Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

Perspectives Of Poetry: Peering Into Poetry And Aphasia, Kristian M. Perez

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

People with aphasia often experience significant barriers to communication, emotional expression, and participation in meaningful life activities following stroke or neurological injury. Although poetry and creative expression have been explored in broader therapeutic contexts, limited research has examined how people with aphasia perceive poetry. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of people with aphasia regarding definitions of poetry, level of interest in poetry and the factors influencing said interest. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults with aphasia recruited through convenience sampling. Participants responded to questions before and after exposure to the poem Trust by Mark …

When Speech Speaks Louder Than Truth: Language Variation And Credibility In The Courtroom, Melanie E. Spinnie

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study aims to investigate how linguistic variation affects perceptions of credibility in courtroom settings. It focuses on how jurors, judges, and other individuals in the legal system may exhibit bias (consciously or unconsciously) based on how a defendant or witness speaks-- this could include speech disorders as well as differences in dialect, accent, and speech style. Through review of relevant literature, review of a relevant historical case, conducting a survey, and conducting a semi-structured interview, this study explores whether certain speech patterns or characteristics are disproportionately associated with negative judgments during legal proceedings, such as reduced credibility and trustworthiness. …

The Influence Of Early Detection And Intervention Providers' Actions And Communication On Parental Emotions And Early Intervention Engagement After A Child Is Diagnosed With Hearing Loss: A Scoping Review, Charlene M. Watson, D. Ellen Rick, Jillian Ingratta, Patti-Jo Sullivan, Xurong Zhao, Sheila Moodie

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Despite well-intentioned early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs, parents receiving a newborn hearing loss diagnosis often experience distress, uncertainty, and fear, which can impact their readiness to engage in early intervention. The communication and support provided by clinicians in early hearing detection and intervention play a critical role in helping families navigate emotions, overcome barriers, and actively participate in EHDI programs. The purpose of this scoping review is to advance our knowledge of the following: For parents who have a newborn newly diagnosed with hearing loss, how do the actions/behaviors and communication (or lack thereof) of EHDI providers influence …

Fine And Gross Motor Skills Assessment, From A Caregiver's Perspective, In Children With Hearing Loss Using A Modified Ages And Stages Questionnaire (Asq-3), Steven M. Doettl, Patrick N. Plyler, Erin Plyler, Kelly R. Yeager, Leeann Hutker, Ginger Tallmadge, Aspen Gutknecht, Amy Becker

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference on ASQ-3 (Ages and Stages Questionnaire version 3) Gross (ASQ G) and Fine (ASQ F) Motor scores between children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and children with normal hearing.

Methods: Data was gathered from the ASQ-3 as reported by parents/caregivers of 61 children (28 normal hearing children and 33 children with SNHL) ages 6-36 months. Results were averaged across the participants for both groups. Independent sample t-Tests were used to assess for any statistically significant difference in the ASQ scores between groups. Chi-square analysis …

From Policy To Practice In Deaf Education: American Sign Language And Spoken English Outcomes Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children In Kansas, Jena Mcdaniel, Shreyas Teegala, Rebecca Maloney, Angie Walker, Mary S. Dietrich, Matthew L. Hall, Leah C. Geer, Julie Bustos

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: In the context of the recent expectation for state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs to track language milestones of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children, we examine how to leverage statewide assessment programs for improving language outcomes of DHH children. We present the degree to which DHH children in Kansas are meeting their language milestones for American Sign Language (ASL) and English and the influence of two measurement features.

Method: Performance on the ASL/English Language Milestones for 198 children who were DHH (aged 1 to 8) was analyzed for attainment of age-expected language skills and …

Relationships Between Cultural Factors And Motor Abilities In Autistic And Non-Autistic Children, Lindsey Anderson, Allison Gladfelter, Milijana Buac, Waifong Catherine Cheung, Ziteng Wang, Sinan Onal

CISLL Publications

Autism and motor abilities have been found to be closely related. Culture affects motor development as well as various diagnostic criteria for an autism diagnosis, yet cultural factors are rarely considered in research and in clinical diagnostics. This study explored the relationship between cultural factors, characteristics of autism, and balance abilities in autistic (n = 16) and non-autistic (n = 28) children by utilizing a demographic survey, the Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd edition (SRS-2), and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) Balance subtest. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze whether the relationship between autism characteristics and …

Central Auditory Processing Is Altered After Traumatic Brain Injury In Tanzanian Adults, Jonathan D. Lichtenstein, Christopher E. Niemczak, Abigail Fellows, Lindsay J. Wood, Shufaa Masoud, Alexis Rooney, Monika Adhikari, Albert Magohe, Jay C. Buckey

