bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measurement and Modification of Speech Naturalness during Stuttering Therapy
Authors: Ingham Roger J. , Onslow Mark
Published: July 2014

This paper describes two studies that illustrate the utility of listener ratings of speech naturalness for measuring and modifying speech naturalness during a stuttering therapy program. The program involved 5 adolescent stutterers who were receiving an intensive treatment incorporating a prolonged speech procedure. In Study A, a clinician used a 9-point rating scale to score the speech naturalness of 1-rain speaking samples each stutterer made at intervals over the course of the program. The results demonstrated predictable trends in speech naturalness during the program, but they also showed that natural sounding speech is not a predictable outcome of a procedure that removes stuttering, controls speaking rate, and exposes clients to transfer procedures. In Study B, 3 of the 5 stutterers participated in single subject experiments partway through their therapy program. These experiments were designed to assess the effect of regular feedback of speech naturalness ratings on the stutterer's spontaneous speech. The results showed that each subject's speech naturalness ratings could be modified toward a target level of speech naturalness.
On the Subject of Subjects
Authors: Goldstein Howard , Wickstrom Susan , Johnson Laurie
Published: July 2014

Recent child language intervention literature was analyzed to determine the content and consistency of subject descriptions. The amount and type of descriptive information varied widely both within and among journals. In view of the potential importance of such descriptions and the apparent lack of standards for acceptability, suggestions were developed and forwarded as a working model for describing language-handicapped children in intervention studies.
Rollover Measurements with Auditec NU-6 Word Lists
Authors: Meyer Dianne H. , Mishler E. Tracy
Published: July 2014

Auditec cassette tape recordings of NU-6 word lists were used to obtain performance-intensity functions for phonetically balanced words (PI-PB) from 25 subjects with normal hearing, 19 subjects with presumed cochlear disorders, and 9 subjects with confirmed retrocochlear lesions. A rollover index >.35 differentiated retrocochlear hearing loss from cochlear hearing loss, although some retrocochlear subjects scored well below that level. Factors that may contribute to differences among PI-PB studies are discussed.
A Pilot Study of Language Facilitation for Bilingual, Language-Handicapped Children
Authors: Perozzi Joseph A.
Published: July 2014

Three Spanish-speaking (SS) and 3 English-Speaking (ES) preschool children served as subjects. One SS subject was diagnosed as having mild language delay, 1 as being language disordered, and 1 as having normal language. One ES subject was diagnosed as having mild language delay and 2 as having normal language. A within-subject design wherein Condition A consisted of teaching receptive vocabulary in L1 (native language) followed by L2 (second language) and Condition B consisted of teaching receptive vocabulary in L2 followed by L1 was utilized. The sequence of conditions was ABBA for each subject. Analysis of each subject's trials to criterion for L2 in each condition indicated a strong tendency for recently learned receptive vocabulary in L1 to facilitate the learning of receptive vocabulary in L2. The results are interpreted as support for the practice of initial language intervention in L1 when bilingualism is a goal and for transference/facilitation theories of L2 learning.
Programming Rapid Generalization of Correct Articulation through Self-Monitoring Procedures
Authors: Koegel Lynn Kern , Koegel Robert L. , Ingham Janis Costello
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a self-monitoring activity in the clinical and natural environment as a method of promoting rapid generalization of a target speech sound to beyond-treatment conditions. The subjects were 13 children who lateralized /s/ and /z/, substituted /Θ/ for /s/ and /ð/ for /z/, and/or substituted /w/ for /r/. The children attended public school speech therapy, individually or in small groups, twice weekly for 15- to 20-min sessions throughout the entire study. The investigation was conducted in the context of a multiple baseline research design replicated across subjects and behaviors (for 1 subject). The results demonstrated that when the self-monitoring activity was implemented, the children began to generalize the use of the correct speech sound to their spontaneous speech outside of the treatment setting. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications for generalization issues and in relation to their applied value for clinicians with large case loads or otherwise limited amounts of time to spend with individual clients.
Content Relevance and Content Coverage in Tests of Grammatical Ability
Authors: Lieberman R. Jane , Michael Ann
Published: July 2014

Three widely used tests of grammatical ability were evaluated for content-oriented test construction using two procedures. First, a decision-making model was developed to assist in judging the content relevance and coverage of each test using information provided by respective test authors. Second, a comprehensive model of the grammatical domain was applied to individual items on the tests so that descriptions and comparisons of their content domains could be made. Both evaluations showed inadequate content relevance and coverage for all three tests. The content domains of these tests were found deficient when judged against an external standard as well as when examined according to their own content specifications. The influence of inadequate content relevance and coverage on assessment and remediation is discussed.
Airway Resistances of Blom-Singer® and Panje

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Low Pressure Tracheoesophageal Puncture Prostheses
Authors: Weinberg Bernd , Moon Jerald B.
Published: July 2014

