Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

When Less Can Be More: Dual Task Effects In Stuttering And Fluent Adults, Naomi Nechama Eichorn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study tested the counterintuitive hypothesis that engaging cognitive resources in a secondary task while speaking could benefit aspects of speech production. Effects of dual task conditions on speech fluency, rate, and error patterns were examined in stuttering and fluent speakers based on specific predictions derived from three related theoretical frameworks. Twenty fluent adults and 19 adults with confirmed diagnoses of stuttering participated in the study. All participants completed two baseline tasks: (1) a continuous speaking task in which spontaneous speech was produced in response to given prompts; and (2) a working memory (WM) task involving manipulations of WM …

Consonant Context Effects On Vowel Sensorimotor Adaptation, Jeffrey J. Berry, John Jaeger Iv, Melissa Wiedenhoeft, Brittany A. Bernal, Michael T. Johnson

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

Speech sensorimotor adaptation is the short-term learning of modified articulator movements evoked through sensory-feedback perturbations. A common experimental method manipulates acoustic parameters, such as formant frequencies, using real time resynthesis of the participant's speech to perturb auditory feedback. While some studies have examined phrases comprised of vowels, diphthongs, and semivowels, the bulk of research on auditory feedback-driven sensorimotor adaptation has focused on vowels in neutral contexts (/hVd/). The current study investigates coarticulatory influences of adjacent consonants on sensorimotor adaptation. The purpose is to evaluate differences in the adaptation effects for vowels in consonant environments that vary by place and manner …

Palate-Referenced Articulatory Features For Acoustic-To-Articulator Inversion, An Ji, Michael T. Johnson, Jeffrey J. Berry

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

The selection of effective articulatory features is an important component of tasks such as acoustic-to-articulator inversion and articulatory synthesis. Although it is common to use direct articulatory sensor measurements as feature variables, this approach fails to incorporate important physiological information such as palate height and shape and thus is not as representative of vocal tract cross section as desired. We introduce a set of articulator feature variables that are palate referenced and normalized with respect to the articulatory working space in order to improve the quality of the vocal tract representation. These features include normalized horizontal positions plus the normalized …

Psychophysical Auditory Filter Estimates Reveal Sharper Cochlear Tuning In Musicians, Gavin Bidelman, Jonathan Schug, Skyler Jennings, Shaum Bhagat

Faculty Publications

Musicianship confers enhancements to hearing at nearly all levels of the auditory system from periphery to percept. Musicians' superior psychophysical abilities are particularly evident in spectral discrimination and noise-degraded listening tasks, achieving higher perceptual sensitivity than their nonmusician peers. Greater spectral acuity implies that musicianship may increase auditory filter selectivity. This hypothesis was directly tested by measuring both forward- and simultaneous-masked psychophysical tuning curves. Sharper filter tuning (i.e., higher Q10) was observed in musicians compared to nonmusicians. Findings suggest musicians' pervasive listening benefits may be facilitated, in part, by superior spectral processing/decomposition as early as the auditory periphery.

The Electromagnetic Articulography Mandarin Accented English (Ema-Mae) Corpus Of Acoustic And 3d Articulatory Kinematic Data, Jeffrey J. Berry, An Ji, Michael T. Johnson

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

There is a significant need for more comprehensive electromagnetic articulography (EMA) datasets that can provide matched acoustics and articulatory kinematic data with good spatial and temporal resolution. The Marquette University Electromagnetic Articulography Mandarin Accented English (EMA-MAE) corpus provides kinematic and acoustic data from 40 gender and dialect balanced speakers representing 20 Midwestern standard American English L1 speakers and 20 Mandarin Accented English (MAE) L2 speakers, half Beijing region dialect and half are Shanghai region dialect. Three dimensional EMA data were collected at a 400 Hz sampling rate using the NDI Wave system, with articulatory sensors on the midsagittal lips, lower …

Sensorimotor Adaptation Of Speech Using Real-Time Articulatory Resynthesis, Jeffrey J. Berry, Cassandra North, Michael T. Johnson

