Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Theory Of Mind Acquisition In Children Who Are Deaf: The Importance Of Early Identification And Communication Access, Kimberly A. Peters, Jessica Beer, David Pisoni, Ethan Remmell

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare Theory of Mind (ToM) acquisition in typically-hearing preschool-age children (TH), and deaf children of hearing parents (DCHP) who received a cochlear implant by 18 months of age, to determine if early access to spoken language via a cochlear implant affected ToM acquisition.

Methods: Participants included 25 children with cochlear implants ages 3.0 to 6.5 years and 25 age-matched children with TH all of whom were enrolled in preschools with typical peer models. The test battery included measures of expressive and receptive language and ToM.

Results: There were no …

Dysfunctional Tissue Correlates Of Unrelated Naming Errors In Acute Left Hemisphere Stroke, Erin L. Meier, Shannon M. Sheppard, Emily B. Goldberg, Catherine R. Kelly, Alexandra Walker, Delaney M. Ubellacker, Emilia Vitti, Kristina Ruch, Argye E. Hillis

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Most naming error lesion-symptom mapping (LSM) studies have focused on semantic and/or phonological errors. Anomic individuals also produce unrelated word errors, which may be linked to semantic or modality-independent lexical deficits. To investigate the neural underpinnings of rarely-studied unrelated errors, we conducted LSM analyses in 100 individuals hospitalised with a left hemisphere stroke who completed imaging protocols and language assessments. We used least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression to capture relationships between naming errors and dysfunctional brain tissue metrics (regional damage or hypoperfusion in vascular territories) in two groups: participants with and without impaired single-word auditory comprehension. Hypoperfusion—particularly within …

Spoken Word Learning In Children With Developmental Language Disorder Or Dyslexia, Suzanne M. Adlof, Lauren S. Baron, Bethany A. Bell, Joanna Scoggins

Faculty Publications

Purpose Word learning difficulties have been documented in multiple studies involving children with dyslexia and developmental language disorder (DLD; see also specific language impairment). However, no previous studies have directly contrasted word learning in these two frequently co-occurring disorders. We examined word learning in second-grade students with DLD-only and dyslexia-only as compared to each other, peers with both disorders (DLD + dyslexia), and peers with typical development. We hypothesized that children with dyslexia-only and DLD-only would show differences in word learning due to differences in their core language strengths and weaknesses. Method Children ( = 244) were taught eight novel …

Language As The Medium: A Literature Review. Harnessing The Prolific Power Of Dramatic Language As A Therapeutic Tool In Drama Therapy, Edward Freeman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Language in and of the theatre, with its palate of variegated writing styles and playwrights from throughout time, has the potential to be harnessed, focused, and systematized for use as a therapeutic tool within drama therapy – the field’s artistic medium. Drama therapy could benefit from having a specific medium germane to its artform which has the potential to provide practitioners with a common resource and means of communication, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning, as well as align the field with other creative arts therapies. Language encompasses all forms of human communication – speaking, writing, signing, gesturing, expressing facially – …

Language Sampling With Older School-Aged Children: Examination Of Analyses And Sampling Contexts, Michelle Lenhart

Dissertations, 2020-current

Purpose: Conversation, narrative, and expository language sampling contexts are recommended for school-aged children (Pezold et al., 2020), and multiple ways to analyze these samples have been promoted in the clinical literature. This dissertation addressed two gaps in the literature related to analyses and sampling contexts. The purpose of study one was to examine differences in two commonly-used language sample analysis methods, Sampling Utterances Grammatical Analysis Revised (SUGAR) and Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT). The purpose of study two was to examine the presence of age-related changes in conversation, narrative, and expository contexts for older school-aged children.

Method: Conversational, narrative, …

Functional Connectivity Of The Inferior Frontal Gyrus In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emma Miller

Honors Theses

ABSTRACT

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association defines Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as a “neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction” which is heavily impacts language abilities. There is an abundance of research on the neurological aspects of the disorder, which appear to have major differences of activation and functionality when compared to typically developing peers. Specifically, in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a key language region of the brain, functional connectivity levels tend to be significantly less in ASD groups. This study recognizes these trends and aims to expand the research by locating specific functional connections …

Predictors Of Poststroke Aphasia Recovery: A Systematic Review-Informed Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, Marian C. Brady, Release Collaborators, Jackie Hinckley

HPD Articles

Background and Purpose:

The factors associated with recovery of language domains after stroke remain uncertain. We described recovery of overall-language-ability, auditory comprehension, naming, and functional-communication across participants’ age, sex, and aphasia chronicity in a large, multilingual, international aphasia dataset.

