Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

A Rapid, Handheld Device To Assess Respiratory Resistance: Clinical And Normative Evidence, Aaron B. Holley, Wesley D. Boose, Michael Perkins, Karen L. Sheikh, Nancy P. Solomon, Angela M. Dietsch, Jafar Vossoughi, Arthur T. Johnson, Jacob F. Collen

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Following reports of respiratory symptoms among service members returning from deployment to South West Asia (SWA), an expert panel recommended pre-deployment spirometry be used to assess disease burden. Unfortunately, testing with spirometry is high cost and time-consuming. The airflow perturbation device (APD) is a handheld monitor that rapidly measures respiratory resistance (APD-R_r) and has promising but limited clinical data. Its speed and portability make it ideally suited for large volume pre-deployment screening. We conducted a pilot study to assess APD performance characteristics and develop normative values.

Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled subjects and derived …

My Client Knows That He’S About To Stutter: How Can We Address Stuttering Anticipation During Therapy With Young People Who Stutter?, Eric S. Jackson, Hope Gerlach, Naomi H. Rodgers, Patricia M. Zebrowski

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Stuttering anticipation is endorsed by many people who stutter as a core aspect of the stuttering experience. Anticipation is primarily a covert phenomenon and people who stutter respond to anticipation in a variety of ways. At the same time as anticipation occurs and develops internally, for many individuals the “knowing” or “feeling” that they are about to stutter is a primary contributor to the chronicity of the disorder. In this article, we offer a roadmap for both understanding the phenomenon of anticipation and its relevance to stuttering development. We introduce the Stuttering Anticipation Scale (SAS)—a 25-item clinical tool that can …

Graduate Bulletin, 2018-2019, Minnesota State University Moorhead

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

Joint Decision-Making In Married Couples Affected By Aphasia, Ryan S. Husak

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Background: Aphasia is an acquired language disorder, usually due to stroke, that affects the social functioning and the quality of life of the person with aphasia as well as the quality of life of his or her family and caregivers. Traditional aphasia therapy has tended to focus on decontextualized tasks and discrete elements of language functioning. The Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA) focuses on the collaborative nature of communication and addresses communication within personally relevant contexts. Joint decision-making is one type of social interaction that occurs frequently between married couples and has received considerable attention in the literature. …

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 …

Paraprofessional-Implemented Dialogic Reading And Its Impact On Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Annalise D. Irvine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of paraprofessional-implemented dialogic reading (DR) strategies on the comprehension, interaction, and attending abilities of a child on the autism spectrum. The secondary purpose was to understand whether the DR strategies assisted the paraprofessional in establishing meaningful interactions and positive behavioral changes with her student on the autism spectrum. A single subject across behaviors design was implemented with one paraprofessional and her student with autism. Judged from visual analysis of the graphical representation of the data, it was determined that there was a medium to strong functional relationship (depending on the …

Fourth Grade Teachers' Implementation Of An Explicit Vocabulary Teaching Technique With Students Who Are Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, Joanna Spielvogel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study investigated the impact of fourth grade general education teacher implementation of the Vocabulary Scenario Technique – General Education 16 (VST-GE16) protocol on the vocabulary knowledge gains of students from low socioeconomic status (SES) circumstances. For children living in poverty, vocabulary knowledge deficits begin in toddlerhood and persist throughout their lives. Early deficits in vocabulary knowledge translate to performance gaps in vocabulary knowledge, literacy, and academic success between students from higher and lower SES homes. The development of explicit instructional protocols to be used by general education teachers is critical to the amelioration of these intransigent gaps. The study …

Crosslinguistic Analysis Of Stuttering And Typical Disfluencies In Polish-English Bilingual Adults Who Stutter, Aleksandra Krawczyk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study examines the types and frequencies of stuttering, typical disfluencies, and speech rate in Polish-English bilingual adults who stutter across a variety of speaking situations. As Polish and English are phonetically and morpho-syntactically disparate languages, they provide grounds for evaluating the cross-linguistic correlates that may contribute to dysfluency in bilingual individuals who stutter in hopes of contributing to more effective assessment, diagnostic determination, and clinical practice. Participants were all native Polish speakers who spoke English at an intermediate or higher level, were diagnosed with a developmental stutter, and were at least 18 years old. Given that the participants …

Small Group Brainstorming, Jennifer Friberg

Faculty Publications – Communication Sciences and Disorders

Over time, I became dissatisfied with what I observed in both my students and in myself in the traditional classroom. Students passively took notes while I actively lectured. Students memorized what was emphasized as important material, but lacked active engagement in class with me, with each other, and with the subject matter. In response to this realization, I developed a start-of-the class practice that I coined “small group brainstorming”. I gave students several Small Group Brainstorming questions (printed on a worksheet) topical to the content of that day’s class to consider and address with their groupmates. These questions required students …