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

Sensorimotor adaptation is an important focus in the study of motor learning for non-disordered speech, but has yet to be studied substantially for speech rehabilitation. Speech adaptation is typically elicited experimentally using LPC resynthesis to modify the sounds that a speaker hears himself producing. This method requires that the participant be able to produce a robust speech-acoustic signal and is therefore not well-suited for talkers with dysarthria. We have developed a novel technique using electromagnetic articulography (EMA) to drive an articulatory synthesizer. The acoustic output of the articulatory synthesizer can be perturbed experimentally to study auditory feedback effects on sensorimotor …

An Internationalized Classroom Using Research Teams, A. Lynn Williams, Brenda Louw

ETSU Faculty Works

Overview: (1) What is internationalization of the curriculum (loC)? (2) Why is loC important to SLP/A? (3) How can we internationalize student learning? (4) How can we assess cross-cultural awareness or effectiveness?

The Relationship Between Speaking Rate And Nasalance In Typical Adult Speakers, Rachel Whitney

Masters Theses

Nasometry is a non-invasive tool frequently used to measure speech resonance in clinical populations. The instrument uses an acoustic recording system to derive a measure termed nasalance, which is an estimate of the relative amount of acoustic energy emitted from the nasal cavity. Nasometry protocols do not provide detailed instructions for speaking rate control during data collection. Studies attempting to establish a relationship between speaking rate and nasalance have yielded mixed results; therefore, it is important to identify the influence of speaking rate on nasalance in a variety of speaking tasks. If rate is found to influence nasalance values, protocols …

Concordance Between The Chang And The International Society Of Pediatric Oncology (Siop) Ototoxicity Grading Scales In Patients Treated With Cisplatin For Medulloblastoma, Johnnie Bass, Jie Huang, Arzu Onar-Thomas, Kay Chang, Shaum Bhagat, Murali Chintagumpala, Ute Bartels, Sridharan Gururangan, Tim Hassall, John Heath, Geoffrey Mccowage, Richard Cohn, Michael Fisher, Giles Robinson, Alberto Broniscer, Amar Gajjar, James Gurney

Faculty Publications

BackgroundReporting ototoxicity is frequently complicated by use of various ototoxicity criteria. The International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) ototoxicity grading scale was recently proposed for standardized use in reporting hearing loss outcomes across institutions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance between the Chang and SIOP ototoxicity grading scales. Differences between the two scales were identified and the implications these differences may have in the clinical setting were discussed.ProceduresAudiological evaluations were reviewed for 379 patients with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma (ages 3–21 years). Each patient was enrolled on one of two St. Jude clinical protocols that included craniospinal …

The Effect Of Metalinguistic Strategy Instruction On The Oral And Written Expression Of School-Aged Children, Karen Lara Dudek

Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge is critical for academic success; and research has indicated that students with low vocabularies can learn metalinguistic strategies that can improve their performance in school. In this study, I investigated the impact of metalinguistic strategy instruction on the oral and written expression abilities of elementary-aged children (third grade). The strategy was the Expanding Expression Tool (EET; Smith), which can help students to increase their oral and written expression by describing words using semantic features. I used a pretest-posttest-posttest between groups design to investigate the impact of three experimental conditions on oral and written expression over a nine week …

Supporting Narrative Retells For People With Aphasia Using Augmentative And Alternative Communication: Photographs Or Line Drawings? Text Or No Text?, Julie Griffith, Aimee R. Dietz, Kristy S.E. Weissling

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how the interface design of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device influences the communication behaviors of people with aphasia during a narrative retell task.

Method: A case-series design was used. Four narratives were created on an AAC device with combinations of personally relevant (PR) photographs, line drawings (LDs), and text for each participant. The narrative retells were analyzed to describe the expressive modality units (EMUs) used, trouble sources experienced, and whether trouble sources were repaired. The researchers also explored the participants’ perceived helpfulness of the interface features.

