Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

The Effects Of Complex Listening Environments On Semantic Processing In Young And Middle-Aged Adults, Emily Ferguson B.S., Nicholas Stanley Ph.D. Au.D.

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

The purpose of this research study is to determine how young adults and middle-aged adults process speech in different complex listening environments. Young adult and middle-aged adult volunteers will complete a cognitive screening and audiological evaluation to establish inclusionary status for experimental speech understanding in noise testing. If they meet the requirements of the study and wish to participate further, they will continue with a semantic judgement task, in which they will be asked to listen and respond to words presented in different background noises. Within the task, participants will be asked to identify word pairs into either a "match" …

Remote Supported Communication For Adults With Chronic Aphasia: A Serendipitous Study, Allie Hopper

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Supported communication is defined as anything that improves access to or participation in communication events or activities (King, Simmons-Mackie, & Beukelman, 2012). This thesis describes the results of a study that took place when a training program to provide graduate students in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) with “hands on” experience in providing supported communication to persons with chronic aphasia (PWA) was interrupted by the outbreak of Coronavirus-19 and switched to a remote delivery format to fulfil service and training obligations to the PWA and the CSD graduate students respectively. The study (1) describes the actions taken to covert a …

Identifying Molecular Pathways Underlying Noise-Induced Tinnitus, Mckenzie Rice

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Tinnitus is a serious neurological condition effecting 10-15% of adults, and can lead to other symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and sleeping, anxiety, and depression. Currently there are no FDA approved drugs to prevent or treat tinnitus, mainly due to a lack of understanding of its cellular and molecular pathways. T- and L- type calcium channels have been implicated in the modulation of tinnitus, as well as the dysfunction of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. This study used the sound-based avoidance detection (SBAD) method in order to detect tinnitus and determine whether pharmacological treatments had an effect in mediating tinnitus. T-type …

Musicians Who Use Cochlear Implants Proposal, Leanne Bunnell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this scoping review was to provide information about the current research related to audiological practices regarding the population of musicians who use cochlear implants technology. This scoping review included studies that investigated post implantation therapy/activities designed to assist users who were also musicians. A scoping review identifies trends and gaps in available evidence. This information can be used to inform on practices currently being used in the audiologic field and identify areas for further research. A scoping review was conducted in April 2021 to identify English-language peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2010 to March 2021. Thematic analysis …

Qualitative Analysis Of An Interdisciplinary Team’S Treatment Of Velocardiofacial Syndrome, Marissa Meredith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this project two members of the 22q center from Nationwide Children’s Hospital will be interviewed to collect qualitative data about the operations and functions of the clinic. These interviews will provide information about which types of professionals are necessary for the operation of the team, how the team conducts research, how the team treats patients, how research is used to advance treatment, and why such a diverse team is necessary in the treatment of Velocardiofacial Syndrome. Upon completion of data collection, this information will be analyzed to determine the different perspectives of team members and how they interact with …

The Effects Of Singing Vs. Speech On Joint Engagement In A Young Child With Phelan-Mcdermid Syndrome, Marllys Banks, Hannah Kinney, Bridget Valla, Maura Jones Moyle

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a rare genetic disorder typically caused by loss or disruption of the distal long arm of chromosome 22. Children with PMS exhibit severe to profound communication deficits, and the majority meet the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To date, no language or communication intervention studies focused on children with PMS exist in the literature despite a steady increase in diagnosed cases. Anecdotally, it has been reported that music facilitates learning and engagement in children with PMS. The purpose of this clinical case study is to investigate the effects of singing vs. speaking on joint engagement, …

Adolescents' Production Of Clausal Structures In Written Narrative, Expository, And Persuasive Genres, Lauren Elizabeth Myers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The aim of this study was to analyze written language samples across different genres and age groups to provide information about the production of complex syntax emergence as time progresses across tasks. Complex syntax is both a socially and academically relevant language skill that is observed to advance well into later life. In order to analyze language samples as a way to identify language abilities, we must first understand syntactic emergence across genres with adolescents who are identified as having typical language development. In this study, written narrative, expository, and persuasive language samples were elicited from sixty typical adolescents in …

