Previous data suggest the metrical properties of a word may influence the time course of phonological encoding, particularly in adults who stutter.  The purpose of the present study is to examine phonological and metrical encoding skills in fluent and non-fluent adults, in particular the medial stress-bearing vowel.  Investigators used a silent phoneme monitoring paradigm to assess reaction times for all phonemes within nonword CVCCVC stimuli.  This paradigm required participants to manually identify target phonemes within a nonword to further isolate the level of phonological encoding from other processes.  Eight participants were exposed to stimuli with initial-stress, and eight participants were exposed to stimuli with non-initial stress. Both groups demonstrated increased monitoring latencies for the initial vowel, regardless of initial or non-initial stress.  However, results did not yield any significant between-group latencies or false negative errors.  Participants from both groups demonstrated increased post-trial error rates compared with those from previous studies with similar methodology, suggesting the task of auditory identification of consonants and vowels in isolation may have been more challenging for both talker groups than identification of consonants alone. Together, these preliminary data suggest that AWS and AWNS demonstrate similar efficiency when encoding the medial, stress-bearing vowel.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the presence and degree of treatment effects found for direct attention training on three individuals with idiopathic Parkinsons disease (PD) using the Attention Process Training, Third Edition (APT-III; Sohlberg & Mateer, 2010). APT-III was designed for use with individuals who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and was selected for this study because of the similarities in cognitive deficits between those with TBI and those with PD. Methods: This study was designed as a phase 2, randomized baseline, A1-B-A2-A3 (baseline, treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up assessment), single-subject experimental design. The study followed the APT-III protocol (Sohlberg & Mateer, 2010) to train attention processes over the course of 6 weeks in two 60 minute sessions per week. Results: Participants all displayed treatment effects in at least one attentional domain following this study. Results of secondary outcome measures designed to quantify level of impairment, activity, and participation were variable. All participants remained within functional limits for working memory for healthy adults their age, and all reported making progress toward functional goals. Discussion: The results of this study suggest that direct attention training using APT-III can improve attention in people with PD (PPD), and that these improvements can be generalized to increase performance on activities of daily living and other functional activities. It also suggests that PPD may benefit from future research investigating the use of APT-III.

The purpose of this study was to examine the dually implicated processes of language and self-regulation in reading comprehension and to determine if self-regulation contributes unique variance to reading comprehension beyond word recognition/decoding and oral language comprehension. The study also sought to determine if the unique contribution of self-regulation to reading comprehension differs for students with language/learning difficulties and students with typical language/learning histories. Thirty-two 6th, 7th, and 8th graders participated in this study. Of these participants, 17 students had language/learning difficulties and 15 students had typical language/learning histories. All participants attended a low performing public middle school located in a rural school district. Each participant was administered a battery of assessments that elicited measures of reading comprehension, oral language comprehension, word recognition/decoding, and self-regulation. The dependent variable in the analyses was the performance score on the reading comprehension measure. Independent variables included the measures of oral language ability, word recognition/decoding, and self-regulation. Hierarchical multiple regression and correlation analyses were used to explore the relationship among these variables and to determine their contribution to reading comprehension. The results of this investigation indicated that self-regulation contributed significant variance to reading comprehension in addition to the variance accounted for by oral language comprehension and word recognition/decoding in adolescent learners. Further, the investigation found that self-regulation was moderately correlated with word recognition/decoding and highly correlated with oral language comprehension. Findings also revealed that self-regulation contributed a greater proportion of variance to reading comprehension for students with typical language/learning histories than for students with language/learning difficulties, supporting earlier research showing poor readers fail to use active comprehension strategies when reading.

Previous studies have associated stuttering with increased levels of self-stigma. Prior research has shown that high levels of self-stigma may relate to increased medication usage. Therefore, in the present study, the authors sought to determine an association between levels of self-stigma and medication usage among adults who stutter. Results suggest that although there is not a significant difference for lifetime medication use between AWS versus AWNS, the self-imposed stigma by AWS could predict the likelihood of medication use. Findings provide insight into additional pharmacological factors to consider during clinical intervention, and highlight the importance of stigmatized beliefs when addressing the needs of a client who stutters.