Results: The participants …

Structural And Functional Vocal Fold Epithelial Integrity Following Injury, Ciara Leydon, Mitsuyoshi Imaizumi, David T. Yang, Susan L. Thibeault, Marvin Fried

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Objectives/Hypothesis: An intact epithelium is an important part of vocal fold defense. Damage to the epithelium can compromise vocal fold homeostasis and protection of the host tissue from viral and bacterial invasion. Elucidating the effects of damage on epithelial architectural and barrier integrity provides insight into the role of epithelium in protecting vocal folds. Using an animal model, we evaluated the time course of structural and functional epithelial restoration following injury. Study Design: Prospective, controlled animal study. Methods: Forty rats underwent surgery to remove vocal fold mucosa unilaterally. Larynges were harvested at five time intervals between 3 to 90 days …

The Impact Of Interface Design During An Initial High-Technology Aac Experience: A Collective Case Study Of People With Aphasia, Aimee R. Dietz, Kristy S.E. Weissling, Julie Griffith, Miechelle L. Mckelvey, Devan Macke

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe the communication behaviors of five people with chronic aphasia when they retold personal narratives to an unfamiliar communication partner using four variants of a visual scene display (VSD) interface. The results revealed that spoken language comprised roughly 70% of expressive modality units; variable patterns of use for other modalities emerged. Although inconsistent across participants, several people with aphasia experienced no trouble sources during the retells using VSDs with personally relevant photographs and text boxes. Overall, participants perceived the personally relevant photographs and the text as helpful during the retells. These …

Treating Myofunctional Disorders: A Multiple-Baseline Study Of A New Treatment Using Electropalatography, Alana Mantie-Kozlowski, Kevin M. Pitt

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study assessed the benefit of using electropalatography (EPG) in treatment aimed at habilitating individuals with nonspeech orofacial myofunctional disorders (NSOMD).

Method: The study used a multiple-baseline design across 3 female participants who were referred for an evaluation and possible treatment of their NSOMD. Treatment sessions were 30 min and provided twice weekly. Participant 1 received 8 treatments, Participant 2 received 6 treatments, and Participant 3 received 4 treatments. The patterns of sensor activation produced when participants’ tongues made contact with the electropalate during saliva swallows were compared with the patterns of age-matched peers. Individualized goals were developed on …

Services And Information Provided To Mothers In El Paso/Juarez Region, Christina Y. Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It is estimated that the Latino population will be the majority of the population by 2050 in the United States. There is research supporting the notion that the Latino population is under-served and under-diagnosed regarding physical and mental illnesses. Appropriately informed professionals and parents are the first step to reducing the number of under-diagnosed children that do not receive the treatment they require. This survey was conducted to determine what information Latino mothers from low socio-economic backgrounds possess concerning the developmental milestones of their children and the services available to them. Fifty mothers responded to the survey. Results revealed that …

Nonword Repetition Performance Patterns In English - Spanish Bilingual Adults And English And Spanish Monolingual Adults, Nadia Arriazola Flores

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nonword repetition (NWR) is known to be a less biased measure for assessing language abilities of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children (Dollaghan & Campbell, 1998). NWR is used to examine phonological short-term memory mechanisms (also called working memory), because the tasks require the capability to discriminate, store, remember and reproduce phonological sequences (Baddeley, 1989; Braddeley 1974). The purpose of this study was to collect normative data on the NWR performance of bilingual and monolingual adults. This may contribute to the interpretation of performance in bilingual children by providing the standard of adult-like performance. This study examined the performance patterns …

The Effects Of Cognates On Receptive And Expressive Language Among Typically Developing Preschool Second Language-Learners, Jesica B. Zavala De Guerrero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory study considers the facilitating effects of cognates across language of intervention, seeking to assess potential cross-language generalizations among typically developing preschool bilinguals. Nine bilingual, English-Spanish speakers of preschool age were assigned to one of three experimental groups (an English only group, a Spanish only group, and a bilingual group) or to a control condition. Children in the experimental groups were introduced to a vocabulary intervention that incorporated cognates and non-cognates. Analysis of data suggests the absence of a cognate advantage among preschool age children; furthermore limiting any possible cross-language generalizations. It is plausible to suspect that age may …

Potential Influences Of Compliance For Short-Term Recovery From Sports-Related Concussion, Erin R. Ewing