Effects Of Signal Bandwidth And Noise On Individual Speaker Identification, Jeremy C. Schwartz, Ashtyn T. Whyte, Mohanad Al-Nuaimi, Jeremy J. Donai

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of increasing spectral bandwidth from 3 to 10 kHz on individual speaker recognition in noisy conditions (þ5, 0, and 5 dB signal-to-noise ratio). Experiment 1 utilized h(Vowel)d (hVd) signals, while experiment 2 utilized sentences from the Rainbow Passage. Both experiments showed significant improvements in individual speaker identification in the 10 kHz bandwidth condition (6% for hVds; 10% for sentences). These results coincide with the extant machine recognition literature demonstrating significant amounts of individual speaker information present in the speech signal above approximately 3–4 kHz. Cues from the highfrequency region for speaker identity …

The Frequency Attenuations Of Foam Ear Plugs Affected By User Error Of College Students, Alyse J. Lemoine

Honors Theses

This paper examines the relationship between the attenuating ability of foam ear plugs at low and high frequencies and the effects of incorrect ear plug fitting by college students. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1998) recommends the use of a hearing protection device (HPD) such as ear muffs or ear plugs to avoid noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). However, when not inserted properly, a HPD's effectiveness can be adversely affected by user error and present as a decrease in attenuation. Attenuation is measured and presented on packaging as the noise reduction rating (NRR). A high NRR affected …

A Survey Of Speech-Language Pathologists' Use And Understanding Of Evidence-Based Practice, Emma Kate Thome

Honors Theses

Problem Statement: Prior research on evidence-based practice (EBP) in speech-language pathology is both limited and inconsistent regarding the frequency in which SLPs engage in EBP, their understanding of EBP, and the emphasis that their employers place on EBP. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to assess SLPs' understanding and use of EBP. In addition, this study investigated the potential barriers SLPs face when attempting to engage in EBP including employer emphasis and opinions toward EBP. Methods: SLPs (n=176) from across the United States participated in an online survey designed to assess their understanding and use of EBP. Participants …

Myosin-Xva Is Key Molecule In Establishing The Architecture Of Mechanosensory Stereocilia Bundles Of The Inner Ear Hair Cells, Shadan Hadi

Theses and Dissertations--Medical Sciences

Development of hair cell stereocilia bundles involves three stages: elongation, thickening, and supernumerary stereocilia retraction. Although Myo-XVa is known to be essential for stereocilia elongation, its role in retraction/thickening remains unknown. We quantified stereocilia numbers/diameters in shaker-2 mice (Myo15^sh2) that have deficiencies in “long” and “short” isoforms of myosin-XVa, and in mice lacking only the “long” myosin-XVa isoform (Myo15^ΔN). Our data showed that myosin-XVa is largely not involved in the developmental retraction of supernumerary stereocilia. In normal development, the diameters of the first (tallest)/second row stereocilia within a bundle are equal and grow simultaneously. …

Professional Competencies For E-Helpers: A Telepractice Resource, Hannah M. Schlaak

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

The primary purpose of this study was to craft and validate a set of core competencies necessary for an e-Helper to possess. A review of the literature guided the creation of the initial competencies. Following expert review, the competencies were revised and formatted into an online survey which was sent to respondents in four target groups: (a) school administrators who had adopted telepractice as a service delivery model; (b) SLPs experienced in telepractice within a school setting; (c) current e-Helpers, and (d) scholars experienced in telepractice. Sixty percent (21 out of 35) of the competencies were rated as “important” by …

A Pilot Investigation Of An Instrument For The Assessment Of Feeding Disorders In Children With Severe Disabilities, Annaliese E. Norris

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

The purpose of this pilot investigation was to assess the inter-rater reliability of an expert-validated pediatric feeding assessment, designed for clinician use with children who have severe disabilities. The tool would ideally allow for standardization of the clinical mealtime assessment process.

A comprehensive review of available feeding instruments revealed that there is a need for an assessment tool for children with motor and developmentally based feeding problems.In response to this need, a new clinician administered instrument called the Mealtime Assessment Tool for Children (MATCH) was developed in order to guide the assessment of a child during a clinical meal.

