Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Perceptions Of Guilt Of Individuals With A Visible Communication Disorder Versus An Invisible Communication Disorder, Zoe Hochberg

Honors Scholar Theses

This study explored how communication disorders may impact listeners’ perception of guilt. More specifically, it looked at how visible communication disorders (e.g., stuttering) and invisible communication disorders (e.g., high functioning autism) are judged by the general public. 51 adults (18-71 years) participated in the study which asked them to view video recordings of narrative samples produced by an individual who stuttered (PWS), an individual with high-functioning autism (PHFA), and an individual with no communication disorder (PNCD). Participants were not informed of the individuals’ communication abilities (PWS, PHFA, or PNCD), but were told that one of the individuals had committed a …

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome And The Relationship Between Respiration And Feeding, Paul Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between respiratory status and feeding difficulties in infants with NAS in comparison to full-term infants with no exposure to opioids.

Methods: A group of infants with NAS (262) were compared to a group of full-term infants with no exposure to opioids (279). These groups were further divided into feeding and respiratory groups based on severity. These groups were analyzed for differences in behavior and outcomes.

Results: Infants with NAS are 34.23 times more likely to develop respiratory distress and 111.03 times more likely to develop severe feeding difficulty. …

Listeners’ Attitudes Towards Young Women With Glottal Fry, Natalie Foulks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify employers’ perceptions of young women using glottal fry and the impact on hirability.

Methods: A survey was created using the online survey tool, REDCapÒ, and sent to employers across the southern United States. The survey contained three voice samples consisting of a non-glottal fry voice, a glottal fry at the end of sentences voice, and a continuous glottal fry voice, fourteen semantic differential scales derived from hiring constructs, and open-ended questions on hirability.

Results: Employers perceived individuals using glottal fry as more negative than the individual who used no glottal fry. …

Perspectives Relating To Multicultural Training With Speech-Language Pathologists, Evy Jewell Hayes

Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to assess whether Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) feel adequately prepared and comfortable interacting with multicultural clients. To assess if an SLP feels prepared to interact with, to assess, to teach, or to treat a multicultural client, a 25-question survey was developed. The survey included questions pertaining to the SLPs’ experiences with other cultures, both professional and personal, if the SLP speaks more than one language, and if the SLP has received any formal training on how to interact with multicultural clients. The survey was sent out via email to 814 licensed SLPs practicing in pre-school, …

Respiratory Differences In Spontaneous And Scripted Speech Among Bilingual Adults, Anna Irene Sagan

Honors Program Theses

This investigation explored respiratory differences between a speaker’s first language (L1) and second language (L2) during spontaneous and scripted speech in six adult bilingual speakers (two native bilingual speakers and four non-native bilingual speakers). Respiratory kinematic data using Respitrace respiratory inductance plethysmography and acoustic recordings were collected during five tasks: tidal breathing at rest, scripted speech in L1, spontaneous speech in L1, scripted speech in L2, and spontaneous speech in L2. Results indicated a significant interaction effect between proficiency and syllables produced during spontaneous speech, but no other significant differences were found among inspiratory/expiratory duration, task, proficiency or language. The …

Convergent Validity Of Automated Language Sample Analysis With Systematic Analysis Of Language Transcripts (Salt), Madeline Peterson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The purpose of the study was to assess the convergent validity of Coh-Metrix, an automated text analysis tool, with Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT; Miller & Iglesias, 2017), a computer-assisted language analysis software, on measures of syntactic complexity and language productivity. An additional goal of this study was to determine whether indices of syntactic complexity and language productivity calculated in Coh-Metrix were sensitive to developmental changes in oral narratives. SALT and Coh-Metrix variables were calculated on 220 oral narratives obtained from children ages 5-9. Coh-Metrix indices were correlated with comparative SALT measures of syntactic complexity (MLUm, MLUw, and VPU) …

School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist's Perceptions Of Sensory Food Aversions In Children, Ellen Monroe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sensory Food Aversions occur frequently in children who are likely to appear on Speech-Language Pathologist’s (SLP’s) caseloads. The lack of research regarding intervention for Sensory Food Aversions in schools and the assertion of a gap in school-based services for children with feeding disorders was a significant indicator for the need of the study. A quantitative, descriptive, exploratory research design was selected using a self-developed questionnaire in order to exploreschool-based SLP’s perceptions of their knowledge and skills related to Sensory Food Aversions, as well as determine resources available for working with this population. Findings from the study suggest a need for …