The Effect Of Bilingual Proficiency In Indian English On Bilabial Plosive, Taniya Chawla

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Bilingual speech production studies have highlighted that level of proficiency influences the acoustic-phonetic representation of phonemes in both languages (MacKay, Flege, Piske, & Schirru 2001; Zárate-Sández, 2015). The results for bilingual speech production reveal that proficient/early bilinguals produce distinct acoustic properties for the same phoneme in each language, whereas less proficient/late bilinguals produce acoustic properties for a phoneme that is closer to the native language (Flege et al., 2003; Fowler et al., 2008). Acoustic-phonetic studies for Hindi (L1) and Indian English (L2) for bilingual speakers have been understudied, and the level of proficiency has not been considered in Hindi …

A Case Study Investigating Therapy Methods Used By Speech Language Pathologists Working With Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Julia Byers Van Volkenburg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study was an in-depth examination of the experiences of five speech language pathologists (SLPs) working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) during language therapy sessions. This case study aimed to better understand the various therapy techniques being used by the SLPs through interviews and a reflective journal kept by the researcher. It also sought to examine the ways those therapy techniques may have included creative dramatics. Through thematic analysis, major and minor themes emerged from the interviews. The main theme of the study was the importance of individualizing therapy for students with ASD. Individualizing therapy was supported by …

Explicit Learning Of Auditory Categories In Preschoolers With And Without Developmental Language Disorder, Lauren Casey

University Honors Theses

This study a part of a broader study including Quam et al. (2020) and Yu (2020) with the aim of understanding how children with and without developmental language disorder learn language. With a better understanding of the underlying learning mechanisms affected in DLD, better interventions can be implemented. The current study investigates explicit language learning in preschoolers with and without developmental language disorder (DLD). This was done by observing sound discrimination and explicit sound-meaning mapping. One child with DLD and 29 children with typical language development (TLD) participated in this study. Inclusion in each group was determined by a hearing …

Effect Of Sound Source Location And Spatial Hearing On The Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (Vor), Mary Easterday

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Accurate measurement of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is imperative in differential diagnosis of vestibular disorders and balance function. However, the assessment protocol faces a number of limitations, including the need to control for extra- vestibular sensory factors such as hearing. Previous research has shown that the use of an auditory stimulus can have a significant effect on functional measures of balance, and many have contributed effects to be the result of spatial hearing. However, no studies have directly assessed the effect of speaker location on the VOR nor investigated correlations of functional spatial hearing with the VOR. Therefore, the aims …

Diagnosing And Managing Post-Stroke Aphasia, Shannon M. Sheppard, Rajani Sebastian

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction: Aphasia is a debilitating language disorder and even mild forms of aphasia can negatively affect functional outcomes, mood, quality of life, social participation, and the ability to return to work. Language deficits after post-stroke aphasia are heterogeneous.

Areas covered: The first part of this manuscript reviews the traditional syndrome-based classification approach as well as recent advances in aphasia classification that incorporate automatic speech recognition for aphasia classification. The second part of this manuscript reviews the behavioral approaches to aphasia treatment and recent advances such as noninvasive brain stimulation techniques and pharmacotherapy options to augment the effectiveness of …

Audiovisual Integration During Novel Word Learning Among School-Aged Children With Cochlear Implants, Kristen Elizabeth Thompson Thornton

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Objective. It is well established that being able to see someone’s mouth move as they speak boosts speech perception for children with cochlear implants (CIs). Thus, children with CIs are often instructed to orient themselves toward the person they are listening to, to gain access to visual speech cues. Children with CIs who are better “audiovisual integrators,” or those who experience an auditory-visual (AV) enhancement effect (higher performance for AV information than auditory-alone (AO) or visual-alone (VO)), are more likely to have better speech and language outcomes after receiving their CI than children with poorer AV integration skills. While AV …