Airway resistances were calculated for two newly commercialized tracheoesophageal (TE) puncture prostheses: the Panje

TM

Low Pressure Voice Button and the Blom-Singer® Low Pressure device. The airway resistances of newly commercialized Panje

TM

Low Pressure devices could not be distinguished from those calculated for previously commercialized, Regular Pressure Voice Button devices. Airway resistances of Blom-Singer® Low Pressure devices increased systematically as a function of flow rate. Findings are compared with existing data to provide readers with an opportunity to evaluate the relative efficiency of air shunting among contemporary TE puncture prostheses. Results are interpreted in relation to their implications for selecting surgical-prosthetic options for laryngectomized patients.
Flexibility of Single-Subject Experimental Designs. Part I
Authors: McReynolds Leija V. , Thompson Cynthia K.
Published: July 2014

The discussion in this article is directed at a brief review of the basic components of single-subject experimental designs. It sets out to present some of the technical and practical advantages in developing single-subject designs to evaluate potential treatment variables and treatments. The point is made that the designs are specifically structured for applied, intervention research. In addition to explaining how the basic AB components function to allow for a controlled evaluation, a short review is included of other factors important to the scientific method such as operational definitions, reliability, repeated measures, and internal and external validity. The article serves as a foundation for the following two articles that are directed at demonstrating the flexibility of single-subject experimental studies.
Articulation Generalization of Voiced-Voiceless Sounds in Hearing-Impaired Children
Authors: McReynolds Leija V. , Jetzke Elaine
Published: July 2014

Eight hearing-impaired children participated in a study exploring the effect of training (+) or (-) voicing on generalization to cognates. In an experimental multiple baseline study across behaviors, children were trained on pairs of voiced and voiceless target sounds that they had previously omitted in final position. The pairs consisted of the/t/and/g/and the/d/and/k/. When/t/ was trained, generalization was tested to (a) untrained words with the/t/in the final position and (b) untrained words containing /d/(the cognate) of the/t/. In like manner, when/d/was trained, generalization was tested to both the/d/and/t/words. The/g/and /k/ received identical treatment. A contrast procedure was used to teach the children to produce the final consonants. When training criterion was reached, generalization was tested. Results showed that 6 of the 8 children generalized both the voiced and unvoiced target sounds to 50% or more of the target sound probe items. Results also indicated that more generalization occurred to the voiceless cognate from voiced target sound training than occurred to voiced cognates from voiceless target sound training.
Comparison of In-the-Ear and Over-the-Ear Hearing Aid Fittings
Authors: Risberg Donna M. , Cox Robyn M.
Published: July 2014

A custom in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid fitting was compared to two over-the-ear (OTE) hearing aid fittings for each of 9 subjects with mild to moderately severe hearing losses. Speech intelligibility via the three instruments was compared using the Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) test. The relationship between functional gain and coupler gain was compared for the ITE and the higher rated OTE instruments. The difference in input received at the microphone locations of the two types of hearing aids was measured for 10 different subjects and compared to the functional gain data. It was concluded that (a) for persons with mild to moderately severe hearing losses, appropriately adjusted custom ITE fittings typically yield speech intelligibility that is equal to the better OTE fitting identified in a comparative evaluation; and (b) gain prescriptions for ITE hearing aids should be adjusted to account for the high-frequency emphasis associated with in-the-concha microphone placement.
Cognitive Strengths and Weaknesses in Language-Impaired Children
Authors: Nelson Lauren K. , Kamhi Alan G. , Apel Kenn
Published: July 2014

The hypothesis-testing abilities of 15 language-impaired and 15 normally developing children matched for mental age were investigated using discrimination-learning tasks. The subjects in both groups were presented with two sets of discrimination-learning problems. One set of problems featured explicit input concerning the correct response choice. The other set of problems featured nonexplicit input. The results revealed both differences in the performance of the MA-matched and language-impaired children and differences in performance on the two types of problems. The children in both groups solved more of the explicit input problems than the nonexplicit input problems. In addition, the MA-matched children performed significantly better than the language-impaired children, particularly on the nonexplicit problems. The findings suggested that the language-impaired children exhibited deficits in solving discrimination-learning problems. The deficits exhibited by the language-impaired children seemed related to deficits in their ability to encode information.
Repetition of Final Consonants in the Speech of a Young Child
Authors: Mowrer Donald E.
Published: July 2014

This study of final-consonant repetitions in the speech of a young child supports the notion that some speech disfluencies may result from parental attempts to accelerate phonological development. An analysis of twelve ½-hr long observations of the subject's speech during a 1-year period is presented. The presence, decrease, and subsequent disappearance of the final-consonant repetitions that resembled stuttering behavior are discussed in terms of environmental factors.
Effects of Auditory Feedback and Phonetic Context on Stomal Noise in Laryngectomized Speakers
Authors: Till James A. , England Kathie E. , Law-Till Cindy B.
Published: July 2014

