Matching Items (5)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Children
- All Subjects: Ultrasound
- Creators: Department of Speech and Hearing Science
Description
The purpose of this study was to examine swallowing patterns using ultrasound technology subsequent to the implementation of two therapeutic interventions. Baseline swallow patterns were compared to swallows after implementation of therapeutic interventions common in both feeding therapy (FT) and orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT). The interventions consist of stimulation of the tongue by z-vibe and tongue pops. Changes in swallowing patterns are described, and similarities of interventions across the two professions are discussed. Ultrasound research in the realm of swallowing is sparse despite having potential clinical application in both professions. In using ultrasound, this study outlines a protocol for utilization of a hand-held probe and reinforces a particular protocol described in the literature. Real-time ultrasound recordings of swallows for 19 adult female subjects were made. Participants with orofacial myofunctional disorder are compared to a group with typical swallowing and differences in swallowing patterns are described. Three stages of the oral phase of the swallow were assigned based on ultrasonic observation of the tongue shape. Analysis involves total duration of the swallow, duration of the three stages in relation to the total duration of the swallow, and the number of swallows required for the bolus to be cleared from the oral cavity. No significant effects of either intervention were found. Swallowing patterns showed a general trend to become faster in total duration subsequent to each intervention. An unexpected finding showed significant changes in the relationship between the bolus preparation stage and the bolus transportation stage when comparing the group classified as having a single swallow and the group classified as having multiple swallows.
ContributorsMckay, Michelle Diane (Author) / Weinhold, Juliet (Thesis director) / Scherer, Nancy (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The increase of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) cases in recent war history has increased the urgency of research regarding how veterans are affected by TBIs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of TBI on speech recognition in noise. The AzBio Sentence Test was completed for signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) from -10 dB to +15 dB for a control group of ten participants and one US military veteran with history of service-connected TBI. All participants had normal hearing sensitivity defined as thresholds of 20 dB or better at frequencies from 250-8000 Hz in addition to having tympanograms within normal limits. Comparison of the data collected on the control group versus the veteran suggested that the veteran performed worse than the majority of the control group on the AzBio Sentence Test. Further research with more participants would be beneficial to our understanding of how veterans with TBI perform on speech recognition tests in the presence of background noise.
ContributorsCorvasce, Erica Marie (Author) / Peterson, Kathleen (Thesis director) / Williams, Erica (Committee member) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Research on /r/ production previously used formant analysis as the primary acoustic analysis, with particular focus on the low third formant in the speech signal. Prior imaging of speech used X-Ray, MRI, and electromagnetic midsagittal articulometer systems. More recently, the signal processing technique of Mel-log spectral plots has been used to study /r/ production in children and female adults. Ultrasound imaging of the tongue also has been used to image the tongue during speech production in both clinical and research settings. The current study attempts to describe /r/ production in three different allophonic contexts; vocalic, prevocalic, and postvocalic positions. Ultrasound analysis, formant analysis, Mel-log spectral plots, and /r/ duration were measured for /r/ production in 29 adult speakers (10 male, 19 female). A possible relationship between these variables was also explored. Results showed that the amount of superior constriction in the postvocalic /r/ allophone was significantly lower than the other /r/ allophones. Formant two was significantly lower and the distance between formant two and three was significantly higher for the prevocalic /r/ allophone. Vocalic /r/ had the longest average duration, while prevocalic /r/ had the shortest duration. Signal processing results revealed candidate Mel-bin values for accurate /r/ production for each allophone of /r/. The results indicate that allophones of /r/ can be distinguished based the different analyses. However, relationships between these analyses are still unclear. Future research is needed in order to gather more data on /r/ acoustics and articulation in order to find possible relationships between the analyses for /r/ production.
ContributorsHirsch, Megan Elizabeth (Author) / Weinhold, Juliet (Thesis director) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of word type, phonotactic probability, word frequency, and neighborhood density on the vocabularies of children with mild-to-moderate hearing loss compared to children with normal hearing. This was done by assigning values for these parameters to each test item on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Version III, Form B) to quantify and characterize the performance of children with hearing loss relative to that of children with normal hearing. It was expected that PPVT IIIB scores would: 1) Decrease as the degree of hearing loss increased. 2) Increase as a function of age 3) Be more positively related to nouns than to verbs or attributes. 4) Be negatively related to phonotactic probability. 5) Be negatively related to word frequency 6) Be negatively related to neighborhood density. All but one of the expected outcomes was observed. PPVT IIIB performance decreased as hearing loss increased, and increased with age. Performance for nouns, verbs, and attributes increased with PPVT IIIB performance, whereas neighborhood density decreased. Phonotactic probability was expected to decrease as PPVT IIIB performance increased, but instead it increased due to the confounding effects of word length and the order of words on the test. Age and hearing level were rejected by the multiple regression analyses as contributors to PPVT IIIB performance for the children with hearing loss. Overall, the results indicate that there is a 2-year difference in vocabulary age between children with normal hearing and children with hearing loss, and that this may be due to factors external to the child (such as word frequency and phonotactic probability) rather than the child's age and hearing level. This suggests that children with hearing loss need continued clinical services (amplification) as well as additional support services in school throughout childhood.
ContributorsLatto, Allison Renee (Author) / Pittman, Andrea (Thesis director) / Gray, Shelley (Committee member) / Brinkley, Shara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This creative project is a children's book entitled Sheldon the Shy Tortoise. Accompanying the story is a literature review of the research on childhood shyness. The purpose of the project is to gain a better of understanding of shyness in childhood. Topics covered in the literature review include risk factors and causes, negative social and behavioral effects, impact on academics, and treatment options. Using this information, the children's book was written. It aims to be fun for children to read while also providing insight and encouragement into some of the problems related to being shy. The story features animal characters and a relatively simple plot so it is easily understandable by the target audience of late-preschool and early-elementary children. The main character, Sheldon the tortoise, is often physically and metaphorically "stuck in his shell". He wants to participate in social activities but is afraid to do so. Through a series of events and interactions, Sheldon starts to come out of his shell in every sense of the phrase. The book is illustrated using photographs of hand-crocheted stuffed animals representing each of the characters. By incorporating scholarly research into the writing process, children will hopefully be able to gain an understanding of their shyness and ways to help decrease it. Teachers should be able to better understand their shy students and understand some of the unique challenges of working with shy children. This creative project helps convey necessary information to children and families during a critical period of development.
ContributorsRyan, Amanda (Author) / Hansen, Cory (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05