The purpose of this study was to identify and field test a successful treatment method for bringing about articulation carry-over. Subjects were 8 elementary school students who misarticulated /s/ or /r/ in conversation outside the therapy setting, but correctly articulated the target phoneme 80% or more of the time in conversation with the speech-language pathologist in the therapy setting. The self-monitoring treatment method of Koegel, Koegel, & Ingham (1986) and Koegel, Koegel, Van Voy, & Ingham (1988) was selected for field testing. Data were collected in the context of a multiple baseline across subjects research design. Results of the study did not replicate the positive treatment effects found in the Koegel, et al. studies. The results are discussed in relationship to the subject, treatment, environmental, and measurement variables that may account for the discrepancy in treatment effectiveness. Additional data on accuracy of self-monitoring are discussed.

The use of oral narratives as a measure of language processing and production skills has been used with increasing frequency during speech and language evaluations. By analyzing narratives we have an insight into strategies that children use for organizing, comprehending, and producing language. Narratives also reveal how different cultural groups organize and make sense of their world. One of the shortcomings of the existing research on narratives is that it is limited in scope. That is, studies have primarily examined narrative development among Standard English (SAE) speaking children. Far less attention has been given to examining the narrative production of African American English (AAE) child speakers. Qualitatively the study design was drawn from an ethnographic perspective. African American subjects were selected from low income community of Springfield, Massachusetts, where subjects participated in two after school programs located a mile apart. Video taped and audio taped data were collected on site at the afterschool programs. A total of 15 subjects who met criteria for participation in the narrative activity were video and audio taped as the told personal stories to a familiar adult. All video tapes were transcribed for each child. A total of 71 narratives were subjected to analyses. Narratives were analyzed using five different procedures: thematic, componential, highpoint, story grammar, and a micro-sociolinguistic analysis. Among the findings were: (a) higher frequency of "topic centered" narratives than "topic associated" narratives, (b) production of a repertoire of narrative structures, (c) higher frequency of complete and complex structures than any other structures within story grammar analysis, and (d) higher frequency of the classic structure than any other structures within highpoint analysis. The clinical and theoretical implications with regard to deficit theory, Africanisms within narrative discourse, and educational and speech/language assessment for the AAE child speaker were also discussed.

Little is known regarding the long-term developmental effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, and even less is known about the specific effects, if any, that this drug has on speech and language development. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of prenatal drug exposure on the language development of 2-year-old African American (AA) children. Specific attention was given to verbal language behavior as it pertains to language acquisition and language variation. To investigate the relationship between speech and language development and prenatal cocaine exposure, data were obtained from two sources. Standardized speech and language tests were administered to determine the subjects' linguistic performance for comparison with a nonexposed control group. Additionally, linguistic functioning was assessed via naturalistic language samples. It was hypothesized that when compared with a matched group of children who had not been exposed to drugs, the exposed group would differ in speech and language behaviors quantitatively as well as qualitatively. An important aim of this study was to describe drug-exposed children's language in accordance with their cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Statistical analysis included two-tailed t tests and ANOVAs for parametric data and chi square analysis for nonparametric data. No significant differences were noted between the two groups on the BSID and SICD-R, Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)/Mean Length of Response (MLR), total number of utterances, number of single word utterances, multiple word utterances, verb relation utterances, word intelligibility, and use of two and three constituents. Significant differences were observed between the groups on the type and frequency of semantic categories expressed in single word utterances, multiple word utterances, verb relation utterances, and coordinated categories. Significant differences were also noted in the use of the morphemes "on" and irregular past. The groups differed significantly in aspects of semantic development which may be due to prenatal cocaine exposure. However, parent/caregiver case history review and interviews indicated there was a constellation of factors such as poverty, history of middle ear infections, and continued use of abusive substances, which suggests that any noted delays in language may be attributed to these factors and not solely to prenatal cocaine exposure.