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Currently, treatment of sports-related concussion dictates the prescription of physical and cognitive rest to allow the injured brain to recover and for concussion-related symptoms to subside. However, clinicians who prescribe rest are often met with resistance from athletes who do not recognize its therapeutic value in the recovery process. Research has shown that athletes often fail to comply with rest recommendations, resulting in protracted recovery and the persistence of symptoms. Method: This study employed a three-group pretest-posttest experimental design to compare the effects of three different concussion management protocols. Participants were recently concussed athletes ages 18-25 seen in the UTEP …

The Effects Of Cognates On Receptive And Expressive Language Among Typically Developing Preschool Second Language-Learners, Jesica B. Zavala De Guerrero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory study considers the facilitating effects of cognates across language of intervention, seeking to assess potential cross-language generalizations among typically developing preschool bilinguals. Nine bilingual, English-Spanish speakers of preschool age were assigned to one of three experimental groups (an English only group, a Spanish only group, and a bilingual group) or to a control condition. Children in the experimental groups were introduced to a vocabulary intervention that incorporated cognates and non-cognates. Analysis of data suggests the absence of a cognate advantage among preschool age children; furthermore limiting any possible cross-language generalizations. It is plausible to suspect that age may …

A Pilot Study: Examining The Microstructural And Macrostructural Narrative Measures In Bilingual Preschool Aged Children, Caroline Esparza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: Research has identified narratives as accurate and reliable predictors of language skills, yet little is documented on the microstructural and macrostructural narrative production of preschool aged bilingual children. This pilot study examined the microstructure and macrostructure elements of narratives in these children to provide preliminary data for further research.

Method: This study examined the narrative skills of 11 bilingual children between the ages of 3 and 4. Narrative retells in Spanish were elicited and were analyzed for the microstructural measures of lexical diversity (NDW) and productivity (TNW and MLU) measures and for the their macrostructural Narrative Scoring Scheme (NSS) …

Speech And Swallowing Rehabilitation In The Home: A Comparison Of Two Service Delivery Models For Stroke Survivors, Katy J. E. Stewart

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background and Aims

Speech and swallowing difficulties are common sequelae for people who have suffered a stroke. Recently, there has been an increase in early discharge, community rehabilitation and the use of therapy assistants to support health professionals in stroke rehabilitation. However, the impact of these factors on communication and swallowing outcomes remains under researched. This research explored Rehabilitation in the Home (RITH) Speech Pathology (SP) services for stroke survivors with dysarthria and dysphagia. More specifically, this research investigated whether traditional speech pathology interventions, supplemented with a home practice program are effective, as well as compare usual treatment to that …

A Comparison Of Nal And Dsl Prescriptive Methods For Paediatric Hearing-Aid Fitting: Predicted Speech Intelligibility And Loudness, Teresa Y.C. Ching, Earl E. Johnson, Sanna Hou, Harvey Dillon, Vicky Zhang, Lauren Burns, Patricia Van Buynder, Angela Wong, Christopher Flynn

ETSU Faculty Works

Objective: To examine the impact of prescription on predicted speech intelligibility and loudness for children. Design: A between-group comparison of speech intelligibility index (SII) and loudness, based on hearing aids fitted according to NAL-NL1, DSL v4.1, or DSL m[i/o] prescriptions. A within-group comparison of gains prescribed by DSL m[i/o] and NAL-NL2 for children in terms of SII and loudness. Study sample: Participants were 200 children, who were randomly assigned to first hearing-aid fitting with either NAL-NL1, DSL v4.1, or DSL m[i/o]. Audiometric data and hearing-aid data at 3 years of age were used. Results: On average, SII calculated on the …

Hearing-Aid Safety: A Comparison Of Estimated Threshold Shifts For Gains Recommended By Nal-Nl2 And Dsl M[I/O] Prescriptions For Children, Teresa Y. C. Ching, Earl E. Johnson, Mark Seeto, John H. Macrae

ETSU Faculty Works

Objective: To investigate the predicted threshold shift associated with the use of nonlinear hearing aids fitted to the NAL-NL2 or the DSL m[i/o] prescription for children with the same audiograms. For medium and high input levels, we asked: (1) How does predicted asymptotic threshold shifts (ATS) differ according to the choice of prescription? (2) How does predicted ATS vary with hearing level for gains prescribed by the two prescriptions? Design: A mathematical model consisting of the modified power law combined with equations for predicting temporary threshold shift (Macrae, 1994b) was used to predict ATS. Study sample: Predicted threshold shift were …

