The Role Of Working Memory And Linguistic Knowledge On Language Performance, Theresa Ai Vy Pham

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The language system is highly flexible and draws on distinct but interconnected cognitive mechanisms, including verbal working memory and long-term linguistic knowledge. Verbal working memory is the ability to manipulate verbal information in mind. Long-term linguistic knowledge refers to our knowledge of the language (i.e., phonology, semantics, syntax), stored in long-term memory. The close interaction between verbal working memory and linguistic knowledge highlights a pressing need to investigate the construct of verbal working memory, its separability and its relationship with linguistic knowledge. To understand the way working memory influences and interacts with language abilities in children and adults, I ask …

Typical And Atypical Development Of Compensation To Altered Auditory Feedback, Caitlin E. Coughler

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Auditory feedback, how we hear ourselves speak, plays an important role in the acquisition and maintenance of fluent speech. Although there is wide acceptance of the importance of auditory feedback control throughout development, little is known about how this develops or how the reliance on auditory feedback control may shift compared to other elements of speech motor control. This dissertation aimed to improve our understanding of the development of auditory feedback control and speech motor control in typically developing children and pediatric clinical populations through the exploration of responses to altered auditory feedback. In altered auditory feedback paradigms, small, often …

The Similarities And Differences Between Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emission Testing Instruments And Accuracy Settings, Maximilian Tran-Luong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Advanced measures of the auditory system like otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing are essential for highlighting the subtle expressions of hearing loss if clinical care is to remain up to date with current scientific knowledge. The purpose of this study was to compare distortion product OAE (DPOAE) testing across three different measurement systems (Interacoustic Titan, Bio-logic Scout and Vivosonic Integrity) to determine if there are differences in DPOAE testing. Secondly, the study will look to evaluate the effect if varying accuracy settings on DPOAE testing within the Integrity system. DPOAE tests evaluating levels, noise floor levels, probe fit check time and …

Developing A Spoken Language Outcome Monitoring Procedure For Early Hearing Detection And Intervention Programs, Olivia Daub

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs are associated with improved spoken language outcomes for children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing. Best practice recommendations call for regular spoken language outcome monitoring to support decision making for all stakeholders (families, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and program managers).

Despite the clear calls for spoken language outcome monitoring, there is no peer-reviewed guidance as to how Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs can best accomplish this monitoring. This dissertation evaluates the assumptions underlying spoken language outcome monitoring and contributes a new procedure developed for a Canadian Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program: the Ontario Infant Hearing Program. …

Speech Language Pathologists (Slps) Enactment Of Dysphagia Education And Counselling In Tbi Inpatient Rehabilitation., Stephanie Muir-Derbyshire

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Background

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) incidence rates are rising significantly across all age groups, often requiring complex and expensive medical care. Common causes of TBI include motor-vehicle accidents, violence, sport injuries and falls. For some individuals, inpatient rehabilitation (IPR) is used as a care pathway to provide intervention(s) for the physiological, psychological, neurobehavioural and cognitive-communication sequelae of a TBI.Many patients with a TBI will also experience dysphagia, an impairment or disorder of deglutition (swallowing). Dysphagia affects hydration, nutritional intake, respiration and can significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. It has been identified as a contributing factor in the …

Objective Measurement Optimization In Early Hearing Detection And Intervention, Matthew J. B. Urichuk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Following the fitting of amplification devices, outcomes need to be evaluated to determine benefit of intervention. Objective measurements, which generally require rapid acoustic or electrophysiological measurement without active participation of the individual, are one subset of evaluation methods.

This thesis aimed to improve the reliability, accuracy, and efficiency of a subset of objective outcome measurements: the speech-evoked Envelope Following Response (EFR), and the wideband real-ear-to-coupler-difference (wRECD), which are used in hearing aid validation and verification respectively.

The speech-evoked EFR, a neural response reflecting phase-locked activity to the envelope of a speech stimulus, can be detected using a variety of statistical …

Modelling Loudness: Acoustic And Perceptual Correlates In The Context Of Hypophonia In Parkinson’S Disease, Daryn Amory Cushnie-Sparrow

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hypophonia (quiet speech) is a common speech symptom associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and is associated with reduced intelligibility, communicative effectiveness, and communicative participation. Studies of hypophonia commonly employ average speech intensity as the primary dependent measure, which may not entirely capture loudness deficits. Loudness may also be affected by the frequency components of speech (i.e. spectral balance) and speech level variability. The present investigation examined relationships between perceived loudness and intelligibility with acoustic measures of loudness, speech intensity, and spectral distribution in individuals with hypophonia secondary to Parkinson’s disease (IWPDs) and neurologically healthy older adults (HOAs).

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The Relation Of Auditory Temporal Processing To Language Development And Other Cognitive Processes: Methodological And Conceptual Considerations, Rachael E. Smyth

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Separate lines of research have demonstrated relations between auditory temporal processing and language ability and between information processing speed and intelligence. Because these processes have rarely been studied in the same sample, it is unclear how auditory temporal processing and information processing speed may operate together and how they may relate to cognitive functions including language. The overarching aim of this dissertation was to integrate these lines of research to better understand whether auditory temporal processing has a unique relation with language, or whether it relates more broadly to language and other cognitive functions as a part of global information …

Speech-Language Pathology Interventions And Ingredients That Support Social Communication And Language Of Preschoolers With Autism, Amanda Binns

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the best predictors of long-term outcomes for autistic children is development of language and social communication skills. Therefore, it’s not surprising that speech and language therapy is one of the most frequently accessed interventions for children with suspected or diagnosed autism. From a public health and family well-being perspective, identifying effective social communication interventions and better understanding the specific components that contribute to their effectiveness is critical. However, there is a lack of clarity about the most effective interventions. This dissertation addressed this important topic through three studies.

Study 1 examined the literature on interventions provided by speech-language …