Examination Of Language Skills In Children Who Attend Head Start Programs, Madilyn Littlefield

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Socioeconomic status and poverty can greatly affect child development and have lasting impacts throughout life. Children who are raised in a low socioeconomic status homes may experience limited parent sensitivity, limited parental engagement, and limited access to stimulating materials. These factors may also limit opportunities to experience rich language and literacy experiences which can negatively impact development of emergent literacy skills and later educational growth. To reduce the effects of poverty on school readiness, income-based childcare programs allow families access to affordable early school readiness opportunities that are developmentally appropriate. Head Start programs are designed to facilitate child development, provide …

Development Of The Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (Cast) Scale: A Pilot Study On Caregiver Implementation Via International Telepractice, Elizabeth Ocampo-Roman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parent engagement is a key component during early language development for all children, but particularly for a child with hearing loss. Through the application of technology-based models of service delivery such as telehealth, researchers have found an increase in parent-child engagement during auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) sessions due to the physical absence of the provider and parents becoming the primary language facilitators. However, current measures of parent-child interactions do not have a coding system to monitor facilitation of auditory skills. This present study will discuss the development of the Caregiver-Child Auditory Skills Tracking (CAST) Scale to track progress of caregiver implementation …

Relation Between Linguistic Awareness Skills And Spelling In Adults: A Comparison Among Scoring Procedures, Victoria Henbest

Victoria S. Henbest Publications

Spelling is a skill that relies on an individual's linguistic awareness, the ability to overtly manipulate language. The ability to accurately spell is important for academic and career success into adulthood. The spelling skills of adults have received some attention in the literature, but there is limited information regarding which approach for analyzing adults' spelling is optimal for guiding instruction or intervention for those who struggle. Thus, we aimed to examine the concurrent validity of four different scoring methods for measuring adults' spellings (a dichotomous scoring method and three continuous methods) and to determine whether adults' linguistic awareness skills differentially …

The Relation Between Linguistic Awareness Skills And Spelling In Adults: A Comparison Among Scoring Procedures, Victoria S. Henbest, Lisa A. Fitton Ph.D., Krystal L. Werfel, Kenn Apel

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Spelling is a skill that relies on an individual’s linguistic awareness, the ability to overtly manipulate language. The ability to accurately spell is important for academic and career success into adulthood. The spelling skills of adults have received some attention in the literature, but there is limited information regarding which approach for analyzing adults’ spelling is optimal for guiding instruction or intervention for those who struggle. Thus, we aimed to examine the concurrent validity of four different scoring methods for measuring adults’ spellings (a dichotomous scoring method and three continuous methods) and to determine whether adults’ linguistic awareness skills …

Sound Exposure Characterization For Student Musicians: A Hearing Loss Prevention Initiative, Heather Maze, Antony Joseph

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

There is an increased risk for occupational and recreational noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) and tinnitus among those who are exposed to prolonged and elevated sound intensities. For musicians, education and hearing conservation programs are rarely accessible. The purpose of this project was to measure, quantify, and more clearly understand the exposure risk for student musicians. Dosimetry and area sound level data were used to evaluate the exposure levels of students in a university music department while they practiced in ensemble rooms and a concert performance hall. Sound maps were used to illustrate the most intense positions in each music-practice …

Vocal Health Of Choral Singers From Kenya And The United States: Dysphonia And Vocal Fatigue In Relation To Musical Genres, Morgan Jolley Burburan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the vocal health of choral singers from Kenya and the United States and to determine whether genre (classical choral, traditional Kenya, and Contemporary Commercial Music [CCM]) had any impact on healthy vocal production, particularly as it related to vocal fatigue. Participants were adult singers (N = 94) in two semi-professional choirs, the Nairobi Chamber Chorus (NCC) from Kenya (n = 25) and the Festival Singers of Florida (FSOF) from the United States (n = 69). Singers’ perceived overall vocal health was measured using multiparametric clinical self-reporting instruments and acoustical assessment. Singers’ …

Everyday Communication Challenges In Aphasia: Descriptions Of Experiences And Coping Strategies, Tyson G. Harmon

Faculty Publications

Background: Everyday communication often occurs in situations that pose high attentional and social demands. People with aphasia have reported perceiving greater challenge communicating in these situations, but more specific information about these challenges could help clinicians and researchers work toward more meaningful intervention outcomes and increased life participation.

