Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Access To Pediatric Audiological Evaluation Facilities For Infants And Young Children In The United States: Results From The Ehdi-Pals System, Naveen K. Nagaraj, Emilee Mertens, Beula Magimairaj, Randi Winston Gerson, John Whicker, Karl R. White

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention - Pediatric Audiology Links to Services (EHDI-PALS) is a web-based national directory of pediatric audiology facilities in the United States, created by an expert committee and launched in October 2012. In this study, data from 1,232 audiology facilities were analyzed to identify the number of registered facilities, types of diagnostic hearing tests offered, and the number of children under 5 years of age who were diagnosed with hearing loss. Some states had almost 15 times as many registered facilities as other states, suggesting that access to quality diagnostic hearing testing for infants and young children …

Engaging Parents Of Children With Mild Bilateral Or Unilateral Hearing Loss: Counseling Considerations, Karen F. Munoz, Clarissa W. Ong, Michael P. Twohig

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

A notable percentage of children identified with hearing loss through newborn hearing screening have mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss (MB/UHL). Caregivers’ appropriately strong emotions, fears, and personal struggles may inadvertently interfere with their engagement with audiologists and other professionals, as well as adherence to jointly determined intervention protocols. Researchers have shown variable outcomes for children with MB/UHL, counseling that includes addressing emotional and cognitive factors is essential for effectively engaging parents. The aim of this article is to describe counseling attributes and strategies that providers can incorporate when working with parents of children with MB/UHL to improve parent engagement …

Social Validity Of Technology Assisted Spoken Language Intervention For Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Children, Sandra Grether Phd, Lisa L. Hunter Phd, Robert C. Gibler M.A., Susan Wiley, Bethany Wysocki Au.D., Rajvi Desai Msw, Jareen Meinzen-Derr

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Children who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) are at-risk for language delays and associated developmental challenges that impact academic, social, and communication skills. Technology Assisted Language Intervention (TALI) is a novel approach that focuses on using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as an intervention for children who are DHH. Results from a recent pilot study suggested that TALI may be a viable approach for enhancing spoken language and communication. In this study, we examined the social validity of TALI using interviews and focus groups. We collected qualitative data from parents, caregivers, and professionals working with children who are DHH to …

Assessment Of Factors Involved In Non-Adherence To Infant Hearing Diagnostic Testing, Anita Shanker, Marcia Vanessa Rojas-Ramirez, Julie A. Jacobs, Jennifer B. Shinn, Cathy Lester, Philip M. Westgate, Matthew L. Bush

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Abstract

Introduction: Delayed diagnosis of pediatric hearing loss can cause delays in cognitive and social development. This study described the sociodemographic factors associated with delayed timing of a final hearing diagnosis after an abnormal newborn hearing screening (NBHS). Methods: Parent-infant dyads were recruited after being referred for further audiologic testing on an abnormal result from the NBHS. Results: Of the 53 participants, 55% (n=29) did not receive a final diagnosis by the recommended 3 months of age. Of those with a delayed diagnosis, 45% (n=13) had their first appointment within 3 months, but a delay was caused by an inconclusive …

Vocal Health Preservation For Teachers Of Music: A Literature Review, Lyndsay Byers, Lisa Vinney Phd Ccc-Slp, Kimberly Adelman Ms Ccc-Slp

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

This literature review explores research findings regarding risk factors of voice disorders for teachers of music. It summarizes current research regarding personal, environmental, and occupational practices teachers of music can implement to help preserve their voices. This document also reviews literature findings regarding when, where, and how music teachers can seek assistance for voice symptoms.

Differentiated Social Skills Curriculum For Aac Users, Braden Mccarty, Ann Beck, Tricia Larkin

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

Communication is a basic human right. Every day, people express their ideas, emotions, wants, and needs with various conversational partners. Once young children learn to talk, social communication instruction usually does not take place in a formal setting. Children often learn appropriate means of conducting themselves in a social situation through daily interactions, a skill that continues to develop as a person ages. For individuals that require an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to express themselves, social communication can become a difficult task. AAC users are often individuals that have difficulty with expressive language, but there are some circumstances …

The Role Of Executive Function Skills For College-Age Students, Brooke Ahrens, Margaret Lee, Carlee Zweibruck, Justine Tumanan, Tricia Larkin M.S. Ccc-Slp/L, Ann Beck Ph.D.