There is a national shortage of school-based Speech Language Pathologists (SLP). Schools located in rural and geographically remote areas are often impacted by the shortage, and as a result students with an autism spectrum disorder may not receive services that are mandated by their Individual Education Plan. This study examined the use of telepractice as a method of delivery of speech and language services to individuals with autism spectrum disorders in rural areas. A quasi-experimental, single-subject, time-series design was employed. The treatment conditions were manipulated. A counter-balancing methodology was used to control for order effects in this study. Inter-observer agreement on student progress and outcomes were determined by two other master-level clinicians. Progress was measured using pre/post intervention assessments and intervention data. A statistical analysis and comparison of the two service delivery methods (telepractice and traditional on-site) was conducted using the Improved Rate Difference and a Tau-U method. Group comparison was conducted using the Pearson's Correlation. A non-directional critical value for all parametric and non-parametric analysis was set at α = .05. If the null hypothesis was rejected, then there was a statistical difference between the progress students made when receiving telepractice as compared to on-site services. If the null hypothesis was not rejected, there was not a statistical difference between the progress students made when receiving telepractice as compared to on-site services. Comparison at the group level resulted in a finding of non-significance between the two conditions. Findings at the individual level resulted in three out of the six participants demonstrating a finding of non-statistical difference between the on-site and telepractice conditions. For the remaining three participants a statistical difference was noted. When comparing the means of the outcome data between the two conditions, two participants responded more favorably to telepractice intervention, while the other responded better to on-site intervention. Overall, these findings suggest that a telepractice service delivery method is an effective and valid way to provide interventions to students with ASD.

There is a growing population of individuals using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in need of evidence-based intervention from highly qualified personnel. However, not all speech pathology programs offer AAC coursework and/or practicum opportunities, and practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs) report low levels of confidence and expertise in working with individuals using AAC. Therefore, there is a need to develop more innovative pre-professional training programs to better equip the next generation of SLPs with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide high-quality, evidence-based AAC interventions. Telepractice is emerging as an inventive way to provide both direct and indirect intervention services, and could theoretically be used to support pre-professional training by providing clinicians the opportunity to engage in direct services with individuals using AAC concurrently while receiving supervision from a skilled mentor. A thorough review of the literature revealed limited information and data regarding tele-AAC for direct and indirect service delivery. This investigation examined the feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing telepractice to train pre-professional clinicians regarding AAC interventions while in the context of service delivery both on-site and via telepractice. A single-subject, multiple baseline design was employed to examine the impact of real-time supervisory guidance offered via telepractice to pre-professional clinicians (Active Consultation) on the performance of the clinicians and the clients in each service delivery condition. Data was gathered on the number of target language acts modeled by the clinicians and generated by the clients when Active Consultation was provided. The results supported the use of telepractice for supervision, and as a service delivery method for AAC users.

This study investigated whether children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) show difficulty acquiring Noun Phrase structure. A group of 10 children with SLI with an average age of 5 was tested with 3 experiments designed to probe their comprehension of articles, simple and complex possessive phrases, and their adherence to syntactic principles of binding and “wh” extraction. Their performance was compared with 2 groups of normally developing children, one group of 10 younger children matched to the SLI group according to Mean Length of Utterance (LM or Language Match group), and one group of 10 children matched to the SLI group according to age (AM or Age Match group). A spontaneous language sample was also obtained from the SLI and LM groups to compare their performances on spontaneous language and comprehension tasks. Significant differences were found between the SLI and AM groups in all tasks subject to statistical testing, and between the SLI and LM groups in some of the tasks. In tasks where significant differences were not found, there were differences in the response patterns of the SLI and LM groups. These results suggest that children with SLI show marked difficulty with Nominal Phrases and that their difficulty can be described as a limitation in their ability to project fully hierarchical phrase structures that affect their verbal and nominal system similarly. Comparisons between performance on spontaneous language and comprehension tasks suggest that reliance on spontaneous language production only can lead to an overestimation of children's grammatical ability.