The …

Parent-Implemented Language Intervention With Young Children From Low-Ses Environments Who Have Language Impairment, Courtney Allison Hatcher

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

In this study, the author examined the effects of training four parents from low-socioeconomic environments to use Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) with their young children with language impairment. The investigator used a modified Teach-Model-Coach-Review method to teach parents to use the following EMT strategies during 8-10 individualized, home-based sessions: matched turns, expansions, time delays and milieu teaching prompts. A single-case multiple-baseline design across-behaviors replicated across four parent/child dyads was used to evaluate the parents' use of the EMT strategies. Child language outcomes were also assessed using pre- and post-intervention language samples. All parents learned and demonstrated use of each language …

Applied Software Tools For Supporting Children With Intellectual Disabilities, Ahmad Abualsamid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We explored the level of technology utilization in supporting children with cognitive disabilities at schools, speech clinics, and with assistive communication at home. Anecdotal evidence, literature research, and our own survey of special needs educators in Central Florida reveal that use of technology is minimal in classrooms for students with special needs even when scientific research has shown the effectiveness of video modeling in teaching children with special needs new skills and behaviors. Research also shows that speech and language therapists utilize a manual approach to elicit and analyze language samples from children with special needs. While technology is utilized …

Hablando De La Herida: Honoring Spanish-Speaking Parents’ Experiences Obtaining School-Based Speech And Language Services For Their Children, Amalia W. Hernández

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of Spanish-speaking Latino/a parents in their attempts to obtain school-based speech and language services for their children; the impact of these experiences on parents; and parent perspectives on how school-based speech-language pathologists can co-create collaborative relationships. Through a detailed analysis of a focus group and individual interviews of 31 Spanish-speaking parents of children in the REAAD! (Reaching Educational Achievement and Development) Literacy Enrichment Program at a university in Los Angeles, California, this study provided a space for parents to share their experiences and offer insights regarding what shaped their experiences. Through the theoretical lens of …

Sex Differences In Internalizing And Externalizing Behaviors In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Caroline C. Cherry

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study used a retrospective practice-based research method to compare levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors of a clinically-ascertained sample of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n=90). As measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), internalizing and externalizing behaviors were compared to normative behavior, and between boys and girls with ASD. Findings suggest that in a clinical sample, children with ASD are more likely than typically developing children to have internalizing and/or externalizing problems. No significant sex differences were found for Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems, or Total Problems scores on either the parent or teacher …

Dynamic Balance Control And Segmental Orientation While Listening During Walking: Effects Of Age And Hearing Loss, Sin Tung Lau

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Dynamic control of balance changes with age and changes with declines in sensory and cognitive abilities. For instance, emerging, yet robust associations between hearing loss and poor mobility have been described and yet the mechanism underlying these associations remains unknown. It could be that age-related declines in hearing ability result in different kinematic strategies when having to walk and listen at the same time (e.g. head and body orienting responses toward sounds) and/or that declines in hearing result in increased cognitive load during listening, at the detriment to mobility-related performance. Therefore, this thesis sought to better characterize these associations by …

Speech Language Pathologists And Prosody: Knowledge And Clinical Practices, Sarah Elizabeth Fischer

Honors Theses

Prosody is an important aspect of language as it signals linguistic contrasts, conveys pragmatic distinctions, and expresses emotional affect. However, prosody is impaired in several populations, and such impairments can negatively affect intelligibility and the social perception of the speaker. Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) are the professionals responsible for treating such impairments, yet the knowledge base of SLPs regarding prosody is unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate SLPs' knowledge of assessing, treating, and diagnosing prosodic impairments by using a survey (n=269). While a majority of SLPs surveyed agreed that prosody is within their scope of practice, they …

Measuring The Effects Of Prosthetic Tactile Pacing On Overt Stuttering Frequency In Adults Who Stutter, Sydney Elizabeth Gully

Honors Theses

While the cause has been historically enigmatic, persistent stuttering exhibits distinct behavioral, neural and genetic characteristics. Throughout many years, a variety of motoric treatments have attempted to ameliorate overt stuttering behaviors; however, most therapeutic options provide unstable, effortful, and/or unnatural sounding results with high relapse rates. Conversely, research documents natural sounding speech coupled with stable and effortless reductions in overt stuttering frequency when a person who stutters is exposed to speech feedback of a second speech signal (i.e. choral speech). The most prolific clinical use of this technology is a prosthetically introduced auditory second speech signal; yet its current application …

The Effects Of Prosthetic Tactile Feedback On Persons Who Stutter, Meliah Kayla Grant

Honors Theses

Vibrotactile speech feedback has been documented to enhance fluency in adults who stutter. Based on these data, researchers at the University of Mississippi have developed a prosthetic device that captures the speech signal of the speaker, converts this signal into tactile stimulation, and administers vibratory speech feedback to the speaker through a handheld stimulator. This patented device, as tested with a handheld tactile stimulator, has been documented as producing significant fluency enhancement comparable to that of other auditory speech feedback prosthetic devices. The purpose of this present study is to collect data measuring the effects of tactile speech feedback on …

Life Activity Choices By People With Aphasia: Repeated Interviews And Proxy Agreement, Tyson G. Harmon, Katarina L. Haley, Jennifer L. Womack, Karen L. Mcculloch, Richard A. Faldowski

Faculty Publications

Background: Person-centered rehabilitation requires that meaningful life activities are identified on a case-by-case basis, but the discovery process can be inaccessible for clients with aphasia. Card-sorting methodology addresses core barriers and help clients communicate their preferences.