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

This paper is a review of executive function skills and the role of these skills in college students. Executive functioning allows individuals to process their surroundings and manage oneself in order to successfully complete a task. During college, students are attempting to balance various aspects of their lives. Effective use of executive functioning can allow a college student to be successful across all areas of their life. However, when a breakdown in executive functioning occurs, students may have difficulty achieving goals and balancing their demanding lives. These students may benefit from speech language therapy services. This literature review brings together …

Caregiver Strategies For Communication In Children With Autism In Spanish-Speaking, Developing Countries, Melissa K. Jenkins B.S., Emily K. Smith B.S., Jennifer Friberg, Tricia Larkin

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

The literature review provides current and relevant information for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who service families with a child with autism (CWA) in Spanish-speaking, developing (SSD) countries. This review gives an overview of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it relates to language and language development and SLP scope of practice in the U.S. as it relates to ASD. Applicable evidenced-based strategies will be given to help SLPs provide family education to increase functional communication with their CWA. To be sensitive to cultural differences in SSD countries, interaction styles and customs will be defined and interviews from families and SLPs in SSD …

Assessing Bilingual Children With A Language Disorder, Ana Franco, Tricia Larkin, Ann Beck

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

The population in the United States is rapidly diversifying, and it is estimated that 4.9 million English-Language Learning (ELL) students are currently in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). ELL students come from diverse linguistic backgrounds and have varying proficiencies in English and their native language. The linguistic and cultural differences bilingual ELL students present when they attend public schools have created challenges for the current assessment and treatment services available for those bilingual children with communication disorders. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are required to assess bilingual children suspected of having a language disorder, one of the most …

Long-Term Effects Of A Short-Term Study Abroad On Mindset, Madasyn Hofstedt, Heidi Harbers, Amy Yacucci

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

This literature review will examine 10 studies. The first section will discuss one study regarding common personality traits that practicing SLPs and SLP graduate students possess. The next section will review four studies about studying abroad. The final section will summarize four studies about the impact of mindset on life experiences and one study on how a growth mindset may potentially affect a study abroad experience.

Effects Of Short-Term Study Abroad On Mindset, Anya Rowe, Heidi M. Harbers, Amy L. Yacucci

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

This review of the literature will address the effects of mindset, the effects of studying abroad, and the relationship between the two. Three research studies will be reviewed that explore outside factors and their effect on mindset, as well as how mindset impacts academic achievement. Seven additional research studies will examine the different types of study abroad experiences and their impact on student learning. A comparison between the effects of short-term and long-term study abroad will also be explored.

A Resource Manual For Kindergarten Teachers Of Phonetic Components Of Sounds, Katrisha Thomas, Heidi Harbers, Tricia Larkin

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

This literature review will present studies concerning the roles of the teacher and SLP within the school system, effective collaboration between general education teachers and SLPs, and evidence-based intervention models. An exploration of CCSS will outline what teachers are expected to teach at the kindergarten level. Next, the roles and responsibilities of the SLP from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) will be reviewed to define what SLPs are expected to do within schools. Then, four articles will be reviewed to explain how teachers are missing an understanding of basic elements of the English Language necessary for effective instruction …

Development Of Group Treatment Tasks For Adults With Neurological Disorders, Melody R. Groben

Senior Honors Projects

Gateway Café and Wellness Center is a support program offered at the University of Rhode Island for individuals with Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI), such as Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Stroke. Individuals affected by ABI’s most commonly have difficulties with their cognitive, linguistic, and independence skills. Services provided to people living with ABI’s are very scarce in our community today, so allowing people to interact during Gateway Café allows these adults to receive treatment. This is achieved as URI students plan, organize, and execute activities that require the utilization of cognitive linguistic skills by the Gateway Café members. Furthermore, Gateway …

