Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Pulse Pressure, White Matter Hyperintensities, Andcognition: Mediating Effects Across The Adult Lifespan, Jade Hannan, Sarah Newman-Norlund, Natalie Busby, Sarah C. Wilson, Roger Newman-Norlund, Chris Rorden, Julius Fridriksson, Leonardo Bon, Nicholas Riccardi

Faculty Publications

Objectives: To investigate whether pulse pressure or mean arterial pressure mediates the relationship between age and white matter hyperintensity load and to examine the mediating effect of white matter hyperintensities on cognition.

Methods: Demographic information, blood pressure, current medication lists, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores for231 stroke- and dementia-free adults were retrospectively obtained from the Aging Brain Cohort study. Total WMH load was determined from T2-FLAIR magnetic resonance scans using the TrUE-Net deep learning tool for white matter segmentation. In separate models, we used mediation analysis to assess whether pulse pressure or MAP mediates the relationship between age and total …

Assessing Functional Communication In Persons With Aphasia: A Scoping Review Of Formal And Informal Measures, Lauren Hammond, Thomas Christensen, Julius Fridriksson, Dirk B. Den Ouden

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Background

The communicative effectiveness of persons with aphasia (PWA) has been assessed through a range of functional communication measures. However, variability in interpretations of what is covered by the term “functional communication” may have resulted in challenges to the implementation of appropriate and consistent patient-centred evaluations, with different measures focusing on subsets of the components of functional communication.

Aims

This paper aims to examine the current literature on informal and formal evaluation of functional communication in PWA and to identify gaps in currently available assessment tools.

Methods

This scoping review included studies published between 1965 and 2024 that assessed functional …

Integrating Positive Psychology And Spirituality To Foster Meaning And Well-Being In Older Adults, Crystal Morris

Adultspan Journal

This perspective article explores the integration of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) and spirituality in therapy to foster meaning and well-being in older adults. It highlights exercises such as the positive introduction, positive legacy, character strengths, mindfulness, mindful-based yoga, and a manifestation prayer journaling. The interventions presented are tools to support older adults that may experience depression, difficult life transitions, and the search for renewed meaning. Therapists who integrate PPIs and spirituality into therapy can promote a holistic, non-pathological approach to treatment.

Expanding “Brain Games”: What Have We Learned From A Program Designed To Support Healthy Brain Aging In Older Adults?, Ella Mckinney

Honors Capstones

This study was part of a larger investigation examining the feasibility and impact of “Brain Games,” an intergenerational program designed to provide brain health education and cognitive training for healthy aging adults to maximize cognitive function and quality of life. The purpose of this project was to explore whether and how short- and long-term effects of “Brain Games” were tempered by demographic variables, including cognitive self-efficacy and socioeconomic factors. Study participants included older adults residing in two senior living centers in the DeKalb area. All participants received cognitive training and brain health education via “Brain Games”, which was offered in …

Intervention Techniques Targeting Echolalia: A Scoping Review, Adriana Dinello, Allison Gladfelter

CISLL Publications

Purpose:

Although echolalic speech is found in typical development, echolalia is most commonly associated with autism. As such, echolalia has frequently been the focus of various interventions aimed at autistic children. Recent research and the voices of autistic self-advocates indicate that echolalia serves as a meaningful form of communication or functionally supports self-regulation. As a result, the literature on how, or whether, to target echolalia in therapy is full of philosophically diverse approaches. To support evidence-based practice, the purpose of this scoping review was to inform speech-language clinicians about current research on interventions targeting echolalia and how disagreement on this …

Speech Stigma: Exploring Predictors Of Attitudes Toward Nonspeaking Autistic Individuals, Kate Herrmann

Honors College Theses

Roughly 30% of autistic individuals are nonspeaking, meaning they do not (or very minimally) communicate with speech. Many nonspeaking individuals have the ability to communicate with others by using augmentative and alternative communication, such as speech-generating devices or communication boards. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of speaking individuals toward nonspeaking autistic people through a survey measuring attitudes and stigma toward nonspeaking people, autistic people, and disabled people, respectively. Predictors of attitudes, such as contact, knowledge, gender, and psychological inflexibility were examined. It was hypothesized that participants who have more contact with and knowledge of nonspeaking, …

How Much Should Consumers With Mild To Moderate Hearing Loss Spend On Hearing Devices?, Vinaya Manchaiah, Steve Taddei, Abram Bailey, De Wet Swanepoel, Hansapani Rodrigo, Andrew Sabin

