Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

Revealing The Impact Of Singing In An Aphasia Group, Ava L. Barton

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Aphasia is an acquired, neurogenic language disorder that affects an individual’s ability to express and comprehend language to varying degrees. Individuals with aphasia are restricted in their ability to communicate effectively and as a result, experience decreased quality of life and marked psychosocial consequences. There are numerous interventions that target the language symptoms associated with aphasia. However, social groups, such as book clubs, address both the language and psychological needs of individuals with aphasia. This project explored spontaneous moments of singing that occurred within an aphasia book club. Twenty-four moments of singing were identified and analyzed from six previously recorded …

An Analysis Of Informational Content In A Descriptive Narrative Task Completed By People With Aphasia, Anna Marie Sulminski, Brent Archer, Jay Jones

Honors Projects

Speech and language are important tools used for communication. Communication techniques such as narrative story telling skills can be used to build relationships. People with aphasia may lack these effective communication skills. This study provides a close-up interpretation of people with aphasia telling the story of Cinderella. Two different approaches were used to analyze the elements of the participant’s stories. By using these approaches during speech therapy, Speech-Language Pathologists can help people with aphasia to build a more concise and thorough story.

Speech Understanding And Listening Effort In Noise With A New Speech Processing Algorithm, Abigail E. Compton

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of a new speech processing strategy (SpeechZone2) in a commercially available hearing aid on speech understanding in noise and self-reported listening effort. Seven adult, experienced hearing aid users (2 males, 5 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. Binaural Unitron Flex receiver in the ear style hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the manufacturer prescribed amplification for each participant. The hearing aids were programmed with two separate memories: 1) omnidirectional microphone without SpeecZone2 processing, and 2) adaptive directionality with SpeechZone2 processing. …

Induction Of Nocebo Effects By Verbal Suggestions During The Caloric Test, Abbey Weist

Dissertations, 2020-current

The caloric test is the most frequently performed vestibular diagnostic test and is considered the “gold-standard” for the assessment of the peripheral vestibular system. Using a warm or cool stimulus, the caloric test alters the temperature gradient in the vestibular system resulting in nausea and dizziness. The nocebo effect is a phenomenon that can occur when negative expectations result in negative effects. No study has examined whether expectations of nausea and dizziness during the caloric test enhance the experience of unwanted symptoms. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a nocebo response can be elicited during the caloric …

Music And Speech Perception In Pre-Lingually Deafened Young Listeners With Cochlear Implants: A Preliminary Study Using Sung Speech, Harley J. Wheeler

Dissertations, 2020-current

Timbre and pitch cues, though definitionally and physically distinct characteristics of sound, are attributes of all sound signals. A body of literature has shown that alteration of one characteristic can influence the perception of the other; e.g., speech spoken with an atypical contour of pitch can influence a listener's accuracy in identifying the words spoken; conversely, whether a melodic contour is presented via a MIDI piano representation or as sung speech can influence the accuracy of identification of the pitches' contour. Trends for these interactions have been documented for normal hearing children and adults, as well as postlingually deafened adult …

The Impact Of Hair Covering Hearing Aid Microphones On Directional Performance, Sara F. Wagner

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of hair covering on hearing aid directional microphone performance. Nine adult, experienced hearing aid users (3 males, 6 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. Binaural Oticon Opn 1 receiver-in-the-ear hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the recommended amplification for each participant. Speech Reception Threshold (dB SNR required for 50% speech understanding) was measured in all combinations of directional microphone (on/off) and hair covering (with/without) resulting in a total of four conditions. Results showed that directional microphones significantly improved …

Bilingual Practices In Speech-Language Pathology In Nebraska Schools, Kylee Beyea

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The United States is home to a population that is nearly 20% bilingual. A statistic such as this almost guarantees that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) will work with someone from this bilingual population at some point during their career. Many factors contribute to how children learn language, and there are added complexities in the acquisition of multiple languages which can complicate the job of a clinician. Silent periods, codeswitching, transfer, and other bilingual language phenomena make diagnosing speech and language disorders difficult. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides guidelines and a code of ethics to be followed to ensure best practice. …

Factors Of Dysphagia In The Overdose Population Post Extubation., Renee Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Post-extubation dysphagia (PED) has been studied in depth in a variety of populations including elective heart surgeries, trauma, critical illness, traumatic brain injury, and those requiring mechanical ventilation, but has not been researched in the overdose population (OD). This study aims to research factors of PED in the OD population. A retrospective study was conducted and found 24 participants who fit the inclusionary requirements. Correlation statistics were run between age and duration of intubation, age or duration of intubation and gender, and between intubation duration, age, and scores on Penetration-Aspiration Scale (P/A) (thin by cup and thin by straw). The …