Methods:

Individual participant data meta-analysis of systematically sourced aphasia datasets described overall-language ability using the Western Aphasia Battery Aphasia-Quotient; auditory comprehension by Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT) Token Test; naming by Boston Naming Test and functional-communication by AAT Spontaneous-Speech Communication subscale. Multivariable analyses regressed absolute score-changes from baseline across language domains onto covariates identified a priori in randomized controlled trials and all …

Content Validity Of Aba Language Assessments In The Totality Of Skinner's Verbal Operant Theory, Taylor Marie Lauer

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Content validity describes the degree of which a measure represents all the components of the overall construct being measured. Behavior analytic language assessments are largely based on Skinner’s verbal operant theory (1957). Three behavior analytic language assessments were utilized to measure the coverage of Skinner’s verbal behavior theory: the VB-MAPP, ABLLS-R, and PEAK. The purpose of the current study was to examine the content validity of each of these assessments coverage on the totality of Skinner’s verbal operant theory. Expressive items on each of the three assessments were compared to definitions of Skinner’s verbal operants and were coded as the …

The Effects Of Cochlear Implantation And Educational Audiology Services On Language Skills: A Case Study, Madison Josey

Honors Theses

Purpose

Hearing loss can affect many aspects of a child’s life, particularly their language abilities and academic performance. Literature shows that children with hearing loss are more likely to have language deficits compared to their hearing peers (Tomblin et al., 2015). The degree to which language skills are affected has been shown to correlate with various factors, such as age of identification, hearing levels, and amount of speech and language intervention (Delage & Tuller, 2020; Shojaei et al., 2016). The aim of this research study was to assess how cochlear implantation and speech-language intervention affects the language skills and academic …

Adhd Performance On Nonverbal Measures Of Set Shifting And Working Memory, S. Hans Stoltzfus

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The relationship between language and cognition is an area of inquiry among many psychologists (Pellicano, 2010; Russel, 1996). The connection between thoughts, verbal language, and nonverbal communication turned researchers towards the relationship between language and executive functioning. Executive functioning (EF) is described as tasks involving working memory, inhibition, and set shifting (Miyake and Friedman (2012)). Despite studies demonstrating the correlation between language deficits and lower executive functioning there is not consensus on the directionality of the relationship (Kuhn, et al 2014; Boting et al., 2017). Data from the Leiter International Performance Scale, Third Edition (Leiter-3) (Roid, et al., 2013) were …

Investigating The Role Of Inattention And/Or Hyperactivity/Impulsivity In Language And Social Functioning Using A Dimensional Approach, Kaitlyn M.A. Parks, Janis E.Oram Cardy, Tiffany G. Woynaroski, Claudia G. Sehl, Ryan A. Stevenson

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. The current study parsed out the distinct components of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology to examine differential relations with language and social ability. Using a research domain criteria (RDoC) framework, we administered standardized tests and previously developed and validated questionnaires to assess levels of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity symptomatology, language, social responsivity and social competency in 98 young adults. Those with higher inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity symptomatology had reduced language comprehension, social responsivity, and social competency. Inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity both predicted language comprehension, but not language production. Interestingly, inattention uniquely contributed to social responsiveness and social competency, but hyperactivity/impulsivity …

A Hidden Effect Of War: Blast-Related, Traumatic Brain Injury (Btbi)

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Diagnostic Journey Of A Preschool-Aged Female: A Retrospective Case Study, Lindsay Nicole Crafton

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the diagnostic route of a preschool-aged female initially suspected of having ASD with communication deficits and explore her journey to seek and receive services. In any diagnostic experience, it is imperative that caregivers understand the steps to seek appropriate evaluations and receive necessary services to improve their child’s quality of life. While there are some systemic procedures in place aimed to identify children with communication disorders or other developmental concerns such as ASD early; the ultimate responsibility falls on the caregiver to follow up and follow through. Although diagnostic criteria for …

Aphasia In Multilingual Patients, Mira Goral, Zahra Hejazi

Publications and Research

Purpose of Review

We summarize recent published work concerning assessment and treatment of aphasia in bilingual and multilingual people and review current related models of treatment outcomes. As well, we discuss studies that address the recently debated topic of cognitive processes in bilingual individuals with aphasia, with a focus on the effects of bilingualism on aphasia recovery and its potential protective effects.

