Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Do You Know If Your Clients Are Having Challenges Coping, Karen F. Muñoz, Hannah Mcleod, Cache Pitt, Elizabeth S. Preston, Tiffany Shelton, Michael P. Twohig

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Hearing loss is a common condition, yet, many adults who could benefit from amplification do not use their hearing aids, even though it could help them overcome negative consequences such as social withdrawal, loneliness, and depression. Equally concerning, hearing aid use is highly variable for young children, compromising speech and language developmental outcomes.

How clients are coping with emotional challenges may be a contributing factor to hearing aid usage, and such challenges may go undetected by audiologists. Depression and anxiety are common mental health conditions, and can interfere with effective healthcare management and treatment adherence; for example, when parents of …

The Ability To Critically Evaluate Research Literature In Speech-Language Pathology, David Gregorio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research in Speech-Language Pathology provides the basis for understanding how and to what degree therapeutic techniques and interventions affect the health and quality of life of individuals with communication disorders. Across numerous fields of healthcare, research serves just as important a function and is used to guide the practices of professionals across the public health sector. Several disciplines, including chiropracty, nursing, and physical therapy, rely on the implementation of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) to ensure that the process of rehabilitation and the techniques employed therein are carried out though the synthesis of best clinical judgment, empirical evidence, and patient values. The …

Working Memory And Language Learning: A Review, Lisa Archibald, Lisa Archibald

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

Children with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) form a highly heterogeneous group including those with an unexplained delay in language development known as specific language impairment (SLI). There is growing recognition that multiple mechanisms underlie the range of profiles observed in these children. Broadly speaking, both the domain-general executive attentional system known as working memory and domain-specific linguistic processing have been implicated in children with SLI. It has been challenging to tease apart these influences, however, due to the symbiotic relationship between working memory and language learning. For example, working memory limits might constrain the linguistic detail encoded whereas …

Do Bilingual Speakers Shift Fundamental Frequency Based On Language Acquisition Or Language Dominance?, Nydia Abigail Mendez

ETD Archive

As Spanish-English bilingual speakers continue becoming a growing part of the population in the United States it is essential to investigate their acoustic measures. The purpose of this study was to investigate a possible shift in fundamental frequency (F0) measures in bilingual speakers, and it sought to determine whether that shift was based on language acquisition or language dominance. Eleven Spanish-English bilinguals were asked to complete the following tasks 1) answer the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q) 2) complete 3 Spanish and 3 English category fluency trials by naming words belonging to a category (e.g. animals), each one minute …

An Ableist Society: What Does Disability Look Like?, Maricela Paramo

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

One out of every five adults in the United States has a disability. That is about 63.976 million people, yet, ableism is a common type of discrimination. This paper is an attempt to create awareness of ableism and its negative effects by providing testimonies and methods that will help people with disabilities live a life without prejudice.

The United States is nowhere close to being an ableist free society and it will remain this way until people stop using ableist language as an insult or to mock someone, until mocking the disabled is not a media entertainment, until public figures …

Assessment With Children Who Need Augmentative And Alternative Communication (Aac): Clinical Decisions Of Aac Specialists, Shelley Lund, Wendy Quach, Kristy S. E. Weissling, Miechelle L. Mckelvey, Aimee R. Dietz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) specialists approach the assessment process for 2 case studies, 1 child with cerebral palsy and 1 with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to answer the following questions: (a) How do clinicians with expertise approach the AAC assessment process for children with developmental disabilities? (b) Can any initial hypothesis be drawn about how SLPs approach the assessment of children with motor versus social interactive deficits?

Method

This study used a phenomenological qualitative design. The researchers conducted 2 …

Social Communication And Technology, Lesli G. Hughes

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Research has been well documented as to the effects of screen time on mental health, physical health, cognitive development, and social development. However, little research exists as to the effects of screen time on the nonverbal aspects of communication, specifically eye gaze. In order to inform speech language pathologists when treating children with language and pragmatic disorders, this study examined the eye gaze of participants during physical play. Twenty-six participants from 5 to 8 years of age were recruited from a western Kentucky school. Results of eye gaze durations in participants were compared to screen time amounts in the home. …

The Psychosocial Effects Of Aphasia On The Caregiver, Lauren A. Ferrara

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Studies have investigated the physical and emotional wellbeing of family members and spouses who care for persons with stroke (Bakas, et al. 2006). Literature shows burden of care is high in role reversal and depression is frequent. Variables that affect the caregiver burden with persons with aphasia (PWA) have not been identified prior to this study. Results from caregiver interviews found six themes, some which have not been identified prior, such as feelings of optimism.

