Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Neural Regions Underlying Object And Action Naming: Complementary Evidence From Acute Stroke And Primary Progressive Aphasia, Bonnie L. Breining, Andreia V. Feria, Brian Caffo, Erin L. Meier, Shannon M. Sheppard, Rajani Sebastian, Donna C. Tippett, Argye E. Hillis

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Naming impairment is commonly noted in individuals with aphasia. However, object naming receives more attention than action naming. Furthermore, most studies include participants with aphasia due to only one aetiology, commonly stroke. We developed a new assessment, the Hopkins Action Naming Assessment (HANA), to evaluate action naming impairments.

Methods >& Procedures: Participants (N = 138 PPA, N = 37 acute stroke) completed the BNT and HANA. Behavioural performance was compared. A subset of participants (N = 31 PPA, N = 37 acute stroke) provided neuroimaging data. The whole brain was automatically segmented into regions of interest (ROIs). …

Objective Detection Of Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials, Daniel J. Romero

Dissertations, 2020-current

Cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs and oVEMPs, respectfully) are considered objective tests of vestibular function measured using surface electromyography (EMG). In addition, VEMPs are visually detected by an examiner, often requiring a high level of stimulation to the ear to easily visualize a waveform plotted across time. However, a high level of stimulation, like those used during routine VEMP testing, is problematic since it has been shown to be unsafe in children when compared to adults. Visual interpretation can also vary between examiners in cases of reduced vestibular function or when the level of required muscle contraction …

Death Anxiety, Artmaking And The Facilitation Of Death Discourse, Heather Conley

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Discussion about death, known as death discourse, has been historically limited to the confines of the palliative care, elderly and hospice arenas (Bradshaw, 1996; Granek, 2013; Safrai, 2013; Zimmerman, 2012). This study examined the impact of artmaking on facilitating death discourse in college-aged students from a midwestern United States campus. A mixed methods design was implemented in which participants completed the Communication Apprehension about Death Scale (CADS; Carmack & DeGroot, 2016), an artmaking directive addressing feelings about death, followed by a Post-Artmaking Reflection about their artwork. Following a 10-day time period after the artmaking session, participants were re-administered the CADS …

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, …

Dual Task Study Of Cognitive And Postural Interference: Development Of A Methodology For Use In Vestibular Disorders, Valerie Beacham

Dissertations, 2020-current

For patients with vestibular impairments, postural stability alone can be demanding but is more taxing when an individual’s attention is focused on both maintaining balance and a secondary/cognitive task simultaneously. Thus, dual task paradigms where balance must be maintained while performing postural and cognitive tasks concurrently provides an assessment on one’s attentional resources available for balance. Previous studies show varying levels of dual task effects in patients with vestibular loss with little consistency between studies regarding choice of balance and cognitive tasks. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a dual task paradigm using portable instrumentation …

Influence Of Musicianship, Socioeconomic Status, And Working Memory On Children’S Speech Recognition In Noise, Victoria H. Whitney

Dissertations, 2020-current

Superior speech recognition in the presence of background noise has been repeatedly observed among musicians. For children whose auditory skills are immature or delayed, improved speech-in-noise understanding via musical training could have significant clinical implications. The present study considered the impact socioeconomic status (SES) and working memory have on musicians’ greater skill during such tasks in order to better understand the mediating factors of the proposed musician advantage, as well as provide additional evidence of its existence. Participants were recruited by the Laboratory for Auditory Perception in Children and Adults at James Madison University. Ultimately, twenty-five normal-hearing children between the …

Assessing Word Recognition Through Head Turn Preference In Infants With Chronic Otitis Media, Allison E. Schmidt

Dissertations, 2020-current

Previous studies across a variety of different languages have shown that eleven-month-olds tested via the head-turn preference paradigm show a preference for familiar words over unfamiliar words, as demonstrated by longer look times. This study examined the effect of chronic otitis media on the preference for familiar over unfamiliar words. Nine eleven-month-old children (mean age 342 days, SD = 9.61) with chronic ear infections, defined as three or more diagnoses before the test date, were tested using wordlists adapted from a study performed by Vihman et al. (2004). Children with a history of chronic otitis media did not show a …