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: This study examined the relationship between hearing device price and sound quality. Method: A novel consumer-centric metric of sound quality (“SoundScore”) was used to assess hearing devices’ audio performance. Each hearing device is tested with two fittings. The “Initial Fit” is designed to approximate the most likely fitting for an individual with a mild-to-moderate sloping sensorineural hearing loss. The “Tuned Fit” includes adjusting parameters optimized to hit prescriptive fitting targets (NAL NL2) on an acoustic manikin. Each fitting is evaluated across five dimensions. Both fittings are combined using a weighted average to create a single number from 0 to …

How Individual Differences In Cue Weighting Influence The Link Between Memory And Speech In Noise Perception, Ava Buckmir, Anne Marie Crinnion, Emily Myers

Honors Scholar Theses

Listening to speech is challenging, particularly when there is background noise or ambiguities in the speech signal. Numerous factors impact our ability to understand speech, including age, cognitive processes, and contextual information. But how do we account for these challenges? The types of cues we use may aid us in perceiving ambiguities in speech. Some individuals may rely on semantic cues (higher-level cues), such as how words relate to each other, or they may rely on acoustic-phonetic cues (lower-level cues), such as the durational information in the speech signal itself. But why do individuals differ in the types of cues …

Influence Of Hearing Loss On Self-Reported Hearing Ability And Listening Fatigue In Persons With Aphasia, Ashlyn Kilgore

Poster Presentations

Aphasia is an acquired disorder, often caused by stroke, that results in language deficits. It can greatly impact a person's ability to communicate with others. Cognitive deficits may accompany aphasia. Additionally, hearing loss is a disability likely to co-occur with aphasia, as they both most commonly impact the same age group. When a person has hearing loss, the quality of the auditory signal is degraded when it reaches the brain. The poor signal quality, compounded with linguistic and possible cognitive deficits that are associated with aphasia, makes it more difficult for persons with aphasia (PWA) to comprehend speech.

For all …

Creating A Multi-Sensory Room At The University Of Arkansas, Alexandra R. Smith

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder, or autism, is a genetic neurological condition that can affect all aspects of an individual’s life, depending on their symptoms. Autistic people tend to struggle most significantly with social and emotional issues, which often results in declining academic success. With such a multifaceted disability, autistic students can struggle to perform at the same standards as their non-autistic peers, mostly due to the complications from their disability paired with limited accommodations. The consequences of these issues can manifest as lower admission rates, higher dropout rates, and higher stress levels for autistic students. This creative and service-learning honors thesis …

Over-Imitation Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared To Typically Developing Peers: An Expanded Literature Review, Josephine M. Stadler

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Background:

Imitation, a foundational social and cognitive development mechanism, enables individuals to acquire cultural norms, communication skills, and problem-solving strategies. Over-imitation— the replication of both relevant and irrelevant actions demonstrated by others—plays a critical role in social learning. While typically developing children often engage in over-imitation to promote social bonding and affiliation, the role and underlying motivations for over-imitation in children with ASD remain less clearly understood.

Purpose:

Through a critical synthesis of professional and scholarly literature, this review aims to evaluate the history and development of research on imitation and over-imitation, assess empirical findings regarding typically developing children …

Examination Of Language Sample Analysis In Children Who Are D/Hh Using Clan, Caroline G. Stewart

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hearing is the building block of developing receptive and expressive oral language skills used to effectively communicate. Children who experience hearing loss typically experience delays in phonological, morphological, semantic, and even pragmatic development. Understanding the specific language challenges faced by deaf and hard of hearing (D/hh) young preschool-age children is crucial for developing targeted intervention strategies aimed at optimizing their language development. This research aims to analyze the nuanced aspects of phonological, morphological, semantic, and pragmatic language development among D/hh children, shedding light on areas that may require specialized support. The preliminary research will inform best practices in language assessment …

A Comparative Analysis Of Salt And Clan In The Context Of Analyzing Disfluencies In Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter, Addilin G. Brown

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses

This case study compares two widely used language sample analysis (LSA) programs including the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software and the Child Language Analysis (CLAN) software. The comparison aims to evaluate their effectiveness in analyzing the conversation-based language sample of a preschool-aged child who was reported at-risk for stuttering. A conversational language sample was collected from a four-year-old male at a local head-start program. The sample was transcribed and analyzed using both SALT and CLAN. SALT provided a user-friendly interface with clear results and a comparison to normative data. Some of these results included a maze and word …

