Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Optimizing Communication In Palliative And Hospice Care: A Toolkit For Audiologists, Sherry E. Queen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, with age-related hearing loss (ARHL) being one of the most prevalent forms of sensory decline in older adults. Hearing loss is often overlooked in medical settings including palliative and hospice care. Screening for hearing loss in these settings is rare as is formal staff training on assessing and managing hearing loss in palliative and hospice care. An evidence-based toolkit for integrating audiologists into end-of-life care protocols is presented. This toolkit was developed to optimize communication in palliative and hospice care for patients, caregivers, audiologists, physicians, and other palliative care staff. Effective communication ...

Assessment Of Modified Patient Education Materials For People With Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Jennifer Fortuna, Anne Riddering, Linda Shuster, Cassie Lopez-Jeng

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Existing research on health literacy identifies a disconnect between the readability of patient education materials (PEMs) and the reading abilities of American adults. For people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), central vision loss creates an additional barrier to health literacy. This study explored how evidence-based guidelines for creating easy-to-understand written materials influenced the usability of PEMs in people with AMD.

Methods: Evidence-based guidelines were applied to modify one PEM. Standardized tools quantified differences in readability and suitability between the original and modified PEM. Twelve people with AMD rated the comprehensibility (design quality) and shared personal preferences during semi-structured interviews ...

Psychosocial Experiences Of Parents Of Young Children Who Use Hearing Devices: A Scoping Review, Karen F. Munoz, Natalie Nichols, Sydnee Hill

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objective: The purpose of this scoping review was to provide information about the research base related to psychosocial experiences of parents of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and use hearing devices. A scoping review identifies trends and gaps in available evidence and this information can be used to inform practice and identify areas in need of further research.

Design: A scoping review was conducted in June 2020 to identify English-language peer-reviewed journal articles published through May 31, 2020.

Study sample: Nine articles were found that investigated psychosocial factors of parents of children birth through five ...

Visual Reinforcers Designed For Children With Developmental Disabilities, Angela Yarnell Bonino, Amanda Hemann, Deborah Mood, Emily Kay, Elizabeth S. Pancoast, Kristin K. Sommerfeldt

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

A library of visual reinforcers has been created to facilitate visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) testing in children with developmental disabilities. The library includes 45 reinforcer sets – photos or videos grouped by a common theme – that were created based on commonly reported interests of children with developmental disabilities. Each reinforcer set contains a minimum of 20 unique photo or video files that can be download in two formats: one for commercially available VRA reinforcement systems and another for a custom setup. The library is freely available for download online under a Creative Commons License (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License ...

Diagnostic Infant Abr Testing Via Telehealth: A Survey Of Professional Opinions And Current Barriers, Haley B. Prins, Kimberly A. Peters, Douglas P. Sladen

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: To examine the barriers to Washington State audiologists adopting telehealth as a means of improving accessibility to diagnostic audiology for infants.

Methods: A Qualtrics survey was distributed via e-mail and social media. Survey participants were required to be audiologists practicing in Washington State. The sixteen-question survey consisted of topics related to participant demographics, previous telehealth experience, and barriers to the use of telehealth for diagnostic infant auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing. A total of 17 participants completed the survey.

Results: Survey responses indicated that Washington State audiologists are largely neutral or disagree with telehealth being an effective means of ...

The Role Of Early Intervention In Parental Self-Efficacy For Parents Of Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Children, Carrie Davenport, Derek Houston, Kristina Bowdrie, Rachael Frush Holt

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: To investigate the effects of age at enrollment in early intervention (EI) and dosage of EI services (frequency and intensity) on parental self-efficacy (PSE) and to determine whether parents with better PSE demonstrate more involvement in deciding Individualized Family Service Plan goals (IFSP), services, and amount of services.

Method: Sixty-five parent-child dyads were included in this retrospective between-subjects study. PSE was measured using the Scale of Parental Involvement and Self-Efficacy (DesJardin, 2003). Dosage of EI services and parent/professional involvement in IFSP decision-making were measured using a Child Demographic Questionnaire.

Results: Statistically significant correlations were not found between age ...

Developing A Spoken Language Outcome Monitoring Procedure For A Canadian Early Hearing Detection And Intervention Program: Process And Recommendations, Olivia Daub, Janis Cardy

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Abstract:

Purpose: Routine spoken language outcome monitoring is one component of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs for children who are hard-of-hearing and learning a spoken language. However, there is no peer-reviewed research that documents how spoken language outcome monitoring may be achieved, or what processes EHDI programs can use to develop these procedures. The present paper describes the process used by a Canadian EHDI program, and the final recommendations that were developed from this process.