The Influence Of Side-Lying Position On Oropharyngeal Swallow Function In At-Risk Infants: An Exploratory Study, Julian White

Dissertations, 2020-current

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) are the primary healthcare providers responsible for the evaluation and treatment of infant feeding and swallowing disorders. At-risk infants, such as those born prematurely or with certain medical conditions, are more prone to swallowing impairments (i.e., dysphagia). Dysphagia in at-risk infants can have severe consequences such as chronic respiratory symptoms, pneumonia, progressive lung disease, undernutrition, and death. Therefore, it is important to have methods of examining an infant’s swallow functioning that are both safe and accurate. A leading method of evaluating infant swallowing is the Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBS). The works contained within this dissertation document …

Effect Of A Small Change In Auricle Projection On Sound Localization, Elizabeth N. Surface

Dissertations, 2020-current

Pinnae assist in sound localization, and changes in auricle shape, position, or projection can theoretically alter the perceived position of a sound. The minimal displacement required to affect perceived sound location is undefined. This study quantified the error in horizontal sound localization when auricle projection is slightly decreased. The study was conducted at two sites by different experimenters, using different (though similar) systems, over a year apart. There were 21 normal-hearing participants: 11 at the University of Virginia (UVA) and 10 at James Madison University (JMU). Both UVA and JMU protocols involved a normal listening condition and a second condition …

Working With Bilingual Children: Speech Language Pathology, Paola Prado

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

No abstract provided.

The Interhemispheric Connectivity Of The Auditory Cortices, Taylor Stansberry

Honors Theses

Objectives: The corpus callosum of the brain is an important and complex structure that allows communication between the two cerebral hemispheres. In the absence of knowledge about the relationship between the corpus callosum and the auditory cortices, this study aimed to investigate how the structure changes. Specifically, we explored the age associated changes of interhemispheric connectivity between left and right cortices through the corpus callosum.Methods: Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data from enhanced Nathan Kline Institute- Rockland Sample (NKI-RS), we isolated the auditory corpus callosum, or the section of the corpus callosum that transfers auditory information, in each individual subject …

The Effects Of Disclosure On Perceptions Of Different Overt Stuttering Severity Levels, Katelyn Geringswald

Honors Theses

This study measured perceptions of a 17-year-old adolescent male who stutters, relative to select speech skills and personality characteristics, as a function of self-disclosure at various overt severity levels. 983 participants were assigned one of the four conditions, including (1) a no-disclosure control group, (2) mild stuttering severity self-disclosure, (3) moderate stuttering severity self-disclosure, and (4) severe stuttering severity self-disclosure. Participants assigned to the control condition viewed only a primary video stimulus of a 17-year-old adolescent who stutters. Participants assigned to one of the three experimental conditions (mild, moderate, or severe severity disclosure) watched a brief self-disclosure statement, followed by …

Early Intervention Service Delivery Models In Mississippi: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Claire Harper

Honors Theses

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to compare two models of service delivery for early intervention in Mississippi from a health care sector perspective: (1) face-to-face therapy in the home environment and (2) a hybrid model (i.e., telepractice and face-to-face therapy in the home environment), in order to compare costs and determine the most cost-effective service delivery of early intervention.

Methods: Children (n = 10) were recruited and determined to qualify for early intervention services through the Mississippi First Steps Early Intervention program. One early intervention provider, a certified SLP, from the northern health region provided early intervention …

Clinical Effectiveness Of Early Intervention Via A Hybrid Teletherapy Model: Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rylan Ponthier

Honors Theses

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of Early Intervention (EI) provided via a hybrid model of teletherapy and traditional face-to-face therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to children without ASD.

Methods: In total, 10 children were evaluated receiving early intervention via a hybrid model of teletherapy and traditional face-to-face therapy. The children were divided up into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 5 children with ASD and Group 2 consisted of children without ASD. All children were assessed using the Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale (RITLS).