Pathway To Amplification In Children Who Passed Their Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Bilaterally, Derek J. Stiles, Kathryn Broughton, Jane Rose, Emily Trittschuh

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the pathway to amplification technologies for children who passed their universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) bilaterally with the intent of revealing effective strategies to identify children with acquired or progressive hearing losses. Additionally, the degrees, types, and causes of hearing loss, as well as the types of amplification used by the patients were investigated. Methodology: Medical records were reviewed for 102 children who passed their UNHS bilaterally and who are enrolled in the Boston Children’s Hospital Amplification or Cochlear Implant Programs. Of the 204 total ears, 177 ears were identified with …

Timeliness Of Ehdi Benchmarks In Infants With A Nicu Admission Greater Than Five Days: Analysis From A Retrospective Cohort, Caitlin Sapp, Tammy O'Hollearn, Elizabeth Ann Walker

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The purpose of this study was to examine the timeline of early hearing healthcare in infants with a history of lengthy (> 5 days) admission to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) compared to non-NICU peers. We compiled four years of state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) records from 156,335 infants using a statewide administrative database. We compared age at the time of newborn hearing screening, diagnostic audiological evaluation, and entry into early intervention in NICU infants and non-NICU infants. We also compared the proportion of NICU and non-NICU infants meeting prescriptive EHDI timing benchmarks based on the Joint …

Verbal Response Inhibition And Stuttering In Adults, Shanley Belle Treleaven

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Many adults who stutter (AWS) attempt to modify or suppress their stuttered speech daily. The ability to effectively suppress motoric behavior after initiation relies on executive functions such as inhibition – specifically verbal inhibition – a challenging task regardless of clinical status. Minimal published data are available about verbal inhibition in non-stuttering adults, and no data are available for AWS. Researchers have reported slower inhibition for AWS during manual tasks, but inconsistent relationships have been found between manual and verbal inhibition. It is often presumed that inhibition differences in AWS, if detected, would be associated with greater difficulties suppressing the …

Comparison Of High-Tech Augmentative And Alternative Communication Interfaces: Do Age And Technology Experience Matter?, Surani Gopika Nakkawita

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated that individuals with stroke-induced aphasia can use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) when they cannot meet their communication needs using spoken language (Dietz, Weissling, Griffith, McKelvey, & Macke, 2014; Purdy & Van Dyke, 2011). Of the various interfaces found in the different AAC systems, the grid display and the visual scene display (VSD) have been used by individuals with aphasia (Hough & Johnson, 2009; Dietz et al., 2018). However, there is a scarcity of research examining the comparative usefulness of these interfaces.

This prospective study attempted to understand how neurologically healthy individuals of different ages and …

Assessing Outcomes Of Simulation In Communication Sciences And Disorders, Erin S. Clinard

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Assessment is an ongoing process that is necessary at every stage of designing, implementing, and evaluating simulation-based learning experiences (SBLEs). Designing and aligning a high-quality assessment process provides instructors and researchers with valuable data to understand if students have met the desired simulation learning objectives, where students are in their learning, and opportunities to enhance the SBLE. This reflection discusses the importance of assessing student learning outcomes as well as the effectiveness of all simulation-based learning experiences (SBLEs) in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). While the benefits and effectiveness of simulation have been demonstrated in other health professions, simulation research …

Infants’ Discrimination Of Consonant Contrasts In The Presence And Absence Of Talker Variability, Carolyn Quam, Lauren Clough, Sara Knight, Louann Gerken