Aims: To explore the everyday communication experiences of people with aphasia based on their own perspectives and to identify how they report coping with everyday communication challenges.

Method: Twenty-one participants with mild or moderate aphasia completed semi-structured interviews that immediately followed the experimental arm of a larger project. Interview questions solicited descriptions …

Exploring Language Use Within A Parent-Mediated Intervention For Children Exhibiting Social Communication Difficulties, Emily Garza, Ashleigh Kellerman, Christi Masters, A.J. Schwichtenberg

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

For infants/toddlers experiencing social communication difficulties, parent-mediated interventions (PMI) are the current field standard to promote development within a natural context. Previous research highlights the importance for parents to scaffold language learning opportunities beyond clinical settings to maximize children’s potential. However, for infants/toddlers exhibiting social communication-based difficulties currently enrolled in a family routines-based PMI, less is known about the individual contributions of communication between child and parent in order to promote optimal language development.

The present study expands our understanding of children’s communication by examining whether (1)children exhibit language impairments at enrollment; (2)whether observed mother-child communication during play increases following …

Self-Disclosure Of Stuttering To Various Social Referent Groups And Its Relationships With Psychological Distress, Katrina Rourke

Honors Theses

Purpose: Research has shown that there are benefits associated with verbal disclosure of stuttering. However, most of the existing literature on stuttering disclosure has focused on how it affects listener perceptions of people who stutter, and little is known about speaker-focused outcomes of verbal stuttering disclosure. The purpose of the current study was to investigate who people who stutter verbally disclose to (e.g. friends, co-workers, neighbors) and if relationships between extent of disclosure and distress vary depending on the confidant’s social referent group. The seven social referent groups of focus were family, friends, romantic partners, people in the workplace, healthcare …

How Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Language Disorder, And Typical Language Learn To Produce Global And Local Semantic Features, Allison Gladfelter, Kacy L. Barron

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

A local processing bias, often considered a cognitive style unique to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), may influence the types of semantic features acquired by children with ASD and could contribute to weaknesses in word learning. Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) also struggle to learn semantic aspects of words, but this cognitive style has not been ascribed to children with DLD. The purpose of this study was to explore whether global–local processing di erences influence the type of semantic features children with ASD, DLD, and their neurotypical peers learn to produce when learning new words. Novel word definitions produced by …

Acoustic Changes During Passage Reading In Speakers With Parkinson's Disease, Kimberly C. Grubbs

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate speech changes in Parkinson’s disease (PD) while reading a passage, using both local (i.e., segment level) and global (i.e., utterance level) acoustic measures.

Methods: 20 speakers participated in the study (10 PD, 10 neurologically healthy controls). The speakers were asked to read The Caterpillar passage in a conversational mode. A total of five acoustic measures were included (local: vowel duration, Euclidean distance between corner vowels and schwa; global: articulation rate, F0/intensity range). These acoustic measures were compared between two sentences located in the two positions within the paragraph, initial and final. …

The Relationship Between The Development Of Communicative Functions In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Isabelle Bankston

LSU Master's Theses

In regard to the assessment of language, it is difficult to determine exact communicative functions that are exhibited early in development that could indicate a prognostic value of verbal abilities and outcomes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Verbal Behavioral Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP, Sundberg, 2008) is frequently used in Applied Behavior Analysis for standard assessment procedures to measure development over time. The current study was designed to use the VB-MAPP to determine a relationship between certain communicative functions (i.e., mand, tact, listener responding, echoic, and intraverbal) that may suggest a correlation in growth in each …

Aerodynamic Measurement Stability During Rabbit Versus Pig Benchtop Phonation, Megan Caroline Hoggan

Theses and Dissertations

Combination corticosteroid inhalers are the primary treatment option for long-term pulmonary disorders including asthma, persistent bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Common side effects of these medications are xerostomia in the mouth and throat, hoarseness, and soreness in the oropharynx. Research indicates that a large percentage of the inhaler particles are deposited onto laryngeal tissue, leaving an alteration of laryngeal mucosal properties. As the first stage in a long-term project, this thesis addresses the need for baseline phonatory data that will lay groundwork for quantifying inhaler-induced phonatory changes. Excised larynx research is a powerful tool for assessing aerodynamic alterations that …