Results: After 20 early intervention sessions, …

The Effect Of Advocate Disclosure On The Perceptions Of A Young Adult Who Stutters, Madeline Simpson

Honors Theses

This between-group study designed weighed the effects of stuttering disclosure on the perceptions of a 17-year-old male who stutters, relative to perceived speech skills and personality characteristics. 1225 participants were included in the dataset analysis with a balanced distribution across all ranges. The conditions used in this study include (1) control condition (no disclosure), as well as experimental conditions including: (2) father disclosure, (3) male coach disclosure, (4) female teacher disclosure, (5) girlfriend disclosure, and (6) female speech-language pathologist. Participants in the control group only viewed the primary video stimulus, while participants in the experimental groups viewed one of the …

The Functional Connectivity Of The Auditory Cortex In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katherine Wilson

Honors Theses

Disturbance of the auditory cortex in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is well known as well as its influence on hearing. Functional connectivity within the brain is also known to be affected by ASD. However, functional connectivity of the auditory cortex in ASD has yet to be studied. In this study, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), functional connectivity of the auditory cortex was examined by comparing 68 individuals with ASD and 75 individuals with ASD. Four brain regions showed smaller functional connectivity to and from the auditory cortex; the occipital cortex, …

Light And Heavy Verb Usage By People With Non-Fluent Aphasia, Chase Sophia Kozak

Honors Theses

The purpose of the study was to investigate the discourse elicitation task effect and whether it affects the production of verbs with different semantic weight (light verbs with vague semantic representations, e.g., ‘do’, or heavy verbs with specific semantic representations, e.g., ‘deliver’). Thirty people with non-fluent aphasia and twenty people without aphasia were included. The light and heavy verb ratios over the total number of verbs were calculated for two discourse elicitation tasks: sequential picture description and storytelling. The results for the healthy control group showed that they produced a significant higher heavy verb ratio in sequential picture description than …

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 …

Loss And Attainment Of Identity For Individuals Experiencing Early Onset Dementia, Benjamin Wright

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Qualitative research over the last decade suggests that connection with others and continued engagement in everyday life contribute to quality of life for those with EOD. This study aimed to map how personal and socially attributed identity shifted as everyday life changed over the dementia continuum. The goal was to determine if common narrative and life story themes marked key indicators of perceptions about and maintenance of self, others, and everyday life roles. The materials of the study were eleven open-source video, audio, and written documents submitted by individuals experiencing EOD and their family members for public use. The selected …

Noise Exposure And Hearing Protection In Marching Band Students, Emily Myers

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research project was to investigate collegiate marching band members’ use of hearing protection during rehearsals and performances. A second purpose was to identify the concerns of marching band members about the use of hearing protection. Finally, the third purpose was to determine if the type of protection used, standard or custom, impacted wearing time. Hearing threshold sensitivity, tympanometry, and use of hearing protection were measured prior to the fitting of the custom earmolds and again at the end of the marching season.

Pre-season results indicated that the majority of band members reported they did not wear …

Phonological Processing Abilities And Reading Skills In Young Adults, Sarah Thompson

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

This case study examined the relationship between phonological processing abilities and reading skills of three young adults who had a history and formal diagnosis of a reading, writing, and/or auditory processing impairment. In addition to a standardized reading assessment, the participants were asked to complete a series of assessments that measured a specific aspect of auditory or visual phonological processing abilities including phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatic naming skills. These assessments included the Decoding Subtest of the Phonological Awareness Test (PAT-2), the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-5), and the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2). Processing of degraded …

Bimodal And Bilingual: Language Characteristics Of Asl And English Users, Caitlin Bumpass

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Bimodal bilingualism is the use of both an oral and a sign language, which in the United States often includes the ability to perceive and produce both American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English (Emmory, Borinstein, Thompson, & Gollan, 2008). The primary focus of this research is to examine the operational definition of bilingualism, specifically when English and ASL are the two languages used, within the scholarly journals in the related field of deaf education. There is an abundant amount of research regarding language of children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh); however, it is unclear …

Perspectives Of Caregivers On Early Onset Dementia: An Investigation Of The Role Of Attachment And Shifts In Identity, Claire Wood