Perspectives Relating To Multicultural Training With Speech-Language Pathologists, Evy Jewell Hayes

Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to assess whether Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) feel adequately prepared and comfortable interacting with multicultural clients. To assess if an SLP feels prepared to interact with, to assess, to teach, or to treat a multicultural client, a 25-question survey was developed. The survey included questions pertaining to the SLPs’ experiences with other cultures, both professional and personal, if the SLP speaks more than one language, and if the SLP has received any formal training on how to interact with multicultural clients. The survey was sent out via email to 814 licensed SLPs practicing in pre-school, …

Examination Of Language Skills In Children Who Attend Head Start Programs, Madilyn Littlefield

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Socioeconomic status and poverty can greatly affect child development and have lasting impacts throughout life. Children who are raised in a low socioeconomic status homes may experience limited parent sensitivity, limited parental engagement, and limited access to stimulating materials. These factors may also limit opportunities to experience rich language and literacy experiences which can negatively impact development of emergent literacy skills and later educational growth. To reduce the effects of poverty on school readiness, income-based childcare programs allow families access to affordable early school readiness opportunities that are developmentally appropriate. Head Start programs are designed to facilitate child development, provide …

Development Of The Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (Cast) Scale: A Pilot Study On Caregiver Implementation Via International Telepractice, Elizabeth Ocampo-Roman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parent engagement is a key component during early language development for all children, but particularly for a child with hearing loss. Through the application of technology-based models of service delivery such as telehealth, researchers have found an increase in parent-child engagement during auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) sessions due to the physical absence of the provider and parents becoming the primary language facilitators. However, current measures of parent-child interactions do not have a coding system to monitor facilitation of auditory skills. This present study will discuss the development of the Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (CAST) Scale to track progress of caregiver implementation …

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Investigating Predictive Adaptive Behavior Skill Deficits In Young Children., Emma L. Feige

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that consists of difficulties with social communication and language, as well as the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors. These deficits tend to present in early childhood and usually lead to impairments in functioning across various settings. Moreover, these deficits have been shown to negatively impact adaptive behavior and functioning. Thus, early diagnosis and intervention is vital for future success within this population. The purpose of this study was to further examine the subscales that comprise the adaptive behavior section of the Bayley-III to determine which of the ten subscales are …

School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist's Perceptions Of Sensory Food Aversions In Children, Ellen Monroe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sensory Food Aversions occur frequently in children who are likely to appear on Speech-Language Pathologist’s (SLP’s) caseloads. The lack of research regarding intervention for Sensory Food Aversions in schools and the assertion of a gap in school-based services for children with feeding disorders was a significant indicator for the need of the study. A quantitative, descriptive, exploratory research design was selected using a self-developed questionnaire in order to exploreschool-based SLP’s perceptions of their knowledge and skills related to Sensory Food Aversions, as well as determine resources available for working with this population. Findings from the study suggest a need for …

Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials And Postural Control In Adults With Age-Related Hearing Loss, Steven Michael Doettl

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

It is well-documented that auditory thresholds decrease with age, which can be referred to as Age-related hearing loss (ARHL). ARHL is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults and is associated with several conditions including decreased postural stability and falls. Age-related changes to auditory function have been attributed to, through histopathological study, specific degradation of the sensory, supporting, and afferent structures of the cochlea. Vestibular function, as measured through vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) also show decreases with age. VEMPs are a measurement of evoked potentials generated by auditory stimulation of the utricle and saccule measured through a …

Perceptions Of Guilt Of Individuals With A Visible Communication Disorder Versus An Invisible Communication Disorder, Zoe Hochberg

Honors Scholar Theses

This study explored how communication disorders may impact listeners’ perception of guilt. More specifically, it looked at how visible communication disorders (e.g., stuttering) and invisible communication disorders (e.g., high functioning autism) are judged by the general public. 51 adults (18-71 years) participated in the study which asked them to view video recordings of narrative samples produced by an individual who stuttered (PWS), an individual with high-functioning autism (PHFA), and an individual with no communication disorder (PNCD). Participants were not informed of the individuals’ communication abilities (PWS, PHFA, or PNCD), but were told that one of the individuals had committed a …

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome And The Relationship Between Respiration And Feeding, Paul Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between respiratory status and feeding difficulties in infants with NAS in comparison to full-term infants with no exposure to opioids.

Methods: A group of infants with NAS (262) were compared to a group of full-term infants with no exposure to opioids (279). These groups were further divided into feeding and respiratory groups based on severity. These groups were analyzed for differences in behavior and outcomes.