Update On The Clinical Utility Of Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials, Faith W. Akin, Owen D. Murnane

ETSU Faculty Works

Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) supplement the vestibular test battery by providing diagnostic information about otolith organ function. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an update on the clinical use of the cervical VEMP and ocular VEMP as clinical tests of otolith function

Predicting Language Impairment Status: A Risk Factor Model, Johanna Maria Rudolph

Open Access Dissertations

The etiology of specific language impairment (SLI) is multifactorial. Research has shown that genetic, environmental, and developmental factors may influence the course of its development. Because many of these factors are present even before a child is born, it is possible that a child's risk of developing the disorder can be identified long before grammatical deficits are observed. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a screening tool to discriminate between children with SLI and typically developing (TD) children using risk factor information including gender, family history of communication or reading disorders, socioeconomic status, maternal and paternal …

Developing A Drug Delivery System For Treatment Of Vocal Fold Scarring, Aaron Michael Kosinski

Open Access Dissertations

Vocal fold scarring is an affliction that results in the formation of a disorganized and stiff extracellular matrix (ECM) with abnormal ECM component densities & structures including a significant increase in collagen deposition. It is caused by improper healing post injury and results in profound changes in the biomechanical properties of the vocal folds impairing their ability to generate a normal mucosal wave during phonation.

Finding an effective treatment for vocal fold scarring has been elusive. Currently, treatments seek temporary solutions that correct glottal incompetence and reduce stiffness caused by the scar through the augmentation of the vocal folds using …

Measuring Global Coherence In Aphasia, V. Galetto, S. Kintz, T. West, Heather Harris Wright, Gerasimos Fergadiotis

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Discourse coherence may be conceptualized as representing the listener's ability to interpret the overall meaning conveyed by the speaker. Discourse schemas serve as the organizing frameworks for placing the essential discourse elements within a language sample (Bloom, Borod, & Santschi-Haywoor, Pick, & Obler, 1996; Peterson & McCabe, 1983). When the essential elements are provided a logical consistency of the discourse schema is maintained and the listener perceives the discourse as coherent (Ditman & Kuperberg, 2010; Trabasso, van den Broek, & Suh, 1989; van den Broek, Virtue, Everson, Tzeng, & Sung, 2002). Global coherence refers to the ability to semantically relate …

Effects Of Truncation On Language Sample Analysis In Aphasia, Gerasimos Fergadiotis, Heather Harris Wright

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The goal of this study is to determine if the length of a language sample elicited from a person with aphasia (PWA) is of consequence when making inferences about the patient's functional language ability. When conducting a language sample analysis, a sample representing a snapshot in time is used to make inferences about an individual's language capacity in general. However, current findings are inconclusive regarding the ideal length of the language sample necessary to draw valid conclusions about patients (e.g. Heilman, Nockerts, & Miller, 2010).

Modern Prescription Theory And Application: Realistic Expectations For Speech Recognition With Hearing Aids, Earl E. Johnson

ETSU Faculty Works

A major decision at the time of hearing aid fitting and dispensing is the amount of amplification to provide listeners (both adult and pediatric populations) for the appropriate compensation of sensorineural hearing impairment across a range of frequencies (e.g., 160?10000?Hz) and input levels (e.g., 50?75?dB sound pressure level). This article describes modern prescription theory for hearing aids within the context of a risk versus return trade-off and efficient frontier analyses. The expected return of amplification recommendations (i.e., generic prescriptions such as National Acoustic Laboratories?Non-Linear 2, NAL-NL2, and Desired Sensation Level Multiple Input/Output, DSL m[i/o]) for the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) …

Alternative Ear-Canal Measures Related To Absorbance, S. T. Neely, S. Stenfelt, Kim S. Schairer

ETSU Faculty Works

Abstract:

Several alternative ear-canal measures are similar to absorbance in their requirement for prior determination of a Thévenin-equivalent sound…