Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Interprofessional Knowledge And Attitudes In Graduate Students From Six Programs In Health Sciences After An Interprofessional Education Workshop Experience, Joanna Velasco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Interprofessional Education (IPE) occurs when two or more disciplines learn about, from, and with each other to provide interprofessional patient-centered care which ultimately improves patient health care outcomes (WHO, 2010). Through collaboration, students not only bring their own expertise, but are given an opportunity to learn what the other disciplines can offer for the same patient. Although IPE's importance is highly recognized, many universities do not engage in IPE practice because of scheduling difficulties, lack of faculty involvement, implementation challenges for various levels of competency, and uncertainty of how to measure the effectiveness of IPE activities (Johnson et al., 2015). …

Speech Recognition In Noise Performance In Younger And Older Spanish-English Bilinguals' L1 And L2, Elisa Guadalupe Barraza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Previous research has shown that Spanish/English speaking bilinguals have difficulty understanding English speech in background noise compared to their monolingual counterparts. However, the effects of age on bilinguals' speech understanding performance remains unclear.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether older Spanish/English bilingual speakers are at an increased disadvantage understanding speech in the presence of background noise compared to older English monolinguals.

Methods: 15 younger Spanish-English (S/E) bilinguals, 15 older S/E bilinguals, 15 younger English monolinguals and 15 older English monolinguals participated in the study. Speech recognition performance was measured using the Spanish and English versions …

The Validation Of A Screening Instrument For Preschool-Aged Children In El Paso, Cassandra Curtis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Culturally and linguistically diverse children often produce linguistic features that may mask or mimic characteristics of language impairment (LI) (Gutierrez-Clellen & Simon-Cereijido, 2009). Language screening instruments are time efficient tools used by Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) to distinguish children who may need additional language assessment (Guiberson & Rodriguez, 2010). A previous survey conducted in the El Paso, TX region determined that only 30% of SLPs felt that screenings instruments, for English-Spanish bilingual children, produced accurate results (Cutis, Summers, Smith, & Stubbemann, 2016). Additionally, the study found that SLPs often used non standardized screening tools due to the lack of …

The Efficacy Of Baby Sign Language In Reducing Problem Behaviors In Typically Developing Children, Nguyen-Chau Dinh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Baby sign is an emerging trend that is speculated to reduce the instances of tantrums, emotional outbursts, and frustration in typically hearing infants (Nelson, White, & Grewe, 2012). Despite its proclaimed benefits, little research has been conducted to evaluate the true efficacy of baby sign in reducing problem behaviors in typically hearing children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not baby sign could be used as an alternative and augmentative communication modality in increasing communicative intent and decreasing stress. A single subject, AB design was used to examine the changes in behavior in a typically developing …

Combining Degradations: The Effect Of Background Noise On Intelligibility Of Disordered Speech, Sarah E. Yoho Leopold, Stephanie A. Borrie

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

The effect of background noise on intelligibility of disordered speech was assessed. Speech-shaped noise was mixed with neurologically healthy (control) and disordered (dysarthric) speech at a series of signal-to-noise ratios. In addition, bandpass filtered control and dysarthric speech conditions were assessed to determine the effect of noise on both naturally and artificially degraded speech. While significant effects of both the amount of noise and the type of speech were revealed, no interaction between the two factors was observed, in either the broadband or filtered testing conditions. Thus, it appears that there is no multiplicative effect of the presence of background …

Hablando De La Herida: Honoring Spanish-Speaking Parents’ Experiences Obtaining School-Based Speech And Language Services For Their Children, Amalia W. Hernández

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of Spanish-speaking Latino/a parents in their attempts to obtain school-based speech and language services for their children; the impact of these experiences on parents; and parent perspectives on how school-based speech-language pathologists can co-create collaborative relationships. Through a detailed analysis of a focus group and individual interviews of 31 Spanish-speaking parents of children in the REAAD! (Reaching Educational Achievement and Development) Literacy Enrichment Program at a university in Los Angeles, California, this study provided a space for parents to share their experiences and offer insights regarding what shaped their experiences. Through the theoretical lens of …

Tuned In: An Investigation Of The Use Of Group Amplification Systems For Students, Including Those On The Autism Spectrum, In First Grade Mainstream Classrooms, Emily Velichka

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the academic benefits and challenges, if any, of utilizing a group amplification system in first-grade mainstream classrooms. More specifically, this study measured the influence of a group amplification system throughout language-based tasks, such as spelling accuracy. A total of 33 first-grade students, including two students reportedly diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), participated in the study, with 17 students in Classroom A and 16 students in Classroom B. This study’s experimental procedures included a spelling pretest, two intervention activities, and a spelling posttest, administered over the course of four days. The …

Minimal Hearing Loss In School-Age Children: Prevalence And Relationship To Reading Impairment, Laura Peek

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The two-fold purpose of this study was to determine if a) students with reading impairments fail hearing screenings at higher rates than students without reading impairments and b) if the pattern of simple view of reading classification differs across hearing screening results.