The present study was designed to describe and quantify patterns of pronoun use by African American English (AAE)-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) relative to their AAE-speaking typically developing (TD) peers. Pronouns were of interest because: they are produced frequently in everyday speech, they are often targeted when a childs language abilities are evaluated by a speech-language pathologist, and limited pronoun data exists for AAE-speaking children. The data were language samples that had been elicited from 96 children (35 SLI, 61 TD) enrolled in kindergarten. The samples were searched for 11 different pronoun forms, and these were coded as either mainstream or nonmainstream forms. In addition, the childrens use of different types of appositive pronouns was examined. Results showed that the majority of the childrens pronouns reflected mainstream forms that were consistent with General American English (GAE). Of those classified as nonmainstream, three patterns (i.e., subjective for genitive, objective for genitive, and objective for subjective) were classified as productive because they were produced by more than 10% of the children. Although both groups of children produced these three pronoun patterns, those with SLI produced them at higher rates, and higher rates of objective for genitive pronouns accounted for the group difference. Specifically, the patterns them for their and him for his were produced more frequently per target context by children with SLI than TD children. Both groups also produced appositive pronouns; the frequency of these were low (.5%), and the most frequent were appositives involving she, he, and they. These findings suggest that both TD children and children with SLI who speak AAE produce various pronoun patterns that can be considered nonmainstream. However, the majority of their pronouns reflect mainstream forms. Differences between those with and without SLI were minimal, with the former producing more objective for genitive pronouns than the latter. If replicated, the findings suggest that current assessment tools should be modified to specifically target genitive forms. If this is done, multiple items targeting genitive pronouns should be included to capture rate-based differences in their use between children with and without SLI.

Due to increased interest in the area of voice problems and treatment among transgender individuals in recent years, a study about vocal experiences, vocal handicap, and participation in treatment methods among this population is needed. This study examined vocal handicap among transgender women, transgender men, and individuals identifying as a non-binary gender through an online questionnaire. The goals of the study were to compare vocal handicap between transgender men and women as well as those who had participated in voice therapy and those who had not. Another goal was to identify reasons among transgender individuals for not participating in voice therapy. Analysis of the answers from 233 participants of the survey revealed a wide range of attitudes and opinions about voice and voice therapy. Among transgender women, there was no significant difference in voice handicap among participants who had participated in voice therapy and those who had not. In transgender men, on the other hand, there was a significant difference between vocal handicap in participants who had experienced voice changes secondary to hormone therapy and those who had not; however, a surprising 39% of transgender men still had a Transgender Self-Evaluation Questionnaire score indicating a severe vocal handicap. No significant difference between Transgender Self-Evaluation Questionnaire scores was noted between transgender women and transgender men. A third group, those who identified outside the gender binary, emerged, and appeared to also have a range of experiences and attitudes about voice, both positive and negative.

High-speed digital imaging (HSDI) has recently become clinically available for the direct observation of vocal fold movement in the last 20 years. However, before it can become routinely used in the clinical setting, a universal means of objectively analyzing and interpreting the HSDI data must be established. In this study, preliminary data was gathered for five parameters used to objectively analyze vocal fold vibratory patterns observed with HSDI. The parameters investigated were established by Ikuma, Kunduk, and McWhorter (2012a) and were previously studied with a small sample (N=8) comparing pre and post-phonosurgical removal of benign lesions. The five parameters included fundamental frequency standard deviation (F0SD), harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR) mean, open quotient (OQ) mean, speed index (SI) mean, and relative glottal gap (RGG) mean. The current study aimed to statistically and visually analyze measurements of the five objective parameters for differences between pathology groups with different etiologies. High-speed videos (N=50) were divided into five groups based on one of the following medical diagnoses: normal voice, vocal fold nodules, polyps, true vocal fold motion impairment (TVFMI), and adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD). Statistical analysis showed that HNR mean differentiated normal voices from ADSD voices and that F0 mean differentiated ADSD voices from all groups except vocal fold nodules (p < 0.005). Visual analysis revealed a strong trend for RGG mean to differentiate vocal fold nodules from all other groups. Less prominent visual trends for OQ mean and SI mean were also noted.

