Speech and Hearing Science Commons^™

Coherence In Stories Told By Adults With Aphasia, Heather Harris Wright, Anthony Koutsoftas, Gerasimos Fergadiotis, Gilson Capilouto

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Discourse coherence is the conceptual organization of discourse and it can be subdivided into two types: global and local. Of interest for the current study is global coherence; that is, how the discourse relates to the overall topic (Glosser & Deser, 1990). Coherence has been measured in persons with aphasia (PWA) using different elicitation tasks (e.g., recounts, story retelling, event-casts) and different scoring methods (ie., rating scales, coherence, violations, total counts) and results have varied across studies (Christianson, 1995; Coelho & Flewellyn, 2003; Glosser & Deser, 1990; Ulatowska, et al., 2004). These differences may reflect differences in how coherence is …

Psychometric Properties Of The Pyramids And Palm Trees Test, Gerasimos Fergadiotis, Heather Wright, Gilson Capilouto

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Pyramids and Palm Trees Test (PPT) is a nonverbal measure of semantic memory that has been frequently used in previous aphasia, agnosia, and dementia research. Very little psychometric information regarding the PPT is available. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the PPT in a population of healthy college students. Results indicated that the PPT achieved poor test–retest reliability, failed to obtain adequate internal consistency, and demonstrated poor convergent validity, but showed acceptable discriminant validity. The results of this study suggest that the PPT lacks acceptable reliability and validity for use with a college …

Investigation Of Speech Samples From Typically Developing Preschool Age Children: A Comparison Of Single Words And Imitated Sentences Elicited With The Paba-E, Matthew William Olsen

Dissertations and Theses

Assessment of speech sound production in young children provides the basis for diagnosis and treatment of speech sound disorders. Standardized single-word articulation tests are typically used for identification of speech sound errors because they can provide an efficient means of obtaining a speech sample for analysis and comparison to same-age peers. A major criticism of single-word articulation tests is that they may not accurately reflect speech sound production abilities in conversation. Comparison of performance in single-word and conversational contexts has produced conflicting results in the available research.

The purpose of the present study was to compare speech samples obtained using …

Effects On L1 During Early Acquisition Of L2: Speech Changes In Spanish At First English Contact, Christina E. Gildersleeve-Neumann, Elizabeth D. Peña, Barbara L. Davis, Ellen S. Kester

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spanish phonological development was examined in six sequential bilingual children at the point of contact with English and eight months later. We explored effects of the English vowel and consonant inventory on Spanish. Children showed a significant increase in consonant cluster accuracy and in vowel errors. These emerging sequential bilingual children showed effects of English on their first language, Spanish. Cross-linguistic transfer did not affect all properties of the phonology equally. Negative transfer may occur in specific areas where the second language is more complex, requiring reorganization of the existing system, as in the transition from the Spanish five-vowel to …

The Acquisition Of Two Phonetic Cues To Word Boundaries, Melissa A. Redford, Christina E. Gildersleeve-Neumann

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study evaluated whether durational and allophonic cues to word boundaries are intrinsic to syllable production, and so acquired with syllable structure, or whether they are suprasyllabic, and so acquired in phrasal contexts. Twenty preschool children (aged 3 ; 6 and 4 ; 6) produced: (1) single words with simple and complex onsets (e.g. "nail" vs. "snail"); and (2) two-word phrases with intervocalic consonant sequences and varying boundary locations (e.g. "this nail" vs. "bitty snail"). Comparisons between child and adult control productions showed that the durational juncture cue was emergent in the four-year-olds' productions of two-word phrases, but absent elsewhere. …

Noise Induced Hearing Loss In Children: Preventing The Silent Epidemic, William Hal Martin, Judith L. Sobel, Susan E. Griest, Linda Howarth, Shi Yongbing

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Noise-induced hearing loss and related tinnitus are often unrecognized problems, especially in non-occupational settings. Research indicates that increasing numbers of children and adolescents have or are acquiring noise induced hearing losses. Noise induced hearing loss can almost completely be prevented with simple precautionary measures. Educational programs rarely exist outside of those mandated in occupational settings. Health Communication theory can be applied to hearing health for developing effective loss prevention programs. Dangerous Decibels is one example of an effective multi-disciplinary effort to develop and disseminated prevention strategies.