The Advancement Of Voice Therapy And The Contribution Of Vocal Function Exercises, Sydney Barnett

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

The human voice can transmit multiple streams of information about a person including physical, emotional, and social state. Voice disorders can interfere with social relationships, work productivity, and ultimately, impair an individual’s image. Speech-language pathologists have developed several approaches to voice therapy over the past several decades. Vocal function exercises (VFE) are physiological in nature and aim to restore the balance between the three subsystems of vocal production: respiration, phonation, and resonance. With advancing technology and more sophisticated experiments, researchers have shown positive outcomes with VFE regimens in the normal voice population, superior voice population, and disordered voice population. Data …

The Distribution Of Talker Variability Impacts Infants’ Word Learning, Carolyn Quam, Sara Knight, Louann Gerken

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Infants struggle to apply earlier-demonstrated sound-discrimination abilities to later word learning, attending to non-constrastive acoustic dimensions (e.g., Hay et al., 2015), and not always to contrastive dimensions (e.g., Stager & Werker, 1997). One hint about the nature of infants’ difficulties comes from the observation that input from multiple talkers can improve word learning (Rost & McMurray, 2009). This may be because, when a single talker says both of the to-be-learned words, consistent talker’s-voice characteristics make the acoustics of the two words more overlapping (Apfelbaum & McMurray, 2011). Here, we test that notion. We taught 14-month-old infants two similar-sounding words in …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceptions And Use Of Service Delivery Methods And Models In School-Based Practice, Burgandy Deann Henderson

Online Theses and Dissertations

ASHA (1991c) identifies the value of consultation and collaboration across disciplines in the public school setting. Historically, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have pulled children out of the classroom to provide therapy in individual or small group settings. However, evidence continues to show the merit of consulting and collaborating with other professionals in the school in order to fully integrate classroom curriculum and support service goals (ASHA, 1991c; ASHA, 2010f; Mecrow, Beckwith, & Klee, 2010; Ritzman, Sanger, & Coufal, 2006). The purpose of this study was to explore SLPs' perspectives and use of consultation and collaboration in the public schools. A survey …

Recovery From Diffuse Brain Injuries: Two Case Studies., Alejandro E. Brice, Roanne G. Brice

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

Subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAHs) are grave medical emergencies, whereas 30–50% of all SAHs may ultimately result in death. Subarachnoid hemorrhages share many resemblances with other neurological traumas such as a cerebral vascular accident, meningitis, and/or traumatic brain injury. Autoimmune encephalopathies (AE) occur when human antibodies assault the body’s cell surfaces and/or synaptic proteins. Consequently, widespread nervous system and diffuse brain involvement may occur. With subarachnoid hemorrhages and autoimmune encephalopathies, multiple areas of cognition and language can be impaired. Case studies in communication sciences and disorders are underutilized, yet are important in evidenced‐based practice. Speech-language pathologists in medical settings have worked with …

The Effect Of Road Noise On Sound Pressure Levels And Preferred Listening Levels Using Personal Listening Devices, Hayley Himstedt

Doctoral Dissertations

Using a PLD in an automobile introduces unique threats such as volume levels set at higher levels to reduce the masking effects of road noise that enters the automobile. Passengers enjoying prolonged PLD exposure may be at an increased risk of noise exposure or fluctuating sound pressure levels resulting in hearing loss. Historically, hazardous noise has been primarily associated with industrial/occupational activities; however, harmful noise from recreational activities is also prevalent. The Center for Disease Control (2015) lists turning down PLD volume as one of their top three methods for reducing the possibility of NIHL in children. Excessive listening level …

Caregiver Training Program On Emergent Literacy Development Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Users, Meghan Bowers

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Teaching early literacy to typically developing individuals is widely practiced and has a vast amount of research backing its success (Strum et. al., 2006). Current research has shown that both children and adult augmentative and alternative (AAC) users are underachieving in the development of reading and spelling skills, but the underachievement in these areas is not correlated to a lack of cognitive and linguistic abilities (Sandberg, Smith, Larsson, 2010). Like their typically developing peers, AAC users must have the same repeated opportunities to participate in a wide range of literacy tasks to attain literacy skills (Strum et. al., 2006).

