Kleinman, Stefan A. Frisch, Victor S. Ferreira, Jennifer J. Lister

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Publications

Objective: We investigated whether language production is atypically resource-demanding in adults who stutter (AWS) versus typically-fluent adults (TFA).

Methods: Fifteen TFA and 15 AWS named pictures overlaid with printed Semantic, Phonological or Unrelated Distractor words while monitoring frequent low tones versus rare high tones. Tones were presented at a short or long Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA) relative to picture onset. Group, Tone Type, Tone SOA and Distractor Type effects on P3 amplitudes were the main focus. P3 amplitude was also investigated separately in a simple tone oddball task.

Results: P3 morphology was similar between groups in the simple task. In …

Exploring Oculomotor Trends In Collegiate Athletes, Brett Whorley, Julie A. Honaker

UCARE: Research Products

Collaborative efforts to improve athlete safety without significantly hindering the rules of the games aim to develop a novel system to better measure and diagnose concussions. Provided that common signs of concussions include blurred vision, distant gaze, and dizziness, the Dizziness and Balance Disorders Lab at UNL believes that the simple oculomotor exam studied in this project may be applied to this procedure. Within the broader goal to better understand the causes, signs, symptoms, and prognosis of concussions, researchers desired to further investigate the results of this oculomotor test. The aim was to identify and interpret correlations between collegiate athlete …

Hemodynamic Changes In Cortical Sensorimotor Systems Following Hand And Orofacial Motor Tasks And Pulsed Cutaneous Stimulation, Austin Oder Rosner

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The integrity of the cerebral cortex can be assessed by measuring its responsiveness to repetitive sensory stimulation and voluntary motor activity. This neurophysiologic feature is called neural adaptation, and is thought to enhance learning and detection of environmental stimuli. The adaptation of hemodynamic responses to motor and sensory experiences in hand and face are of particular interest—as these are structures used in human communication—and proper delivery of oxy-hemoglobin to primary motor (M1) and somatosensory (S1) cortices is essential for functional cortical activation.

The objective of this study was to examine the hemodynamic differences between hand and face cortical representations during …

Let's Talk Speech! Volume 9 Issue 1, Barbara T. Schmidt Ph.D.

Communication Sciences and Disorders Newsletter

The Communication Sciences and Disorders Department has been experiencing fairly steady growth. I am proud of our faculty, who strive to graduate individuals who are aptly prepared to meet the challenges of professional life as a speech language pathologist. Overall, upon graduation our students report being well prepared and pleased with their success. As you take a look at this edition of Let’s Talk Speech I encourage you to think about all the hard working individuals who come together to make our department a vibrant place to learn. Reflect on your experiences and consider all the aspects of your life …

Better Hearing Devices And Many Forms Of Delivery, Earl E. Johnson

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Neural Activity Reveals Effects Of Aging On Inhibitory Processes During Word Retrieval, Ranjini Mohan

Open Access Dissertations

Word retrieval difficulties are one of the most frustrating problems in older adults. Poorer access to phonological (speech sound) representation of the target word has been postulated as the underlying deficit, supported by findings of improvement in word retrieval after phonological priming. But the great variability in naming performance among older adults may reflect cognitive scaffolding or compensatory neurophysiological processes related to maintenance or decline of naming abilities. In order better understand aging effects in the underlying neurophysiological changes associated with phonological retrieval, the present study examined electrophysiological correlates of phonological priming and word retrieval in adults across the lifespan. …