Methodology: Through consultation with the program’s stakeholders, consideration of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing’s recommendations, and drawing on our own ...

The Effects Of Early Intervention On Language Growth After Age 3 For Children With Permanent Hearing Loss, Lisa Davidson, Andrea Osman, Ann E. Geers

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: The overall goal of this study was to examine language performance in children with permanent hearing loss who were enrolled in a Listening and Spoken Language program. The influence of time spent in Early Intervention (EI) on language trajectories and ability to attain age-appropriate language skills was examined.

Methods: Retrospective data were obtained from children (N=48) who attended Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) for various lengths of time between 2004 and 2017. Children were grouped into those who had received EI prior to age 3 years versus those who did not. Standardized tests of receptive and expressive ...

Social Engagement Of Nursing Home Residents: A Comparison Of Two Observation Methods, Annika Gabbard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In Kentucky, low levels of physical activity and social engagement negatively impact health. This problem led to the creation of Bingocize®, an exercise program that combines the game of Bingo with intermittent exercises in a group setting to increase levels of positive affect, physical health, and, the focus of this study, social engagement. Since clear benefits of social engagement have been established, measurement and documentation of this behavior can assist in determining the level of potential benefit from Bingocize®. The purpose of this study was to compare the opinions of healthcare workers who have experience with Bingocize® on two measures ...

Predictors And Characteristics Of Aac Service Delivery Among Post-Professional Speech-Language Pathologists, Meredith Gohsman, Rachel Johnson

College of Health Sciences Posters

In the United States, approximately four million individuals are unable to use verbal speech to meet communication needs (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013). Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) modalities support the needs of these individuals, offering temporary or permanent solutions to meet an individual’s communication needs across environments (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013). Tasked with the use of AAC to support individuals with communication impairments, speech-language pathologists are directly involved in AAC service provision (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2016). Past research has identified barriers to AAC service provision and use of AAC modalities, including lack of perceived competence, time, financial support, and availability of aided AAC modalities (e.g., Bailey et al., 2006; Costigan & Light, 2010; Iacono & Cameron, 2009; Marvin et al., 2003, Soto et al., 2001). This study surveyed post-professional speech-language pathologists to examine 1) characteristics of perceived competence and use of AAC during service delivery, 2) perceived barriers to AAC service delivery, and 3) learning preferences for AAC-related training.

Five-hundred thirty post-professional speech-language pathologists in the United States participated in this study. To address the research questions, regression analyses were used with a two-step hierarchical method of entry. Step one included predictor variables related to the ...

Voice Therapy: Racial Disparities In Adherence And Clinically Significant Outcomes, Amber D. Burks

LSU Master's Theses

Voice therapy is evidence-based, behavioral intervention that can reduce functional and organic voice disorders. Despite its proven effectiveness, non-adherence to voice therapy is still an issue. Research shows that an estimated 65% of patients who initiate voice therapy drop out before reaching therapeutic goals. Voice therapy outcomes are largely dependent on patients’ adherence to treatment regimens, but there is limited information concerning factors that may be associated with voice therapy adherence and therapeutic outcomes for patients who successfully complete voice therapy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate which demographic factors could be associated with higher adherence rates to ...

The Impact Of Technology On The Developing Visual And/Or Auditory Memory In School Aged Children, Cameron Mayer

Honors Scholars & Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium Programs

This study aimed to determine whether time spent on technology impacts the developing auditory or visual memory in school-aged children. A survey was completed with the child participants to acquire a catalog of time spent on both technology devices and non-technological activities. Tests included a visual and auditory memory assessment adapted from the Preschool Language Scales Fifth Edition (PLS-5). The subtests were expanded upon in order to incorporate an auditory element. The results indicated that there was no significance between time spent on technology and visual and auditory memory scores. This was likely caused by the small sample size. However ...

Increasing Access To Augmentative And Alternative Communication Services For People With Complex Communication Needs During Covid-19 And Beyond, Cristina L. Pujol, Anamaria Nevares, Michelle Schladant

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

The COVID-19 global pandemic has affected the disability network across the world. In the United States, there are millions of people who cannot use their natural speech to communicate. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), a form of assistive technology (AT), helps people with complex communication needs (CCNs) to communicate with others. Examples of AAC include printed pictures and speech-generating devices. A team of professionals work together with the person with CCNs and their caregivers to choose the right type of AAC. Often, people with CCNs need face-to-face and ongoing AAC support. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this population already faced ...