Results: Infants with NAS are 34.23 times more likely to develop respiratory distress and 111.03 times more likely to develop severe feeding difficulty. …

Listeners’ Attitudes Towards Young Women With Glottal Fry, Natalie Foulks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify employers’ perceptions of young women using glottal fry and the impact on hirability.

Methods: A survey was created using the online survey tool, REDCapÒ, and sent to employers across the southern United States. The survey contained three voice samples consisting of a non-glottal fry voice, a glottal fry at the end of sentences voice, and a continuous glottal fry voice, fourteen semantic differential scales derived from hiring constructs, and open-ended questions on hirability.

Results: Employers perceived individuals using glottal fry as more negative than the individual who used no glottal fry. …

The Effects Of Bilingualism In Post-Stroke Aphasia Patients: Clinical Implications Within The United States, Kristen Bennett

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The consistent increase of cultural diversity and immigration within the United States over the last fifty years has contributed to a societal shift towards a growing bilingual population. The growth of this population has generated a need to evaluate current assessment and treatment plans for bilingual post-stroke aphasia patients within the United States to ensure that these individuals are receiving effective healthcare. This study aims to investigate the current knowledge gap surrounding appropriate methods of assessing and treating bilingual post-stroke aphasia patients within the United States and suggest potential approaches based on existing research. In order to synthesize information regarding …

An Investigation Of Pictography And Verbal Rehearsal On College Students’ Recall Of Expository Texts, Joshua Woodruff

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of pictography with and without verbal rehearsal on informational recall of two types of expository texts. This study is part of a research program to further develop a treatment for younger students with language impairment called Sketch-and-Speak.

Procedure: 66 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 40 were tested on recall of concrete versus abstract expository texts in a randomized group experiment across three conditions: pictography with and without verbal rehearsal versus re-reading. Participants were trained on the assigned testing condition and then proceeded to the experimental procedure. In the experimental procedure, …

Relation Between Linguistic Awareness Skills And Spelling In Adults: A Comparison Among Scoring Procedures, Victoria Henbest

Victoria S. Henbest Publications

Spelling is a skill that relies on an individual's linguistic awareness, the ability to overtly manipulate language. The ability to accurately spell is important for academic and career success into adulthood. The spelling skills of adults have received some attention in the literature, but there is limited information regarding which approach for analyzing adults' spelling is optimal for guiding instruction or intervention for those who struggle. Thus, we aimed to examine the concurrent validity of four different scoring methods for measuring adults' spellings (a dichotomous scoring method and three continuous methods) and to determine whether adults' linguistic awareness skills differentially …

Sound Exposure Characterization For Student Musicians: A Hearing Loss Prevention Initiative, Heather Maze, Antony Joseph

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

There is an increased risk for occupational and recreational noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) and tinnitus among those who are exposed to prolonged and elevated sound intensities. For musicians, education and hearing conservation programs are rarely accessible. The purpose of this project was to measure, quantify, and more clearly understand the exposure risk for student musicians. Dosimetry and area sound level data were used to evaluate the exposure levels of students in a university music department while they practiced in ensemble rooms and a concert performance hall. Sound maps were used to illustrate the most intense positions in each music-practice …

Self-Disclosure Of Stuttering To Various Social Referent Groups And Its Relationships With Psychological Distress, Katrina Rourke

Honors Theses

Purpose: Research has shown that there are benefits associated with verbal disclosure of stuttering. However, most of the existing literature on stuttering disclosure has focused on how it affects listener perceptions of people who stutter, and little is known about speaker-focused outcomes of verbal stuttering disclosure. The purpose of the current study was to investigate who people who stutter verbally disclose to (e.g. friends, co-workers, neighbors) and if relationships between extent of disclosure and distress vary depending on the confidant’s social referent group. The seven social referent groups of focus were family, friends, romantic partners, people in the workplace, healthcare …

Acoustic Changes During Passage Reading In Speakers With Parkinson's Disease, Kimberly C. Grubbs

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate speech changes in Parkinson’s disease (PD) while reading a passage, using both local (i.e., segment level) and global (i.e., utterance level) acoustic measures.

