Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Through Children's Eyes: Teaching Inclusivity And Understanding Of Communication Disorders With Children's Books, Rachel Peavler

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

“Through Children’s Eyes” is a series of children’s books that focus on describing different aspects of four different communication disorders. The topics covered in the books include augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), dementia, and dysfluency. The illustrations were drawn and colored by hand, and the text and background were added digitally. The goal of this project was to create materials to effectively inform and instruct children about the nature of various cognitive, speech, and developmental differences to foster greater understanding of and tolerance towards people with communication differences.

Examining Sensory Ability, Feature Matching And Assessment-Based Adaptation For A Brain–Computer Interface Using The Steady-State Visually Evoked Potential, Jonathan S. Brumberg, Anh Nguyen, Kevin M. Pitt, Sean D. Lorenz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: We investigated how overt visual attention and oculomotor control influence successful use of a visual feedback brain-computer interface (BCI) for accessing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices in a heterogeneous population of individuals with profound neuromotor impairments. BCIs are often tested within a single patient population limiting generalization of results. This study focuses on examining individual sensory abilities with an eye toward possible interface adaptations to improve device performance.

Methods: Five individuals with a range of neuromotor disorders participated in four-choice BCI control task involving the steady state visually evoked potential. The BCI graphical interface was designed to simulate …

Mainstream Tablets As Speech Generating Devices: Considerations In Decision Making, Kaylee Sienza, Ann R. Beck, Amy L. Yacucci

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

In the last several years, the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has seen significant technological advances that are both innovative and exciting. One of the main advances in technology comes in AAC applications on mainstream tablet devices like iPads. Tablet devices with AAC applications are being explored as an alternative to dedicated speech generating devices due to cost and convenience. But, before choosing between a mainstream tablet AAC device and a dedicated AAC device, there are several foundational elements of AAC to be understood. All of the AAC basics and considerations should be part of the assessment process …

Factors Related To Successful Implementation Of An Aac Device For An Individual With Autism, Michaela Worms

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Communication impairment is a defining characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013); therefore, the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has become an essential part of language intervention for children with autism that experience significant difficulties with communication (Flores et al., 2012). Assessing children’s preferences for AAC options may be important with respect to AAC abandonment, which is a problem in the AAC field (Johnson, Inglebret, Jones, & Ray, 2006). This single-subject study identified factors related to successful implementation, acquisition, and usage of an AAC system. The clinician collected baseline data on the client’s spontaneous production …

The Efficacy Of Baby Sign Language In Reducing Problem Behaviors In Typically Developing Children, Nguyen-Chau Dinh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Baby sign is an emerging trend that is speculated to reduce the instances of tantrums, emotional outbursts, and frustration in typically hearing infants (Nelson, White, & Grewe, 2012). Despite its proclaimed benefits, little research has been conducted to evaluate the true efficacy of baby sign in reducing problem behaviors in typically hearing children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not baby sign could be used as an alternative and augmentative communication modality in increasing communicative intent and decreasing stress. A single subject, AB design was used to examine the changes in behavior in a typically developing …

Neural Coding Of Natural And Synthetic Speech., Allison Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined whether natural and synthetic speech are differentially encoded in the auditory cortex. Auditory event-related potential (ERP) waveforms were elicited by natural and synthetic fricative-vowel stimuli (/sɑ/ and /ʃɑ/) in a passive listening paradigm in adult listeners with normal hearing. ERP response components were compared across conditions. The results indicated that peak latencies to natural speech were significantly earlier than those to synthetic speech. Natural speech also produced significant electrode hemisphere site effects, whereas synthetic speech activated left, midline, and right electrode hemisphere sites equally. Overall, the results suggest that cortical processing of natural and synthetic speech …

Assessment With Children Who Need Augmentative And Alternative Communication (Aac): Clinical Decisions Of Aac Specialists, Shelley Lund, Wendy Quach, Kristy S. E. Weissling, Miechelle L. Mckelvey, Aimee R. Dietz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) specialists approach the assessment process for 2 case studies, 1 child with cerebral palsy and 1 with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to answer the following questions: (a) How do clinicians with expertise approach the AAC assessment process for children with developmental disabilities? (b) Can any initial hypothesis be drawn about how SLPs approach the assessment of children with motor versus social interactive deficits?

Method

This study used a phenomenological qualitative design. The researchers conducted 2 …

Caregiver Training Program On Emergent Literacy Development Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Users, Meghan Bowers

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Teaching early literacy to typically developing individuals is widely practiced and has a vast amount of research backing its success (Strum et. al., 2006). Current research has shown that both children and adult augmentative and alternative (AAC) users are underachieving in the development of reading and spelling skills, but the underachievement in these areas is not correlated to a lack of cognitive and linguistic abilities (Sandberg, Smith, Larsson, 2010). Like their typically developing peers, AAC users must have the same repeated opportunities to participate in a wide range of literacy tasks to attain literacy skills (Strum et. al., 2006).