Stomal noise intensity during esophageal speech was measured in 7 laryngectomized subjects during amplified monaural auditory feedback and during control conditions without feedback. A significant (5–10 dB) reduction in stomal noise was observed when auditory feedback was applied. The conditions without feedback were designed to provide additional information regarding the effects of the initial phonetic element in the esophageal speech token on stomal noise. During the control conditions, esophageal speech tokens beginning with voiceless consonants resulted in significantly more stomal noise than was present for the other speech tokens. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.
Effects of Gradual Increases in Sentence Length and Complexity on Children's Dysfluency
Authors: Ratner Nan Bernstein , Sih Catherine Costa
Published: July 2014

To systematically evaluate the task demands of changes in utterance length and complexity, 8 normal and 8 stuttering children, ages 3:11–6:4, were administered an elicited imitation task in which the variables of syntactic complexity (as determined by normative age of acquisition) and length were manipulated to appraise their effects upon fluency and accuracy of sentence reproduction. Our findings suggest that fluency breakdown is significantly well correlated with gradual increases in syntactic complexity for both stuttering and normal children, as is sentence replication ability. Length does not appear to be as strong a predictor of fluency characteristics of elicited output. Additionally, we were unable to support a growing clinical impression of subtle language differences between normal and stuttering children; our stuttering subjects did not differ significantly from the normal children in their ability to accurately reproduce a variety of sentence types. The data suggest ways in which task complexity in stuttering therapy for young children might be ordered.
The Limits of Science in Communication Disorders
Authors: Siegel Gerald M.
Published: July 2014

Science is a powerful tool when it addresses the kinds of questions it was designed to answer, but there are also important questions in communication disorders that fall outside the limits of science. Three such areas are discussed: Questions concerning social and personal values, questions that call for logical rather than scientific endeavors, and questions that should not be posed because we already know the answers and would not be influenced by contrary findings.
Acoustic and Perceptual Measurements of Roughness Influencing Judgments of Pitch
Authors: Wolfe Virginia I. , Ratusnik David L.
Published: July 2014

Listeners matched the pitch of 36 clear to severely dysphonic vowels to the frequency of pure tones produced by a signal generator. Mean difference scores on pitch match correlated –.56 with jitter, –.51 with jitter ratio, –.57 with spectrographic noise classifications, and –.64 with vocal roughness. Moderately to severely dysphonic vowels received significantly lower pitch match values than clear to mildly dysphonic vowels. Findings suggest that the effect of vocal roughness on pitch should be considered by the clinician who makes use of perceptual judgments.
Performance Inventory for Profound and Severe Loss (PIPSL)
Authors: Owens Elmer , Raggio Marcia
Published: July 2014

This study was undertaken to develop a quantifiable and reliable self-rating inventory specifically for persons with profound and severe hearing losses. Fifty such subjects with such losses who wore hearing aids rated themselves on a scale of 0-6 (never to always) on 125 items that sampled their performance in a variety of communicative situations. Items were assigned to tentative categories that were then refined so as to achieve high internal consistency, reflected by high alpha coefficients, with a minimal number of items. Six final categories, or scales, containing a total of 58 items, emerged with alpha coefficients .86 or higher. The scales were labeled Understanding Speech With Visual Cues, Intensity, Response to Auditory Failure, Environmental Sounds,Understanding Speech With No Visual Cues, and Personal. Another 16 items that failed to fit into any scale, and did not form a scale of their own, were also included in the final inventory because they related to individual rehabilitative concerns and activities in ways not represented among the items of the six scales.
Prelinguistic Vocalizations of Hearing-Impaired and Normally Hearing Subjects
Authors: Stoel-Gammon Carol
Published: July 2014

Phonetic transcriptions of 48 babbling samples from 11 normally hearing subjects, aged 4–18 months, and 39 samples from 14 hearing-impaired (HI) subjects, aged 4–39 months, were analyzed to determine the inventory of consonantal phones for each recording session. Group comparisons revealed that inventories of the hearing-impaired subjects were generally smaller than those of the hearing infants and that they evidenced little change in size prior to 20 months. Analysis of place and manner of articulation of supraglottal phones in the inventories showed that, compared with inventories of the normally hearing subjects, inventories of HI subjects with sensori-neural loss tended to have (a) a higher proportion of labial consonants; (b) a higher proportion of prolongable consonants such as nasals, glides and fricatives, and syllabic consonants; (c) a lower proportion of alveolars; and (d) a lower proportion of stops and nonsyllabic affricates. Differences were also observed between the inventories of hearing-impaired subjects with sensori-neural loss and those with conductive loss and between younger and older hearing-impaired subjects. These findings suggest that hearing loss affects the nature of the consonantal repertoire in the prespeech vocalizations of hearing-impaired subjects.
Object Transformations in the Play of Language-Impaired Children
Authors: Terrell Brenda Y. , Schwartz Richard G.
Published: July 2014

