Studies have investigated the physical and emotional wellbeing of family members and spouses who care for persons with stroke (Bakas, et al. 2006). Literature shows burden of care is high in role reversal and depression is frequent. Variables that affect the caregiver burden with persons with aphasia (PWA) have not been identified prior to this study. Results from caregiver interviews found six themes, some which have not been identified prior, such as feelings of optimism.

The intent of this thesis is to explore and develop the quantification of AOS features, particularly the deficits of prosodic elements, lexical stress and duration. This study investigated whether PVI can be used as a sensitive tool for the differential diagnosis of AOS. Specifically, we sought to determine whether analysis of vowel length of stressed and unstressed syllables is helpful in differentiating between individuals with AOS and aphasia versus aphasia alone. Significant differences support the hypothesis that PVI, analyzed from vowel length, is uniquely affected in AOS. This yields reason for further research in prosodic deficits in differential diagnosis, as well as application of this theory for a speech-language pathologist.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder marked by social interaction impairment, verbal and non-verbal communication deficit, and repetitive and restricted interests and behaviors. Individuals with ASD who have complex communication needs (CCNs), meaning they have impaired speech or language expression and/or comprehension that limit their social participation, can benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). However, accessing AAC services in developing countries, such as Saudi Arabia, is limited due to the lack of professionals who can provide such services. Speech language pathologists (SLPs) are the main health practitioners who are responsible for assisting those with communication disorders, especially individuals with CCNs. The purpose of this study is to address Saudi Arabian SLPs' perceived competence in providing AAC technologies and services as well as to examine the relationship between their perceived competence and other factors, including education, clinical training, and experience. This study addresses three primary aims. The first aim is to describe the SLP participants’ background. The second aim is to collect data about SLPs' attitudes and perceived competence in providing AAC services to those with ASD. The third aim is to highlight whether education, training, and years of experience are related to SLPs' perceived competence in providing AAC interventions.

No description available.

The correct use of morphological suffixes in obligatory contexts reflects linguistic knowledge and competence of speakers. Grammatical knowledge is acquired during a child’s period of primary language acquisition, and may be partial or incomplete due to normal linguistic variation found during acquisition, due to a child’s level of progression through typical chronological development, or due to the presence of language disorders, like specific language impairment (SLI). In the current study, we ask whether characteristics of verbs make it more or less likely that children will correctly use an inflectional morpheme. The morphemes of interest in the current study were third person singular –s (3S) and past tense –ed (ED). Data for analysis were taken from a database of spontaneous language samples collected from 40 children (20 with SLI and 20 developing typically; Hoover, Storkel, & Rice, 2012). Spontaneous language samples were analyzed for the presence or absence of each morpheme in obligatory contexts. For each word item, the uninflected base word was additionally analyzed for a number of phonological and lexical variables. After comparing children with SLI to typically developing peers group differences emerged with respect to the effect of phonological and lexical variables. Moreover, different variables were determined to predict the 3S and ED morphemes. The results are discussed highlighting relevant theoretical and clinical implications.

This study examines the experiences of Spanish-speaking Latino/a parents in their attempts to obtain school-based speech and language services for their children; the impact of these experiences on parents; and parent perspectives on how school-based speech-language pathologists can co-create collaborative relationships. Through a detailed analysis of a focus group and individual interviews of 31 Spanish-speaking parents of children in the REAAD! (Reaching Educational Achievement and Development) Literacy Enrichment Program at a university in Los Angeles, California, this study provided a space for parents to share their experiences and offer insights regarding what shaped their experiences. Through the theoretical lens of dis/ability critical race theory (DisCrit), Latino critical race theory (LatCrit), and Yosso’s community cultural wealth model, parents’ stories were collected, transcribed, and analyzed. Parents consistently expressed their hope for their children to have a better life than the one they had, one that was attainable through education. Unfortunately, in their quest for educational supports, parents were often met with systematic roadblocks that denied their children resources and supports. Parents in this study were keenly aware of the struggle to support their children in the face of deficit views of their family based on the intersection of their language, race, and ability levels. More often than not, parents utilized the assistance of sympathetic teachers and speech-language pathologists to obtain services for their children. For parents in the study, having a school professional who they believed demonstrated corazón (heart) made all the difference in their ability to advocate for their children.

