<p> Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have challenges with communication, social interactions, and behavior, which can limit their functioning in school settings. They need to have functional communication skills to access the curriculum and have their needs met across all social environments. Special education teachers often experience barriers to successful implementation of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions appropriate for these students. The purpose of this case study was to understand how special education teachers experience AAC intervention processes, and illuminate the conditions for effective AAC implementation. A qualitative case study was conducted using interviews from 6 credentialed special education teachers who worked with ASD students for a minimum of 2 years in a school district in a western state. Coding and thematic analysis of data from interviews and work journals was conducted using Ely&rsquo;s condition of change theory as a framework. Findings for teachers&rsquo; perspectives of conditions needed to successfully implement an AAC intervention reflected the need for more time, resources, knowledge and skills, and investment from stakeholders. Recommendations included provision of resources to special education teachers for autism specific materials, on-going autism specific training and assistance, additional time for preparation and related duties necessary for working with these students. Future research on overall strengthening of AAC interventions and overcoming challenges for change is needed. Results of this study might assist schools in empowering ASD students by facilitating their functional communication skills, involvement, learning and academic opportunities across social environments. </p><p>

Many children who are severely speech and physically impaired (SSPI) are unsuccessful in developing literacy (Koppenhaver, 1991; Light, 1991). Yet there is increasing recognition that SSPI children are capable of developing sophisticated reading and writing skills (Creech, 1988; Kelford-Smith, 1989; Koppenhaver & Yoder, 1991; Light & Lindsey, 1990). In addition to current cognitive studies about the literacy development of SSPI children, studies are needed from other perspectives. A new and emerging research perspective of literacy development among general education students views reading and writing as social and cultural phenomena. Such a perspective has promise for understanding the literacy development and practices of SSPI students. This study involved two SSPI children and their reading/writing activities during the first semester of the 1991-1992 school year. Methods used in the study included participant observation, interviewing, and videotaping. A multi-step analysis process was used, consisting of (1) thematic analysis, (2) componential analysis, and (3) sociolinguistic microanalysis. The use of these analytic techniques and the interpretation of findings is guided by theoretical constructs from sociolinguistic ethnography and recent studies of literacy as a social process. Among the findings are (1) the social construction of reading and writing. The mechanisms contributing to social construction were social recognition and acknowledgement, mediation, and communication structure. (2) The development of identities as readers and writers. The terms used to label SSPI students within the reading/writing groups, the title given the group, the language used to construct various social roles within the reading/writing groups, the focus on attending within the group, and body posturing contributed to the construction of the SSPI students' identities as readers and writers. (3) Differing definitions of reading and purposes for the lessons. (4) Miscommunications during lessons due to differences in definitions of reading. (5) Ways that SSPI students show communicative competency within the communication structure of the reading/writing lessons. Implications are given for the relationship of communication technology to interaction, methods of facilitation of reading and writing interactions, and the relationship of literacy and social acceptance of SSPI students in classrooms.

Children with communication disorders are often at risk of literacy difficulties, especially students that present with autism and/or speech sound disorders. This quasi-experimental study was designed to examine the effects of a 10-week "hybrid" intervention for preschool students with and without communication disorders in an integrated classroom. The classroom intervention targets both vocabulary and phonological awareness, two critical components of literacy that are strongly correlated with one another. The objectives of this study were (1) to provide empirical evidence that classroom-based pre-literacy intervention can be effective for students with communication disabilities, allowing for more time with their peers in a potentially least-restrictive environment and (2) to demonstrate that typically-developing preschool children also benefit from classroom-based pre-literacy training.

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Parkinson's disease is an incurable, progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder. Individuals living with Parkinson's disease often face considerable challenges in managing the progressive decline of their symptoms and maintaining their quality of life (Broadfoot et al., 2019). During the progression of PD, 75-90% of individuals will have a speech and voice disorder (National Center for Voice and Speech, 2019). The communication disorder most commonly associated with PD is hypokinetic dysarthria (HKD). Many individuals with PD may have significant difficulty communicating and participating effectively in a variety of speaking situations due to their communication deficits (Dykstra et al., 2015). Addressing an individuals perceived quality of communication and their perceived communication effectiveness should be an essential target during intervention due to the implications it has on the psychological well-being and prognosis for people with PD. Participants in this study were recruited from individuals previously diagnosed with Parkinson's disease attending the SPEAK OUT! & LOUD Crowd® program. The research questions included (1) Does the implementation of the SPEAK OUT! ® and the LOUD Crowd® program have a positive effect on participants’ perceived quality of communication (PQOC), and (2) Do these programs have a significant positive effect on participants perceived communicative effectiveness (PCE)? The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and the Communicative Effectiveness Survey- Revised (CESR®) were utilized in this research study. The surveys were administered prior to the SPEAK OUT!® training and following the completion of this portion of the program. They were administered every 16 weeks while the participant was in the LOUD Crowd® training during the duration of this project. It was hypothesized that participants' PQOC related to their voice and their PCE will improve following the implementation of this program. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, results from this study only considered baseline scores and post-test 1 scores following the completion of the SPEAK OUT!® program. The results from this study support the hypothesis that the SPEAK OUT!® program has a positive effect on the participants’ PQOC. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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No description available.

