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Nancy A. Bennett
MODIFIED ARTICULATION TREATMENT: ACQUISITION OF SPEECH IN A DEAF CHILD
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a modified articulation therapy on the acquisition of speech in a 6 year-old child. The child had a congenital profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and was fitted for hearing aids. There was no speech benefit from the aids. Placement, manner, and voicing of the alveolar stops / t, d / in the initial and final positions, were targeted for treatment in an ABAB withdrawal design. Baseline production of / t / averaged 18% accuracy and / d / averaged 5%. At the end of treatment, production of / t / increased by 52% and / d / by 65%. Implications of the treatment will be discussed. Pp. 1-8.
Denise BilderbackEFFECTIVENESS OF THE CYCLES PHONOLOGICAL APPROACH ON THE ACQUISITION OF LIQUIDS IN A 5 YEAR-OLD CHILD
This study investigated the cycles phonological remediation approach (Hodson & Paden, 1991) to assess its effectiveness for teaching a child to correctly produce the phonemes /l/ and /r/. The subject of this study was a 5 year-old child with a history of severe phonological disorder who had undergone 6 quarters of cycles therapy that considerably improved his intelligibility. A modified cycles 7-step instructional sequence was used to treat the client's remaining phonological process, gliding of the liquids /l/ and /r/. A single subject ABAB withdrawal research design was used over a 6-week treatment period. The subject acquired 80 % of the training targets. These findings suggest the effectiveness of the cycles approach in reducing the gliding of liquids. Pp. 9-16.
Jennifer ChauvinUSING AAC TO IMPROVE INTELLIGIBILITY IN A DYSARTHRIC SPEAKER
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a pacing/alphabet board to improve intelligibility in a dysarthric speaker using a single-subject ABAB design. The subject was a 76 year-old female with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and flaccid dysarthria. Positive outcomes were obtained for treatment. The percentage of the words successfully understood was significantly greater (above 70% intelligible) during both treatment phases using the pacing/alphabet board than during baseline measures and the treatment withdrawal phase (below 50% intelligible). These findings demonstrate that the use of the pacing/alphabet board was
effective for this dysarthric speaker. Pp. 17-21.
Cara M. CosceEFFECTIVENESS OF THE TEXAS APHASIA SERIES CONTRASTIVE SERIES ON WERNICKE'S APHASIA
The Texas Aphasia Contrastive Series (TACS) involves presenting contrasting pictures to improve spontaneous sentence productions. Previous research conducted on the effectiveness of TACS did not include the Wernicke's population. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of modified TACS on improving spontaneous sentence productions in a subject with Wernicke's aphasia. The study used a single subject ABA design. The subject was a 76-year-old male diagnosed with Wernicke's aphasia and was two years post onset of aphasia. Results show that TACS was an effective treatment for this client. Pp. 22-28.
Brandy DickersonEIGHT-STEP CONTINUUM: IMPROVEMENT OF SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY IN AN ADULT WITH APRAXIA OF SPEECH
The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Eight-Step Continuum on speech intelligibility in an adult with Broca's aphasia and apraxia of speech. The subject was a thirty-three year old male from the Aphasia Treatment Program at California State University, East Bay. Using a single subject, ABA research design, treatment effectiveness was examined for ten functional phrases. The subject produced the ten target phrases during each of the eight steps of the continuum while employing finger-tapping as a self-cueing technique. Results of the study improved speech intelligibility. Implications of the research will be discussed. Pp. 29-36.
Lori EatonEFFECTIVENESS OF THE CYCLES APPROACH ON A PHONOLOGICALLY DELAYED CHILD
The cycles approach (Hodson, 1989) was developed to facilitate the development of intelligible speech patterns in children with phonological disorders. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of a modified cycles approach on the reduction of two phonological processes of a female child, age 4-10, with a profound phonological disorder. A single subject multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to assess treatment effectiveness. Treatment probes were administered every session to measure progress. Results revealed a clinically significant increase in the number of accurate productions of target phonemes, indicating a reduction of the use of the targeted phonological processes. Pp. 37-44.
Adrienne OpetEAROBICS: A COMPUTER BASED AUDITORY COMPREHENSION TREATMENT FOR APHASIA
This research investigated the effectiveness of a computer-based treatment, Earobics, on auditory comprehension for an individual with anomic aphasia. Earobics has been used with children from this population to increase their phonemic and phonological awareness resulting in improved auditory comprehension. The participant engaged in four activities from the Earobics Pro Plus Step 1 program for 30 minutes twice a week over twelve sessions using a single-participant ABA withdrawal design. While data generated from the participant's performance on Earobics activities showed improvement, treatment effectiveness was not demonstrated. Further investigation with increased treatment time and computerized probe measures is needed to demonstrate effectiveness of the treatment. Pp. 45-52.
Editor's Note
Volume Ten of Student Research Papers in Communicative Sciences and Disorders includes seven papers selected from 26 submissions. The tradition of excellence established by William S. Rosenthal editor of Volumes One through Nine continues. This year two of the research reports (Cosce and Bennett) were selected to represent the Hayward Hills campus at the California State University Student Research Competition held in May 2003. One of these reports (Cosce) will be presented at the American Speech Language Hearing Association convention to be held in Chicago, Illinois in November 2003.
This year represents a departure from the earlier volumes by focusing on single subject research designs. With increased attention on accountability and evidence-based practice, there is a crucial need for clinical research. These reports add to our professional knowledge base by examining the effectiveness of specific treatments for specific individuals with communication disorders. These reports also represent a tool our graduate students can apply throughout their clinical careers to determine the outcomes of treatments on a case-by-case basis.
The topics this year cover a range of disorders including aphasia, apraxia of speech, phonological delay and dysarthria. The treatments range from AAC, behavioral interventions, and computer-based. All of the research was created, implemented, analyzed, and written during the Fall Quarter 2002.
These reports are distributed on a limited basis to interested individuals and to CSD departments at sister institutions. Individual papers from this and previous volumes may be ordered through inter-library loan, directed to the Library, California State University, East Bay.
The students and their research are to be commended. The creativity and scholarly nature of the research is a tribute to our graduate students at Cal State East Bay. I am proud to know these clinical researchers.
Jan Avent, Editor
July 2003
To order any of the above papers, send a request through regular inter-library loan to California State University, East Bay Libraries, Hayward, California 94542. Include author, title, volume, call number and page numbers.