Aims: To characterize life activities that people with aphasia want to do, to estimate consistency in selections over time, and to replicate previous findings about the ability of family members and friends to identify their loved ones’ activity preferences.

Methods & Procedures: We administered the Life Interests and Values (LIV) Cards to 26 people with aphasia, asking them which of 95 …

Examining Acoustic And Kinematic Measures Of Articulatory Working Space: Effects Of Speech Intensity, Christopher Dromey, Jason A. Whitfield, Panika Palmer

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of speech intensity on acoustic and kinematic vowel space measures and conduct a preliminary examination of the relationship between kinematic and acoustic vowel space metrics calculated from continuously sampled lingual marker and formant traces. Method: Young adult speakers produced 3 repetitions of 2 different sentences at 3 different loudness levels. Lingual kinematic and acoustic signals were collected and analyzed. Acoustic and kinematic variants of several vowel space metrics were calculated from the formant frequencies and the position of 2 lingual markers. Traditional metrics included triangular vowel space area and …

Speech Adaptation To Kinematic Recording Sensors: Perceptual And Acoustic Findings, Christopher Dromey, Elise Hunter, Shawn L. Nissen

Faculty Publications

Purpose

This study used perceptual and acoustic measures to examine the time course of speech adaptation after the attachment of electromagnetic sensor coils to the tongue, lips, and jaw.

Method

Twenty native English speakers read aloud stimulus sentences before the attachment of the sensors, immediately after attachment, and again 5, 10, 15, and 20 min later. They read aloud continuously between recordings to encourage adaptation. Sentence recordings were perceptually evaluated by 20 native English listeners, who rated 150 stimuli (which included 31 samples that were repeated to assess rater reliability) using a visual analog scale with the end points labeled …

Improved Knowledge Following An Interprofessional Interpreter-Use Training, Celia Pechak, Connie Summers, Joanna Velasco

Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Language barriers between patients and their healthcare providers are associated with negative outcomes. One approach to bridge language discordance is to offer interpreter-use training. This study’s purpose was to evaluate the effects of an interprofessional interpreter-use training on speech-language pathology (SLP), doctor of physical therapy (DPT), and master of occupational therapy (MOT) students. METHODS: Seventy-one students (18 SLP, 32 DPT, and 21 MOT) participated. Participants first completed an online module and then participated in a 3-hour interprofessional training consisting of lecture, role-play, and reflection. Each completed an interpreter-use knowledge assessment and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) before …

Evidence-Based Clinical Decision Making For Bilingual Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Guide For Clinicians, Vanesa Smith, Connie Summers, Vannesa Mueller, Alejandra Carillo, Gabriela Villaneda

Faculty Publications

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are treating an increasing number of bilingual clients, including those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). There is not a clear consensus among professionals regarding which language should be used in intervention when treating bilingual children with ASD. For this reason, it is imperative that SLPs ensure that they are making evidence-based decisions. This article will review the current research that examines bilingualism in children with ASD along with research focused on the language of intervention in bilingual children with ASD. We present a clinical scenario with common concerns presented to SLPs in their work settings and …

Polysyllabic Shortening In Speakers Exposed To Two Languages, Todd A. Gibson, Connie Summers

Faculty Publications

Polysyllabic shortening is used to maintain stress-timed rhythm in English, but used negligibly in Spanish. It is unknown how polysyllabic shortening is influenced when individuals are exposed to one language that employs it and one that does not. We calculated polysyllabic shortening for 35 functionally monolingual English-speaking adults and 19 relatively balanced Spanish–English bilingual peers who repeated English and Spanish nonwords. Results showed that speech motor patterns learned early in life might be sufficient to block cross-linguistic transfer of polysyllabic shortening despite limited language proficiency, and bilingual speakers appear to signal membership in the majority language by increasing polysyllabic shortening.

A Comparison Of Outcome Measures For Speech Motor Learning In Acquired Apraxia Of Speech Using Motor Learning Guided Treatment, Rachel K. Johnson, Aileen Lott, Jessica Prebor

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate potential benefits of using a qualitative and quantitative outcome measure of articulation accuracy and suprasegmental characteristics in isolation for speech motor learning in acquired apraxia of speech (AOS).

Methods: Baseline, retention, and maintenance measures from an oral reading task of 2 speakers with chronic AOS and aphasia were rated using an 11-point multidimensional rating scale accounting for articulation and immediacy and a hybrid scale measuring number of correctly produced words, presence of distortions in correctly produced words, and immediacy of the production. Participants received motor learning guided treatment two days …