Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Perspectives Of Caregiver-Survivor Dyads Following Tbi: A Case Series, Shayleen Brennan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is trauma to the brain triggered by an external force that causes the brain to crash violently against the skull and disrupt normal functioning. Following a TBI, the survivor often faces challenges that compromise independence. These can include challenges in communication, cognition, and overall physical functioning. Resultantly, reliance upon the individual’s loved ones as both advocates and caregivers is essential to functional recovery. This qualitative study investigates the experiences reported between both survivors and their primary caregivers. Using a qualitative approach, exploration of the convergent and divergent perspectives between survivors and caregivers post-TBI were researched. …

Sound Quality Effects Of An Adaptive Nonlinear Frequency Compression Processor With Normal-Hearing And Hearing-Impaired Listeners, Danielle Glista, Marianne Hawkins, Jonathan M. Vaisberg, Nazanin Pourmand, Vijay Parsa, Susan Scollie

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

© 2019 American Academy of Audiology. All rights reserved. Background: Frequency lowering (FL) technology offers a means of improving audibility of high-frequency sounds. For some listeners, the benefit of such technology can be accompanied by a perceived degradation in sound quality, depending on the strength of the FL setting. Purpose: The studies presented in this article investigate the effect of a new type of FL signal processing for hearing aids, adaptive nonlinear frequency compression (ANFC), on subjective speech quality. Research Design: Listener ratings of sound quality were collected for speech stimuli processed with systematically varied fitting parameters. Study Sample: Study …

Auditory Brainstem Responses In Children With Auditory Processing Disorder, Sangamanatha Ankmnal-Veeranna, Chris Allan, Prudence Allen

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

Background: The ASHA recommends including electrophysiological measures in an auditory processing disorder (APD) assessment battery, but few audiologists do so, potentially because of limited published evidence for its utility. Purpose: This study compared the auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) of children with APD with age-matched children and adults. Study Sample: This study retrospectively examined the records of 108 children suspected of APD (sAPD) who had click-evoked ABRs recorded as part of their clinical assessment. Twenty adults and 22 typically developing (TD) children were recruited as controls. Data collection and Analysis: Click-evoked ABRs were recorded at slow (13.3 clicks/sec) and faster (57.7 …

The Medial Olivocochlear Reflex Is Unlikely To Play A Role In Listening Difficulties In Children, Sriram Boothalingam, Chris Allan, Prudence Allen, David W. Purcell

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

The medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR) has been implicated in several auditory processes. The putative role of the MOCR in improving speech perception in noise is particularly relevant for children who complain of listening difficulties (LiD). The hypothesis that the MOCR may be impaired in individuals with LiD or auditory processing disorder has led to several investigations but without consensus. In two related studies, we compared the MOCR functioning of children with LiD and typically developing (TD) children in the same age range (7–17 years). In Study 1, we investigated ipsilateral, contralateral, and bilateral MOCR using forward-masked click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs; …

The Effect Of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems On The Vocal Folds, Hilary Gayle Sample

ETD Archive

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) are non-combustible tobacco products that are rapidly gaining in popularity worldwide. ENDS are marketed as safer alternatives to cigarettes; however, very little research is available to support or deny these claims. ENDS aerosol is inhaled over the vocal folds and into the lungs consistent with cigarette smoke. The larynx is among the primary locations affected by smoking; therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the effect, if any, of ENDS on the larynx. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the laryngeal appearance and function of seven ENDS users as compared to four cigarette …

Autonomic Nervous System Response To Speech Production In Stuttering And Normally Fluent Preschool-Age Children, Victoria Tumanova, Nicole Backes

Communication Sciences and Disorders - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Spanish Version Of The Main Concept Analysis For Analyzing Oral Disordered Discourse, Karla Simonet

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Aphasia is an acquired language impairment caused by damage in the regions of the brain that support language. The Main Concept Analysis (MCA) is a published formal assessment battery that allows the quantification of the presence, accuracy, completeness, and efficiency of content in spoken discourse produced by persons with aphasia (PWA). It utilizes a sequential picture description task (with four sets of pictures) for language sample elicitation. The MCA results can also be used clinically for targeting appropriate interventions of aphasic output. The purpose of this research is to develop a Spanish adaptation of the MCA by establishing normative data …

Effectiveness Of Prophylactic Lingual Strengthening Exercises For Patients With Head And Neck Cancer A Systematic Review, Cassidy Pickens

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Radiation treatment for head and neck cancer has devastating effects on swallowing ability. Prophylactic swallowing exercises are often recommended. However, the evidence for these exercises is equivocal and information regarding critical components of an exercise program is lacking. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the evidence regarding lingual strengthening exercises as a component of a prophylactic swallowing program.

