Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Remote Supported Communication For Adults With Chronic Aphasia: A Serendipitous Study, Allie Hopper

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Supported communication is defined as anything that improves access to or participation in communication events or activities (King, Simmons-Mackie, & Beukelman, 2012). This thesis describes the results of a study that took place when a training program to provide graduate students in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) with “hands on” experience in providing supported communication to persons with chronic aphasia (PWA) was interrupted by the outbreak of Coronavirus-19 and switched to a remote delivery format to fulfil service and training obligations to the PWA and the CSD graduate students respectively. The study (1) describes the actions taken to covert a …

Identifying Spanish-English Cognates As Intervention Targets For Speech Sound Disorders With Bilingual Children, Janessa A. Klein

Honors Program Theses

The focus of this thesis was to generate a comprehensive list of age-appropriate words to use in therapy for children ages 3-8 years old. Additionally, the research involved identifying words that are cognates in both Spanish and English. Word similarity was analyzed across languages to identify cognates using a well-known tool, the Crosslinguistic Overlap Scale of Phonology (COSP; Kohnert et al., 2004), which will be described in the methodology. Ideally, these target words will be used in speech therapy by a SLP who is serving preschoolers and early elementary-aged students with identified SSDs. As such, the research question addressed was: …

Identifying Molecular Pathways Underlying Noise-Induced Tinnitus, Mckenzie Rice

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Tinnitus is a serious neurological condition effecting 10-15% of adults, and can lead to other symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and sleeping, anxiety, and depression. Currently there are no FDA approved drugs to prevent or treat tinnitus, mainly due to a lack of understanding of its cellular and molecular pathways. T- and L- type calcium channels have been implicated in the modulation of tinnitus, as well as the dysfunction of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. This study used the sound-based avoidance detection (SBAD) method in order to detect tinnitus and determine whether pharmacological treatments had an effect in mediating tinnitus. T-type …

Blocking Behavior In Brass Players: Connections Between Fluency In Speech And Music, Marissa Gonzales

McNair Scholars Manuscripts

Many professional brass musicians deal with an under-studied performance issue with no official term. Some labels are the Valsalva maneuver, musical stuttering, blocking, or task-specific dystonia. When a brass musician attempts to play, their core may tighten up, airflow stops in the larynx or oral cavity, and the note gets “stuck.” A similar physical reaction is seen when people stutter in speech. The goal of this study was to determine how similar blocking in brass musicians and speech stuttering are in four areas: physical symptoms, emotional connections, onset descriptions, and environments that can cause fluency or disfluency. A survey was …

Parental Awareness Of Early Intervention For Hispanic Children With Communication Disorders, Ruth Crutchfield, Sonya N. Salinas, Roy K. Chen

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Children at risk of delayed speech and language development and speech-language disorders come from a broad range of demographic backgrounds, including ethnicities, sexes, and socioeconomic statuses. A vast body of research in speech-language pathology has demonstrated that early intervention is crucial for helping children acquire the necessary communication skills they need to become effective communicators, successful students, and ultimately accomplished adults. Currently, commercials, billboards, online sources, and personal referrals are the methods most often used to promote awareness of early childhood intervention services. Method: This study aimed to identify whether the current promotional methods used to increase parental awareness …

Stepping Up And Taking The Lead: School-Based Slps' Perceptions And Attitudes Of Leadership, Millie Newport, Gabrielle Saliba, Mary C. Smith, Brenda Louw

ETSU Faculty Works

This research explores the personal perspectives of school-based SLPs regarding their training in, perceptions of, and experiences regarding leadership. Survey research was conducted, and school based SLPs acted as respondents. Results may inform education in leadership, both in student training and in continuing education. Leadership in the field of speech-language pathology is essential to not only advocate for better outcomes of clients and patients, but also to foster an environment for change and understanding for future generations of SLPs.