High Frequency Pure Tone Audiometry And High Frequency Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions: A Correlational Analysis, Kimberly J. Lavoie

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies show that pure tone thresholds are strongly correlated with distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitudes when evaluating the frequency range from 1 to 8 kHz (Avan & Bonfils, 1993). Little is known about correlations between these two measures at higher frequencies from 9-16 kHz. This study compared pure tone thresholds and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in this high frequency range for 29 normal hearing subjects ages 18-30. Pure tone thresholds were obtained at 250-16 kHz and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) 2,211-17,675 were measured in the same ears. DPOAE amplitudes were measured using a constant F1/F2 ratio of …

An Evaluation Of Families And Service Providers Participating In Participatory Action Research Related To Self-Determination In Young Children With Disabilities, Kristen L. Kozlowski

Dissertations and Theses

The concept of self-determination or "acting as the primary casual agent in one's life and making choices and decisions regarding one's quality of life free from undue external influence or interference" (Wehmeyer, 1996, p.24) has long been a focus of educating adults with disabilities. Recently, researchers and educators have begun to examine teaching foundational skills of self-determination to young children with disabilities. It is important to evaluate programs and methodologies that are said to enhance self-determination in order to ensure their efficacy. Research has examined self-determination programs involving adults and older children, however to date there have been few studies …

A Comparison Of Developmental Sentence Scores And Ratings Of Intelligibility, Julie O'Harrow Karnstein

Dissertations and Theses

Speech intelligibility is the term used to describe the degree to which an individual speaker is understood by both familiar and unfamiliar listeners. There are many factors that influence an individual's intelligibility, including (but not limited to) variations in phonology, grammar, rate of speech, and vocal features. Most research has focused on the articulation and phonological influences that impact speech intelligibility. Perhaps for this reason, treatment methods for improving speech intelligibility generally have targeted an individual's phonological production skills. Additional research is necessary to understand more about each of the areas of language production that may be influencing intelligibility. This …

Contingencies Governing The Production Of Fricatives, Affricates, And Liquids In Babbling, Christina E. Gildersleeve-Neumann, Barbara L. Davis, Peter F. Macneilage

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Studies of early-developing consonants (stops, nasals, and glides) in babbling have shown that most of the variance in consonants and their associated vowels, both within and between syllables, is due to a "frame" produced by mandibular oscillation, with very little active contribution from intrasyllabic or intersyllabic tongue movements. In a study of four babbling infants, the prediction that this apparently basic "frame dominance" would also apply to late-developing consonants (fricatives, affricates, and liquids) was tested. With minor exceptions, confirming evidence for both the predicted intrasyllabic and intersyllabic patterns was obtained. Results provide further evidence for the frame dominance conception, but …

The Effect Of Using Averaged Versus Custom Real-Ear To Coupler Difference Values In The Desired Sensation Level Approach To Prescribing Hearing Instrument Gain, John Aaron Coverstone

Dissertations and Theses

Because there are many variables and much missing information when fitting young children with hearing instruments, it is necessary to rely on prescriptive procedures such as the Desired Sensation Level (DSL) Method to create target 2cc gain values for ordering and fitting hearing instruments. Inherent in creating 2cc targets is a conversion process known as a real-ear to coupler difference (RECD) measurement. The DSL algorithms make allowances for averaged data to be used in lieu of this measurement.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of using averaged real-ear to coupler difference values included in the DSL …

An Evaluation Of Earobics I In Improving Phonological Awareness In 6- And 7-Year-Old Boys Who Are At-Risk For Reading Disabilities, Wendy Goughnour Gunter

Dissertations and Theses

Earobics Pro PLUS Step I (Earobics I) is a software program designed to increase the auditory processing and phonological awareness skills of children when used in conjunction with traditional intervention. Phonological awareness is the ability to manipulate the sounds of a language and has been shown in previous studies to have a strong relationship with reading ability. Phonological awareness can be taught, and studies have been conducted in an effort to determine effective methods for teaching phonological awareness. No studies have been published on Earobics I to this date.