The play behavior of 10 language-impaired children was observed. Their performances in play were compared to those of 10 normal-language children matched for chronological age as well as to those of 10 normal-language children matched for mean length of utterance. The children were observed as they played spontaneously with a standard group of toys and as they played with objects that required object transformations for successful play. The chronological age-matched normal subjects showed a trend toward performance of more object transformations in play than either the language-impaired or younger normal-language children. Additionally, although object transformations were observed in both segments, all children performed more object transformations with objects than with toys.
Maximal Opposition Approach to Phonological Treatment
Authors: Gierut Judith A.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate a phonological treatment program of maximal rather than minimal feature contrasts by charting the course of learning in a child displaying a systematic error pattern involving the nonoccurrence of word-initial consonants. Generalization data indicated that the child learned 16 word-initial consonants following treatment of only three sets of maximal opposition contrasts. Overgeneralization data indicated that the child restructured his phonological system based on a larger concept of "word initialness." Basic components of and differences between various forms of contrast treatment are discussed.
Word Recognition Functions for the CID W-22 Test in Multitalker Noise for Normally Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Subjects
Authors: Beattie Randall C.
Published: July 2014

Word recognition functions for Auditee recordings of the CID W-22 stimuli in multitalker noise were obtained using subjects with normal hearing and with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. In the first experiment, word recognition functions were generated by varying the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N); whereas in the second experiment, a constant S/N was used and stimulus intensity was varied. The split-half reliability of word recognition scores for the normal-hearing and hearing-impaired groups revealed variability that agreed closely with predictions based on the simple binomial distribution. Therefore, the binomial model appears appropriate for estimating the variability of word recognition scores whether they are obtained in quiet or in a competing background noise. The reliability for threshold (50% point) revealed good stability. The slope of the recognition function was steeper for normal listeners than for the hearing-impaired subjects. Word recognition testing in noise can provide insight into the problems imposed by hearing loss, particularly when evaluating patients with mild hearing loss who exhibit no difficulties with conventional tests. Clinicians should employ a sufficient number of stimuli so that the test is adequately sensitive to differences among listening conditions.
Effects of Imitation on Language Comprehension and Transfer to Production in Children with Mental Retardation
Authors: Ezell Helen K. , Goldstein Howard
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the effects of verbal imitation on the comprehension of novel object-location responses and subsequent transfer of these responses to production. A matrix training procedure was used to teach 2 children with moderate mental retardation syntactic rules for combining known and unknown words into two-word utterances. An alternating treatments design was used with two conditions: receptive teaching with imitation of the target phrase and no imitation of the phrase. Findings suggested that the use of imitation facilitated both generalized receptive learning and transfer to production in both subjects.
External Ear Resonance Characteristics in Children
Authors: Bentler Ruth A.
Published: July 2014

External ear resonance characteristics were determined for 78 children ages 3–13 using an ear canal probe tube microphone system. The average peak resonant frequency was 2848 Hz (range: 1774–4039), and the average measured gain at the eardrum was 18.9 dB (range: 11.5–26.7). Correlations of average peak resonant frequency and peak resonant amplitudes with age, height, weight, head circumference, and/or canal opening area were poor. These values are very similar to the adult data reported by Shaw (1974). Slight deviations can be attributed, in part, to the different sound field calibration methods used.
Youngsters with Moderate or Severe Mental Retardation and Severe Spoken Language Impairments I
Authors: Romski Mary Ann , Sevcik Rose A. , Reumann Rebecca , Pate James L.
Published: July 2014

This study characterizes the communicative patterns of youngsters with moderate or severe mental retardation and severe spoken language impairments who are not independent speakers with conversational partners at home and at school. Nine subjects were observed during six 1-hr mealtime sampling periods in both settings for a total of 12 hr. Live continuous observations were made, employing a coding scheme designed to record occurrences of the subjects' communicative behaviors. Findings are discussed with respect to the modes and functions of the youngsters' communications with home and school conversational partners.
Communicative Performance of Adolescents with Severe Speech Impairment
Authors: Dalton Beth M. , Bedrosian Jan L.
Published: July 2014

The communicative performance of 4 preoperational-level adolescents, using limited speech, gestures, and communication board techniques, was examined in a two-part investigation. In Part 1, each subject participated in an academic interaction with a teacher in a therapy room. Data were transcribed and coded for communication mode, function, and role. Two subjects were found to predominantly use the speech mode, while the remaining 2 predominantly used board and one other mode. The majority of productions consisted of responses to requests, and the initiator role was infrequently occupied. These findings were similar to those reported in previous investigations conducted in classroom settings. In Part 2, another examination of the communicative performance of these subjects was conducted in spontaneous interactions involving speaking and nonspeaking peers in a therapy room. Using the same data analysis procedures, gesture and speech modes predominated for 3 of the subjects in the nonspeaking peer interactions. The remaining subject exhibited minimal interaction. No consistent pattern of mode usage was exhibited across the speaking peer interactions. In the nonspeaking peer interactions, requests predominated. In contrast, a variety of communication functions was exhibited in the speaking peer interactions. Both the initiator and the maintainer roles were occupied in the majority of interactions. Pertinent variables and clinical implications are discussed.
A Case of Superior Laryngeal Nerve Paresis and Psychogenic Dysphonia
Authors: Hartman David E. , Daily William W. , Morin Kenneth N.
Published: July 2014