The Perception And Strategies Of Building Rapport With Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Via Telepractice, Anna Cathryn Wall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Telepractice is a growing method in providing services in the profession of Speech-Language Pathology. One question with this growing method is, how do we build rapport when using telepractice? In this study, we intended to find what pediatric SLPs' perceptions and strategies of building rapport via telepractice is with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ages 5-12, and children’s age was considered as an influential factor. While previous studies have focused on perceptions, we wanted to know what SLPs are doing in order to build rapport with their clients when using telepractice. We reached out to 223 SLPs and there …

Musicians Who Use Cochlear Implants Proposal, Leanne Bunnell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this scoping review was to provide information about the current research related to audiological practices regarding the population of musicians who use cochlear implants technology. This scoping review included studies that investigated post implantation therapy/activities designed to assist users who were also musicians. A scoping review identifies trends and gaps in available evidence. This information can be used to inform on practices currently being used in the audiologic field and identify areas for further research. A scoping review was conducted in April 2021 to identify English-language peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2010 to March 2021. Thematic analysis …

Qualitative Analysis Of An Interdisciplinary Team’S Treatment Of Velocardiofacial Syndrome, Marissa Meredith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this project two members of the 22q center from Nationwide Children’s Hospital will be interviewed to collect qualitative data about the operations and functions of the clinic. These interviews will provide information about which types of professionals are necessary for the operation of the team, how the team conducts research, how the team treats patients, how research is used to advance treatment, and why such a diverse team is necessary in the treatment of Velocardiofacial Syndrome. Upon completion of data collection, this information will be analyzed to determine the different perspectives of team members and how they interact with …

Effects Of A Virtual Reality Dementia Experience On Graduate Communication Disorders Students’ Future Clinical Practice, Morgan Stephens Blaydes

Online Theses and Dissertations

The movement towards providing person-centered care has been a topic of interest in the medical community, however, little is known about the facilitation of person-centered care in the field of speech-language pathology. Current literature indicates that speech-language pathologists typical follow the medical model of diagnosing and treating patients. Thus, more emphasis on providing person centered care is essential, especially for persons with dementia, as the number of individuals living with dementia is increasing and research indicates that outcomes are improved when treatment is person-centered. Despite this finding, research on the efficacy of training future speech-language pathologist to provide person-centered care …

Perspectives Of Individuals With Acquired Neurogenic Communication Disorders And Co-Survivors On Person-Centered Care Within Speech-Language Therapy, Logan Macrae Ellis

Online Theses and Dissertations

Main Argument: Acquired brain injury impacts 2.8 million individuals each year in the United States (Taylor et al., 2017). Stroke, traumatic brain injury, tumor, infection, and other conditions cause life-altering changes to the way humans interact with each other. Social interaction and communication are important in many aspects of life, including but not limited to work, community, relationships, and mental health, etc. Damage to the brain often changes the ability to communicate drastically, which can impact all of the aforementioned aspects of life (Ardila & Rubilo, 2018). Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) address the acquired neurogenic communication disorders associated with brain injury …

Implementation Of Dual System Hypothesis In Speech-Language Pathology, Kelsey Hyde

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Over the course of the past few decades, dual system hypothesis has become the prevailing model of bilingual language development. This replaced the previously accepted unitary system hypothesis after decades of debate and research. It has also had an impact on the understanding of bilingual literacy development in children. This qualitative study investigates how this hypothesis influences and informs the work of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with bilingual children. For this study, four bilingual SLPs who work with bilingual children in various settings were interviewed regarding their views and education on bilingual language development for the purpose of understanding …

Parent/ Caregiver Burnout With Autism Due To Covid, Leah Recker, Erin Babcock

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project is to gain an understanding how parents of children with autism are affected by caregiver burnout. We want to understand the different factors that contribute to this burnout and analyze how individuals are affected differently. To do this, we are sending

out a survey using Likert scale items to assess parents’ stress and burnout. We will be carefully selecting statements based off information we gather through peer reviewed journal articles. We would then like the parents to decide how strongly they agree or disagree with each question. This will create a more in-depth picture of …

The Influence Of The Psychophysical Assessment Paradigm On Pitch Discrimination For Adults (And A Pilot Sample Of Children), Ashley G. Flagge, Lucile Puranen, Madhuri S. Mulekar

Ashley Flagge Publications

Pitch discrimination ability has been of research interest due to its potential relationship to language and literacy. However, assessment protocols for pitch discrimination have varied widely. Prior studies with both children and adults have produced conflicting performance findings across different pitch discrimination research paradigms, though they have consistently shown that discrimination accuracy is based on the psychophysical assessment method applied. In the present study, we examined pitch discrimination performance among convenience samples of 19 adult women and ten female children across six different adaptive psychophysical measurement conditions. We found pitch discrimination performance in both groups to be impacted by the …

