The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic required the use of remote technologies for society and the workforce to function under quarantine conditions. The literature on telepractice services for individuals with ASD has proliferated during the past decade, especially during the past two years. Still, many publications on the topic lack scientific merit. This study utilized a quasi-experimental, single-subject, multiple-group, time-series design to investigate whether telepractice SLP services are at least as effective as the traditional, face-to-face delivery model. Twenty-one students with autism spectrum disorder were included in this study. Additionally, 22 speech-language pathology graduate students and four SLP school professionals assisted in conducting this research. This investigation was organized into a two-phase research design (AB and BA) whereas phase A corresponded to intervention services being delivered using telepractice and phase B corresponded to the same intervention services being delivered on- site. Students were assigned to either Group 1 (AB) or Group 2 (BA). The participants in this study were treated individually and outcome data were aggregated into a final summary of treatment outcomes. Outcome data for each student included percent accuracy achieved on IEP goals as well as percent assistance required in working on respective IEP goals. For all 21 participants, change over time was examined through single-subject graphs which display composite percent accuracy and assistance throughout both intervention phases. Visual analysis of the data reveals that many participants showed no notable difference in percent accuracy achieved between telepractice and on-site services, but that most students appeared to require less assistance when participating in telepractice services. For a subset of 15 participants, summary statistics and paired samples t-tests were calculated to determine mean differences in student performance for percent accuracy and percent assistance for each mode of service delivery. Paired samples t-tests revealed that there was no difference in students’ response accuracy to treatment stimuli between the intervention conditions. However, paired samples t-tests supported the finding that telepractice services do not require the clinician to provide students with as much assistance as needed on-site. Additionally, results from satisfaction surveys completed by participants suggested that telepractice is a socially valid treatment delivery for students with ASD. Overall, results from this study suggest that telepractice services are an effective alternative to in-person SLP services. This finding has positive implications for clinical decision making and treatment planning for individuals with ASD.

An excised animal larynx model has been used in many studies to better understand the physiological and anatomical properties of the human larynx. One difference between an ex vivo model and an in vivo model is that ion loss occurs postmortem. To compensate for this in the excised model, researchers most commonly use a preservation method that includes completely submerging the specimen in isotonic saline (0.9% Na+Cl-) and then flash freezing it in liquid nitrogen. The flash freezing method allows researchers to maintain the integrity of the structures while also being able to gather specimens as they become available. Not enough research has been done to understand the effects of a preservation method on the outcomes of the study. Additionally, no common method has been established for preservation across studies to ensure that results are not being influenced by this variable. This prospective, mixed experimental design study includes three groups, a control group and two experimental groups. The control group consisted of 10 bench-mounted porcine larynges that were soaked in isotonic saline and flash frozen with liquid nitrogen. Prior to the experiment, the frozen larynges were thawed overnight before trials. The other two groups consisted of 10 bench-mounted porcine larynges each; these larynges were soaked in either isotonic saline or Ringers solution, a balanced fluid used in vivo to counteract dehydration. Larynges from these two groups were kept fresh and stored in a refrigerator overnight before trials. On the day of experimentation, each larynx was mounted on a bench top setup including three micropositioners to stabilize, adduct, and elongate the vocal folds. All the larynges were connected to a pseudolung via the trachea and humidified air was passed through to the vocal folds until phonation was achieved. Phonatory trials consisted of brief phonation followed by 5-minute desiccation intervals until phonation was no longer achieved. Phonation threshold flow (PTF), defined as the flow observed at the onset of phonation, was observed during each phonation trial; and flow values were compared within and between groups. Statistically significant differences were found between the Ringers group and the fresh saline group as well as between the Ringers group and the frozen saline group, indicating that PTF is influenced by the larynx preservation method.

