In order to verbally communicate successfully, people need the ability to retrieve a desired word. However, the inability to do this, called “anomia,” is a common impairment for people with aphasia, and frequently persists into the chronic stage of recovery. Strategies that facilitate verbal expression may reduce or compensate for instances of anomia. Verbal strategies, such as Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA) have been researched extensively and shown to be effective. Nonverbal strategies, such as drawing and gesture, have research on their effects as a substitution for verbalization, but less on their facilitative effects. However, the research suggests they may work in a similar manner to verbal approaches, by activating semantic networks. Thus, the facilitative effects of nonverbal strategies should be explored further. The aim of this experiment was to determine the facilitative effects of drawing and gesturing during a picture naming task in one participant with chronic aphasia. Results revealed that all conditions evaluated, drawing, gesture, and wait (control), produced improvements in the picture naming task. However, contrary to expectations, the facilitated conditions (i.e. drawing and gesture) did not create more effects than the unfacilitated condition (i.e. wait). This finding may indicate the benefits of a factor common to all conditions. Further results of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to further investigate the effects of articulation errors on perceptual ratings of nasality in speakers with repaired cleft palates, specifically looking at the effect of varying magnitudes of articulation errors and education on perception of nasality. A group of expert listeners, speech-language pathologists with significant clinical experience in the area of cleft palate and resonance disorders, first rated the articulatory proficiency and nasality of a number of utterances produced by children with repaired cleft palates, on separate 6-point scales. Their ratings were then used to categorize stimuli into a three-by-three matrix (mild, moderate, severe) using articulation deficit and nasality as the two dimensions of interest. Untrained listeners (undergraduates and graduate students in a speech-language pathology training program) were then asked to rate the level of nasality on a 1 (normal) to 6 (severe) scale. Listener group ratings were compared to each other and to the expert listeners. Significant differences (p=0.004) were found between the undergraduate and graduate students' ratings when compared to the expert listeners. Graduates, had lower inter- and intra-rater reliability compared to the undergraduates. For both undergraduates and graduates, the difference between their ratings and those of the expert listeners was significantly lower for stimuli with mild articulation errors compared to those with moderate (p<0.0001) and severe (p<0.0001) articulation errors. No significant differences (p=0.416) were found between difference scores for stimuli with moderate versus severe articulation errors. The results were interpreted to suggest that the magnitude, and perhaps type, of articulation errors affects perceived nasality, and that there are group differences between perceptual nasality ratings. These findings support the importance of articulation therapy for children with repaired cleft palates to both decrease articulation errors and decrease perceived nasality. Further, this study highlights the need for including awareness of this interaction in the training of speech-language pathologists in order for the “gold standard” of perceptual judgements to remain a valid and reliable measure.

"Professional Research Project Presented to the AuD and SLP.D. Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Audiology."

Professional Research Project Proposal Presented to the Au.D. and SLP.D. Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Audiology.

Professional Research Project Proposal (Report) Presented to the Au.D. and SPL.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Audiology.

Dissertation (Audiology, Ph. D.) --Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, 2001. General note Includes bibliographical references. Typescript. "A Thesis Submitted to Nova Southeastern University's Clinical Vision Research Graduate Program in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science."

Professional Research Project Report Presented to the Au.D. and SLP.D. Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Audiology.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Audiology.

The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship (if any) exists between signalled expectancy to stutter and a significant increase in muscle action potential in adults as measured by electromyography (EMG).

The term "developmental apraxia of speech" (DAS) has been a confusing one since Morley, Court and Miller (1954) first applied it to articulatory patterns of a specific group of children. Until recently, the differentiation of diagnostic features of DAS in children as compared to other articulatory disorders has been difficult. One evaluation tool, developed by Blakeley (1980), to assist in differential diagnosis of DAS is the Screening Test for Developmental Apraxia of Speech (STDAS). This study examined the validity of this tool by comparing its results with the evaluations by three Speech-Language Pathologists knowledgeable in the area of developmental and/or acquired apraxia of speech. Twenty subjects, ranging in age from 4-5 to 7-7 years, participated in this study. The subjects were independently screened by four evaluators. The first evaluation was conducted by this researcher, administering the STDAS to each subject. The other three evaluators screened each subject using their own procedures, excluding the STDAS. The STDAS resulted in a probability rating for DAS. The three evaluators were instructed to rate each subject on probability of DAS based upon their individual methods of assessment. To determine the relationship between the three evaluator pairs (BC, BD, CD) the index of association used was the Pearson Product - Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson-r). The results indicated the evaluators only slightly agreed with one another. Although they were in general agreement as to what characteristics constitute DAS, their perceptions of each subject were quite varied. In correlating the STDAS (A) with each evaluator (B, C, D) using the Pearson-r, the results ranged from slight correlation of AB (.20) to high correlation of AD (.73). This outcome may indicate that the STDAS tapped more of the components of apraxia (in the sense of comprehensiveness) than any single evaluator measure. Two factors seemed to contribute to the varied results among evaluators: (1) lack of information about the subjects' history of development, including familial history and management history; and (2) varied amount of structure used among the evaluators. When comparing the STDAS results with an evaluator who used a highly structured method of assessment, the correlation was high. This evaluator had the advantage of objective data, as well as clinical judgment upon which to base the final rating for each subject. The inconsistency among the evaluators' assessment results is an excellent argument for a screening instrument that uses the current body of knowledge concerning DAS. The STDAS forces the examiner to assess the child more objectively. The resulting data of this study support Blakeley's intention for the STDAS to be used as part of a differential diagnosis of DAS. When combined with other measures, such as case history, clinical judgment and neurological assessment, the STDAS can play an important contributing role in differentiating DAS from other articulatory disorders.