Assessing Language Skills Of Children Within The Head Start Program Using Language Sampling Analysis, Lynley Bowen

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fluency disorders, including stuttering and cluttering, disrupt one’s natural rate of speech and can cause implications for one’s emotional well-being. This study explores the relationship between language factors and stuttered events in preschool-age children by analyzing a spontaneous language sample using two transcription software programs, CLAN and SALT. A language sample was collected from a child enrolled in a local Head Start program and was transcribed and analyzed using the software programs. Results from CLAN’s KIDEVAL and FLUCALC features offered analysis of the child’s language profile, as well as SALT’s standards measure report feature. This study highlights the importance of …

Over-Imitation In Adolescents With Autism Compared With Typically Developing Peers: An Expanded Literature Review, Elizabeth Floeck

Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Background:

Over-imitation, the act of imitating both relevant and irrelevant actions, is a behavior commonly found in human learning and social development. It is often observed in typically developing (TD) children and is believed to play a role in both social and learning development. While the exact motivations behind over-imitation remain a mystery, over-imitation appears to be a socially motivated behavior. Children may over-imitate when they know certain actions are unnecessary, suggesting this behavior stems from social acceptance and norms. In individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), social and communicative behaviors are drastically different from TD individuals. In individuals …

The Interaction Between Phonological Reading Skills And Executive Functioning In Adults With Cochlear Implants, Tierney Marie Maurer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Little research has been conducted concerning the interaction between phonological reading skills (the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of language) and executive functioning (a set of processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior) in adults with hearing loss. The current study examined the potential association between phonological reading skills, hearing loss, and executive functioning in post-lingually deaf and hard of hearing adults who use cochlear implants. Two hypotheses were tested: 1) adult cochlear implant users have weaker executive functioning and phonological reading skills compared to their hearing peers; 2) adults with hearing loss who use …

Influence Of Hearing Loss On Self-Reported Hearing Ability And Listening Fatigue In Persons With Aphasia, Ashlyn Kilgore

Honors Theses

Aphasia is an acquired disorder, often caused by stroke, that results in language deficits. It can greatly impact a person's ability to communicate with others. Cognitive deficits may accompany aphasia. Additionally, hearing loss is a disability likely to co-occur with aphasia, as they both most commonly impact the same age group. When a person has hearing loss, the quality of the auditory signal is degraded when it reaches the brain. The poor signal quality, compounded with linguistic and possible cognitive deficits that are associated with aphasia, makes it more difficult for persons with aphasia (PWA) to comprehend speech.

For all …

Adherence To Follow-Up Among High-Risk Nicu Patients, Iryna Muryn, Susan Mbullah Ndimah, Lisa Renee Eiland, Tara Lozy

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background:

Preterm infants, especially those ≤32 weeks' gestational age (GA) are at increased risk of vision and hearing loss. Risks of both vision and hearing loss can be ameliorated and in some cases prevented by conscientious screening, follow up and treatment. Universally, infants ≤32 weeks are cared for in neonatal intensive care units and there is considerable confidence that screenings and treatment occur according to established guidelines. At hospital discharge, follow up responsibility shifts to infant caretakers likely resulting in reduced compliance.

Objective:

We aimed to determine if preterm infants at risk for vision and hearing loss, attended follow up …

How Music Is Used To Facilitate Communication In Speech-Language And Music Therapy For Children With A Diagnosis Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Anna Mcgreevy

Honors College Theses

The goal of this research was to determine how music is being used in speech and music therapy sessions for children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, to discover the most common targets of these therapy sessions, and to examine the anatomical and physiological constructs that support the inclusion of music. This study was a review of literature, and included research from a variety of articles, several written in the past 25 years. Overall, results showed that music-based speech interventions such as Melodic Based Communication Therapy and Developmental Speech and Language Training, as well as music therapy interventions, are …

The Impact Of Hazardous Noise Levels On The Hearing Mechanism Of Marching Band Students, Margaret Westbrook

Honors Theses

Marching band participants are exposed to hazardous noise levels, and they are at risk of developing hearing loss. In this study, the impact of marching band noise on the hearing mechanism of marching band students was examined. Participants who were not in the marching band and were not exposed to noise were used as controls. Detailed case history and noise exposure history were collected using a noise exposure questionnaire (NEQ). The pure tone audiometry test was conducted to examine their hearing, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were recorded to examine the inner ear function, and auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were …