Effective reading interventions for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are needed. A multiprobe multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of a video self-modeling intervention (VSM) on reading fluency skills. The VSM interventions effects on self-efficacy were also measured. Four male middle school students with SLD watched a pre-recorded video of themselves reading a passage fluently and were then asked to read another passage. Words correct per minute (WCPM) and accuracy data were taken. Results showed that students read significantly more words correct when they watched themselves read the same passage they were about to read. This study shows that having students watch videos of themselves read, especially if they watch the same passage they will read afterwards, is easy to implement, cost-effective, and worth further investigation.

This qualitative study analyzed interactions between clinicians and a male child, aged 5 years 9 months old, with significant phonological as well as language deficits within a meaning-based phonological intervention implemented over a nine-month period. Play-based intervention strategies were presented in activities that varied in communicative complexity. The clinician, along with graduate-student assistants, frequently modeled and elicited target word productions as they interacted with the child in routines and scripted play contexts. Transcriptions of interactions were analyzed using a conversational analysis that explored engagement and participation, turn taking, and linguistic complexity of utterances produced in adjacent turns. The analyses illustrated ways in which the clinicians structuring of the activities influenced the child's participation. The turn taking exchanges were topically related when dealing with shared, immediate context. The reciprocal nature of the turn taking exchanges, and the child's grammatical productions were analyzed. The study suggests that contextualized intervention can make speech sound production relevant for children with phonological production as well as language deficits.

The current study examined the effects of bite blocks on articulatory kinematics when producing diphthongs /ɑɪ/ and /ɑʊ/ within a phrase. Participants consisted of 20 young adults (10 males, 10 females) with no speech, language or hearing disorders. Participants produced the diphthongs in the carrier phrase Im an owl that hoots. A Northern Digital Instruments Wave electromagnetic articulograph measured the articulatory movements while the speaker produced the stimuli in two conditions (pre bite block insertion and post bite block insertion). Bilateral bite blocks were made using Express dental putty, which is a silicone impression material, in order to create a 10 mm inter-incisal gap. Marker distance, maximum speed, and jaw contribution to tongue movement for three sensors (tongue back, tongue mid, tongue front) were calculated for the diphthongs segmented from the carrier phrase. F1 and F2 transitions and rate were also calculated for each diphthong. Results revealed kinematic differences during diphthong production after the bite block was inserted. Tongue movements independent from the jaw increased after the bite block was inserted, especially during production of the diphthong /ɑʊ/. Bite block by gender interactions during production of the diphthong /ɑɪ/ revealed larger and faster initial movements for males. The results did not reveal any significant acoustic changes other than a longer transition duration. Kinematic adjustments were sufficient to maintain overall similar acoustic output before and after bite block insertion.

The Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition (CCC-2) is a behavior rating scale developed to address the difficulties of assessing social communication in children. It was designed to be completed by a parent rater. However, since it would be helpful to know the extent to which ratings are context-dependent, this study looked at the agreement between parent and teacher ratings on the CCC-2 as well as the percent agreement on the severity of disorder. Twelve parent-teacher pairs completed the CCC-2 for children who had a documented developmental language disorder with specific impairment in social communication. Cohen's kappas, Cohen's weighted kappas, and percent agreement of severity of disorder were calculated. Kappa results ranged from less than chance agreement to fair agreement. When differentiating between scores that represent disorder and no disorder, parent and teacher percent agreement for the CCC-2 10 subscales range from 42% to 75%. Further delineation between no disorder, disorder, or severe disorder yielded percent agreement ranging from 17% to 50%. Overall percent agreement on the general communication composite was 92%. Results indicate that while parents and teachers have poor to fair agreement on the exact nature of a child's social communication strengths and weaknesses, they largely agree when a social communication problem exists. Lack of agreement likely resulted from the parent and teacher seeing the child in different contexts which required a somewhat different set of social communication abilities, or a difference in rater perception of what is within the developmental norms. These findings suggest that the best indication of a child's social communication profile may lie in a holistic assessment of performance in all the important contexts in a child's life, including school and home.

