Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

Assistive Listening Devices: A Guide, Alexa Brody

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: The purpose of this research was to develop a guide on assistive listening devices (ALDs) describing the various types of ALDs, the basic underlying concepts, their advantages and disadvantages, the instrumentation and its components, and the setup and procedures for specification/evaluation of ALDs in accordance with national standards or guidelines issued by professional organizations in our field. This guide is intended for audiologists, hearing scientists, and audiology and hearing science students.

Method: A thorough review of the previous ALD literature including national and international standards for set-up and installation, specification/evaluation and verification of ALDs; guidelines from professional audiology and …

Development Of An Aba Tool Kit For Audiologists To Increase Hearing Aid Wear Time In Individuals With Autism, Lindsay Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When working with individuals with the dual-diagnosis of hearing loss and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), audiologists are often faced with unique challenges and must adapt their approach in order to more effectively address the needs of these individuals. Currently, there is only a small body of research focused on the special considerations required for appropriately fitting and utilizing amplification for children with the dual-diagnosis of hearing loss and ASD. Subsequently, recommendations and strategies for clinicians to implement when faced with these common challenges, specifically of hearing aid compliance and appropriate hearing aid wear time, are lacking. It is important to …

Visual Perspective Taking In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Erin L. Reilly

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty in recognizing environmental perspectives other than their own. Perspective-taking deficits impact language use and understanding in discourse and more general social and cognitive function. Despite extensive research on perspective taking abilities in individuals with ASD, many factors have not been fully examined. This study further examined the contribution of angular disparity, anthropomorphism of an observer, and language use on visual perspective-taking.

Individuals with (ASD) demonstrate a strength in visual spatial cognition and a weakness in visual social cognition. This study examined the factors that may cause people with ASD to have difficulties …

Assisting Children With Velocardiofacial Syndrome Who Have Developmental Disabilities And Delays Associated With Speech, Communication, And Education, Mckenzie K. Holty

Honors Thesis

Children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) have a variety of complex needs. Research shows that VCFS is characterized by a combination of medical problems, developmental delays, and learning disabilities, which vary from child to child. This syndrome also puts adolescents at a higher risk for developing psychiatric and psychotic disorders. The complexity of symptoms that can arise from VCFS can influence the ability of these children to communicate, socialize, and learn effectively. This literature review aims to discuss literature for caregivers, educators, and physicians to aid children effectively and understand their challenges relating to speech, communication, and education. This topic is …

Usability Of A Mobile App For Improving Literacy In Children With Hearing Impairment: Focus Group Study., Shelly Deforte, Emre Sezgin, Janelle Huefner, Shana Lucius, John Luna, Anand A Satyapriya, Prashant Malhotra

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

BACKGROUND: Children with hearing loss, even those identified early and who use hearing aids or cochlear implants, may face challenges in developing spoken language and literacy. This can lead to academic, behavioral, and social difficulties. There are apps for healthy children to improve their spoken language and literacy and apps that focus on sign language proficiency for children with hearing loss, but these apps are limited for children with hearing loss. Therefore, we have developed an app called Hear Me Read, which uses enhanced digital stories as therapy tools for speech, language, and literacy for children with hearing loss. The …

Well-Being Of Parents Of Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Courtney P. Kasin, Karen F. Munoz, Clarissa W. Ong, John J. Whicker, Michael P. Twohig

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing the well-being of parents who have children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and to compare their experiences to non-clinical samples.

Method: A cross-sectional online survey was used to collect data (N = 296).

Results: Data analyses revealed the majority of parents of children who are DHH were functioning similarly to or better than the non-clinical samples in our comparison and within the non-clinical range for the included measures. No relationship was found between factors related to child age or timing of services (age at diagnosis, time …

Beliefs And Self-Efficacy Of Parents Of Young Children With Hearing Loss, Sophie E. Ambrose, Margo Appenzeller, Alexandra Mai, Jean L. Desjardin

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The purpose of this study was to learn more about the beliefs and self-efficacy of parents of young children with hearing loss. Seventy-two parents completed the Scale of Parental Involvement and Self-Efficacy - Revised (SPISE-R), which queries parents about their child’s hearing device use and their perceptions of their own beliefs, knowledge, confidence, and actions pertaining to supporting their child’s auditory access and spoken language development. Two beliefs were identified that related to parents’ action scores and one belief was identified that related to children’s hearing device use. Knowledge and confidence scores were significantly correlated with action scores and children’s …

