Vocal Loudness

Autism is increasingly referred to as being part of the autism spectrum due to the variability and degree of its effects. Most children will not have any trouble with pronunciation. The problems lie in using language effectively and getting across what they want to say in a constructive way which will lead to frustrations and behavioural issues when they are unable to effectively express themselves. We then have to adapt our ways of communicating to suits their needs and again this can be done through written, none verbal, pictorial and in some cases through assisted such as

The effects of autism on communication are extremely varied. Most individuals do not have any trouble with pronunciation. The problems lie in using language effectively. Common problems are lack of eye contact, poor attention, being able to point objects to others, and difficulty with the 'give and take' in normal conversation. Some individuals sometimes use language in unusual ways, retaining features of earlier

Combined with it’s broad spectrum of academic and practicum experiences, I believe James Madison University will aid in reaching my maximum potential as a Speech Pathologist. In addition to the academic and practicum experience, the graduate program’s focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder has sparked my interest. My critical thinking and teaching skills were refined when teaching appropriate skills and behaviors for maximum involvement and success in the community with the Autism Society of North Carolina. My skills and experience working with autistic clients and their multidisciplinary team to provide best therapy opportunities would be beneficial towards my success in the CSD 528 Autism course offered at James Madison University. I would love to advance my research skills, in Dr. Longerbeam’s research project on the impact of sensory integration intervention on vocal/verbal output of children with

The second article, A Methodology for Assessing the Functions of Emerging Speech in Children with Developmental Disabilities by Lerman, Parten, Addison, Vorndran, Volkert, & Kodak, 2005 (2005), is about an experimental study aimed to develop and evaluate

Being that many children with autism (30%) are nonverbal, communication is a major goal of many therapies. In one case, a child who was almost completely nonverbal was able to sing during a therapy session. This is not uncommon, because, as music therapist Megan Taylor words it, “sometimes, it’s easier to sing than speak” A large part of the success of music therapy is the music itself. Listening to the lyrics of songs can increase vocabulary, while the repetitive “question-answer” and structured format of music engages the child while reinforcing the learning of speech patterns (Gilbert).

Iliadou et al. (2015) analyzed three cases of Pediatric Speech Sound Disorder (SSD) to determine if a hearing loss or auditory processing deficit played a part in the delayed progress that was being made in speech therapy. Each child completed an otoscopy, pure-tone air conduction evaluation, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), auditory brainstem responses (ABR), and a variety of word recognition assessments (e.g. dichotic listening, sequencing, other central auditory processing disorder assessments). Case one was an 8-year-old boy who had a diagnosis of SSD and presented little to no progress in therapy (Iliadou et al., 2015). The mother of the child had no concerns regarding her child’s hearing, although several scenarios began

It is through working in clinics as per the SLPA coursework at CSULB that my eyes have been open to the frustrations faced by those who have difficulties with communication. When working with a child with autism, I have realized that speech language pathologist not only helps the individual client, but also help others who are close to them, such as caregivers, who’s daily lives are affected by these communication difficulties. Through

Specific data in regards to the individual’s social development and behaviour is collected. Inquiries about core ASD symptoms including, unusual, or repetitive behaviours and social relatedness are done, the family’s input is important.

“The Sound of a Voice” by David Henry Hwang is a one act play telling the story of two characters, Man and Woman. These characters both live alone and isolated. Woman is rumored to be a witch, and Man is a soldier without a purpose who comes in hope of killing Woman. They both have a fear of silence and love. These unusual fears result in their fatal downfall. This play explores deep emotions, such as the fear of silence that Man and Woman share which pushes Woman to commit suicide. A fear of intimacy, felt exceptionally strong by Man, results in unfortunate timing leading to Woman’s death. Loneliness displayed by both characters is the underlying cause of the outcome. These feelings play together to contribute to Man and Woman’s tragic love.

The topic for today's reading was Behavioral Language Assessment: Part 1 (ABLLS-R). One of the assigned readings, Language Assessment and Development in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders, presented several key findings emerged from a study of early language abilities in a large sample of toddlers with ASD. They found out that although the measures employed in this study to assess emerging language skills in toddlers with ASD involved direct assessment, parent questionnaire and parent interview, there was a very close agreement among these different measures. Also, they found that both receptive and expressive language were much correlated with a range of general and social cognitive variables and motor skills, and that the

Autism is a developmental disability that can affect both verbal and nonverbal communication and social interactions. Evidence of autism is generally seen before the age of 3 but one can also be diagnosed after this age. Some characteristics associated with autism are resistance to environmental change or change in routines, unusual responses to sensory experiences, engaging in repetitive activities, and stereotypical movements. These characteristics will affect a student’s educational performance. Close to 50 percent of children with autism do not speak at all, while others have echolalic speech (Houston-Wilson). Echolalic speech refers to a mimicked response. For example, when given a command the child may repeat the command word for word without comprehending what is being said. This type of communication may not be immediate. A child may recall a song from a movie he or she

The frequency of regression in autism is uncertain. One study reviewed published evidence and reported rates varying between 22% and 50%.Many children with autism have infantile speech, which usually stops in such children, as in developmentally normal children, before age 18 months. In normal children more communicative speech usually overlaps. The failure of this normal communicative speech to develop in children, who have autism, coinciding with the disappearance of infantile vocalizations, may be over interpreted as regression of speech and language. Our figure of 25% with developmental regression, although in accord with other studies, is likely to include many such children and is likely to be an overestimate. Regression was found in

Young children often imitate the speech of others as a part of their typical developing language (Howlin, 1982). According to Prizant and Duchan (1981), echolalia in individuals with autism tend to persist for longer into a child’s development and makes up for a larger percentage of their speech. These repeated utterances may originate from another person in the environment, audio media (e.g. television) and even the individual’s own utterances. There are different forms of echolalia, and often one or more of these may be used by the individual with autism. These include, immediate echolalia when the echoic response immediately follows a person’s speech, and delayed echolalia where there is a longer time period between the production of the

In order to learn how to understand speech, an individual must be able to create auditory templates. An auditory template is made when an individual memorizes a particular sound. Some children with autism will avoid auditory input; therefore, due to a lack of stimulation they have difficulty creating these essential auditory templates. Without sufficient auditory templates, the child’s ability to speak and read are negatively affected.

This current study went on to show that a loud speech cue produced significant improvements in listener’s ability to comprehend dysarthric speech, but the slow condition did not. Dysarthria subtype did not affect the outcomes as neither subtype produced differential improvements using one condition over another. As for the listeners, older listeners exhibited significantly reduced ability to comprehend dysarthric speech relative to younger listeners, but there were not any differential effects observed for speech condition or dysarthria type. It was noted that the speakers’ degree of intelligibility improvement was not related to the change in intensity or reduction in speech