Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Applied Software Tools For Supporting Children With Intellectual Disabilities, Ahmad Abualsamid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We explored the level of technology utilization in supporting children with cognitive disabilities at schools, speech clinics, and with assistive communication at home. Anecdotal evidence, literature research, and our own survey of special needs educators in Central Florida reveal that use of technology is minimal in classrooms for students with special needs even when scientific research has shown the effectiveness of video modeling in teaching children with special needs new skills and behaviors. Research also shows that speech and language therapists utilize a manual approach to elicit and analyze language samples from children with special needs. While technology is utilized …

Comparison Of Two Levels Of Inpatient Dysphagia Treatment Dosages On Swallowing Outcomes, Paige Licht

Honors Program Theses

Current research reveals great variability in many aspects of service delivery for swallowing rehabilitation, including dosage or intensity of treatment. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the effects of treatment intensity on swallowing rehabilitation outcomes. The purpose of this study is to determine whether two levels of treatment intensity produce different patterns of swallowing recovery for inpatients with neurogenic dysphagia. Blinded analysis of pre- and post-treatment videofluoroscopic measures of swallowing were completed for six inpatients at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago who were previously randomized to one of two dysphagia exercise programs. One arm consisted of traditional 30-minute treatment …

An Overwhelming Journey: Mothers Of Children Cochlear Implant Users Experiences With Speech-Language Pathologists, Jennifer Beebe

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study shares themes identified across the experiences of mothers of children cochlear implant users with speech-language pathologists. Parents describe learning that their child has a hearing loss as an overwhelming journey with much to learn and many decisions to make, especially in their child’s first year of life. Parents rely on professional support in developing their child’s listening and spoken language development. A phenomenological framework of qualitative research was utilized to understand the perspective of the mothers who participated in this study. The intent of this study is to improve the partnership between parents and professionals of children with …

The Frequency Attenuations Of Foam Ear Plugs Affected By User Error Of College Students, Alyse J. Lemoine

Honors Theses

This paper examines the relationship between the attenuating ability of foam ear plugs at low and high frequencies and the effects of incorrect ear plug fitting by college students. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1998) recommends the use of a hearing protection device (HPD) such as ear muffs or ear plugs to avoid noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). However, when not inserted properly, a HPD's effectiveness can be adversely affected by user error and present as a decrease in attenuation. Attenuation is measured and presented on packaging as the noise reduction rating (NRR). A high NRR affected …

Measuring The Effects Of Prosthetic Tactile Pacing On Overt Stuttering Frequency In Adults Who Stutter, Sydney Elizabeth Gully

Honors Theses

While the cause has been historically enigmatic, persistent stuttering exhibits distinct behavioral, neural and genetic characteristics. Throughout many years, a variety of motoric treatments have attempted to ameliorate overt stuttering behaviors; however, most therapeutic options provide unstable, effortful, and/or unnatural sounding results with high relapse rates. Conversely, research documents natural sounding speech coupled with stable and effortless reductions in overt stuttering frequency when a person who stutters is exposed to speech feedback of a second speech signal (i.e. choral speech). The most prolific clinical use of this technology is a prosthetically introduced auditory second speech signal; yet its current application …

The Effects Of Prosthetic Tactile Feedback On Persons Who Stutter, Meliah Kayla Grant

Honors Theses

Vibrotactile speech feedback has been documented to enhance fluency in adults who stutter. Based on these data, researchers at the University of Mississippi have developed a prosthetic device that captures the speech signal of the speaker, converts this signal into tactile stimulation, and administers vibratory speech feedback to the speaker through a handheld stimulator. This patented device, as tested with a handheld tactile stimulator, has been documented as producing significant fluency enhancement comparable to that of other auditory speech feedback prosthetic devices. The purpose of this present study is to collect data measuring the effects of tactile speech feedback on …

Effects Of Signal Bandwidth And Noise On Individual Speaker Identification, Jeremy C. Schwartz, Ashtyn T. Whyte, Mohanad Al-Nuaimi, Jeremy J. Donai