Ehdi System Effectiveness: The Impact Of Community Collaboration, Kristina M. Blaiser, Gabriel Anne Bargen

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention systems rely on collaborative, coordinated systems, yet, in actuality, collaboration is often reduced to periodic communication related to processes. This can be even more important in a state like Idaho where access to providers and resources are limited in rural and remote areas. Researchers at Idaho State University were awarded a grant to bring together key community stakeholders with the goal of evaluating and improving families’ journeys from newborn hearing screening to enrollment in Part B educational services. This paper will outline the process and information that was collected as part of the Idaho Community …

South Dakota Early Hearing Detection And Intervention Program: Using Teleaudiology To Conduct Infant Diagnostic Assessments, Hannah Williams, Emily Riley, Jessica Messersmith

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Teleaudiology allows patients and providers to bypass several economic and geographic barriers that impede the delivery and accessibility of audiological services. The South Dakota Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program recognized this benefit and created a teleaudiology infrastructure for the diagnostic assessment of infants. Using a hub-and-spoke model, a certified pediatric audiologist at the hub site assesses infants located at two spoke sites in South Dakota. Remote control software applications are used to provide a synchronous method of service delivery. The audiologist’s test battery includes video otoscopy, tympanometry, and auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing. Since establishing the teleaudiology program, …

Audiologic Clinical Practice Patterns: Infant Assessment, Ursula M. Findlen, Nicole D. Schuller

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The purpose of the present study was to report the current clinical practice patterns for assessment of infants after a referred newborn hearing screening within the context of available guidelines and to examine how the advent of newer stimuli, technology, and/or instrumentation has changed clinical practice patterns for audiologic infant assessment. A mixed-method survey that included both quantitative and qualitative questions was disseminated to pediatric audiologists in 2017. Quantitative data were analyzed via descriptive statistics while qualitative questions were analyzed via content analysis and combined with associated quantitative data. Lastly, infant assessment test battery categorization was completed to ascertain the …

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome And Infant Hearing Assessment: A Kids’ Inpatient Database Review, Liza Creel, Adam Van Horn, Alex Hines, Matthew L. Bush

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objective: Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) has become an epidemic. This study assesses documented rates of failed newborn hearing screening (NBHS) or hearing loss diagnosis (HL) in NAS infants, and sociodemographic factors associated with abnormal inpatient hearing results.

Methods: The 2016 HCUP/KID national database was used to identify a weighted sample of infants with failed NBHS/HL during birth hospitalization. Independent variables included diagnoses of NAS/in-utero opioid exposure, HL risk factor presence and sociodemographic data. Univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine associations between NAS and abnormal hearing assessment.

Results:NAS infants had lower odds ratio (OR) of documented …

Current Beliefs Of Speech-Language Pathologists Regarding Lateralization Errors, Magdalena Difazio, Megan Overby

Graduate Student Research Symposium

Lateralization errors (LEs) are defined as persistent speech sound errors in which sibilant sounds are distorted due to air flow exiting the mouth laterally, rather than centrally, as result of insufficient lingual pressure against the alveolar ridge and/or teeth. Prevalence of LEs is unknown, and there are no published data on contemporary assessment and treatment challenges. We developed six research questions addressing treatment and prevalence of LEs. Additional information about speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) perceptions and practices concerning LEs would facilitate understanding of current practice. Licensed SLPs (N=214, 98.12% female, X_age = 30-39 years) participated in a mixed-methods design online …

The Effectiveness Of Visual Phonics To Promote Phonological Awareness In Preschool Children With And Without Speech Sound Delays, Katelyn Derby

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the phonological awareness skill of letter-sound relationships for preschool students using the multi-kinesthetic Visual Phonics intervention, See the Sound/Visual Phonics. The study had a non-concurrent multiple baseline data procedure, where each child was exposed to a general phonics curriculum in comparison to a Visual Phonics intervention. A specific interest was understanding potential benefits (i.e., rate of mastery) for preschool students with typical hearing, and the potential for Visual Phonics to support improved letter-sound accuracy for children at risk for speech sound disorders and delays. The results of the study indicated See the …