Children …

Evaluation Of An Augmentative And Alternative Communication Intervention For Individuals With Aphasia., Michelle Lam

CMC Senior Theses

With a large population of people who suffer from aphasia, it is imperative that an effective form of therapy is utilized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) programs in improving the communication needs and lives of people affected by aphasia. Individuals (n = 20) suffering from aphasia for 3 months or more completed therapy sessions with speech and language pathologists and the AAC program. Pre- and post-intervention evaluations were administered, consisting of communication satisfaction and success questionnaires, the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB), and probing tests (prompt and response) with an …

Stakeholder Perspectives Of The Effectiveness Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Techniques In Children With Autism, Daria Constantinescu

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to utilize focus groups and individual interviews to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of augmentative and alternative (AAC) techniques in facilitating language in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as expressed by the opinions and attitudes of stakeholders involved in the process. ASD is a disorder that affects an individual's social and communication skills that usually surfaces within a child's first three years of life. There have been numerous studies conducted comparing different types of AAC intervention systems, but there is little information on stakeholders' opinions. The current study utilized one focus group interview …

Examining Barriers With Implementing Augmentative And Alternative Communication In A Midwest School, Ashley Renee Fields

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in a Midwest urban public school system have experienced barriers that prohibit the effective use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The result has left some students with speech language impairments (SLI) without the communication skills for meaningful relationships and success in and out of school. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to determine the perceived barriers of 8 local school SLPs regarding the successful implementation of AAC and their suggestions for addressing the problem. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with the SLPs. Data collection and analysis were grounded by Ely's conditions of …

Augmentative And Alternative Communication In The Intensive Care Unit, Jonathan Todd Sizemore

Online Theses and Dissertations

Current research is lacking on the frequency of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system use in intensive care units (ICU) and clinical decision making patterns. AAC is use of any alternative method of communication when oral communication cannot be achieved (ASHA, 2013). Patients in the ICU may become nonverbal for many reasons including tracheostomy, mechanical ventilation (McKinley, Pooke, & White, 2010) and intubation (Radtke, Bauman, Garrett, & Happ, 2011). Being nonverbal in the ICU may lead to poorer health outcomes (Patak, Wilson-Stronks, & Costello, 2009). AAC systems may improve outcomes by allowing patients to communicate more clearly with family, friends, …

The Impact Of Interface Design During An Initial High-Technology Aac Experience: A Collective Case Study Of People With Aphasia, Aimee R. Dietz, Kristy S.E. Weissling, Julie Griffith, Miechelle L. Mckelvey, Devan Macke

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe the communication behaviors of five people with chronic aphasia when they retold personal narratives to an unfamiliar communication partner using four variants of a visual scene display (VSD) interface. The results revealed that spoken language comprised roughly 70% of expressive modality units; variable patterns of use for other modalities emerged. Although inconsistent across participants, several people with aphasia experienced no trouble sources during the retells using VSDs with personally relevant photographs and text boxes. Overall, participants perceived the personally relevant photographs and the text as helpful during the retells. These …

Finding Similarities Between Photographs And The Stroke And Aphasia Quality Of Life Scale - 39 (Saqol-39) Items, Ashley Renee Brouwer

LSU Master's Theses

Background: The Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39) is a valid, reliable quality of life (QoL) assessment for PWA (Hilari, 2003; Hilari, Byng, Lamping, & Smith, 2003). However, individuals with severe aphasia are unable to use it because their ability to comprehend the text is too severely impaired for accurate self-report (Hilari & Byng, 2009; Hilari et al., 2003; Hilari, Owen, & Farrelly, 2007). Proxy respondents often report on QoL measures for these individuals; however, studies suggest differences between proxy-reported and self-reported scores in less severe populations (e.g., Cruice, Worrall, Hickson, & Murison, 2005; Engell, Hütter, Willmes, & …

Creating A Curriculum To Integrate Augmentative And Alternative Communication In A Preschool Setting, Megan R. Graham

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background/Introduction: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices are tools used to help individuals with speech difficulties to communicate. The University of Arkansas AAC Lab is designed to develop and evaluate technology and implementation strategies for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In this research setting, we used Proloquo2Go, TouchChat, and a developing AAC program. I have created a curriculum for this Lab that integrates this AAC program into a preschool setting for preschoolers with extensive support needs. Purpose: This project was meant to create a pre-school curriculum for special needs preschoolers implementing models of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy, Occupational …

The Effects Of Closed Head Injury On The Learnability Of Blissymbols, Andrea J. Rabish

Masters Theses

This study attempted to determine the effects of cognitive-communicative functioning in individuals who have sustained closed head injury on learnability of Blissymbols. Two features of Blissymbols, translucency and complexity, were examined to find their effects on Blissymbol learnability. Another focus of the study was to determine the effects of translucency and complexity interaction on learnability. The final research question concerned the relationship of cognitive-communicative functioning and Blissymbol learnability. Nine Subject, each rated with the Ranch Los Amigo Scale of Cognitive Functioning, participated in a task that required learning forty Blissymbols in a paired-associative learning task. The subjects were divided into …