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

To learn speech‐sound categories, infants must identify the acoustic dimensions that differentiate categories and selectively attend to them as opposed to irrelevant dimensions. Variability on irrelevant acoustic dimensions can aid formation of robust categories in infants through adults in tasks such as word learning (e.g., Rost and McMurray, 2009) or speech‐sound learning (e.g., Lively et al., 1993). At the same time, variability sometimes overwhelms learners, interfering with learning and processing. Two prior studies (Kuhl & Miller, 1982; Jusczyk, Pisoni, & Mullennix, 1992) found that irrelevant variability sometimes impaired early sound discrimination. We asked whether variability would impair or facilitate discrimination …

The Ongoing Disparity Between Early Intervention Services And Those Who Need Them, Addison Goerl

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Although early intervention (EI) services have been shown to be highly effective and beneficial for young children, only 12% of those who qualify at 24 months receive services (Feinberg et al., 2011). There is a myriad of barriers that impedes access to EI services for those who need them. These barriers include myths about development and intervention, parent’s concerns being ignored, social inequalities limited access to early intervention, systemic barriers within the professional world, unperceived benefits of intervention, and limited communication flow to parents. However, there are some supports that help more families access EI services including doctors, early interventionists, …

Variables And Mechanisms Affecting Response To Language Treatment In Multilingual People With Aphasia, Mira Goral, Aviva Lerman

Publications and Research

Background: Despite substantial literature exploring language treatment effects in multilingual people with aphasia (PWA), inconsistent results reported across studies make it difficult to draw firm conclusions. Methods: We highlight and illustrate variables that have been implicated in effecting cross-language treatment effects in multilingual PWA. Main contribution: We argue that opposing effects of activation and inhibition across languages, influenced by pertinent variables, such as age of language acquisition, patterns of language use, and treatment-related factors, contribute to the complex picture that has emerged from current studies of treatment in multilingual PWA. We propose a new integrated model—Treatment effects in Aphasia in …

Measuring Listening Effort Using Physiological, Behavioral And Subjective Methods In Normal Hearing Subjects: Effect Of Signal To Noise Ratio And Presentation Level, Lakshmi Magudilu Srishyla Kumar

Dissertations, 2020-current

The main objective of the study is to compare the effectiveness of pupillometry, working memory and subjective rating scale —the physiological, behavioral, and subjective measures of listening effort— at different signal to noise ratios (SNR) and presentation levels: when administered together. Eleven young normal hearing individuals with mean age of 21.7 years (SD=1.9 years) participated in the study. The HINT sentences were used for speech perception in noise task. The listening effort was quantified using peak pupil dilation, working memory, working memory difference, subjective rating of listening and recall effort. The rating of perceived performance, frustration level and …

Application Of Self-Efficacy Training In Group Aural Rehabilitation: An Interprofessional Collaborative Model, Stephen D. Roberts, Nancy A. Delich

JADARA

Few studies have explored self-efficacy training with persons with hearing loss (PHLs), yet alone with their communication partners (CPs). The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine the impact of self-efficacy training as a framework for an Interprofessional Psychosocial Group Aural Rehabilitation (IPGAR) workshop with PHLs and their CPs. Four PHLs and their four CPs consented to participate in the IPGAR workshop that employed interventions including short lectures, psychosocial exercises, communication strategies training, speech perception training, adaptive/stress reduction exercises, and group discussions relevant to mutually established shared goals for each couple. The participants reported improved communication abilities in the …

Factors Influencing Choice Of Communication Sciences And Disorders Major For Students Who Are Culturally And Linguistically Diverse, Joanna Reinders

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the motivating factors that influenced undergraduate students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in the West North Central division of the United States to major in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). This was a nonexperimental study that was conducted by sending a quantitative survey on Qualtrics to undergraduate CSD students in schools in the West North Central division of the United States as defined by the U.S. Census (Census Regions and Divisions of the United States, n.d). All states had respondents to the survey except Nebraska and among the responses, 16 …

Speech Characteristics Of Professional Fighters, Sofiya Krasilshchikova, Amy Neel Ph.D., Jessica Dawn Richardson Ph.D., Rick Arenas Ph.D., Lauren Bennett Ph.D., Sarah Banks Ph.D., Charles Bernick Ph.D.