Musical Ability And Accent Imitation, Maria Murljacic

Honors Scholar Theses

This study investigates the intersection of musical ability and accent imitation, more specifically defining what factors cause a relationship between the two. The study was run on 50 participants, who each completed an accent imitation ability assessment, a musical ability assessment, and an articulation ability assessment. The scores for the accent imitation portion were rated by anonymous online raters. Each participant filled out a questionnaire on prior musical experience and were either classified as a musician or non-musician. The analysis found that those in the musician group performed better on the musical ability, articulation, and accent ability assessment than non-musicians. …

Investigating The Link Between Executive Function And Creativity In School Aged Children, Katherine Crenshaw

Honors Theses

The primary purpose of this research was to examine links between executive function (i.e., EF or conscious control) and creativity in school aged children. To accomplish this, participants completed measurements of creativity (i.e., Alternative Uses) and EF (i.e., the Backwards Digit Span to test working memory, the Delay of Gratification task to test inhibition). I also examined whether a creative manipulation (i.e., free coloring or coloring task-relevant materials) would impact EF performance in the Dimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS) focused on cognitive flexibility. While I did not find evidence for a relationship between my measures of EF and creativity, I …

Dialect Variation Assessment In Speech-Language Pathology, Maliah Wilkinson

Honors Theses

During speech and language assessment, speech language pathologists often utilize tools from sociolinguistics to differentiate between accent and dialect variation from actual speech or language impairments. Perceptual dialectology, is one of these tools. This method of research seeks to investigate the linguistic perspectives of various populations in specific situations (Montgomery, 2012, p. 638). To investigate the perspectives of college students, linguists, and speech-language pathologists surveys analyzed they perceptions of dialects in various settings and their backgrounds. Results from the surveys indicate linguists who participated have educational experience with dialects but not dialect assessments. While speech-language pathologists, have certification that insists …

The Auditory Radiation In Traumatic Brain Damage: Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study, Jane Walsh

Honors Theses

Hearing loss is a known symptom among people who suffer from traumatic brain injuries. Studies have shown that sensorineural hearing loss is the most common type of hearing loss resulting from traumatic brain injury. However, it is not well understood whether the auditory pathway is affected by traumatic brain injury. In this study, we examined the auditory radiation, using diffusion tensor imaging data and probabilistic tractography. Fifty-three veterans with traumatic brain injury and forty-four veterans without traumatic brain injury are compared. There was no significant difference in fractional anisotropy of the auditory radiation between those with and without traumatic brain …

Differential Effects Of Verbal And Written Disclosure On Perceptions Of A Child Who Stutters, Peyton Mcknight

Honors Theses

This study measured perceptions of a 12-year-old boy who stutters, relative to perceived speech skills and personal characteristics, as a function of seven potential stuttering disclosure conditions, featuring either a personal verbal disclosure, written disclosure, or no disclosure, delivered by various authors (i.e., self/child, mother, teacher). 641 participants college-aged adults were randomly assigned to one of seven stuttering disclosure groups: no disclosure control, verbal self-disclosure, written self-disclosure, verbal mother disclosure, written mother disclosure, verbal teacher disclosure, or written teacher disclosure. Participants in the control group viewed a brief video of a 12-year-old male who stutters reciting a short passage. Participants …

Receptive And Expressive Prosodic Abilities In Adults With Down Syndrome, Logan A. Kingry

Honors Theses

Individuals with Down syndrome, a population that often struggles with communication, present a unique linguistic profile of strengths and weaknesses. Almost no research has examined prosody in adults with DS, despite the important role it plays in effective communication. The present study investigated the prosodic profile of seven adults with Down syndrome (18;07-34;11 years) using the Profiling Elements of Prosody for Speech and Communication (PEPS-C), and compared the group’s expressive and receptive prosodic abilities to a group of seven adults with mixed-etiology intellectual and developmental disability (29;02-37;07 years) matched on nonverbal ability. Data analyses showed that the group with Down …

An Educational Audiology Model For Mississippi: Telepractice For Direct Service Provision, Sally Autry

Honors Theses

Hearing loss among school-aged children is becoming increasingly prevalent (CDC, 2019). Having hearing loss in a classroom setting can negatively affect a child’s language development, academic achievement, and social communication. Educational audiology plays a vital role in the academic success of children with hearing loss by providing a full range of audiology services to students, as part of a multidisciplinary team, to facilitate listening, learning, and communication access. By performing specialized assessments, monitoring personal hearing instruments, recommending, fitting, and managing hearing assistive technology, providing support services, and advocating on behalf of students with hearing loss, educational audiologists help to bridge …