A psychogenic voice disorder co-occurred or evolved with the symptoms and signs of unilateral superior laryngeal nerve paresis. We speculated that the former was a manifestation of a musculoskeletal tension or conversion reaction disorder, whereas the latter was a sequela to a self-limiting inflammatory process. Voice therapy proved effective for alleviating the psychogenic dysphonia after the signs of the neuropathy had resolved, whereas psychotherapy offered strategies for stress management. A multidisciplinary approach to this patient provided for differential diagnosis and efficacious treatment.
The Language Development Survey
Authors: Rescorla Leslie
Published: July 2014

This paper reports data from four studies using the Language Development Survey (LDS), a vocabulary checklist designed for use as a screening tool for the identification of language delay in 2-year-old children. A survey completed by the parent in about 10 min, the LDS displayed excellent reliability as assessed by Cronbach's alpha and test-retest techniques. Total vocabulary score as reported on the LDS was highly correlated with performance on Bayley, Reynell, and Preschool Language Scale expressive vocabulary items. The LDS was found to have excellent sensitivity and specificity for the identification of language delay, with a criterion of fewer than 50 words or no word combinations at 2 years yielding very low false positive and false negative rates. Data from three of these studies demonstrate the utility of the LDS as a screening tool for children attending public and private pediatric practices. Prevalence data using the LDS are reported comparing three different severity cutoffs for more than 500 children in seven survey samples.
Using a Phonological Framework to Describe Speech Errors of Orally Trained, Hearing-Impaired School-Agers
Authors: Abraham Suzanne
Published: July 2014

A phonological framework was used to analyze and describe the meaningful speech and speech errors of 13 orally trained, hearing-impaired children ages 5:11 to 15:11 enrolled in public school programs. Using speech samples elicited from the subjects, consonant inventories and percentage scores for correct production of consonants and for frequency of occurrence of phonological processes were derived and analyzed. Results of data analyses indicated initial consonant inventories were significantly larger and more complete than final inventories, although both were incomplete. Production accuracy for consonants in the subjects' inventories was significantly related to size of consonant inventories. Accuracy of production differed significantly between sound classes and word positions. Between 4 and 9 phonological processes were productive and co-occurring in the hearing-impaired subjects' meaningful speech. Comparisons with younger, normal hearing children and phonologically disabled children are drawn, and the clinical implications of the findings are discussed.
Acoustic Analysis of Voice in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Ramig Lorraine Olson , Scherer Ronald C. , Klasner Estelle R. , Titze Ingo R. , Horii Yoshiyuki
Published: July 2014

Acoustic measures of phonatory instability (coefficient of variation for amplitude, coefficient of variation for frequency, shimmer, jitter, and harmonics-to-noise ratio), phonatory limits (maximum fundamental frequency range and maximum duration of vowel phonation), and the nasal-oral amplitude ratio were measured five times throughout a 6-month period from the phonation of a 69-year-old male patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an age- and sex-matched control subject, and on one occasion from a 16-subject control group matched to the patient in age and sex. The patient was free of vocal symptoms at the initiation of the study. When compared to the other recording sessions, the final recording of the ALS patient was characterized by increased coefficient of variation for amplitude, increased coefficient of variation for frequency, increased shimmer, increased jitter, reduced harmonics-to-noise ratio, and reduced maximum vowel duration. These acoustic manifestations of increased phonatory instability and reduced phonatory limits over time were in contrast to the consistency observed in the phonation of the longitudinal control subject and were outside the range of plus or minus one standard deviation on most acoustic variables when compared to the control group. These findings support the potential use of acoustic analysis in reflecting progression of ALS and suggest the need for further studies to investigate the relationship between acoustic analysis of voice and manifestations of neurological disease.
Familial Phonological Disorders
Authors: Lewis Barbara A.
Published: July 2014

The pedigrees of 4 children with a severe phonological disorder demonstrating three generations of members with speech/language problems are presented. All 4 probands were female with two mothers, two fathers, and five out of six siblings affected. All pedigrees contained family members with dyslexia and learning disabilities as well as speech disorders. Family members varied in the type of speech problems that they demonstrated and the severity of their disorder, thus suggesting variable expressivity and incomplete penetrance. An autosomal dominant mode, a multifactorial-polygenic model, and a sex-specific threshold model for expression are discussed.
Vibratory Characteristics of Teflon-Injected and Noninjected Paralyzed Vocal Folds
Authors: Watterson Thomas , McFarlane Stephen C. , Menicucci Andrea L.
Published: July 2014

