DRUM Collection: Hearing & Speech Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The Broad Autism Phenotype Within Mother-Child Interactions

2013-04-05T02:33:00Z

Title: The Broad Autism Phenotype Within Mother-Child Interactions Authors: Royster, Christina Abstract: This study sought to identify features of the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) expressed by mothers during interactions with their infants to further understand how these features relate to early indicators of autism. Twelve mothers were selected who had an older child with autism, and the control group included twelve mothers who did not. Results demonstrated that the groups of mothers did not have significantly different responses on the BAP assessment, and they did not differ in any features of interactions, except that the experimental group used less inhibitory language. Children in the experimental group had lower language scores than the controls. When subjects were divided into groups based upon both child responsiveness and maternal BAP traits, subsequent patterns indicated four mother-child profiles, suggesting that a combination of maternal BAP characteristics and child behavior might influence interaction outcomes. Further research regarding BAP features as an early indicator for autism is discussed.

Receptive Prosody Skills in Individuals with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

2012-10-12T02:32:46Z

Title: Receptive Prosody Skills in Individuals with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders Authors: Janssen, Megan Nicole Abstract: Prosodic differences have been noted in the speech production of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD); however, little is known regarding their ability to perceive and understand features of prosody. It has been determined that children with typical development (TD) can recognize and utilize the prosodic cue of contrastive stress to facilitate interpretation of spoken instructions (Arnold, 2008). We examined this skill in 12 children and adolescents with ASD, and 12 with TD through the analysis of eye fixations to objects during instructions with varying discourse statuses (given or new) and stress patterns (accented or unaccented). Results indicated that both the participants with TD and with ASD were able to perceive and interpret the prosodic cue of contrastive stress within the contextual communication task. No relationships between language, cognitive, or expressive prosody skills and receptive prosody skills were found. Possible explanations, and clinical implications are discussed.

The effects of maternal depression on speech to pre-school children: Implications for language development

2012-10-11T02:33:35Z

Title: The effects of maternal depression on speech to pre-school children: Implications for language development Authors: Miller, Anna R. Abstract: We examined whether a past history of maternal depression affects the manner in which mothers speak to their children, and whether any differences relate to child language development. To do this, we measured acoustic, temporal and content-based speech/language characteristics of 40 pre-school-aged children and mothers with and without a history of depression. Results indicated that children of mothers with a past history of depression exhibited significantly lower vocabulary scores than children of mothers unaffected by depression. However, no maternal speech/language variables appeared to account for this difference. Maternal pitch variability and number of negative utterances both were found to correlate with child vocabulary scores; however, neither variable was found to relate to prior depression status. We discuss possible explanations for these findings and implications for child language development.

RESPIRATORY RESISTANCE AND THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE IN FEMALE TEEN ATHLETES WITH PARADOXICAL VOCAL FOLD MOTION

2012-07-08T02:34:23Z

Title: RESPIRATORY RESISTANCE AND THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE IN FEMALE TEEN ATHLETES WITH PARADOXICAL VOCAL FOLD MOTION Authors: Gallena, Sally Abstract: Paradoxical vocal fold motion (PVFM) disorder, often referred to as vocal cord dysfunction (VCD), interferes with breathing because the vocal folds adduct during inspiration making it difficult to inhale. When PVFM is triggered by exercise, it can impact competitive play. Athletes with PVFM are often misdiagnosed as having exercise-induced asthma, but do not respond to asthma treatment. Directly visualizing the larynx (laryngoscopy) when symptoms are present is the current "gold standard" for diagnosing PVFM. However, laryngoscopy is invasive and expensive. Standardized noninvasive alternative methodologies are needed for clinically feasible assessment of PVFM by the speech-language pathologist. Respiratory resistance (Rr), measured with the Airflow Perturbation Device (APD), may be useful for assessing PVFM because vocal fold adduction can increase Rr markedly. This research comprises three studies with an overarching goal to validate an objective, non-invasive measure of Rr for identifying abnormal constriction of the laryngeal airway associated with PVFM disorder. Study 1 compared APD-measured Rr to glottal area (GA) assessed through laryngoscopy in a healthy subject feigning PVFM-type breathing. Study 2 assessed intra- and intersession test-retest reliability of APD-determined Rr for a control group of 12 healthy female teenage athletes during resting tidal breathing (RTB) and post-exercise breathing (PEB). Study 3 examined differences between the same 12 healthy athletes with 12 athletes diagnosed with PVFM matched for sex, age, and activity level, for Rr, exercise duration, and dyspnea ratings for RTB and PEB. The results revealed: 1) a strong negative correlation (r = -0.824) between Rr and GA suggesting that the APD can indirectly measure changes in the laryngeal airway; 2) strong test-retest reliability for APD-measured inspiratory (Ri) and expiratory (Re) resistance during RTB (ICC > .95), and PEB (ICC >.85); and 3) in control athletes, Ri and Re decreased during PEB as compared with RTB, whereas in athletes with PVFM, both Ri and Re increased during PEB with statistical significance reached for Ri (p <.001). During exercise, athletes with PVFM reported severe dyspnea and exercised for shorter durations. This research demonstrates that a diagnostic protocol for PVFM should include measures of Rr, exercise duration, and perceived dyspnea.