Methods: 20 speakers participated in the study (10 PD, 10 neurologically healthy controls). The speakers were asked to read The Caterpillar passage in a conversational mode. A total of five acoustic measures were included (local: vowel duration, Euclidean distance between corner vowels and schwa; global: articulation rate, F0/intensity range). These acoustic measures were compared between two sentences located in the two positions within the paragraph, initial and final. …

The Relationship Between The Development Of Communicative Functions In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Isabelle Bankston

LSU Master's Theses

In regard to the assessment of language, it is difficult to determine exact communicative functions that are exhibited early in development that could indicate a prognostic value of verbal abilities and outcomes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Verbal Behavioral Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP, Sundberg, 2008) is frequently used in Applied Behavior Analysis for standard assessment procedures to measure development over time. The current study was designed to use the VB-MAPP to determine a relationship between certain communicative functions (i.e., mand, tact, listener responding, echoic, and intraverbal) that may suggest a correlation in growth in each …

The Relationship Between Working Memory, Procedural Learning, And Declarative Memory In Children With Specific Language Impairment, Allison Grace Herring

LSU Master's Theses

Background: Children with specific language impairment (SLI) have recently been suggested to have subclinical deficits in executive function skills. The current study seeks to better understand these deficits by exploring the role of nonverbal working memory in word learning and statistical learning in this population. Method: Participants included typically developing children along with children with SLI ranging from ages 8-12 years old. Word learning was assessed using a fast-mapping task, statistical learning was measured using a word-segmentation task, and nonverbal working memory was measured using an N-back task. Results: A significant difference was found between children’s segmentation accuracy scores. …

Lessons Learned In Practice-Based Research: Studying Preschool Language Interventions In The Real World, Rachael E. Smyth, Julie Theurer, Lisa Md Archibald, Janis Oram Cardy

PRECISe Preschool Speech and Language Publications

Abstract

Background and aims: Practice-based research holds potential as a promising solution to closing the research-practice gap, because it addresses research questions based on problems that arise in clinical practice and tests whether systems and interventions are effective and sustainable in a clinical setting. One type of practice-based research involves capturing practice by collecting evidence within clinical settings to evaluate the effectiveness of current practices. Here, we describe our collaboration between researchers and clinicians that sought to answer clinician-driven questions about community-based language interventions for young children (Are our interventions effective? What predicts response to our interventions?) and to address …

Developing Speech-Language Pathology Students’ Grammatical Identification Skills Through Gamification, Emerson Lopez Odango, Anne M. P. Michalek, Corrin Richels, Jane Roitsch

College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) Posters

Background: Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are communication experts required to analyze and interpret a variety of language components (Schuele, 2010). Language sampling is a form of communication analysis and is used with adult and pediatric populations. SLPs collect and analyze language samples in an effort to make evidence-based diagnostic and intervention decisions. When analyzing a language sample, sentences must be deconstructed along a variety of parameters. At Old Dominion University (ODU), the undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders program requires students to identify broad and specific grammatical categories during language sample analysis in preparation for clinical experiences.

This research involves the design …

Reported Barriers To Aac Service Delivery & Post-Professional Learning Preferences Among Speech-Language Pathologists, Meredith Laverdure, Rachel K. Johnson

College of Health Sciences Posters

This mixed methods experimental study used a survey to identify speech-language pathologists’ perceptions, including preparedness to provide augmentative-alternative communication (AAC) services to individuals with complex communication needs and learning preferences for post-professional training. Following certification standard changes in 2005 and 2014, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) now requires instruction and clinical experiences during graduate studies across nine major content areas, including the use of AAC modalities. Prior to this change, the number of preservice programs reported to offer at least one AAC course increased from 62% (Ratcliff & Beukelman, 1995) to 72% (Ratcliff, Koul, & Lloyd, 2008). Since the certification …

Reliability And Validity Of An Assessment Of Engagement In Nursing Home Residents During Bingocize®, Elizabeth Batson Apelt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research suggests nursing home residents are often socially isolated and physically inactive despite overwhelming evidence that both social engagement and physical activity are crucial for healthy aging (Jones, Sung, & Moyle, 2018; Yen & Lin, 2018; Ice, 2002; Jansson et al., 2017). Bingocize® is a program that combines exercise and the game of Bingo to improve the quality of life, physical health, and social engagement of certified nursing facility (CNF) residents. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of social engagement displayed by CNF residents during Bingocize® using the Fun and Social Engagement Evaluation (FUSE). Reliability and …

From Isolation To Communication: Connecting Adults Who Have Hearing Loss With Their Communication Partners, Stephen D. Roberts, Nancy A. Delich

JADARA

As Baby Boomers enter the late adulthood stage of life, hearing loss continues to be one of the most prevalent, chronic, and isolating conditions facing older adults today. Research has focused on the negative consequences of hearing loss on the health and the person’s well-being, but it is equally important to recognize that hearing loss also leads to communication loss. The resulting social isolation and the collateral effects of hearing loss on the communication partner are the focus of this mixed-method study that explored the hearing loss-related quality of life for both parties. Five overarching themes emerged from the analysis, …