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) damages pathways throughout the brain and is a significant global health concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where the incidence is high and long-term deficits are prevalent. This study explores the utility of central auditory processing (CAP) testing as a marker of previous TBI. Seventy individuals with a history of moderate to severe TBI (msTBI) were matched by age and sex to 46 healthy controls in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Participants underwent comprehensive behavioral CAP testing, including tests of speech-in-noise ability, temporal resolution, and dichotic listening. Multivariate logistic regression showed the Triple Digit Test (TDT) …

Prosodic Comparisons Between Speech And Music For Different Emotions, Reagan Brothers

Honors Projects

This study compares the prosodic acoustic characteristics between different emotional expressions in speech and clarinet playing and evaluates the similarities in prosody between these two domains. The prosodic features analyzed include pitch, loudness, and duration, which are the psychoacoustic terms referring to fundamental frequency [f_o], intensity, and rate of time. The American folksong “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” was both spoken and performed with three emotions: neutral, sad, and happy. The first comparison was how each prosodic characteristic compared across the three different emotions within each domain, and then prosody was compared across the two domains …

Dual-Task Interaction Between Vestibular Function And Cognitive Processing Using The P300 Event-Related Potential, Laurel Elise Money-Nolan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Previous research has established links between vestibular function and cognitive processing, aging and cognitive function, and aging and vestibular function. Theories of cognitive resource allocation discuss how cognitive resources, such as attention, are devoted towards and divided between tasks when multitasking. This dual-task study, utilizing a balance task and a listening/cognitive task, across the young- and middle-aged adult age range, aimed to evaluate potential relationships between vestibular function, cognition, and age, and to examine how cognitive resources might be allocated under dual-task conditions.

The dual-task protocol in this study utilized an oddball paradigm with tonal stimuli to measure the P300 …

Protocol For Visual-Acoustic Intervention With Service Delivery In-Person And Via Telepractice (Visit) Non-Inferiority Trial For Residual Speech Sound Disorder, Tara Mcallister, Jonathan L. Preston, Elaine R. Hitchcock, Nina R. Benway, Jennifer Hill

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: Residual speech sound disorder (RSSD) is a high-prevalence condition that negatively impacts social and academic participation. Telepractice service delivery has the potential to expand access to technology-enhanced intervention methods that can help remediate RSSD, but it is not known whether remote service delivery is associated with a reduction in the efficacy of these methods. This project will systematically measure the outcomes of visual-acoustic biofeedback intervention when delivered in-person or online. Methods/design: This project, Visual-acoustic Intervention with Service delivery In-person and via Telepractice (VISIT), aims to treat 76 children in a parallel randomized controlled clinical trial in which children with …

Effect Of Digital Noise Reduction Processing On Subcortical Speech Encoding And Relationship To Behavioral Outcomes, Subong Kim, Mary Schroeder, Hari M. Bharadwaj

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Perceptual benefits from digital noise reduction (NR) vary among individuals with different noise tolerance and sensitivity to distortions introduced in NR-processed speech; however, the physiological bases of the variance are understudied. Here, we developed objective measures of speech encoding in the ascending pathway as candidate measures of individual noise tolerance and sensitivity to NR-processed speech using the brainstem responses to speech syllable /da/. The speech-evoked brainstem response was found to be sensitive to the addition of noise and NR processing. The NR effects on the consonant and vowel portion of the responses were robustly quantified using response-to-response correlation metrics and …

Exploring Future Educators’ Roles In Classroom Aac Use: Insight Into Knowledge, Skills, And Attitudes, Katrina M. King

Honors College Theses

The United States public school system requires the provision of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for qualifying students with disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). Speech, language, and hearing related disabilities are among the qualifying categories (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). Students with these disabilities may have complex communication needs (CCN), or significant limitations in their speech, language, and communication abilities (Communication Rights Australia, 2018). Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), a type of assistive technology, offers support for these students, however, several barriers inhibit full communicative participation (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], n.d.-a). …

The Radical Middle: Caregiver Beliefs About Language Access For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children, Monica Zmudzinski, Krystal L. Werfel

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The purpose of this study was to explore the communication choices of caregivers of deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) children. Specifically, we explored what communication options caregivers were presented with, identify what factors impacted a caregiver’s decision to pursue spoken language, and identify what barriers exist to learning sign language. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 caregivers of DHH children who had decision making power at the time of their child’s diagnosis. Transcripts were coded using an inductive approach with triangulation between authors. Many families reported that minimal to no information was provided about communication options at the time …

Evaluating Preschoolers Who Are Deaf/Hard Of Hearing Using Listening And Spoken Language To Determine Special Education Eligibility, Kameron C. Carden, R. A. Mcwilliam

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The aim of this study was to increase understanding of evaluation practices used when determining special education eligibility for preschoolers who are deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) using listening and spoken language (LSL), particularly during the early intervention to preschool transition. Specifically, we explored alignment of school-based practices with recommended practices from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE, 2018). An online survey was distributed to school-based special educators, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs), special education teachers, and teachers of the deaf within the United States that included a) evaluation practices, b) eligibility requirements, and c) practice demographics. Participant …

The Follow-Up Gap: Racial Disproportionality And Social Determinants Of Health In New Jersey’S Hearing Detection And Intervention Program, Maryrose Mcinerney, Wendy Zeitlin

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objectives. To assess how race/ethnicity and social determinants of health are related to loss to follow-up (LTF) from NJ’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program.

