Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

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 …

Demonstrable Effect Of Vocal Changes On Singing Voices Of Post-Menopausal Women, Haley K. Griffith

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

There is little research concerning the impacts of menopause on the female singing voice, and few research studies examine any treatment methods or exercises to help sustain vocal quality throughout and after menopause. To determine areas in which more detailed studies could be completed, I completed a thorough literature review of current research studies that investigate relationships between menopause and the voice. Many studies examined vocal symptoms of menopause, such as a lowered fundamental frequency (F0) and decreased vocal quality. However, there exists no formally researched or published vocal exercises that help to mitigate these menopausal voice symptoms.

In response, …

Revealing The Impact Of Singing In An Aphasia Group, Ava L. Barton

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Aphasia is an acquired, neurogenic language disorder that affects an individual’s ability to express and comprehend language to varying degrees. Individuals with aphasia are restricted in their ability to communicate effectively and as a result, experience decreased quality of life and marked psychosocial consequences. There are numerous interventions that target the language symptoms associated with aphasia. However, social groups, such as book clubs, address both the language and psychological needs of individuals with aphasia. This project explored spontaneous moments of singing that occurred within an aphasia book club. Twenty-four moments of singing were identified and analyzed from six previously recorded …

An Analysis Of Informational Content In A Descriptive Narrative Task Completed By People With Aphasia, Anna Marie Sulminski, Brent Archer, Jay Jones

Honors Projects

Speech and language are important tools used for communication. Communication techniques such as narrative story telling skills can be used to build relationships. People with aphasia may lack these effective communication skills. This study provides a close-up interpretation of people with aphasia telling the story of Cinderella. Two different approaches were used to analyze the elements of the participant’s stories. By using these approaches during speech therapy, Speech-Language Pathologists can help people with aphasia to build a more concise and thorough story.

Speech Understanding And Listening Effort In Noise With A New Speech Processing Algorithm, Abigail E. Compton

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of a new speech processing strategy (SpeechZone2) in a commercially available hearing aid on speech understanding in noise and self-reported listening effort. Seven adult, experienced hearing aid users (2 males, 5 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. Binaural Unitron Flex receiver in the ear style hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the manufacturer prescribed amplification for each participant. The hearing aids were programmed with two separate memories: 1) omnidirectional microphone without SpeecZone2 processing, and 2) adaptive directionality with SpeechZone2 processing. …

Induction Of Nocebo Effects By Verbal Suggestions During The Caloric Test, Abbey Weist

Dissertations, 2020-current

The caloric test is the most frequently performed vestibular diagnostic test and is considered the “gold-standard” for the assessment of the peripheral vestibular system. Using a warm or cool stimulus, the caloric test alters the temperature gradient in the vestibular system resulting in nausea and dizziness. The nocebo effect is a phenomenon that can occur when negative expectations result in negative effects. No study has examined whether expectations of nausea and dizziness during the caloric test enhance the experience of unwanted symptoms. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a nocebo response can be elicited during the caloric …

Music And Speech Perception In Pre-Lingually Deafened Young Listeners With Cochlear Implants: A Preliminary Study Using Sung Speech, Harley J. Wheeler

Dissertations, 2020-current

Timbre and pitch cues, though definitionally and physically distinct characteristics of sound, are attributes of all sound signals. A body of literature has shown that alteration of one characteristic can influence the perception of the other; e.g., speech spoken with an atypical contour of pitch can influence a listener's accuracy in identifying the words spoken; conversely, whether a melodic contour is presented via a MIDI piano representation or as sung speech can influence the accuracy of identification of the pitches' contour. Trends for these interactions have been documented for normal hearing children and adults, as well as postlingually deafened adult …

The Impact Of Hair Covering Hearing Aid Microphones On Directional Performance, Sara F. Wagner

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of hair covering on hearing aid directional microphone performance. Nine adult, experienced hearing aid users (3 males, 6 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. Binaural Oticon Opn 1 receiver-in-the-ear hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the recommended amplification for each participant. Speech Reception Threshold (dB SNR required for 50% speech understanding) was measured in all combinations of directional microphone (on/off) and hair covering (with/without) resulting in a total of four conditions. Results showed that directional microphones significantly improved …

Bilingual Practices In Speech-Language Pathology In Nebraska Schools, Kylee Beyea

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The United States is home to a population that is nearly 20% bilingual. A statistic such as this almost guarantees that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) will work with someone from this bilingual population at some point during their career. Many factors contribute to how children learn language, and there are added complexities in the acquisition of multiple languages which can complicate the job of a clinician. Silent periods, codeswitching, transfer, and other bilingual language phenomena make diagnosing speech and language disorders difficult. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides guidelines and a code of ethics to be followed to ensure best practice. …

Factors Of Dysphagia In The Overdose Population Post Extubation., Renee Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Post-extubation dysphagia (PED) has been studied in depth in a variety of populations including elective heart surgeries, trauma, critical illness, traumatic brain injury, and those requiring mechanical ventilation, but has not been researched in the overdose population (OD). This study aims to research factors of PED in the OD population. A retrospective study was conducted and found 24 participants who fit the inclusionary requirements. Correlation statistics were run between age and duration of intubation, age or duration of intubation and gender, and between intubation duration, age, and scores on Penetration-Aspiration Scale (P/A) (thin by cup and thin by straw). The …

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, …

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 …