Speech-Language Pathologist And Parent Perspectives On Speech-Language Pathology Services For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Brenda L. Beverly, L. Amanda Mathews

Brenda L. Beverly Publications

Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are underprepared to serve children with ASD, despite a growing need and increased expectation for ASD expertise. To understand this practice gap, 60 SLPs and 26 parents of children with ASD were surveyed regarding SLP knowledge and competency. Of concern was that only about 50% of SLPs correctly identified ASD defining criteria. Respondents rated eight SLP practices as Important to Very Important, but SLPs reported being only Somewhat Competent to Competent. The parents’ rating of SLP competency was significantly lower than parental ratings of importance for one educational practice, use of non-standardized assessment and observational methods. …

Assessing Language Delay In Twins: Low Gesture Use And Birth History Factors, Lori G. Foran, Kelli J. Evans, Brenda L. Beverly

Brenda L. Beverly Publications

Identification of language disorders in children younger than 3 years remains challenging despite agreement that early intervention improves outcomes. This study of twin language and gesture development substantiated the twinning effect, an unexplained lag in expressive and receptive language seen in twins, for a group of 88, 16- to 18-month-old twins who did not present with extreme perinatal risk. A valid, parent-report measure revealed word production ≤10^th percentile for 15 twins. Pregnancy complications, but not a positive family history of speech, language or learning disorders or other case history factors, significantly increased the odds of this early expressive delay. …

Job Seeking And Daily Workforce Experiences Of Autistic Librarians, Amelia Anderson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Anecdotal accounts suggest that librarianship is a rewarding career for some autistic adults, though no empirical evidence exists to support such claims. Additionally, barriers may exist for autistic librarians, both in job seeking and in on-the-job experiences. As autistic adults are un- and underemployed more than their neurotypical peers, it is important to understand the role that libraries can play in supporting their employment. In this qualitative study, ten librarians with graduate degrees, who self-identify as autistic, describe their experiences in job seeking and daily working experiences in the library field through interviews in multiple formats. Results indicate issues around …

Predictors Of Poststroke Aphasia Recovery: A Systematic Review-Informed Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, The Rehabilitation And Recovery Of People With Aphasia After Stroke (Release) Collaborators

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background and Purpose: The factors associated with recovery of language domains after stroke remain uncertain. We described recovery of overall-language-ability, auditory comprehension, naming, and functional-communication across participants’ age, sex, and aphasia chronicity in a large, multilingual, international aphasia dataset. Methods: Individual participant data meta-analysis of systematically sourced aphasia datasets described overall-language ability using the Western Aphasia Battery Aphasia-Quotient; auditory comprehension by Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT) Token Test; naming by Boston Naming Test and functional-communication by AAT Spontaneous-Speech Communication subscale. Multivariable analyses regressed absolute score-changes from baseline across language domains onto covariates identified a priori in randomized controlled trials and all …

The Effects Of Singing Vs. Speech On Joint Engagement In A Young Child With Phelan-Mcdermid Syndrome, Marllys Banks, Hannah Kinney, Bridget Valla, Maura Jones Moyle

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a rare genetic disorder typically caused by loss or disruption of the distal long arm of chromosome 22. Children with PMS exhibit severe to profound communication deficits, and the majority meet the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To date, no language or communication intervention studies focused on children with PMS exist in the literature despite a steady increase in diagnosed cases. Anecdotally, it has been reported that music facilitates learning and engagement in children with PMS. The purpose of this clinical case study is to investigate the effects of singing vs. speaking on joint engagement, …

Parental Awareness Of Early Intervention For Hispanic Children With Communication Disorders, Ruth Crutchfield, Sonya Salinas, Roy K. Chen

Communication Sciences & Disorders Faculty Publications

Purpose: Children at risk of delayed speech and language development and speech-language disorders come from a broad range of demographic backgrounds, including ethnicities, sexes, and socioeconomic statuses. A vast body of research in speech-language pathology has demonstrated that early intervention is crucial for helping children acquire the necessary communication skills they need to become effective communicators, successful students, and ultimately accomplished adults. Currently, commercials, billboards, online sources, and personal referrals are the methods most often used to promote awareness of early childhood intervention services. Method: This study aimed to identify whether the current promotional methods used to increase parental awareness …