In this project we examine mechanisms of linguistic and non-linguistic control in bilingual patients with aphasia for evidence of domain general cognitive control or domain specific cognitive control on tasks of low complexity and high complexity. Participants include 13 bilingual adults with aphasia and 20 neurologically healthy bilingual adults who are matched on age, years of education and measures of language experience. All participants completed two linguistic control tasks and two non-linguistic control tasks. Results from healthy controls and patients with less severe language impairment revealed that mechanisms of control do not overlap (i.e., indicative of domain specific cognitive control) on low complexity tasks, but do overlap (i.e., indicative of domain general cognitive control) on high complexity tasks, suggesting that as task demands increase, control mechanisms engage. In contrast, for patients with more severe language deficits, results revealed that control mechanism do not overlap on low or high complexity tasks, suggesting that (a) as task demands increase, linguistic and non-linguistic control mechanisms do not engage, thus they function differently compared to healthy participants and less severely impaired patients, and (b) there is a possibility that because patients with severe language deficits have difficulty with accessing lexical representations, this language impairment may supersede their ability to engage in linguistic control. / 2017-10-27T00:00:00Z

Many individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia respond favorably to language therapy. However, treatment outcomes are highly variable and the neural mechanisms that support recovery, and perhaps explain this variability, remain elusive. Neuroimaging studies involving patients with aphasia have implicated a number of cortical regions in both hemispheres in post-treatment language processing, which suggests that network approaches may reveal important insights into the neural bases of language recovery. This dissertation investigated how functional activation, functional connectivity, and graph theoretical measures of network topology relate to treatment-induced changes in language functions. In the first study, we used an fMRI picture-naming task to examine functional activation in 26 patients with aphasia before and after 12 weeks of naming treatment. Changes in activation were associated with treatment outcomes, such that activation increased in patients who responded best to treatment (i.e., responders) but remained largely unchanged in patients who responded less favorably (i.e., nonresponders). In the second study, we analyzed functional connectivity and graph properties of an expanded picture naming network. Relative to healthy controls, patients had reduced functional connectivity, particularly within the left hemisphere and between regions in the left and right hemisphere. As in study 1, we found differential patterns of connectivity depending on treatment outcomes, such that connectivity normalized (i.e., became more like that of healthy controls) in responders but remained abnormally low in nonresponders. Similar results were obtained via the graph analysis. Finally, in the third study, we aimed to determine if pre-treatment global and local properties reflecting integration and segregation in a task-based semantic processing network predicted patients’ response to treatment. Network strength and global efficiency were significant predictors of improvement. Additionally, responders and nonresponders showed significant differences in nodal properties in a subset of bilaterally distributed regions in the frontal and parietal lobes. The results of these studies indicate that there are critical regional and network-level differences between patients who respond well to treatment and those who respond poorly, and that some of these differences can be identified before treatment is initiated. These results provide a foundation for further investigation of network-related biomarkers for recovery and updated models of recovery that account for pre-existing differences in network topology. / 2021-12-31T00:00:00Z

Injurious falls often have tragic consequences such as loss of independence, bodily harm and high monetary costs. Evidence on the effects of lexical cognitive tasks on gait in healthy older individuals is lacking. This study investigated the effects of a specific language task on changes in gait that might put people at risk for injurious falls. Participants included 6 males and 6 females, aged 59 to 77. The GAITRite Walkway System was used to generate a Functional Ambulatory Profile (FAP) score for each trial. FAP is derived from a formula that includes critical gait parameters highly related to risk of falls. The higher the lower the FAP score, the more likely the individual will experience an injurious fall. Scores range from 0 to 100, however, 95 to 100 is considered within normal limits. The three walking conditions included the following: walking without talking (baseline), walking while saying the months of the year forward (low-load) and walking while saying the months of the year backward (high-load). Cognitive-linguistic load was manipulated while phonological, lexical and semantic characteristics remained the same throughout each condition. Results showed the following: differences in velocity and double support time variables were statistically significant among all conditions. Older individuals demonstrated a statistically significant lowered FAP and stride length score across conditions of walking alone and simultaneous walking and reciting the months of the year backwards. Results revealed that differences in velocity and double support time variables were statistically significant across all conditions. Moreover, velocity and double support time may be assumed to significantly influence fall risk across all conditions. Our sample of older individuals demonstrated a statistically significant lowered FAP and stride length score across conditions of walking alone and simultaneous walking and reciting the months of the year backwards (higher cognitive load). However conditions of walking alone and simultaneous walking and reciting the months of the year forwards and conditions of reciting the months of the year forwards compared to reciting the months of the year backwards were non statistically significant. More research must be conducted to identify specific lexical cognitive tasks that most affect gait within different populations and disorders. The ultimate goal is to educate individuals who are at risk for injurious falls on the specific language tasks to avoid while ambulating. This data may prevent or minimize the frequency in which persons simultaneously walk and talk, hopefully to decrease prevalence of injurious falls. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication Science and Disorders in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2015. / June 12, 2015. / Automatics, Cognitive Load, Falls, Functional Ambulation Profile, Gait, Older / Includes bibliographical references. / Leonard L. LaPointe, Professor Directing Thesis; Julie A. G. Stierwalt, Committee Member; Michael P. Kaschak, Committee Member.