Adapting During A Pandemic: Using Ethics Of Care And Cosmopolitanism To Train Graduate Students During The Covid-19 Crisis, Jennifer Whited, Anne Marie Sisk

Online Journal of Interprofessional Health Promotion

The COVID-19 crisis impacted university clinics in numerous devastating ways. Educators across the world have had to completely retool their approaches to training students in a clinical setting. The authors describe two overall approaches they adapted to guide new ways of training students, as well as three practical strategies they used to implement quality instruction.

Brown's Stages Of Morphosyntactic Development Applied To The Typical Development Of Italian, Marie Laiche

LSU Master's Theses

Background: In A First Language (1973), Roger Brown called for an increase in crosslinguistic data and analysis of morphosyntax across languages as more research in this field is crucial for working out the overarching determinants of language acquisition order and for the ability to accurately compare child language acquisition across different languages. An increase in this research would benefit linguistic researchers and speech-language-pathologists offering services to or evaluating children speaking a different language or more than one language. The current study seeks to add to the field of crosslinguistic research by adapting Brown’s guidelines of English language acquisition to ...

Self-Perception Of Stuttering Frequency Across The Lifespan: A Pilot Study, Natalia C. Newton

University Honors Theses

Purpose: The purpose of the current pilot study is to analyze the accuracy of self-rating of stuttering frequency as compared to clinician calculations of stuttering frequency in order to further examine possible factors that affect the accuracy of a stutterer’s self-rating of their overt stuttering.

Method: Three participants (i.e., one child, one teen, one adult) self-rated their perceptions of their stuttering frequency on a scale of 1-5 after three telepractice speech therapy sessions. Each of the telepractice therapy sessions were recorded and reviewed asynchronously after the session to conduct a disfluency count with a 300-word sample and calculate ...

Health Literacy Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Behavior Of Street Children’S Mothers In Indonesia, Yanti Tayo, Ninis Agustini Damayani, Atwar Bajari, Wawan Setiawan

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The COVID-19 virus, which is spreading rapidly and massively around the world, is causing panic and fear in everyone; the Indonesian government is taking quick steps to solve the COVID 19 pandemic that is currently happening. What about the fate of street children currently still on the streets working as street singers, beggars, and hawkers? This study aims to see how health literacy possessed by the mothers of street children who are still on the streets during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses a qualitative research method with a phenomenological approach. The resource persons in this study were ten mothers ...

The Relation Of Auditory Temporal Processing To Language Development And Other Cognitive Processes: Methodological And Conceptual Considerations, Rachael E. Smyth

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Separate lines of research have demonstrated relations between auditory temporal processing and language ability and between information processing speed and intelligence. Because these processes have rarely been studied in the same sample, it is unclear how auditory temporal processing and information processing speed may operate together and how they may relate to cognitive functions including language. The overarching aim of this dissertation was to integrate these lines of research to better understand whether auditory temporal processing has a unique relation with language, or whether it relates more broadly to language and other cognitive functions as a part of global information ...

Positive Messages And Traditional Therapy For Three Children With Persistent Stuttering, Nola T. Radford

Audiology and Speech Pathology Publications and Other Works

As children age, they are less likely to experience spontaneous recovery from stuttering and are likely to develop negative attitudes about talking, necessitating counselling to address these feelings. The current exploratory case study examines children’s response to traditional speech therapy to address fluency combined with a programmed message to modify negative attitudes about talking. A standard narration, saved to a compact disk (CD), was used as a counselling experience for children, ages 6, 7, and 10;11 years, recruited from a university clinic predominantly serving African American children. A one-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test was performed to examine differences in stuttering ...

Speech-Language Pathology Interventions And Ingredients That Support Social Communication And Language Of Preschoolers With Autism, Amanda Binns

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the best predictors of long-term outcomes for autistic children is development of language and social communication skills. Therefore, it’s not surprising that speech and language therapy is one of the most frequently accessed interventions for children with suspected or diagnosed autism. From a public health and family well-being perspective, identifying effective social communication interventions and better understanding the specific components that contribute to their effectiveness is critical. However, there is a lack of clarity about the most effective interventions. This dissertation addressed this important topic through three studies.

Study 1 examined the literature on interventions provided by ...