This study compared the vibratory characteristics of normal vocal folds, Teflon-injected paralyzed vocal folds, and noninjected paralyzed vocal folds. Laryngeal videostroboscopy under eight phonatory conditions showed that the Teflon-injected vocal folds were adynamic. The noninjected vocal folds, however, vibrated during each of the phonatory conditions although not necessarily like a normal vocal fold. In terms of vocal fold physiology, it appeared that the noninjected paralyzed vocal folds were too compliant, whereas the Teflon-injected vocal folds were too stiff. Because vocal fold paralysis is often treated in voice therapy with "digital manipulation" and "head turning," the effect of these techniques on vocal fold vibration was also studied. The results showed that digital manipulation was superior to head turning for improving glottal closure but that neither technique appeared to influence the periodicity, amplitude, or extent of vocal fold vibration for either the injected or noninjected vocal folds.
Subcortical Lesions and Aphasia
Authors: Robin Donald A. , Schienberg Steven
Published: July 2014

Recent evidence suggests that subcortical lesions can give rise to aphasic symptoms. Two subcortical structures thought to participate in the pathogenesis of aphasia are the basal ganglia and the thalamus. This paper reports on 3 patients with lesions of the thalamus and 10 patients with lesions of the basal ganglia, most of whom had persistent aphasias. The role of subcortical structures in aphasia and the importance of subcortical structures in neural models of language are discussed.
The Reliability of Functional Gain
Authors: Humes Larry E. , Kirn Elizabeth U.
Published: July 2014

This study examined the test-retest reliability of unaided and aided sound-field thresholds and the functional gain values derived from these measurements. Sound-field warble-tone thresholds were obtained at 250, 1000, and 4000 Hz from 24 hearing-impaired listeners with and without their hearing aids. Test-retest standard deviations were significantly larger for functional gain than for unaided thresholds, but only slightly and nonsignificantly larger than for aided thresholds. The variability of functional-gain measures is discussed in relation to measures of insertion gain obtained with probe-tube microphones.
The Speech and Language Characteristics of Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome
Authors: Kleppe Sallie A. , Katayama Kerri Misaki , Shipley Kenneth G. , Foushee David R.
Published: July 2014

Prader-Willi syndrome was initially identified in 1956. Since then, a majority of the literature pertaining to Prader-Willi has focused on the medical and genetic aspects of the syndrome. There has been limited information available regarding the speech and language abilities of children with Prader-Willi. This study investigated the communicative development of 18 children with the syndrome, ranging in age from 8:8 to 17:1. A number of evaluative procedures were used to evaluate the subjects' spontaneous speech, articulation, and receptive and expressive language abilities, as well as their voice, fluency, oral mechanisms, hearing, and their developmental histories. A variety of communicative deficiencies were found in the children's speech, language, voice, and fluency.
Parents' Use of Signing Exact English
Authors: Moeller Mary Pat , Luetke-Stahlman Barbara
Published: July 2014

Parental use of simultaneous communication is advocated by many programs serving hearing-impaired students. The purpose of the present study was to describe in detail the input characteristics of five hearing parents, who were attempting to use one such system, Signing Exact English or SEE 2 (Gustason, Pfetzing, & Zawolkow, 1980). The parents were intermediate-level signers, motivated to use SEE 2. Voiced and signed segments from videotaped language samples were transcribed and coded for equivalence and other features of interest. Results were that parents' signed mean lengths of utterance (MLUs) were lower than those of their children although the majority of their sign utterances were syntactically intact. Structures categorized as complex in the Developmental Sentence Scoring procedure (Lee, 1974) and considered abstract in a semantic coding scheme (Lahey, 1988) were seldom used by the parents. Parents provided a narrow range of lexical items in their sign code. Results are discussed in terms of the type of input the parents are providing and the procedures used to identify priorities for parent education.
Hyperacusis and Otitis Media in Individuals with Williams Syndrome
Authors: Klein Alan J. , Armstrong Barbara L. , Greer Margaret K. , Brown Frank R.
Published: July 2014

Williams syndrome is characterized by cardiac defects, varying degrees of physical and developmental delay, stellate eye pattern, possible elevated serum calcium level, and elfin/pixie facial features. A problem perhaps unique to these children is hyperacusis that can be severe enough to disrupt many routine daily activities. Parental questionnaires were used to determine the prevalence of hyperacusis and otitis media in individuals with Williams syndrome. Prevalences of 95% for hyperacusis and 61% for otitis media were found. This was significantly higher than in the general population. Despite the prevalence of hyperacusis, parents of these children were not counseled about management of the problem. The audiologist may become involved with Williams syndrome patients through hearing assessment and management, parental counseling, and research.
Acoustical Effects of Endotracheal Intubation
Authors: Yonick Tracey A. , Reich Alan R. , Minifie Fred D. , Fink B. Raymond
Published: July 2014