In this study, the effectiveness of Earobics I was analyzed with …

Effects Of Three Training Components In An Aac Intervention For An Adult With Severe Broca’S Aphasia, Bradley Josef Hendershott

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals with severe nonfluent aphasia may lose functional verbal communication. With the loss of fluent speech, one may also lose the capacity to share in the casual conversation that enriches our lives. A rehabilitative course that seeks to stimulate restoration of verbal abilities can be lengthy with uncertain outcomes. Fortunately, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventions have shown promise in treating aphasia by providing non-verbal means of communicating. Communication aids designed around specific topics and comprised of words and pictures have been used by persons with aphasia to participate in conversations. Such aids have shown promise in facilitating successful conversation …

The Effectiveness Of An Accent Reduction Program On Foreign Speaker’S Oral English Proficiency And Understandability, Kara Elizabeth Sewell

Dissertations and Theses

Accent reduction is a program to assist foreign speakers in developing a level of oral English proficiency that is more similar to native English speakers. This study examined whether an accent reduction program, focusing on intonation and articulation, would improve the oral English proficiency and understandability of 2 Vietnamese speakers.

The research questions this study sought to answer were: (a) Does a foreign speaker's oral English proficiency as measured by the Proficiency of Oral English Communication (POEC) subtest scores improve immediately after completion of an accent reduction program?, (b) Does a foreign speaker's POEC subtest scores 4 weeks after termination …

The Effectiveness Of Hypermedia Training Vs. Traditional Classroom Instruction In Stuttering, Micheal Dean Baran

Dissertations and Theses

A study by Henri (1994) showed that fluency is one of two areas where speech-language pathology clinicians feel least prepared and Sommers and Caruso (1995) advocated improved training in fluency. The use of computer technology to train students in the field of stuttering has been proven effective in previous studies (Strang, Meyers & Hall, 1989; Tetnowski & Martin, 1996).

The purpose of this study was to further develop a hypermedia training module for stuttering identification and to determine whether this hypermedia training module was as effective as traditional classroom teaching methods.

Subjects in this study were undergraduate students in speech …

Career Orientation Levels In Adolescents : A Comparison Of Cleft And Noncleft Subgroups, Tara Darice Gaddis

Dissertations and Theses

The current research studied career orientation levels during adolescence utilizing previously collected cross-sectional data on 80 subjects. The subjects had participated in a study focusing on the ways in which clefting, gender, self-concept, mental ability, and socioeconomic status impact career development. Preliminary analysis of the data found that self-concept, mental ability, self-ratings of facial appearance, and desired level of future educational status were the factors most predictive of level of career development. In the initial analysis of the data, subjects, cleft and noncleft, who demonstrated high self-esteem, high mental ability, reported a more advanced level of desired higher education, and …

Speech Production Patterns Following Management Of Velopharyngeal Inadequacy, Debra Lynn Childs

Dissertations and Theses

This descriptive study investigated the pattern of speech sound production before and after surgical management of velopharyngeal inadequacy in two subjects. The research questions asked were: (a) What type of speech patterns do subjects referred for surgical management of velopharyngeal incompetence demonstrate presurgically? (b) What changes in the speech patterns of the subjects are observed in the immediate month following surgery for velopharyngeal incompetence? (c) Do these changes settle into a stabilized pattern of speech production by 4 months postsurgery?

The subjects' speech productions were audio recorded for analysis using the Broen CVC Probe to obtain imitated single word elicitations …

The Effect Of Diastema Closure On The Remediation Of Lateral /S/: A Case Study, Reta Price

Dissertations and Theses

An important morphological-marker and one of the most frequently occurring speech sounds in English, the /s/ phoneme is also one of the sounds most often in need of remediation. Often, air emission during /s/ production, a particularly stubborn, often residual production error, is not remediated through traditional treatment methods, and yet the negative effect /s/ distortions have on listeners has been well-documented.