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of increasing spectral bandwidth from 3 to 10 kHz on individual speaker recognition in noisy conditions (þ5, 0, and 5 dB signal-to-noise ratio). Experiment 1 utilized h(Vowel)d (hVd) signals, while experiment 2 utilized sentences from the Rainbow Passage. Both experiments showed significant improvements in individual speaker identification in the 10 kHz bandwidth condition (6% for hVds; 10% for sentences). These results coincide with the extant machine recognition literature demonstrating significant amounts of individual speaker information present in the speech signal above approximately 3–4 kHz. Cues from the highfrequency region for speaker identity …

Exploring Student-Led Interprofessional Education Through A Community Service Project, Lindsay Ann Doerschuk

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore the effectiveness of a student-led interprofessional education (IPE) workshop in improving student attitudes and perceptions toward IPE. Students from four health science programs including Dental Hygiene, Communication Sciences and Disorders/Speech and Hearing, Health Services Administration and Occupational Therapy participated in a community service event. Students provided screenings to veteran patients including a health history intake, hearing test, and sleep screening while other students observed.

Methods: Students were asked to attend an orientation, the Vets Day IPE workshop, and a debrief session. This mixed methods approach study utilized the Readiness for Interprofessional …

The Psychosocial Effects Of Hearing Loss On Adults, Holly Reed

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Adults with hearing loss report experiencing isolation, depression, a decreased satisfaction with their self - image and quality of life, cognitive problems and communication obstacles. These effects of a hearing loss can manifest in social situations, within the family and even at the workplace. How one copes with their hearing loss can affect how much of an impact their hearing loss has on their lives as well as what rehabilitative programs or assistive technology they may seek out. It is important to for audiologists to understand the psychosocial effects of hearing loss, how they affect the individual in the workplace …

Assessment And Intervention Of Young Spanish Speakers Who Are Learningenglish As A Second Language, Nicole Katherine Wiswesser, Terry Hallett Ph.D., Ccc-Slp

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project reviewed: a) a summary of research articles on assessment for children who are learning English as a second language; b) a summary of research articles on intervention for children who are learning English as a second language; c) an appendix that includes assessment materials for evaluating children who speak English as a second language such as case history forms, interview questions for clients, teachers, and parents, measures of language milestones, and informal language assessment instruments, and; d) an appendix that includes evidence based treatment strategies such as vocabulary teaching methods, literacy learning strategies, and other intervention materials.

Play To Say: A Speech Therapy Activities Website, Lauren Stover

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Play to Say is a speech therapy website designed to provide activities for both at home and in-clinic facilitation. Play to Say.com was initially designed in conjunction with the Articulation & Phonological Disorders class at The University of Akron, taught by Dr. Scott Palasik. This class involved collegiate students working together to create therapy activities for various speech disorders in children. This website was created in effort to provide aspiring and current licensed speech-language pathologists with new ideas for therapy with children. In addition, the website addresses the much-needed push for continued therapy and practice at home. Parent-friendly activities are …

The Effect Of Yoga And Breathing Exercises On Children With Autism, Leah Brausch

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this case study was to determine the effects of yoga and breathing exercises on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Common characteristics of children with ASD were noted and observed throughout the study in order to determine effectiveness of the therapy at hand. Yoga therapy was implemented for nine (9) weeks through an at-home program. It was determined that, while long-term effects were not evident, there is reasonable evidence to implement yoga therapy to assist with focus and attention. This paper serves to review characteristics of children with ASD, typical therapies used to assist them and the …

Individual Differences In Music Discrimination And Their Relation To Reading And Reading-Related Skills In Children, Elaina C. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that there may be a relationship between music and reading. Some researchers have found that musical rhythm is related to reading in children, while others have found that it is musical pitch and not rhythm that correlates with reading. Prosody is the melodic element of language that encompasses both pitch and rhythm. In the past, these have been studied separately. In the present study, we analyzed pitch and rhythm discrimination skills, phonological awareness, prosody and reading in thirty-nine seven and eight year old children. We predicted that music and reading skills would be related, and that prosody would …

Progress Monitoring Timing Effects In Speech And Written Language Therapy, James P. Blaida

Theses and Dissertations

Progress monitoring is a crucial aspect of speech-language pathology. Without it, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have little way of determining if patients are making progress with the implemented therapy. Currently, most SLPs perform progress monitoring during therapy. This study compared the traditional, status-quo, method of progress monitoring to that of progress monitoring performed before therapy begins in an effort to determine if a timing change would affect therapy outcomes. 2 boys, receiving articulation therapy, and 1 girl, receiving spelling therapy, each had 1 treatment goal for the during condition and 1 treatment goal for the before condition. The children all received …