Certain acoustical consequences of endotracheal intubation were examined in 13 male cardiovascular-surgery patients. Each subject recorded three tokens of a sustained vowel 1 day before intubation, 1 day after, upon discharge, and during a follow-up visit. Eight acoustical measures were obtained from the audio-recorded vowels: (a) mean fundamental frequency (Fo), (b) Fostandard deviation, (c) Foperturbation quotient, (d) mean sound pressure level (SPL), (e) SPL standard deviation, (f) SPL perturbation quotient, (g) spectral flatness of the residue signal, and (h) coefficient of excess. Mean Fo, Fostandard deviation, mean SPL, SPL standard deviation, and coefficient of excess did not differ significantly across recording sessions, although certain predictable trends were apparent. Foperturbation quotient, SPL perturbation quotient, and spectral flatness of the residue signal varied significantly across sessions, implying that these acoustical measures may be useful in the identification and monitoring of even minor intubation-related laryngeal trauma.
Linguistic Humor Comprehension of Normal and Language-Impaired Adolescents
Authors: Spector Cecile C.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of normally achieving and language-impaired adolescents to comprehend linguistic humor in a decontextualized situation. A classification scheme was used to describe 10 elements of linguistic humor. Riddles, jokes, and puns used as stimulus materials were classified and placed into one of the 10 linguistic categories. The categories were arranged according to the lexical, phonological, morphological, or syntactic element on which each humor item could be based. The two groups of subjects were 12 normally achieving and 12 language-impaired high school students from Grades 9–12. As expected, the language-impaired group had significantly poorer comprehension of the humor elements than the normally achieving group. Especially poor were their ability to grasp the nature of multimeaning words and their ability to segment and redefine phonological strings. The use of this classification scheme for developing strategies for assessment and intervention activities that involve linguistic-based humor is discussed.
Taxonomies in Biology, Phonetics, Phonology, and Speech Motor Control
Authors: Folkins John W. , Bleile Ken M.
Published: July 2014

This article begins with a review explaining the different purposes of biological taxonomies. Taxonomic units are often dependent on the purpose for which the taxonomy has been constructed. Biological taxonomies provide an analogy that we use to emphasize some of the distinctions among the units of phonetic transcription systems, competence phonologies, and performance phonologies. The units of both phonology and phonetic transcription are considered as possible units of the speech motor system, and some of the difficulties of this assumption are explained. Although phonemic units, like units of phonetic transcription, are useful for many purposes, it is not theoretically necessary to use units derived as part of competence phonologies in systems attempting to explain phonological performance or speech motor performance. In this regard, we challenge the concept of coarticulation, because it is based on assumptions about the role of phonological or phonetic units in speech motor control. We offer an integrated perspective that has implications for research in speech motor control and deficits of the speech motor system. We see speech motor deficits as distinct from, yet possibly interacting with, phonological deficits.
A Sindscal Analysis of Perceptual Features for Consonants Produced by Esophageal and Tracheoesophageal Talkers
Authors: Doyle Philip C. , Danhauer Jeffrey L. , Mendel Lisa Lucks
Published: July 2014

This study was concerned with the perceptual responses of normal-hearing listeners to consonants produced by esophageal and tracheoesophageal (TE) talkers and a single talker who was proficient in both of these alaryngeal speech modes. The listeners' perceptual responses were analyzed using Symmetric Individual Differences Scaling (SINDSCAL) to determine whether distinctive feature differences existed between these two methods of alaryngeal speech. This a posteriori analysis revealed that primary features retrieved for both speech methods included sibilant, affricate, dental, nasal, and sonorant. Although greater perceptual weightings were observed for TE speech, these productive/perceptual features were weighted similarly for both speech methods. Some secondary group-specific feature differences were also observed, but these features did not contribute substantially to the total amount of variance accounted for in the analysis. Thus, the SINDSCAL results showed that the groups did not use different feature systems. These results are discussed in regard to the unique alaryngeal speech production methods employed by esophageal and TE talkers and the relative limitations of the alaryngeal (esophageal) voicing source they use. General clinical implications of the data are discussed.
Fast Mapping of Words in Event Contexts by Children with Down Syndrome
Authors: Chapman Robin S. , Bird Elizabeth Kay-Raining , Schwartz Scott E.
Published: July 2014