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Early onset dementia (EOD) alters the lives of person with dementia (PWD) and caregivers as it broadens from helping with the instrumental activities of daily living to full time assistance with essential activities of daily living. Research literature reports that pre-morbid attachment style continues to be emotionally and behaviorally expressed over the course of dementia; individual and shared narratives contribute to maintenance of personhood and identity; and that maintenance of self and other contributes to quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in caregiver perceptions of themselves and their quality of life in the caregiving …

The Effects Of Canine-Assisted Therapy In Speech Therapy, Malak Dawoud

Honors Theses

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine how speech-language pathologists utilize canine-assisted treatment in their practices and the speech-language pathologists’ perceptions of the effectiveness of using canine-assistance in speech therapy. A nine-question survey was sent via email to the licensed members of the Mississippi Speech-Language -Hearing Association (MSHA). The author used the source, SurveyMonkey, to acquire and analyze the data. The data was used to determine the prevalence of canine-assisted therapy in speech therapy and to discover if the speech-language pathologists believed this kind of therapy was effective. Additionally, when canine-assisted therapy was used, was there a particular …

Communication Resources For Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Children In Mississippi: Parents’ Perspectives, Julia Rossano

Honors Theses

A parent’s ability to communicate with their child through formative years may often be taken for granted, as the options for such communication seem intuitive and apparent. However, hearing parents of children with hearing loss must not only make a choice between several communication methods, but they must also navigate an environment where the methodologies are not clearly delineated. Blaiser and colleague provide succinct descriptions of the most common methods which can be chosen. These methods include listening and spoken language systems, manual-visual systems, and systems combining these two modalities (Blaiser & Bargen, 2018). This choice is often challenging because …

A Qualitative Case Study: Exploring The Application Of Physiological Measures In Prelinguistic Aac Intervention, Chloe Putnam

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: The goal of completing this research was to explore the potential promise of the novel approach of applying physiological measures to AAC intervention for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who are prelinguistic communicators. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to investigate the primary forms of prelinguistic communication and aided AAC used by a family with an individual with IDD and how taking physiological measurements might improve AAC intervention. Methodology: One family with an individual diagnosed with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) who primarily utilized prelinguistic communication and frequently uses aided, linguistic augmentative and alternative communication …

How Music Shapes Our Identities And Why It Matters: Case Studies Of Professional Musicians, Annabelle C. Linker

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Brain research has demonstrated that music uniquely contributes to neural functioning, but little is known about how losing the ability to produce music, which may be inherent to personal identity for professional singers, impacts quality of life. This study explored identity and music in the lives of five well-known vocal music professionals selected because they have publicly talked about the role of music in their lives via books, televised interviews, and documentaries. The careers of three of the individuals were disrupted by neurogenic disease; one lost the ability to sing after treatment for vocal nodules; and the fifth individual remains …

Language Abilities Of Children Who Qualify For Both Speech And Language Therapy And Play Therapy, Rylee Atkins

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Play is an essential role in the development of children’s language and social-emotional well-being. Intervention methods with the use of play are used by both registered play therapist and speech-language pathologists. This study aims to explore if students who have met the eligibility requirements for speech-language therapy services are also eligible for child-centered play therapy services, as well as examine if students who qualify for both services have common characteristics. Findings demonstrated that students who qualified for CCPT and had individualized education plans (IEPs) for speech-language services had significantly lower poor peer social skills, as determined by teacher’s rating scores, …

Frequency-Modulated Multiple-Tone Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions In Young Children With Normal Hearing, Kathryn Arielle Vlietstra Baker

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are objective tests of the integrity of the outer hair cells of the cochlea in response to a single-tone pair stimulus. Despite advances in DPOAEs test protocols and technology, there is little research about the use of frequency modulated tones to improve response characteristics. This study evaluates the efficacy of a new frequency modulated stimulus with multiple-tone pair DPOAEs (mDPOAEs) compared to the standard stimulus protocol for mDPOAEs to determine whether frequency modulation (FM) will achieve more robust and faster results. Normative data for this novel test protocol were obtained in 11 healthy normal-hearing children aged …

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 …