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

The aims of this project were to accurately measure and describe speech characteristics of professional fighters; and to analyze the future potential of using speech characteristics as biomarkers for acquired neurogenic decline or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The Professional Fighters Brain Health Study (PFBHS) is a longitudinal project investigating the effect of repeated head trauma in professional combatants. The PFBHS provided recorded speech samples for this project. This study measured accurate speech characteristics of 102 professional boxers and mixed martial artists and compared these results to a group of 27 age-matched healthy controls. Analysis revealed a significant difference in articulation …

The Impact Of Temporal Resolution On Clinical Decision-Making For Individuals With Dysphagia, Shauna Corinne Murray

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

INTRODUCTION: Dysphagia, or a disordered swallow, affects up to 1 in 25 individuals in the United States. The gold standard for assessing dysphagia is the videofluoroscopic evaluation of swallowing (VFES). This allows the clinician to observe the swallow anatomy in motion via an X-ray movie, which historically was recorded at 30 frames per second. In recent years VFES have been performed at less frames per second due to radiation concern. This project investigates the effect of using lower temporal resolutions on assessment of video-fluoroscopic swallow studies.

METHODS: In this investigation, 30 swallow studies, all acquired at 30 frames per second, …

Assistive Listening Devices: A Guide, Alexa Brody

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: The purpose of this research was to develop a guide on assistive listening devices (ALDs) describing the various types of ALDs, the basic underlying concepts, their advantages and disadvantages, the instrumentation and its components, and the setup and procedures for specification/evaluation of ALDs in accordance with national standards or guidelines issued by professional organizations in our field. This guide is intended for audiologists, hearing scientists, and audiology and hearing science students.

Method: A thorough review of the previous ALD literature including national and international standards for set-up and installation, specification/evaluation and verification of ALDs; guidelines from professional audiology and …

Maximum Sound Output Levels Of Pediatric Marketed Headphones: The Development Of Healthy Listening Habits In Children, Adrienne L. Ammirati

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: In recent years there has been a growing concern regarding the etiology of pediatric hearing loss. Based on cross-sectional studies of data produced by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, the incidence of hearing loss in US adolescents (age 12-19 years) has increased from 14.9 to 19.5% from 1988-2006 (Shargorodsky, Curhan, & Eavey, 2010) (Brooks & Chan, 2017). Many individuals suspect the leading contributor of this to be frequent exposure to unsafe listening conditions (Muchnik, Amir, Shabtai, & Kaplan-Neeman, 2012) (Brookhouser, Wothington, & Kelley, 1992).

Presently there are no government issued regulations on the maximum sound output …

The Perception Of Prosody In English-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants: A Systematic Review, Grace R. Smith

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: The goal of this paper was to systematically review literature in order to investigate the perception of prosody in English-speaking children with cochlear implants.

Methods: A comprehensive search utilizing various peer-reviewed databases accessible through the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center Library was conducted to identify relevant studies. Inclusion criteria included studies that examined prosody perception in pre-and post-lingually deafened children with cochlear implants. Children who utilized unilateral, bilateral, and bimodal configurations of cochlear implants were therefore included in this search.

Results: 9 studies met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. The findings …

Primary Care Physician Perceptions Of Hearing Loss And Amplification: A Survey, Sophie Racine

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of this survey is to determine primary care physicians’ (PCP) views regarding hearing loss and hearing amplification. A questionnaire was created, using TypeForm©. Factors interrogated in the survey included structural aspects of the health care delivery system, presence of stigma among providers regarding hearing amplification, PCPs’ knowledge of hearing loss, the utility of amplification, official recommendations on screening and amplification, costs of hearing aids and risks of untreated hearing loss, and practitioners’ viewpoints and practice behaviors surrounding hearing loss and amplification. The survey instrument is comprised of four domains: 1) demographics, 2) knowledge of hearing loss and amplification, …