Recent Findings

Providing assessment and treatment tools that best serve multilingual individuals with aphasia and unpacking the variables and mechanisms that underlie response to treatment have emerged as goals of several recent studies. Additionally, while findings are still …

Predictors Of Poststroke Aphasia Recovery: A Systematic Review-Informed Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, The Rehabilitation And Recovery Of People With Aphasia After Stroke (Release) Collaborators

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background and Purpose: The factors associated with recovery of language domains after stroke remain uncertain. We described recovery of overall-language-ability, auditory comprehension, naming, and functional-communication across participants’ age, sex, and aphasia chronicity in a large, multilingual, international aphasia dataset. Methods: Individual participant data meta-analysis of systematically sourced aphasia datasets described overall-language ability using the Western Aphasia Battery Aphasia-Quotient; auditory comprehension by Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT) Token Test; naming by Boston Naming Test and functional-communication by AAT Spontaneous-Speech Communication subscale. Multivariable analyses regressed absolute score-changes from baseline across language domains onto covariates identified a priori in randomized controlled trials and all …

The Perception And Strategies Of Building Rapport With Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Via Telepractice, Anna Cathryn Wall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Telepractice is a growing method in providing services in the profession of Speech-Language Pathology. One question with this growing method is, how do we build rapport when using telepractice? In this study, we intended to find what pediatric SLPs' perceptions and strategies of building rapport via telepractice is with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ages 5-12, and children’s age was considered as an influential factor. While previous studies have focused on perceptions, we wanted to know what SLPs are doing in order to build rapport with their clients when using telepractice. We reached out to 223 SLPs and there …

Embodiment In Early Development: Exploring The Relationships Between Sensorimotor Skills, Gesture, And Language, Jessica R. Stewart, Ruth Crutchfield, Melissa Pierce, Debra C. Vigil

Communication Sciences & Disorders Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between sensorimotor abilities, gesture, and language in prelinguistic typically developing children from an embodied cognition perspective.

Method: Participants included a total of 54 typically developing infants and toddlers between the ages of 9 months and 15 months. All participants were administered the Mullen’s Scale of Early Learning (MSEL) and two gesture samples were obtained and coded. The MSEL was used to analyze sensorimotor and language abilities which were explored in relation to gesture.

Results: Results established that sensorimotor skills are related to gesture and expressive language, but not receptive language. Visual reception was …

An Analysis Of Informational Content In A Descriptive Narrative Task Completed By People With Aphasia, Anna Marie Sulminski, Brent Archer, Jay Jones

Honors Projects

Speech and language are important tools used for communication. Communication techniques such as narrative story telling skills can be used to build relationships. People with aphasia may lack these effective communication skills. This study provides a close-up interpretation of people with aphasia telling the story of Cinderella. Two different approaches were used to analyze the elements of the participant’s stories. By using these approaches during speech therapy, Speech-Language Pathologists can help people with aphasia to build a more concise and thorough story.

Exposure, Knowledge, And Experience Of Graduate Students In Communication Disorders On Treating Speech/Language Issues In Adults With Neurological Disorders Using Singing-Based Therapy, Tassie Lee Murphree

Student Theses and Dissertations

There are speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who use singing while in therapy to treat a variety of disorders for adults with neurological disorders. This study was conducted to investigate graduate student exposure to, knowledge of, and experience with utilizing singing in therapy with this population. Specifically, this survey was distributed to first- and second-year graduate students in communication disorders. The survey consisted of both general and specific questions to more effectively analyze the students’ familiarity levels with the topic, overall. The results indicated that the majority of students demonstrated limited knowledge of and exposure to singing in therapy. The students’ comfort …

English Morpheme Accuracy, Diversity, And Productivity Measures In School-Aged Bilingual Children, Gabrielle Raab

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The identification of meaningful language measures for bilingual children has important clinical implications in the diagnosis of impairment. Given the shortage of bilingual speech-language pathologists, informative English measures are invaluable. This study extends current research to examine the utility of widely accepted English grammatical measures in bilingual school-aged children with differing levels of English exposure. The language sample analyses implemented have shown repeatedly to discriminate between typical and language impaired monolinguals, and more recently were considered in the assessment of developing bilinguals. Measures were taken from the language samples of thirteen school-aged bilingual Spanish-English speaking children who told a story …

Morphological Production Accuracy Patterns In Younger And Older Spanish-English Bilingual Children, Isabel Angelica Cano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Clinicians require a model of typical bilingual language development. Morphological production accuracy patterns vary in Spanish-English (S-E) bilingual children considering differences in the exposure and use of their two languages compared to their monolingual peers. The purpose of the current study was to examine morphological production accuracy patterns in thirty younger (3- to 4-years old) and older (5- to 6-years old) S-E bilingual children utilizing English and Spanish Morphosyntax subtests from a bilingual language screener. Across development, older bilingual children were more accurate on all forms in both English and Spanish than younger bilingual children. Across languages, all S-E bilingual …

Automated Phonetic Transcription Grading Tool (Aptgt), Marisha Speights Atkins, Dallin J. Bailey, Cheryl D. Seals, Guorui Li, Robertson Bassy, Yang Cao, Sicheng Li, Bennett Abigail

Faculty Publications

The Automated Phonetic Transcription Grading Tool (APTgt) is an online Learning Management System (LMS) that facilitates the comparison of phonetic transcriptions for instruction and clinical training purposes. It uses an embedded IPA graphical keyboard for transcription input. A custom edit distance algorithm aligns transcriptions in an intuitive way and then calculates differences quantitatively. This allows for objective scoring of transcriptions of even severely impaired productions, which may be difficult to score via traditional comparison methods. APTgt also includes support for comparing narrow phonetic transcriptions with diacritics. Contact the Technologies for Speech Language Pathology Research Lab at [email protected] for registration information.