Method: This project included 19 students with reading impairments and 17 students with typically reading skills in grades 2 through 11. Each participant completed a hearing screening and a complete battery of language and literacy tests to determine their hearing screen status and simple view classification.

Results: Results of a chi square test comparing reading status and …

Small Group Brainstorming, Jennifer Friberg

Faculty Publications – Communication Sciences and Disorders

Over time, I became dissatisfied with what I observed in both my students and in myself in the traditional classroom. Students passively took notes while I actively lectured. Students memorized what was emphasized as important material, but lacked active engagement in class with me, with each other, and with the subject matter. In response to this realization, I developed a start-of-the class practice that I coined “small group brainstorming”. I gave students several Small Group Brainstorming questions (printed on a worksheet) topical to the content of that day’s class to consider and address with their groupmates. These questions required students …

Perception Of Supervisory Styles And Satisfaction, Stephanie M. Schaaf

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Supervision is a dynamic and challenging leadership process that remains an essential element within the field of speech-language pathology. This study utilized a descriptive research design in attempt to amass quantifiable information that can be used to statistically analyze elements within the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Agreement of perceived supervisory styles and satisfaction between supervisor-supervisee dyads (n=74) were examined. External and personal characteristics including age, clinical setting, experience, and previous training were also examined in relation to supervisee satisfaction and agreement of supervisory styles within dyads. Data was collected through completion of a demographic questionnaire as well as the Supervisory Style Inventory …

The Effects Of Enactment On Communicative Competence In Aphasic Casual Conversation: A Functional Linguistic Perspective, Rimke Groenewold, Elizabeth Armstrong

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Previous research has shown that speakers with aphasia rely on enactment more often than non-brain-damaged language users. Several studies have been conducted to explain this observed increase, demonstrating that spoken language containing enactment is easier to produce and is more engaging to the conversation partner. This paper describes the effects of the occurrence of enactment in casual conversation involving individuals with aphasia on its level of conversational assertiveness. Aims: To evaluate whether and to what extent the occurrence of enactment in speech of individuals with aphasia contributes to its conversational assertiveness. Methods & Procedures: Conversations between a speaker with …

My Client Knows That He’S About To Stutter: How Can We Address Stuttering Anticipation During Therapy With Young People Who Stutter?, Eric S. Jackson, Hope Gerlach, Naomi H. Rodgers, Patricia M. Zebrowski

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Stuttering anticipation is endorsed by many people who stutter as a core aspect of the stuttering experience. Anticipation is primarily a covert phenomenon and people who stutter respond to anticipation in a variety of ways. At the same time as anticipation occurs and develops internally, for many individuals the “knowing” or “feeling” that they are about to stutter is a primary contributor to the chronicity of the disorder. In this article, we offer a roadmap for both understanding the phenomenon of anticipation and its relevance to stuttering development. We introduce the Stuttering Anticipation Scale (SAS)—a 25-item clinical tool that can …

A Rapid, Handheld Device To Assess Respiratory Resistance: Clinical And Normative Evidence, Aaron B. Holley, Wesley D. Boose, Michael Perkins, Karen L. Sheikh, Nancy P. Solomon, Angela M. Dietsch, Jafar Vossoughi, Arthur T. Johnson, Jacob F. Collen

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Following reports of respiratory symptoms among service members returning from deployment to South West Asia (SWA), an expert panel recommended pre-deployment spirometry be used to assess disease burden. Unfortunately, testing with spirometry is high cost and time-consuming. The airflow perturbation device (APD) is a handheld monitor that rapidly measures respiratory resistance (APD-R_r) and has promising but limited clinical data. Its speed and portability make it ideally suited for large volume pre-deployment screening. We conducted a pilot study to assess APD performance characteristics and develop normative values.

Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled subjects and derived …

A Comparison Of Social Disconnectedness And Perceived Isolation In Deaf/Hard Of Hearing Women And Hearing Women, Mellissa Perry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has concluded that hearing loss is related to psychological risk factors in a person that could potentially increase feelings of disconnect or isolation. However, the gap in literature and lack of knowledge regarding social disconnectedness and perceived isolation specifically for deaf/hard of hearing women makes it difficult for clinicians to develop appropriate programs to assist this population. The purpose of this study was to contribute information regarding the effects of hearing loss on social disconnectedness and perceived isolation to help clinicians create proper treatment plans to better assist the deaf/hard of hearing with negative feelings (e.g., loneliness, depression) …

Using Parent-Identified Strengths Of Autistic Children To Advance Strength-Based Intervention, Angelique Francesca Trigueros

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Questions remain about the range of abilities autistic children possess and what constitutes effective treatment. Strength-based intervention contrasts with traditional autistic intervention approaches that focus on children's deficits. Studies on strength-based intervention approaches have not revealed how children's strengths are identified and have not used the insights of parents for this purpose. Neurodiversity serves as the conceptual framework because the tenets of neurodiversity align with those of strength-based approaches and hold that autism is a variation of the human condition rather than a disability. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive phenomenological study was to explore how the parent-identified strengths of …

A Sketch Of Consciousness Space Beyond Freudian Mental Model And Implications To Socio-Economics Modeling And Integrative Cancer Therapy, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, we give an outline of an ongoing study to go beyond Freudian mental archetypal model. First, we discuss the essence of numerous problems that we suffer in our sophisticated and modernized society. Then we discuss possibility to reintroduce spirit into human consciousness. While we are aware that much remain to be done and we admit that this is only a sketch, we hope that this paper will start a fresh approach of research towards more realistic nonlinear consciousness model with wide ranging implications to socio-economic modeling and also integrative cancer therapy. At the last section we also …

Predicting Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Student Success: Executive Functions And Standardized Admission Tests, Jane E. Roitsch

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Within the next three years, the number of available speech-language pathology (SLP) jobs is projected to increase by 18% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). The most logical response to the escalating market demand would be to increase the number of students admitted into SLP graduate programs. However, this may not be as simple as it sounds.

Successful training of graduate SLP clinicians requires the professional, emotional, financial, and time commitments of the program’s clinical and academic faculty. The accreditation status of graduate SLP programs is based in part on graduation completion rates and students passing the national examination in SLP, …

Proactive Social Validation Of Methods And Procedures Used For Training Speech Production In Aphasia, Tyson G. Harmon, Lucy Hardy, Katarina L. Haley

Faculty Publications

Background: Social validation evaluates the importance and acceptability of treatment goals, procedures, and outcomes. Previous studies for treatments that train speech production in aphasia have applied social validation during the post-treatment period or to treatment protocols that are already fully developed.

Aims: The purposes of this study were to (1) examine the social validity of goals and procedures experienced in speech production treatment for people with aphasia and (2) evaluate the feasibility of procedural choice-making during such tasks.

Method: Seven people with aphasia and eight speech-language pathologists were interviewed about previous treatment that targeted speech production. Participants were also observed …

Examining Acoustic And Kinematic Measures Of Articulatory Working Space: Effects Of Speech Intensity, Christopher Dromey, Jason A. Whitfield, Panika Palmer

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of speech intensity on acoustic and kinematic vowel space measures and conduct a preliminary examination of the relationship between kinematic and acoustic vowel space metrics calculated from continuously sampled lingual marker and formant traces. Method: Young adult speakers produced 3 repetitions of 2 different sentences at 3 different loudness levels. Lingual kinematic and acoustic signals were collected and analyzed. Acoustic and kinematic variants of several vowel space metrics were calculated from the formant frequencies and the position of 2 lingual markers. Traditional metrics included triangular vowel space area and …

Speech Adaptation To Kinematic Recording Sensors: Perceptual And Acoustic Findings, Christopher Dromey, Elise Hunter, Shawn L. Nissen

Faculty Publications

Purpose

This study used perceptual and acoustic measures to examine the time course of speech adaptation after the attachment of electromagnetic sensor coils to the tongue, lips, and jaw.

Method

Twenty native English speakers read aloud stimulus sentences before the attachment of the sensors, immediately after attachment, and again 5, 10, 15, and 20 min later. They read aloud continuously between recordings to encourage adaptation. Sentence recordings were perceptually evaluated by 20 native English listeners, who rated 150 stimuli (which included 31 samples that were repeated to assess rater reliability) using a visual analog scale with the end points labeled …