The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Social Communication: A Survey Study, Chey Maree Robertson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Speech-language pathologists work with individuals who have experienced various levels of adversity. The title of this thesis is The Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Social Communication: A Survey study. The researcher, Chey Robertson, from the communication sciences and disorders program from a university in the Midwest investigated the relationship between ACEs and social communication such as social cognition, social interaction, and pragmatics. ACEs includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and physical and emotional neglect. ACEs also includes household dysfunction such as a household member with mental illness, witnessing domestic violence, incarceration of a household member, household member who …

Vocal Function Exercises For Normal Voice: The Effects Of Maximally Sustained Phonation, Mariah Elaine Morton

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Vocal Function Exercises (VFEs) is a well-known treatment program that consists of four exercises, in which the first and fourth tasks require maximally sustained phonation. However, the active ingredients responsible for treatment efficacy are still unknown. The primary purpose of this investigation was the explore the effects of maximally sustained phonation on the VFE outcome measure of maximum phonation time (MPT) in individuals between the ages of 18-40 with normal voice. Participants were randomized into three experimental groups that completed VFEs for six weeks. The baseline group sustained tasks one and four for as long as was achieved at the …

Parent Interaction Between An Infant With A Cochlear Implant And Additional Disabilities, Lillian Southern

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Pediatric hearing loss has many spoken language learning issues that can impact parent-infant interaction. Moreover, additional disabilities are likely to increase stress, which could have cascading effects on communication. The purpose of the study was to examine interactions between mother- and father-child dyads with and without hearing loss and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and global delay. Recordings of the parents speaking with six infants in the study were analyzed: an infant with cochlear implants and ASD (low socioeconomic status, SES), two infants with cochlear implants and normal development (high SES and low SES), one infant with a cochlear …

Implications Of Dual Language Scoring Of The Preschool Language Scale-Fifth Edition Spanish For Bilingual Preschool-Aged Children, Callie Mae Mathis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: Spanish versions of standardized tests used in language evaluations are not well studied. The purpose of this study is to further examine the appropriateness of the Preschool Language Scale, Fifth Edition Spanish (PLS-5S) in a U.S./Mexico border community by comparing the Dual language scores versus the Spanish only scores and comparing the normative sample of the PLS-5S to the population of El Paso, TX.

Method: Twenty-three bilingual preschool aged children in the El Paso area completed the Spanish Edition of the PLS-5S. The parents and teachers of the participants completed two language proficiency questionnaires (Bilingual Input Output Survey; BIOS …

The Effectiveness Of The Natural Ear On Adults Ability To Accurately Match Pitch, Kendra Nicole Rosales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Many theories, such as oral motor, perceptual, and sensorimotor deficits, have been posited to explain inaccurate pitch matching abilities. The current study identifies with the sensorimotor deficit theory and found it to be the most plausible explanation for inaccurate singing abilities. The Natural Ear (NE) program was designed to process voice productions in real-time and filter out the discordant harmonics, allowing a person to hear only their F0.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Natural Ear program in increasing pitch matching accuracy in singers.

Methods: A total of 50 participants were included …

Attitudes And Barriers Affecting Hearing Aid Use In Hispanics Living In The U.S. Borderland Region, Loren Renee Sotelo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hearing loss can affect a person's overall quality of life, and has been linked to depression and dementia in older adults (Brewster, Ciarleglio, Brown, Chen, Kim, Roose, Golub & Rutherford, 2018; Ciorba, Bianchini, Pelucchi, & Pastore, 2012). In the largest study to date of hearing loss among Hispanic adults residing in the U.S., researchers found that nearly 1 in 7 has hearing loss, which is close to the overall national average (National Institutes of Health, 2015). Currently, hearing aids are the primary/most effective treatment for an age-related hearing loss; Unfortunately, the adult uptake rates are low (Chien & Lin, 2012; …

The Effect Of Familiarity On Joint Attention In Children With Asd, Rachel Jenkins

Honors Theses

Joint attention is the ability to share focus on an object with a conversational partner and the awareness that this attention is shared (Moore, Dunham, & Dunham, 2014). Joint attention is an important building block for learning, language, and social development (Mundy & Newell, 2007; Thurm, Lord, Lee, & Newschaffer, 2007). However, previous research has documented that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have significant deficits and delays in the acquisition of joint attention when compared to typically developing peers of similar chronological ages (Mundy, Sigman, & Kasari, 1994; Osterling & Dawson, 1994; Chiang, Soong, Lin, & Rogers, 2008). …