Fast mapping of novel words for objects was compared in 48 children and adolescents with Down syndrome (ages 5:6-20:6), who were delayed in expressive language acquisition compared to mental age, and 48 normally developing children matched for mental age (chronological ages 2:0-6:0). Normal and Down syndrome groups did not differ in their ability to infer a connection between the novel word and referent (100% vs. 100%), to comprehend the novel word after a single exposure (83% vs. 73%), and to recall the location in which they hid the novel referent (83% vs. 75%). Nor did they differ in their ability to produce the novel word correctly (at least two out of three phonemes in order: 48% vs. 40%). When retested after an hour of other activity, only the production task showed a significant, and comparable, decrement. Comparing youngest and oldest quarters of each group showed improved memory for location in both, improved comprehension in the Down syndrome group, and improved production in the control group. Adults (n=12), in contrast, performed perfectly on all tasks except the delayed word production. Neither intelligibility differences nor use of real word labels accounts for the failure to find a difference between groups. Fast mapping skills were unrelated to expressive language deficit in these children with Down syndrome.
Regulatory Mechanism of Voice Intensity Variation
Authors: Isshiki Nobuhiko
Published: July 2014

The relationship between the voice intensity (sound pressure level), the subglottic pressure, the air flow rate, and the glottal resistance was investigated. Simultaneous recordings were made of the sound pressure level of voice, the subglottic pressure, the flow rate, and the volume of air utilized during phonation. The glottal resistance, the subglottic power, and the efficiency of voice were calculated from the data. It was found that on very low frequency phonation the flow rate remained almost unchanged or even slightly decreased with the increase in voice intensity while the glottal resistance showed a tendency to augment with increased voice intensity. In contrast to this, the flow rate on high frequency phonation was found to increase greatly, while the glottal resistance remained almost unchanged as the voice intensity increased. On the basis of the data it was concluded that at very low pitches, the glottal resistance is dominant in controlling intensity (laryngeal control), becoming less so as the pitch is raised, until at extremely high pitch the intensity is controlled almost entirely by the flow rate (expiratory muscle control).
Generalized Speech Interference Noise Contours
Authors: Webster J. C.
Published: July 2014

Based on an extensive literature review of the effects of noise on speech intelligibility, a series of noise rating curves are developed. These Speech Interference (SI) contours are intended to bridge the gap between (1) Noise Criteria (NC) and Alternate Noise Criteria (NCA) curves used to rate the suitability of offices, and (2) a Speech Interference (SI) noise rating curve that predicts the effects of higher level noises on speech intelligibility. The highest SI contour (SI-80) has a minimum at an octave level of 80 dB at 800 cps and is steeply sloped both above and below 800 cps. The lower level SI contours have minima at increasingly higher frequencies and have steep slopes for frequencies below the minima but gradually level off at the frequencies above the minima.
An Electromyographic Study of the Tongue During Vowel Production
Authors: Mac Neilage Peter F. , Sholes George N.
Published: July 2014

Surface electromyograms were recorded from 13 locations on the tongue of one subject during production of 17 different types of [p]-vowel-[p] monosyllables. Results were considered together with X-ray data on tongue action, and anatomical information on tongue musculature, in an attempt to describe the action of tongue muscles during vowel production. It proved possible in most cases to assign muscles, with some certainty, to the major features of myographic activity, and to indicate what function the muscle was serving. The results have particular relevance to theories of sequential speech production, and indirectly, theories of speech perception, as they provide a basis for description of how coarticulation of vowels with consonants involving the tongue takes place.
Intelligibility and Short-Term Memory in the Repetition of Digit Strings
Authors: Dallett Kent M.
Published: July 2014

Twenty-eight normal subjects heard seven digits masked by noise, and repeated either (a) the first three digits, (b) the last three digits, (c) all seven digits, or (d) all seven digits after saying “zero.” Over the range of intelligibility tested (approximately 60% to 100%), accuracy of seven-digit repetition improves linearly as accuracy of three-digit repetition improves, with the average slope being near 1.00. These data were interpreted to mean that the decrement in intelligibility that results from masking is accompanied by an added decrement in short-term memory.
The Occlusion Effect in Bone Conduction Hearing
Authors: Goldstein David P. , Hayes Claude S.
Published: July 2014

This experiment tested the hypothesis that the occlusion effect is accompanied by an increase in sound pressure level in the external auditory canal. Pure tone bone conduction thresholds and sound pressure levels were measured, first with the ear canal open, then with the ear canal closed, at two positions of the bone vibrator and at five frequencies in 28 normal listeners. Statistical analyses revealed a significant difference between measures at 250, 500, and 1 000 cps but not at 2 000 and 4 000 cps. Average sound pressure level shifts tended to be larger than their threshold measure counterparts. The two measures, nevertheless, yielded positive correlations.
A Comparison of the Reaction Times of Stutterers and Nonstutterers to Items on a Word Association Test
Authors: Adams Martin R. , Dietze Doris A.
Published: July 2014

Reaction times to words judged as neutral or as connoting joy, guilt, depression, fear, or aggression were measured in 30 male stutterers between 18 and 45 years of age and in a matched group of 30 normal speakers. Reaction time was utilized as the index of affective disturbance.

Stutterers had significantly greater mean latency for all words, and especially for certain affect-connoting items, particularly those pertaining to guilt.