The Use Of Video-Based Instruction To Teach Life Skills To Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Kori Paige Esplin

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with developmental disabilities struggle to learn important life skills. This deficit impedes their ability to function in the community and live meaningful lives. Video prompting (VP) is an evidence-based practice that has been used to teach a wide variety of skills to individuals with disabilities. VP utilizes technology to create step-by-step videos to teach academic, social, vocational and other life skills This article extends the current literature on VP interventions to hygiene skills and investigates the efficacy, skill maintenance, social validity, and level of independence that can be achieved using VP to teach hygiene skills. Three participants with developmental …

Supporting Confidence And Participation For People With Aphasia Through Student Interaction: A Descriptive Study On The Effects Of An Interdisciplinary Campus Program, Tyson G. Harmon, Mei-Ling Lin, Gabrille Scronce, Adam Jacks

Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: Decreased social participation is one consequence of aphasia that can lead to poor psychological health and reduced quality of life. Involving people with aphasia in advocacy efforts may be one solution for increasing their social participation. The present study investigated the benefits of a campus program for three people with mild aphasia who were involved in educating allied health students about aphasia and training them to communicate with those who have aphasia. METHODS: Three participants with aphasia shared their stories and interacted with interdisciplinary students in two seminar sessions aimed at educating students about aphasia and helping them learn …

Distractions In Hearing: Measuring Impulsivity In Service Members With Mtbi, Kathleen Burns

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

Service Members who have experienced mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) tend to experience a degradation of focus and attention capabilities. The purpose of this initial pilot study is to measure the false alarm rates and thresholds of Service Members with mTBI during contralateral and informational masking tests and compare their outcomes to adults without mTBI. Contralateral and informational masking tasks both involve different levels of uncertainty and different forms of central masking. These two tasks will be used to quantify the participants’ accuracy in identifying the target stimulus and their associated levels of distractibility and impulsivity. Preliminary data obtained from …

Development Of A Questionnaire To Assess Attitudes Toward Hearing Aids, Corinne O'Shaughnessy, Ayasakanta Rout, Joseph Smaldino

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

Many reasons have been postulated as to why persons with hearing loss are reluctant to engage in the hearing rehabilitation process. While not the only determinant, an individual’s attitudes toward hearing loss and hearing aids have been shown to affect adoption of amplification adversely and eventual outcomes of hearing aid use. Several attempts have been made to develop test instruments for attitudes toward hearing loss, but nothing specific to attitudes toward hearing aids or hearing aid technology. The primary objective of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess attitudes toward hearing aids using the ABC model of attitude …

Average Speech Directivity, Samuel D. Bellows, Claire M. Pincock, Jennifer K. Whiting, Timothy W. Leishman

Directivity

Speech directivity describes the angular dependence of acoustic radiation from a talker’s mouth and nostrils and diffraction about his or her body and chair (if seated). It is an essential physical aspect of communication affecting sounds and signals in acoustical environments, audio, and telecommunication systems. Because high-resolution, spherically comprehensive measurements of live, phonetically balanced speech have been unavailable in the past, the authors have undertaken research to produce and share such data for simulations of acoustical environments, optimizations of microphone placements, speech studies, and other applications. The measurements included three male and three female talkers who repeated phonetically balanced passages …

Scoring Morphology In Measures Of Spelling And Written Morphological Awareness: A Scoping Review, Victor A. Lugo, Kimberly A. Murphy, Emily Diehm

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Automated Narrative Analysis Via Machine Learning, Sharad Jones, Carly Fox, Sandra Laing Gillam, Ronald B. Gillam

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

The accuracy of four machine learning methods in predicting narrative macrostructure scores was compared to scores obtained by human raters utilizing a criterion-referenced progress monitoring rubric. The machine learning methods that were explored covered methods that utilized hand-engineered features, as well as those that learn directly from the raw text. The predictive models were trained on a corpus of 414 narratives from a normative sample of school-aged children (5;0-9;11) who were given a standardized measure of narrative proficiency. Performance was measured using Quadratic Weighted Kappa, a metric of inter-rater reliability. The results indicated that one model, BERT, not only achieved …