The use of caregiver coaching in early intervention is growing with an increasing number of researchers examining the benefits and outcomes of caregiver-implemented interventions for young children with delays or disabilities. Most studies incorporate multiple coaching strategies within their approach; however, definitions and descriptions of coaching strategies and processes are limited and vague. This exploratory study was one of the first to systematically examine the use of problem-oriented and practice-based reflections during caregiver coaching sessions. Transcribed videos from 31 early intervention (EI) provider-caregiver dyads randomized to the Embedded Practice for Intervention with Caregivers (EPIC) intervention group or a business-as-usual (BAU) group were used for data collection, resulting in a total of 93 transcripts across three time points. Using methods of directed content analysis, a coding scheme describing various components of reflection was developed and used to code transcripts. Final data included the rate per minute and relative frequency of types, topics, and spontaneity of reflection. Mixed effects modeling analyses revealed significant group differences on topic of reflection and spontaneity of reflection. A difference on the frequency of reflective and non-reflective conversational turns was not identified. However, descriptive data suggested the EPIC group had a higher rate of critical comments and anticipatory questions as compared to BAU. Critical comments and anticipatory questions were most frequent when EI providers were using the problem-solving coaching strategy. When EI providers used the reflection strategy, the frequency of interpretive comments and evaluative questions was higher. Dyads in the EPIC group exhibited a higher frequency of reflective conversational turns related to intervention and caregivers in this group had a higher frequency of reflective conversational turns that were prompted by EI providers. The results of this study may help the field further define reflection as a coaching strategy and identify the potential utility of these comment and question types to increase caregiver capacity to embed intervention in routines. Further research in this area is needed to improve reflective conversation coding procedures and improve the definitions of reflection specifically for the field of early intervention. Clinical implications and limitations of the study are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication Science and Disorders in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 16, 2018. / caregiver coaching, early intervention, infants and toddlers, interventionists, parents, reflection / Includes bibliographical references. / Juliann Woods, Professor Directing Dissertation; Juliann Cortese, University Representative; Carla Wood, Committee Member; Amy Wetherby, Committee Member; Patricia Snyder, Committee Member.

Developmental dyslexia is a specific impairment of reading ability in the presence of normal intelligence and adequate reading instruction. Current research has linked dyslexia to genetic underpinnings, which are identifiable. Furthermore, there are cognitive processes that are influenced by unique genetically programmed neural networks that determine the manner in which a dyslexic child learns to read. As a result of these breakdowns in cognitive processing, specific breakdowns are noted using measurable assessments. The constellation of measurable symptoms or markers can differentiate the dyslexic child from other children who are typically developing readers or those who are poor readers for reasons not related to genetic pre-programming. Identification of children with dyslexia is critical in providing the appropriate services and remedial models as early intervention in the classroom is of the utmost importance. This study will investigate one aspect, motor function and motor processes that are purported to be one dimension associated with a breakdown in reading acquisition. According to the Cerebellar Deficit Hypothesis, motor function is one valid process and salient feature by which true dyslexia can be identified in children during the second grade year of their education. By the second grade, most typically developing children have acquired the fundamentals of reading. As such, early identification and appropriate intervention for children with dyslexia can be targeted as soon as possible to ensure long-term success and quality of life in these individuals.

Four comprehension experiments tested the development of negative barriers in complex embedded WH questions in 40 typically developing female and male 3–6 to 7–0 (year-month) year-old Standard American English speaking children. The purpose was to test acquisition assumptions derived from linguistic theory of barriers to long distance WH movement. Syntactic theories of Relativized Minimality and scope marking or partial WH movement helped to account for negative and WH barriers in child language. Further, evidence of Universal Grammar appeared when negation prevented both long distance WH movement (e.g., “Why did the girl not tell her mom she went to the zoo? =/=> Why-went”) and medial WH answers (e.g., “When did the girl not tell her mom how she broke her bike? =/=> How-[tell]-broke”). Negative barriers to children's non-English medial answers supported the use of underlying structures observed cross-linguistically. Such structures are part of universal defaults, or non-specific rules, in child grammar. Before the target grammar is fully set for the specific adult rules, a child uses multiple grammars, some of which are universal defaults which get eliminated in the target adult grammar throughout the course of language development. Measures of Theory of Mind and production of complex embedded clauses predicted the development of aspects of embedded WH questions and negative barriers. Results indicated the interrelatedness of the development of complex sentences.

No description available.