Somatosensory Cross-Modal Reorganization In Children With Cochlear Implants, Garrett Cardon, Anu Sharma

Faculty Publications

Deprived of sensory input, as in deafness, the brain tends to reorganize. Cross-modal reorganization occurs when cortices associated with deficient sensory modalities are recruited by other, intact senses for processing of the latter’s sensory input. Studies have shown that this type of reorganization may affect outcomes when sensory stimulation is later introduced via intervention devices. One such device is the cochlear implant (CI). Hundreds of thousands of CIs have been fitted on people with hearing impairment worldwide, many of them children. Factors such as age of implantation have proven useful in predicting speech perception outcome with these devices in children. …

Using Music To Promote Language, Literacy, & Social Interaction In Children With Hearing Loss, Ashley G. Flagge

V&B Presentations

No abstract provided.

Visual And Verbal Semantic Productions In Children With Asd, Dld, And Typical Language, Allison Gladfelter, Barron Kacy, Erik Johnson

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Purpose

Associations between visual and verbal input allow children to form, augment, and refine their semantic representations within their mental lexicons. However, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with developmental language disorder (DLD; also known as specific language impairment) process visual and verbal information differently than their typically developing peers, which may impact how they incorporate visual and verbal features into their semantic representations. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate how children with ASD and DLD use visually and verbally presented input to produce semantic representations of newly learned words.

Method

Semantic features produced by 36 …

Nonword Repetition And Word Learning In Children With Specific Language Impairment, Kerianne Schoff

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are notorious for inconsistent use of grammatical morphemes, as well as a small vocabulary. This lack of vocabulary is linked to their difficulty in learning new words, which requires a strong phonological memory. Tasks of nonword repetition call upon this same skill. This overlap in skills suggests a strong relationship between the two tasks. The current study explores the relationship between nonword repetition performance and novel word learning abilities in preschool-aged children with SLI as compared to their typically developing (TD) age-matched peers. Nine children with SLI and nine TD children completed a nonword …

Redmond (2002) Revisited: Have Standardized Behavioral Rating Scales Gotten Better At Accommodating For Overlapping Symptoms With Language Impairment?, Kirsten M. Hannig, Sean M. Redmond, Amy Wilder

Faculty Publications

Seventeen years ago, Redmond ¹ reviewed five standardized behavioral rating scales and identified several aspects of their design that made them prone to mischaracterize language impairments as socioemotional behavioral disorders. The purpose of this report is to provide an update and extension of the original audit. We consulted test manuals to evaluate: (1) representation of children with language impairments in their standardization samples; (2) presence of language, or academic items within their inventories; (3) accommodations for administering the measure to children with language impairments; and (4) procedures for identifying inordinately punitive ratings. Overlapping language and academic symptoms continued to be …

Listeners’ Ability To Identify The Gender Of Preadolescent Children In Different Linguistic Contexts, Christopher Dromey, Shawn Nissen, Sharalee Blunck, Anita Dromey

Faculty Publications

This study evaluated listeners’ ability to identify the gender of preadolescent children from speech samples of varying length and linguistic context. The listeners were presented with a total of 190 speech samples in four different categories of linguistic context: segments, words, sentences, and discourse. The listeners were instructed to evaluate each speech sample and decide whether the speaker was a male or female and rate their level of confidence in their decision. Results showed listeners identified the gender of the speakers with a high degree of accuracy, ranging from 86% to 95%. Significant differences in listener judgments were found across …

An Intensive Book Camp Approach To The Remediation Of Speech Sound Disorders: A Case Report, Shawn L. Nissen, Melanie E. Peris, Kristine Tanner

Faculty Publications

Background: Understanding treatment dose is essential to optimizing therapeutic frequency and intensity for speech sound disorders. Intensive therapies, known as boot camp approaches, have proven efficacious in certain speech therapy contexts such as voice disorder treatment. However, few data exist regarding intervention intensity for developmental speech sound disorders. Method: This investigation examined the effects of an intensive boot camp speech therapy approach to remediate interdental /s/ production over two consecutive days. Treatment occurred in morning and afternoon blocks for a total of 5.5 h per day. Auditory-perceptual ratings were used to evaluate /s/ productions pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment, and one week …