The subject of this investigation was a forty-eightyear-old male who received treatment for a lateralized /s/ during grade-school. It was hypothesized that his exerting high anterior pressure to prevent air from escaping from a diastema between his two …

Concurrent Validity Of Mental Ability Screening Tools : A Comparison Of Normal Students’ Performance On The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test And The Shipley Institute Of Living Scale-Revised, D. Melanie Peters

Dissertations and Theses

This study compared the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), a verbal and nonverbal mental ability screening tool, to the Shipley Institute Living Scale (SILS), a nonverbal screening tool of mental ability, as part of a larger, ongoing study which is examining the effects of orofacial clefts on early career maturity. In terms of general intellectual ability, the K-BIT and the SILS provide descriptive categories, percentile ranks, raw scores, standard error of measurement, standard scores, standardization and norms, subtest scores, and total scores. The K-BIT provides normative curve equivalents and stanines, which the SILS does not. The SILS provides abstract and …

Examination Of Benefits Of Binaural Auditory Stimulation For Children With A Cochlear Implant And A Hearing Aid In The Contralateral Ear, Evonne Nicol Altesleben

Dissertations and Theses

Congenital or acquired hearing impairments put children at risk of delayed language development. Today the cochlear implant (Cl) is a viable amplification option for some children with profound hearing losses. Audiologists often recommend that children with hearing impairments be fitted with binaural hearing aids in the hope that maximum stimulation will occur and that auditory deprivation will be lessened. An area lacking investigation is whether binaural stimulation will be beneficial to the cochlear implant recipient.Controversy also exists regarding the use of a hearing aid in the non-implanted ear.

The focus of this study was to compare binaural auditory stimulation benefits …

A Comparison Of Listener And Speaker Perception Of Stuttering Events, Anne Jocelyn Schagen

Dissertations and Theses

Stuttering identification, measurement, research, and treatment have for many years had their basis in listener judgment of stuttering, but the covert aspects of stuttering are not behaviorally observable, and inter-rater reliability has repeatedly been shown to be low. Perkins (1990) has emphasized the importance of consulting the speaker for the most reliable perspective on stuttering identification. The question raised in this study is whether there is a significant correlation between stuttering identification based upon internal perception by a speaker who stutters, and identification based upon external perception of listeners, with points of inter-rater disagreement removed. Six adult males, aged 18 …

First Language And Gesture Acquisition In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Ann Christine Friel

Dissertations and Theses

Many children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) will receive speech and language intervention throughout their lives. However, there is a lack of descriptive data for language and gesture development of children with CP. When assessing the skills of children with CP, standardized tests and clinical observations have several inherent faults due to time constraints, normative data, and physical constraints. An alternative method used to gather data in the area of language and gesture development is parent questionnaire. The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Words & Gestures was chosen for this study because it has been shown to be an efficient, valid, and …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Career Maturity Patterns Of Individuals With Clefts, Joyce Johnson Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

This longitudinal study sought to examine career maturity, and the variables thought to influence career maturity, in a sample of individuals with the congenital craniofacial anomaly of clefting by following them from adolescence (ages 14 to 18) into young adulthood (ages 22 to 26).

Sixteen subjects (6 males, 10 females) during adolescence and in young adulthood completed (a) a biographical questionnaire which provided educational and occupational information, (b) the Career Development Inventory, (c) the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, (d) the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, and (e) self-ratings of speech and facial appearance acceptability to provide information concerning career maturity, mental …

Effects Of Orofacial Clefts On Early Career Maturity, Jeanniekay Mccall

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate career maturity in 14- and 17- year-old male and female adolescents with cleft lip and palate. Career maturity is defined as the repertoire of behaviors pertinent to identifying, choosing, planning, and executing career goals available to a specific individual as compared with those possessed by a peer group. Clefting is a congenital anomaly that occurs in approximately 1 in every 600 newborns and can result in facial scarring and speech deviations that may last throughout life, and may result in complications such as withdrawal, inhibition, lower self-esteem, and increasing self-doubt regarding interpersonal …

Real Ear To Coupler Differences In Children And The Effects Of Hearing And Microphone Location, Cindy Richardson

Dissertations and Theses

The early identification of hearing loss and selection of appropriate amplification are the most important goals for children with hearing impairment. Selection of appropriate amplification for a pediatric population involves maximizing the hearing impaired child's residual hearing, for development of speech and language. In addition, it is important to consider the acoustic differences between the 2 cc coupler versus the real ear.