Neuroanatomical Correlates Of Speech And Melody Repetition In Chronic Stroke, Sarah Elizabeth Bradford

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to repeat speech is impaired in most individuals with aphasia. Recent evidence suggests damage to area Spt (boundary of the parietal and temporal lobes at the Sylvian fissure) may cause the repetition difficulties commonly seen in aphasia. This study examined if such repetition impairments are specific to speech or reflect a more general repetition deficit, and determined how regional and network brain damage predict repetition impairments. Participants in the chronic phase of stroke (N=47) listened to a series of ten five-second melodies that consisted of six tones and repeated the melody (by humming) following its presentation. The participants’ …

Assessment And Analysis Of Receptive And Expressive English Language Development In Spanish Speaking Ells And Native English Speakers Using The Pre-Klba, Candace Laprairie

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the trends and differences in receptive and expressive English language development in native English speakers and Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELL). It also aims to analyze the relationship between auditory comprehension and narrative production skills and semantic skills and narrative production skills in native English-speakers and Spanish-speaking ELLs. Eighty-three preschool-aged children (17 Spanish-speaking ELLs and 66 Native English-speakers) were administered the Pre-Kindergarten Language Benchmark Assessment (Pre-KLBA) in Fall 2015, Winter 2016, and Spring 2016. This study utilized a three by two ANOVA to evaluate and determine: 1) If there are differences in …

An Exploratory Analysis Of A Five Minute Speech Sample Of Mothers Of Children With Selective Mutism, Lisa Kovac

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Selective mutism (SM), an anxiety disorder wherein children have difficulty speaking or communicating when they are uncomfortable, is relevant for the early childhood population as symptoms often manifest upon school entry (Steinhausen & Juzi, 1996) and early treatment leads to better treatment prognosis (Oerbeck, Stein, Wentzel-Larsen, Langsrud & Kristensen, 2014). Bergman, Gonzalez, Piacentini and Keller, (2013) utilized an integrative behavioral treatment for children (ages 4-8) with SM and reported a 75% treatment responder status after 24 weeks of therapy. Their mothers are the focus of this study. This exploratory study examined the content of Five Minute Speech Samples at baseline …

Speech Language Pathologists And Prosody: Knowledge And Clinical Practices, Sarah Elizabeth Fischer

Honors Theses

Prosody is an important aspect of language as it signals linguistic contrasts, conveys pragmatic distinctions, and expresses emotional affect. However, prosody is impaired in several populations, and such impairments can negatively affect intelligibility and the social perception of the speaker. Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) are the professionals responsible for treating such impairments, yet the knowledge base of SLPs regarding prosody is unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate SLPs' knowledge of assessing, treating, and diagnosing prosodic impairments by using a survey (n=269). While a majority of SLPs surveyed agreed that prosody is within their scope of practice, they …

A Survey Of Speech-Language Pathologists' Use And Understanding Of Evidence-Based Practice, Emma Kate Thome

Honors Theses

Problem Statement: Prior research on evidence-based practice (EBP) in speech-language pathology is both limited and inconsistent regarding the frequency in which SLPs engage in EBP, their understanding of EBP, and the emphasis that their employers place on EBP. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to assess SLPs' understanding and use of EBP. In addition, this study investigated the potential barriers SLPs face when attempting to engage in EBP including employer emphasis and opinions toward EBP. Methods: SLPs (n=176) from across the United States participated in an online survey designed to assess their understanding and use of EBP. Participants …

Using Baby Sign As A Facilitating Technique To Segment Speech With 4-18-Month-Old Monolingual And Bilingual Hearing Infants-An Extension Study, Johanna Puga-Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The intricacies involved in learning language are astounding, nonetheless, infants are more than capable of accomplishing this feat within their first few years of life. This unbelievable achievement is carried out through numerous milestones and exposure to multiple modalities of stimuli all around them. Through the use of these modalities, be it auditory or visual, infants begin their journey to learn language with the task of extracting words from fluent speech, speech segmentation. Researchers have found that infants as young as 6-months can segment words from the speech stream by using their own name or highly familiar words like momma …