Redmond (2002) Revisited: Have Standardized Behavioral Rating Scales Gotten Better At Accommodating For Overlapping Symptoms With Language Impairment?, Kirsten M. Russell, Sean M. Redmond, Amy Wilder

Faculty Publications

Seventeen years ago, Redmond reviewed five standardized behavioral rating scales and identified several aspects of their design that made them prone to mischaracterize language impairments as socioemotional behavioral disorders. The purpose of this report is to provide an update and extension of the original audit. We consulted test manuals to evaluate: (1) representation of children with language impairments in their standardization samples; (2) presence of language, or academic items within their inventories; (3) accommodations for administering the measure to children with language impairments; and (4) procedures for identifying inordinately punitive ratings. Overlapping language and academic symptoms continued to be a …

Eeg-Based Processing And Classification Methodologies For Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review, Gunavaran Brihadiswaran, Dilantha Haputhanthri, Sahan Gunathilaka, Dulani Meedeniya, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition which affects social interaction, communication and behaviour of an individual. The symptoms are diverse with different levels of severity. Recent studies have revealed that early intervention is highly effective for improving the condition. However, current ASD diagnostic criteria are subjective which makes early diagnosis challenging, due to the unavailability of well-defined medical tests to diagnose ASD. Over the years, several objective measures utilizing abnormalities found in EEG signals and statistical analysis have been proposed. Machine learning based approaches provide more flexibility and have produced better results in ASD classification. This paper presents …

Effects Of A Sensory Diet On Attention And Participation In Children With Autism, Leighanne Smith-Mrkaja

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide initial knowledge regarding sensory diets and sensory-based interventions. The need for classroom-based sensory interventions are not always considered, especially with the high number of students diagnosed with ASD at the researcher’s school. Often sensory intervention may not be considered educationally relevant, especially in the prekindergarten level. With the proper training and materials, as well as the guidance of the school-based occupational therapist, teachers, other therapists, classroom assistants, parents, and school-based staff might be able to utilize sensory-based activities like sensory diets to increase participation, positive behaviors, and attention. The following applied research study …

Contextual Interference In Speech Motor Learning Secondary To Similar Phonemes, Katelyn M. Bond

Capstones and Honors Theses

Purpose: The contextual interference (CI) effect is a motor learning phenomenon where learners experience difficulty during training resulting in poor performance; however, improved performance is observed in transfer conditions. Different variables elicit a CI effect, and the purpose of this study is to investigate whether phoneme (or sound) similarity may result in a CI effect during speech motor learning.

Method: The study included twenty-nine participants whose hearing and speech abilities were within the normal range. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two training sessions involving nonwords with either similar or dissimilar phonemes. Each training session included nonword repetition training …

The Relationship Between Prosocial Behavior And Teacher Perceptions In Preschoolers, Allie Endsley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Relationship Of Mean Length Of Utterance And Teacher Perceptions In Preschooler Children, Jacey Dillon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Pediatric Feeding Disorder: Consensus Definition And Conceptual Framework, Praveen S. Goday, Susanna Y. Huh, Alan Silverman, Colleen T. Lukens, Pamela Dodrill, Sherri S. Cohen, Amy Delaney, Mary B. Feuling, Richard J. Noel, Erika Gisel, Amy Kenzer, Daniel B. Kessler, Olaf Kraus De Camargo, Joe Browne, James A. Phalen

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

Pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs) lack a universally accepted definition. Feeding disorders require comprehensive assessment and treatment of 4 closely related, complementary domains (medical, psychosocial, and feeding skill-based systems and associated nutritional complications). Previous diagnostic paradigms have, however, typically defined feeding disorders using the lens of a single professional discipline and fail to characterize associated functional limitations that are critical to plan appropriate interventions and improve quality of life. Using the framework of the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, a unifying diagnostic term is proposed: “Pediatric Feeding Disorder” (PFD), defined as impaired oral intake that is …

Growing Old As A Rock Star: A Four-Part Study Of The Aging Voice, Joanna Sloggy

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

This dissertation focuses on the aging voice - specifically the aging elite vocal athlete. It is comprised of four components; a series of research studies and a viewpoint piece designed to explore the awareness, struggles, and vocal compensations of aging singers dealing with age related vocal and performance problems. The overarching goal of these studies is to inform the development of a voice care protocol for the aging rock star to guide customized intervention for these elite vocal athletes that is focused on optimizing both vocal output and performance.

First, the dissertation introduces and identifies characteristics of the exceptional voice. …