Vocal Loudness

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.

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.

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

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).

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

“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.

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

Autism affects many children each year and it is important for parents to be aware of delays in their child’s development, in in any area of communication. According to a study by the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Center for Autism and Related Disorders, autistic children possessing a language difficulty or delay have a seventy percent chance of showing fluent speech by the age of eight (“Speech”). Although a child shows delay or impairment in language at a young age, it is possible for them to later on exhibit normal language development. Parents should be aware of normal language benchmarks, such as when a child begins babbling, imitating verbally, and using spoken and first words. If a child is lacking skills normally possessed by typically developing children, having said child

My personal experience working with individuals with autism have shown me a deterioration in their social interaction and in verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors. Dole & Iland (2005) cited the US Individual Disability Education Act that “classifies a child with autism when the child has significant disability in verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction that affects the child’s performance educationally”. Mostly, people who are diagnosed with autism have proof of echolalia, which is a speech pattern that affects their social interaction with others. By definition, echolalia is a repetition or echoing of verbal words made by individual. According to Prizant (1983), more than 70% of individuals with autism show

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 purpose of this assignment was to place ourselves in the position of someone who we will be working with in future years as a speech language pathologist, or someone within the area of communication disorders. To relate to others we know we have to know what they’re going through: to be sympathetic or empathetic to their feelings so we know how we should react and what we should say to make them feel better. A similar mind-set can be applied to speech pathologists: how can we attempt to treat those with communication difficulties when we don’t understand what it’s like to live with one? By undertaking this assignment I hoped I would gain a better understanding of not only how those with communication disorders function (how they adapt to their situations) but also how they feel, be that excluded, anxious or apprehensive to go into public situations.

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

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

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