Efficacy Of A Three-Week Intervention Program For Children In The Areas Of Language, Articulation, Phonological Awareness, And Auditory Processing, Zoey Caballero

Honors Theses

Competency in the areas of language, articulation, phonological awareness, and auditory processing are essential for children to succeed academically. For the past four summers, select professors and graduate student clinicians in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Department at Andrews University have conducted an intensive three-week therapy program for school aged children to target these areas. By comparing pre/post-test scores, the purpose of the study is to obtain statistical evidence for specific therapy interventions in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the intensive therapy program.

Orthographic And Phonological Processing In Beginning Readers, Emily Fisher

Senior Theses

In order to learn to “sound out” new words, children must have phonological awareness, the ability to reflect on and manipulate the sounds in words. However, in skilled readers, performance on phonological awareness tasks is influenced by orthographic awareness, the awareness of spelling patterns and constraints. Both orthographic and phonological awareness are essential to reading, however, until recently the role of orthographic knowledge in phonological awareness has not been thoroughly investigated in beginning readers. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between orthographic and phonological knowledge in beginning readers and established a proof of concept for the use of …

Visual Habituation In Deaf And Hearing Infants, Claire Monroy, Carissa Shafto, Irina Castellanos, Tonya Bergeson, Derek Houston

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Early cognitive development relies on the sensory experiences that infants acquire as they explore their environment. Atypical experience in one sensory modality from birth may result in fundamental differences in general cognitive abilities. The primary aim of the current study was to compare visual habituation in infants with profound hearing loss, prior to receiving cochlear implants (CIs), and age-matched peers with typical hearing. Two complementary measures of cognitive function and attention maintenance were assessed: the length of time to habituate to a visual stimulus, and look-away rate during habituation. Findings revealed that deaf infants were slower to habituate to a …

Young Children’S Family History Of Stuttering And Their Articulation, Language And Attentional Abilities: An Exploratory Study, Victoria Tumanova, Dahye Choi, Edward G. Conture, Chagit E. Clark, Tedra A. Walden, Robin M. Jones

Communication Sciences and Disorders - All Scholarship

Purpose—The purpose of this study was to determine whether young children who do (CWS) and do not stutter (CWNS) with a positive versus negative family history of stuttering differ in articulation, language and attentional abilities and family histories of articulation, language and attention related disorders.

Method—Participants were 25 young CWS and 50 young CWNS. All 75 participants’ caregivers consistently reported a positive or negative family history of stuttering across three consecutive time points that were about 8 months apart for a total of approximately 16 months. Each participant’s family history focused on the same, relatively limited number of generations (i.e., …

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 …

Pupillometry As A Test Of Infant Word Recognition, Amy Vinyard

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Pupillometry holds great promise as a tool for infant language research but has not yet been used to probe word recognition. The goal of the described study was to design a functioning method that can later be used to test the possibility of using pupil dilation as a gauge of word recognition in 11-month-olds. To do this, we used the methods of an existing study (The Role of Accentual Pattern in Early Lexical Representation, Vihman, Nakai, DePaolis, & Hallé 2004) with modifications. Our method ran a one-sided head turn preference paradigm with the addition of an eye tracker for pupil …

Efficacy Of A Three-Week Intervention Program For A School-Aged Children In The Areas Of Language, Literacy, Phonological Awareness, And Auditory Processing, Nicole Weis

Honors Theses

Research demonstrates that competency in the areas of language, phonological awareness, and auditory processing is vital to academic success in children, as well as in navigating adult life. The study's purpose is to measure the efficacy of an intensive, three-week summer camp therapy program for school-aged children in addressing these areas, and to identify areas of strength and weakness in the program and interventions implemented. Programs utilized during the summer camp included Visualizing and Verbalizing(TM), Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing(R), On Cloud Nine(R), Color My Conversation, Differential Processing Training Program(TM), as well as science experiments, and snack and crafts time.

Dialogic Reading With Adolescent Mothers, Diana L. Abarca

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching dialogic reading (DR) strategies to adolescent mothers as measured by DR strategy use during shared book reading with their children. The secondary purpose was to determine the impact of adolescent mothers' implementation of DR strategies on their preschool children’s single word vocabulary. A single subject multiple baseline across behaviors research design was implemented with one adolescent mother and her twin boys. Based on visual analysis of graphical representation of the data, it was determined there was a moderate to strong functional relation between educating an adolescent mother on …