Methods. All infants born in NJ between June 2015 and June 2017 referring for additional hearing healthcare after hospital discharge were considered for inclusion in this study. The sample consisted of 4,141 babies, 10.7% of which received no follow-up care. Step-wise multi-level logistic regression was used to determine how race/ethnicity, family-level, and community-level social determinants of health (SDOH) were predictive of LTF.

Results. In each model, the odds of being LTF were significantly higher …

A Novel Method For Examining Autistic Children’S Comprehension Of Individual Words Produced Within Delayed Echolalia: A Proof-Of-Concept Pilot Study, Janine Mathee-Scott, Grace Corrigan, Emily Lorang, Zachary Hesse, Jennifer Johnson, Courtney E. Venker

Speech Pathology and Audiology Faculty Research and Publications

Delayed echolalia, or the repetition of previously heard speech, is often observed in the expressive language of autistic children. Relatively little is known about how the production of delayed echolalia fits within the overall picture of autistic children’s language ability, including receptive language. To date, no empirical studies have tested autistic children’s comprehension of individual words within their delayed echoes. The present study aimed to establish proof-of-concept for a novel method of examining children’s comprehension of individual words that they produce in their own delayed echoes. Using natural language sampling combined with parent report, we identified instances of delayed echolalia …

Exploring Perception Of Coarticulatory Cues In Childhood Apraxia Of Speech And Residual Speech Sound Disorders: A Pilot Study, Molly Beiting, Navin Viswanathan, Nicole Caballero, Elaine Hitchcock, Tara Mcallister, Jonathan L. Preston

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction: Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) exhibit speech production deficits beyond segmental errors, including atypical coarticulation. Broadly, children with speech sound disorders (SSD) also exhibit weaknesses in speech perception, which may directly relate to specific production difficulties. This study examined differences in categorical perception among children with CAS, residual SSD affecting /ɹ/ (rSSD), and typical speech (TD). We hypothesized that children with CAS would demonstrate weaker performance on a task requiring perception of coarticulatory cues—a defining weakness in their speech production—but perform similarly to rSSD peers on a segmental task. Methods: This study was designed as an exploratory …

Too Loud To Ignore: Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Regarding Hearing Protection In Student Musicians And Ensemble Directors, Lucile Donald, Ashley G. Flagge

Ashley Flagge Publications

Musicians are at an elevated risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) due to repeated exposure to sound levels exceeding occupational safety guidelines. Although many strides have been made in educating music students on the potential dangers of noise exposure and the mitigating effects of hearing protection devices, the current attitudes on this topic among high school and college-level student musicians remain largely unknown. An electronic survey was administered to high school (n = 195) and university (n = 161)-level band students and ensemble directors (n = 15) regarding knowledge of noise/music-induced hearing loss (MIHL), personal practices with HPDs, and types …

Vestibular Migraine And Ssri Withdrawal: A Case Report, Grace Fairchild, Sarah Redding, Ashley G. Flagge

Ashley Flagge Publications

Vestibular migraine (VM) has been described as a diagnosis of exclusion, with no one singular definitive assessment for diagnosis. It has been suggested that possible pharmaceutical intervention for VM can include antidepressant drugs, but this is potentially complicated by the fact that dizziness is a common side effect of both use and withdrawal for certain types of antidepressant medications. This article describes the case of a 56-year old with probable VM, who was previously diagnosed with depression and treated with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) Citalopram. Following discontinuation with no taper, the patient experienced a series of withdrawal side …

Econometric Analyses Across The Continuum Of Care For Individuals With Hearing Loss, Teresa I. Anthony

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hearing loss affects individuals across the age span and, if left untreated, can lead to developmental delays and health and well-being concerns. This dissertation applies econometric analyses to investigate factors influencing diagnostic outcomes in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), intervention enrollment rates among babies with permanent childhood hearing loss (PCHL), and utilization and hospitalization outcomes among adults with sensory impairment (SI). The first study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of automated auditory brainstem response (aABR) versus transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) for newborn hearing screenings in a Thailand hospital NICU. Decision tree modeling and economic evaluation suggested that although aABR is …