During the hearing aid selection process, it is customary to predict how a hearing aid will respond in the real ear, based upon a given 2 cc coupler response. Killion and Monser (1980) developed a formula for converting …

A Study Of The Level Of Knowledge Of Adult Foster Care Home Providers In Multnomah County In The State Of Oregon About Hearing Loss, Hearing Aids And Communication Strategies, Marsha Peters Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

The level of knowledge about hearing aid use, function, and maintenance of caregivers of the elderly persons who are hearing impaired and residing in adult foster care homes in Multnomah County in the state of Oregon was assessed via a 1 7 question survey. Twenty subjects participated in the study. Subjects' responses demonstrated poor knowledge about this subject and indicated that residents' needs are unmet. The results clearly demonstrate the subjects' limited knowledge of the operation of hearing aids, poor grasp of the basic troubleshooting methods for repair, and inaccurate perceptions of hearing aid adjustment. Access to professional audiologic care …

Comparison Of Intelligibility Estimation And Orthographic Transcription Methods By Preprofessional Speech-Language Pathologists, Kristi M. Mowe

Dissertations and Theses

When the fundamental means of communications is speech, the main component for successful communication is intelligibility. The speech of children with disordered phonologies is often unintelligible; therefore, accurate and reliable methods of measuring intelligibility are essential when determining eligibility, and in selecting and providing appropriate treatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the percentage estimation method and the orthographic transcription method when measuring speech intelligibility by preprofessional listeners. For this study, the standard measurement of intelligibility was defined as the percentage of words understood in a continuous speech sample derived from orthographic transcription of the …

Ethnography Of Communication As On Organizational Communication Assessment Tool: A Test Of The Method, Francisca Inez Trujillo-Dalbey

Dissertations and Theses

Professional organizational consultants and researchers performing organizational communication assessments with non-profit boards of directors have few tools available to them and many of these tools under emphasize the centrality of communication and overlook the power-asdomination (Mumby, 1994) issues present in organizations. This study tested the ethnography of communication (Hymes, 1972) as an organizational communication assessment tool with a board of directors of a non-profit organization in Oregon and examined the results by employing Mumby's (1994) construct, thereby conducting a critical ethnography of communication.

This study offers important insights into boards of directors of nonprofit organizations and has important implications for …

The Generalization Of Stridency From Treated To Untreated Misarticulated Phonemes, Kathleen Ann Ozanich

Dissertations and Theses

This single-subject study was developed to investigate the potential of treating one misarticulated strident phoneme to induce generalization to other misarticulated strident phonemes. One male, age 4 years 4 months, was trained on /s/ in words. A training program, modified from the Hodson and Paden (1991) phonological cycling approach, was used. Two untreated phonemes from separate and distinct sound classes were monitored as control sounds for across-feature class change. A total of 24 treatment sessions of 50 minutes each were provided. The results from the pretest and posttest showed an increase of 51% correct stridency production for all untreated stridents …

Rethinking Appropriateness: A Look At Hegemonic Ideals As Related To Perceived Communication Competence In Women, Kristi L. Meade

Dissertations and Theses

The author argues that the hegemonically-constructed criteria of "appropriateness," as related to communication competence, is not palatable or functional for female communicators much of the time for it serves a social milieu which marginalizes women. Spitzberg and Duran (1993) state, "appropriateness seems spring loaded towards the status quo'' and may work against the interests of certain groups. In this paper, the author attempts to illuminate evidence of power imbalances covertly imbedded in the ideologically complex determination of appropriateness as a central criteria for communication competence in women. Competence theory is problematic and must be re-evaluated: it is contradictory and confusing, …