The majority of individuals in nursing homes have cognitive-communication impairments which impact quality of care because direct care providers, certified nursing assistants, (CNAs) are unsure how to respond to resident’s communication behaviors. One intervention that facilitates staff-resident communication in nursing homes is communication plans; however, the research to date about communication plans has not specifically involved CNAs. The purpose of this study, using a grounded theory qualitative approach, was to describe development, implementation and evaluation of communication care plans (CCPs) for residents with cognitive-communication impairments in nursing homes by CNAs who did and did not receive professional support. Communication care plans are communication plans with the addition of autobiographical information. Twenty residents and ten CNAs from two nursing homes participated in the study. Once CCPs were created, CNA participants in one facility received support each day. Following two weeks, CNAs participated in a semi-structured interview. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using open, axial and selective coding. Findings revealed a core category, meeting resident’s needs through professional support and communication, which describes the progressive process these CNAs underwent to effectively communicate with residents in nursing homes using CCPs. Evolution of this process occurred as CNA participants became familiar with residents. An underlying component facilitating this familiarity was support during CCP implementation. Initially, these CNAs had negative views about nursing home care because they were unsure how to communicate with residents and received little support from higher levels of nursing authority. Over time and with application of CCPs, CNAs became familiar with residents and their communication behaviors. Application of specific communication strategies on CCPs required ongoing support from the investigator/speech-language pathologist which was evident by the comments between CNA participants from each facility. Participants from both facilities reported positive experiences during application of the autobiographical information on the CCPs. This personal information coupled with increased knowledge about resident’s specific communication abilities fostered the formation of a relationship between residents and CNAs. In summary, support during application of CCPs supplements CNAs’ abilities to meet residents’ needs.

Deterioration in voice quality following radiation therapy for the treatment of laryngeal cancers (LC) is well documented in literature. The majority of studies show that these voice problems are long term and in some cases permanent. Deterioration in voice quality, especially over a period of time could lead to significant communication difficulties in daily life or in some cases could even result in loss of profession. Despite the negative effects of radiation therapy on voice quality being well documented, few studies have focused on the efficacy of voice therapy in the irradiated LC population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a well researched, evidence based voice therapy approach, known as Vocal Function Exercises (VFEs) in improving vocal function in patients who have been irradiated for LCs. The present study conducted in three systematic stages with distinct and related study aims. The first involved characterizing the head and neck cancer treatment seeking population at the University of Kentucky (UK). Stage 2 involved characterizing vocal function following irradiation for LC using a multidimensional assessment approach. Stage 3 was a phase 2 clinical trial aimed at treating these deficits in vocal function identified through stage 2 using a systematic evidence based voice therapy approach, Vocal Function Exercises. For the phase 2 clinical trial, the comparison group received vocal hygiene (VH) counseling. Observations from stage 1 showed that majority of patients from the treatment seeking population at UK between a 3 year time period from 2008 to 2010 were diagnosed with laryngeal cancers and were treated with chemoradiation therapy. Stage 2 demonstrated a multidimensional deterioration in vocal function following radiation therapy for laryngeal cancers. Stage 3 demonstrated a significant improvement in vocal function across the primary outcome measure (Voice Handicap Index) as a result of VFE+VH. Improvements were also seen in select parameters across the five domains of voice assessment in the VFE group. No significant improvements were observed in the vocal hygiene group in any parameters in each domain of voice assessment. Our study demonstrated adults irradiated for laryngeal cancers demonstrated a multi-dimensional deterioration of vocal function. These changes were long term since study participants were 2- 7 years post radiation therapy. Implementation of VFE+VH demonstrated a significant improvement in voice related quality of life and select parameters across the five domains of voice assessment. The present study demonstrated promising preliminary evidence for the use of VFE+VH to improve vocal function in patients irradiated for laryngeal cancers.

The current study examined the role of two different methods of sign presentation on signed and spoken language acquisition of toddlers aged two to four years with Down syndrome (DS). The aim of this study was to determine if a method commonly used by native signers/Deaf mothers (referred to in this study as signing to maintain joint attention (SMJA)) was more effective than the method commonly used by hearing mothers and speech-language pathologists (referred to in this study as the triangular method of signing). Both methods were compared in a within-subject design for effects on the participants’ total number of words signed and/or spoken, unique words signed and/or spoken, and parent report of novel word acquisition. Although the sample size was small, clear trends were seen suggesting SMJA may result in greater increases in early language acquisition for toddlers with DS. These results are consistent with considerations regarding the DS phenotype. The use of signing takes advantage of strengths in gesture and visual-spatial short-term memory. More specifically, the use of SMJA addresses weaknesses in attentional capacity by allowing the child to attend to the object and referent without disruption, thereby maintaining joint attention and supporting language acquisition.

This study examines the relationship between types of gestures and instances of self-initiated self-repair (SISR) used by persons with non-fluent aphasia (NFA), which is a type of aphasia characterized by stilted speech or signing (Papathanasiou et al., 2013), in interactions with clinicians. Conversation repairs in this study are assessed using the framework of Conversation Analysis (CA), which is an approach for describing, analyzing, and understanding social interaction (Sidnell, 2010). Previous linguistic studies have demonstrated a distinct preference for the use of gesture during a repair by persons with aphasia (Goodwin, 1995; Klippi, 2015; Wilkinson, 2013). This study draws more conclusive generalizations than previous studies about the types of gesture used in successful and unsuccessful SISR by persons with NFA through the use of the AphasiaBank corpus. Results show that there does not appear to be a connection between the overall frequencies of gesture used by persons with NFA during a phase of the repair mechanism as compared to other phases in the repair mechanism. Additionally, there is a slight tendency in this dataset for persons with NFA to have more successful repairs when they use gesture during the initiation and reparable portions of the repair mechanism.