Hearing loss, as a result of old age, has been linked to a decline in speech perception despite the use of additional listening devices. Even though the relationship between hearing loss and decreased speech perception has been well established, research in this area has often focused on the behavioral aspects of language and not on the functionality of the brain itself. In the present study, the mismatch negativity, an event related potential, was examined in order to determine the differences in speech perception between young adult participants, geriatric normal hearing participants, and geriatric hearing-impaired participants. It was hypothesized that a significantly weaker mismatch negativity would occur in the geriatric hearing-impaired participants when compared to the young adult participants and the geriatric normal hearing participants. A passive same/different discrimination task was administered to 10 young adult controls (5 male, 5 female) and eight older adult participants with and without hearing loss (4 male, 4 female). Data from behavioral responses and event related potentials were recorded from 64 electrodes placed across the scalp. Results demonstrated that the mismatch negativity occurred at various amplitudes across all participants tested; however, an increased latency in the presence of the mismatch negativity was noted for the geriatric normal hearing and the geriatric hearing-impaired participants. Dipoles reconstructed from temporal event related potential data were located in the cortical areas known to be instrumental in auditory and language processing for the young adult participants; however, within the geriatric normal hearing and the geriatric hearing-impaired participants, dipoles were seen in multiple locations not directly associated with language and auditory processing. Although not conclusive, it appears that within the geriatric normal hearing and the geriatric hearing-impaired participants there is slower processing of the speech information, as well as some cognitive confusion which leads to fewer available resources for interpretation.

The current study examined the lingual kinematic and acoustic effects of bite blocks on vowels in a sentence context. Twenty adult native English speakers (10 male, 10 female) with no speech, language, or hearing deficits participated in the study. The corner vowels found in the sentence, The blue spot is on the black key again (i.e., /u/, /ɑ/, /æ/, /i/), were measured kinematically and acoustically immediately before and after bite block insertion. The participants' speech was audio-recorded and their lingual articulatory movements were measured with a Northern Digital Instruments Wave electromagnetic articulograph. The sensor coils were attached to three different parts on the tongue (back, middle, and front). Acoustic analysis of the vowel formants revealed that the vowel articulation index and vowel space area decreased significantly following bite block insertion. Kinematic analysis of the sensors on the tongue revealed that the kinematic vowel articulation index decreased significantly for the back and middle of the tongue but not for the front. Thus, adjustments to the position of the front of the tongue were sufficient to compensate for the bite block perturbation, while the same measures for the back and middle of the tongue were significantly affected. This was likely due to the relative independence in the movement of the front of the tongue, given its distance from the posterior point of attachment between the tongue and mandible. These findings suggest that the effects of articulatory perturbation can be more fully understood when kinematic and acoustic measures are considered together.

This descriptive study provides insight on the prevalence of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) screening and school psychologists' roles in that screening process in Utah schools. EBD screening plays an important role in implementing Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). An electronic questionnaire was sent to 260 practicing Utah school psychologists. A total of 89 of those school psychologists completed the survey resulting in a 34% participation rate. Twelve percent (n=11) of participants reported that EBD screening was happening in their schools. Participants reported that the lack of resources to address student needs, the lack of administrative support, and the school having too many other concerns were barriers to EBD screening implementation. Survey results also reported that successful EBD screening consisted of a combined effort consisting of teams, administration, and school districts. Additionally, school psychologists reported that their role in EBD screening should mainly be focused on data interpretation and intervention implementation. The goal of this thesis project was to increase awareness of how universal EBD screening was occurring in Utah schools.

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 disabilities were selected from a junior high school and were given a video prompting intervention on an iPad to improve hygiene skills. Hygiene skills that were taught included teeth brushing, teeth flossing, face washing and basic eye makeup application. All three participants reached and maintained mastery in each of their target skills. Social validity data indicated that using iPad delivered VP interventions was socially acceptable for teaching some hygiene skills. Not every participant was able to access the VP intervention completely independently. VP interventions are a viable option for teaching these crucial life skills to individuals with developmental disabilities.