Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Undergraduate Students Studying Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing: A Pilot Investigation

The purpose of this pilot study was to define what changes were experienced in the Fall 2020 semester by students in an undergraduate anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing course and highlight any differences in the experience of first-generation college students (FGCS). An online survey was administered to a single class of undergraduate students. Results indicated that students experienced a variety of challenges related to the pandemic and virtual learning. Differences in the experiences of FGCS compared to traditional students included increased hours worked and feelings of being overwhelmed and spending less time on course content each week. Future research is warranted to investigate these trends within a more representative population and identify ways that academic support can be utilized to improve student success

Production and perception of the voiceless sibilant fricatives in typically developing children with applications for children with cleft palate

The purpose of this study was to advance the current knowledge base regarding production and perception of the voiceless sibilant fricatives [s] and [sh] in two groups of ten typically developing children each, age 7 and 11. Developmental differences in production and perception were investigated, as well as the relationship between production and perception. A group of five children with repaired cleft lip and palate between 7 and 11 years of age was included in the study to determine if differences exist in perception or production in children with obligatory limitations in early development of speech production and perception skills compared to typically developing children. The findings from the analyses of fricative production indicated that almost all typically developing children (95%) showed non-overlapping productive distinction between the voiceless sibilant fricatives, with varying degrees of token-to-token variability and variability in dynamic patterns of production. Developmental differences in production between the two age groups were found for fricative duration and coefficient of variation for [s] at midpoint. Differences in fricative perception were found between the TD-7 and TD-11 groups, with the older children displaying qualitatively steeper slopes on identification functions, and greater accuracy and less variability on tests of fricative discrimination compared to the younger children. No linear relationship was found between the participant's measures of fricative production and perception in the two age groups. Children with repaired cleft lip and palate showed greater proportion of overlapping fricative production, but like the typically developing children, showed individual speaker variability in dynamic spectral patterns during production. In general, the participants in the CLP group showed monotonic crossovers in identification of the [s] - [sh] continuum despite most speakers showing no productive distinction. Fricative discrimination in the CLP group was similar to the performance of the TD-7 and TD-11 group, with older children in the CLP group demonstrating greater accuracy and less variability compared to the younger children in this group. Similar to the typically developing children, there did not seem to be a relationship between production and perception of the voiceless sibilant fricatives in the participants with repaired cleft lip and palate

The Integration of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning into the Discipline of Communication Sciences and Disorders

McKinney (2018) has argued that for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to advance within a discipline, the integration of SoTL must be closely examined and opportunities for growth in SoTL must be recognized and discussed. To that end, this paper reflects on the degree to which SoTL is integrated into communication sciences and disorders (CSD) by examining a variety of topics: perspectives and theories historically valued by our discipline, existing supports for SoTL at various levels (i.e., individual teacher-scholars, departments, institutions, and the CSD discipline as a whole), the application of SoTL findings in teaching and learning. Four specific recommendations are made because of this examination and reflection

Use of a Standardized Tracheostomy Patient Simulation to Evaluate Student Clinical Communication Skills

Simulation is a valid pedagogical tool used to teach students, observe student clinical skills, and to assess clinical competencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of medical speech-language pathology placements required graduate programs to re-examine clinical training. Simulation has proven useful in providing an alternative and safe learning modality. Standardized patients, which are one simulation modality, provide increased standardization and higher fidelity than medical manikins. This is particularly true in the context of both student learning and demonstration of clinical communication skills (CCS) within a simulated learning environment where the simulated patient can interact authentically with the student clinician. CCS are important because they can lead to better treatment outcomes and strengthen the therapeutic alliance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the evidence for a CCS training in the context of a speaking valve trial with a standardized tracheostomy patient. Results showed that students are demonstrating emerging skills or have already developed CCS in this context. Student questionnaire ratings suggest that this simulation was helpful to their learning as it provided a safe environment for them to practice valuable clinical skills. Simulation appears to be a viable modality to use when training CSD students to improve their CCS

Evaluating the spectral distinction between sibilant fricatives through a speaker-centered approach

This study was designed to examine the feasibility of using the spectral mean and/or spectral skewness to distinguish between alveolar and palato-alveolar fricatives produced by individual adult speakers of English. Five male and five female speaker participants produced 100 CVC words with an initial consonant /s/ or /ʃ/. The spectral mean and skewness were derived every 10 milliseconds throughout the fricative segments and plotted for all productions. Distinctions were examined for each speaker through visual inspection of these time history plots and statistical comparisons were completed for analysis windows centered 50 ms after the onset of the fricative segment. The results showed significant differences between the alveolar and palato-alveolar fricatives for both the mean and skewness values. However, there was considerable inter-speaker overlap, limiting the utility of the measures to evaluate the adequacy of the phonetic distinction. When the focus shifted to individual speakers rather than average group performance, only the spectral mean distinguished consistently between the two phonetic categories. The robustness of the distinction suggests that intra-speaker overlap in spectral mean between prevocalic /s/ and /ʃ/ targets may be indicative of abnormal fricative production and a useful measure for clinical applications

Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Child-Directed Speech of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or Typical Development

Young boys with autism were compared to typically developing boys on responses to nonsocial and child-directed speech (CDS) stimuli. Behavioral (looking) and physiological (heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia) measures were collected. Boys with autism looked equally as much as chronological age-matched peers at nonsocial stimuli, but less at CDS stimuli. Boys with autism and language age-matched peers differed in patterns of looking at live versus videotaped CDS stimuli. Boys with autism demonstrated faster heart rates than chronological age-matched peers, but did not differ significantly on respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Reduced attention during CDS may restrict language-learning opportunities for children with autism. The heart rate findings suggest that young children with autism have a nonspecific elevated arousal level

Easy Does It: Advice on Writing a Successful Graduate School Application

Congratulations! You’ve chosen a rewarding career that will put you in the company of high caliber professionals. Application season is approaching, and the learning curve is sharp for completing a successful application. This article offers tips on making your application rise to the top, and helping you view this as a learning opportunity, not a dreaded chore

Easy Does It: Advice on Writing a Successful Graduate School Application

Congratulations! You’ve chosen a rewarding career that will put you in the company of high caliber professionals. Application season is approaching, and the learning curve is sharp for completing a successful application. This article offers tips on making your application rise to the top, and helping you view this as a learning opportunity, not a dreaded chore