Children …

Backward Masking With Simultaneous Early, Middle And Late Evoked Potentials, Silas Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Auditory processing disorders (APDs) affect a diverse range of people. These types of disorders impair auditory function, despite the outer, middle and inner ear maintaining proper function and health. APD is not necessarily related to auditory thresholds. When people with APD have difficulty discriminating sounds in connected speech, it may be due in part to an effect called Backward Masking (BM). Masking occurs when one stimulus inhibits another, which can lead to a variety of impairments. The neural locus of APDs is for the most part unknown, including the specific conditions which cause BM. A better understanding of these processes …

Mandarin-English Bilinguals Process Lexical Tones In Newly Learned Words In Accordance With The Language Context, Carolyn Quam, Sarah C. Creel

Speech and Hearing Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Previous research has mainly considered the impact of tone-language experience on ability to discriminate linguistic pitch, but proficient bilingual listening requires differential processing of sound variation in each language context. Here, we ask whether Mandarin-English bilinguals, for whom pitch indicates word distinctions in one language but not the other, can process pitch differently in a Mandarin context vs. an English context. Across three eye-tracked word-learning experiments, results indicated that tone-intonation bilinguals process tone in accordance with the language context. In Experiment 1, 51 Mandarin-English bilinguals and 26 English speakers without tone experience were taught Mandarin-compatible novel words with tones. Mandarin-English …

Gender Differences In Parents' Assessment Of Language Development, Michelle Lacroix

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study aims to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between genders in the reporting of their child’s communication abilities. Possible variances between men and women are important to consider because parent-based questionnaires are often used to help identify children who are in need and eligible for the services of a speech-language pathologist. Literature surrounding parental stereotypes and the impact of the parent in development, as well as stigma in relation to the need for speech therapy services is explored. A survey based off of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition was distributed to parents of children …

Social-Pragmatic Communication In Women With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multiple Case Study, Lacey W. Ryder

Honors Theses and Capstones

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is identified much later and less often in females than in males. Some researchers suspect that a different set of characteristics of ASD in females may not be consistent with the more established and widely recognized characteristics of ASD, leading to under-identification in women. In the present study, four women and one non-binary feminine-presenting person with ASD were interviewed. The five participants conveyed their experiences with social-pragmatic communication, and their views on gender, ASD, and gender differences in ASD. The results are discussed in relationship to the limited amount of past research on women with ASD.

A Vowel Analysis Of The Northwestern University-Children's Perception Of Speech Evaluation Tool, Kassie Nicole Zukowski

Honors Theses and Capstones

In an analysis of the speech perception evaluation tool, the Northwestern University – Children’s Perception of Speech test, the goal was to determine whether the foil words and the target word were phonemically balanced across each page of test Book A, as it corresponds to the target words presented in Test Form 1 and Test Form 2 independently. Based on vowel sounds alone, variation exists in the vowels that appear on a test page on the majority of pages. The corresponding formant frequencies, at all three resonance levels for both the average adult male speaker and the average adult female …

Characterizing Food Selectivity In Children With Autism, Samantha H. Wohlmacher

Honors Theses and Capstones

Food selectivity or “picky eating” affects a large percentage of children on the autism spectrum and as a result can have negative impacts on a child’s health and nutritional status (Cermak, Curtin, & Bandini, 2010). Few studies compare food selectivity in children on the autism spectrum to children with other developmental issues. Such a comparison may reveal how food selectivity presents itself uniquely in children on the autism spectrum. This study examined data from past health records collected from the Seacoast Childhood Development Center (SCDC). Thirty-eight children whose parents were concerned about their diets were taken from a larger sample …