Master of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 2012, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Speech Sound Disorders are the most common speech problems among children. However, there is little information about long-term effects of this disorder. Speech Sound Disorder can be determined through a combination of articulation and phonological processing tests. Although there are well agreed upon cut-off points for articulation measures, there are not appropriate cut-off points for phonological processing measures in order to determine if an individual has Speech Sound Disorder later in life. Because of this gap of information, this study set forth to develop appropriate cut-off points for phonological processing measures that can be used for all ages. The study then examined what childhood tests relate to Persistent Speech Sound Disorder and finally what social outcomes later in life are associated with Residual Speech Errors. Persistent Speech Sound Disorder was found to be related to cognitive functioning while Residual Speech Errors were found to be significantly associated with Childhood Depression.

Committee: Catherine Stein PhD (Committee Chair); Elaine Borawski PhD (Committee Member); Erika Trapl PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Communication; Epidemiology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2018, Communication Sciences

Purpose: Although most children with speech sound disorders are able to remediate their errors, some individuals have errors that persist into late childhood and even adulthood. These individuals are considered to have residual speech sound errors (RSSEs), and they are at risk for social, academic, and employment difficulties. Most individuals with RSSEs have participated in years of traditional speech therapy with little success. Visual biofeedback provides an alternative method of treatment that may be what finally allows these individuals to remediate their errors. This study utilized Opti-Speech, a visual biofeedback software that uses electromagnetic articulography to create a threedimensional rendering of the tongue that moves in real time with the participant's own tongue, for the remediation of RSSEs. Method: This single subject multiple baseline design included 18 participants (11 males and 7 females) who ranged from 8 -22 years of age. Speech sounds addressed in treatment included "r", "s", "sh", "ch", and "l". Participants attended an average of three baseline sessions and ten treatment sessions that utilized Opti-Speech visual biofeedback, and returned for a two-month follow-up. Results: Perceptual measures were based on generalization to untreated words. Eleven of the 18 participants were able to make clinically significant improvements for their target sound by their final treatment session, and 11 of 16 participants who returned for follow19 up measures had made clinically significant improvement on their target sound. When final session perceptual ratings were compared to follow-up, eight of the nine participants who presented with clinically significant improvement for their target sound were able to maintain their progress or presented with significantly improved speech sound skills. However, generalization was not seen at the sentence level. When considered as a group, clinically significant improvements were seen overal (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jennell Vick Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Barbara Lewis Ph.D. (Committee Member); Elizabeth Short Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gregory Lee Ph.D. (Committee Member); Parrill Fey Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Speech Therapy