This study aimed to provide selected acoustic data for vowels of one portion of the southern region (Southern LA) in recognition that a variety of Southern dialects have not been recognized on the American English dialect map. To examine dialectical variations in vowel acoustics, this study included a relatively greater number of acoustic parameters including: vowel duration, F1 and F2 from the temporal midpoint of the vowel, trajectory length, and F2 slope. Ten participants between the ages of 18 to 24 were selected from the Southern Louisiana dialect region. Speech stimuli, which have been used in prior research regarding dialect, included words containing 16 American English vowels in /hVd/ context (Hillenbrand, 1995). Each stimulus was produced five times in a row, which results in analysis of a total of 800 vowels (10 speakers, 16 vowels, and 5 repetitions). Based on a general comparison between data from Southern Louisiana dialect speakers and previously reported data from Upper Mid-Western dialect speakers, it can be inferred that there are differences in temporal and spectral measures between these two dialects. This provides a basis for direct comparison of Southern Louisiana dialects to other dialects to determine which parameters are most sensitive to dialect and how these might impact vowel production and perception.

Background: The Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39) is a valid, reliable quality of life (QoL) assessment for PWA (Hilari, 2003; Hilari, Byng, Lamping, & Smith, 2003). However, individuals with severe aphasia are unable to use it because their ability to comprehend the text is too severely impaired for accurate self-report (Hilari & Byng, 2009; Hilari et al., 2003; Hilari, Owen, & Farrelly, 2007). Proxy respondents often report on QoL measures for these individuals; however, studies suggest differences between proxy-reported and self-reported scores in less severe populations (e.g., Cruice, Worrall, Hickson, & Murison, 2005; Engell, Hütter, Willmes, & Huber, 2003; Hilari et al., 2007). Therefore, proxy-reported scores may not be reliable substitutes (Cruice et al., 2005). Incorporating images may increase accessibility of text to individuals with severe aphasia by drawing upon intact visuo-spatial abilities (Dietz, Hux, McKelvey, Beukelman, & Weissling, 2009; Dietz, McKelvey, & Beukelman, 2006; Elmore-Nicholas & Brookshire, 1981; Engell et al., 2003; Rautakoski, Korpijaakko-Huuhka, & Klippi, 2008). Objective: This study assessed similarities between high-context, colored photographs and SAQOL-39 questions. Methods: This study employed a non-experimental, within-group design. Twenty individuals between 65-85 with no history of aphasia completed a 7-point Likert scale rating task wherein they rated the degree of similarity between photographs and SAQOL-39 questions. Three expert reviewers evaluated the photographs before being used as stimuli. Results: Results of the 7-point Likert scale rating task revealed a mean rating of 6.06 (range 5.05 6.70) for all 42 photograph-question pairings (i.e., three training items plus 39 items). Thirty-nine of the total 42 photographs (93%) were rated > 6 at least 60% of the time. Thirty-seven of the 39 actual scored SAQOL-39 questions (95%) were rated > 6 at least 60% of the time. The mean standard error of the mean (SEM) for all 42 photographs was 1.44. The average mode was 7.00, and the average median was 6.74. Conclusion: Results indicated that photographs were rated as being similar to SAQOL-39 questions. Further research is warranted to evaluate if the photographs enhance accessibility of the SAQOL-39 to individuals with severe aphasia allowing for self-report.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between childrens use of nonmainstream dialect and their emerging reading ability. The data were from 79 kindergarteners; 39 were AA and 40 were non-AA; 38 were male and 41 were female. All children presented with varying language abilities and dialect densities, as measured by the DELV-ST. Dialect densities ranged from Mainstream American English (MAE), some variation of MAE, and strong variations of MAE. The childrens reading abilities were measured by the DIBELS, which was administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Preliminary results showed that childrens mean DIBELS scores significantly increased over time. In addition, their mean reading scores were above benchmark cutoff scores at all testing sessions, indicating that on average, the nonmainstream English-speaking kindergarteners were not at risk for reading failure. When analyzed by race and gender, a main effect was found for race but not gender. Given this, analyses were completed on the AA and non-AA children separately to examine the relationship between the childrens dialect ratings and their emerging reading abilities. For both the AA and non-AA groups, their childrens rates of nonmainstream dialect density were related to their DIBELS scores. This finding was documented in two ways. First, for both races, the children who earned low DELV-ST ratings produced higher DIBELS scores than those who earned moderate and high DELV-ST scores. Second, for both races, there was a negative correlation between the childrens DELV-ST ratings and their DIBELS scores. Nevertheless, an item analysis of the GFTA suggested minimal overlap between the childrens nonmainstream English productions and the target sounds included within the items of the DIBELS. Together these findings suggest that childrens nonmainstream dialect use negatively relates to their reading abilities, and this negative relationship exists for both AA and non-AA children. This negative relationship also exits in spite of finding minimal overlap between the childrens nonmainstream sound productions and the target sounds included within the items on the DIBELS.