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Purpose: The growing number of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States is not reflected in the speech-language pathology profession, with ramifications for the diverse communities it serves. Despite decades of initiatives, the numbers of racial and ethnic minorities entering the profession have been modest. The aim of this pilot study is to explore potential factors that influence decision making for a college major that could inform strategies for underrepresented racial and ethnic minority (URM) recruitment into communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs. Method: The theory of planned behavior was used as a framework to explore the influences on students' selection of college majors with a particular focus on speech-language pathology. Students enrolled and not enrolled in CSD programs were surveyed about their attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective normative pressure (e.g., perceptions of race and ethnic representation, familiarity with speech-language pathology, and family education). Results: There were significant differences between CSD and non-CSD respondents, and between URM and White respondents in their perception of representation and exposure to the profession. The majority of URM students reported that race and ethnic representation is important in their chosen job. URM students were less likely than White students to know anyone who has received speech-language therapy or who is a speech-language pathologist. Conclusion: Findings suggest that initiatives to increase representation and diverse role models, and early exposure to the profession for URM students should be areas of focus in the efforts to diversify the profession.

Purpose: Gurevich and Kim (2022) call for new speech materials that provide not only phonemic but also allophonic coverage so that production and perception of consonants can be examined as a function of their positional contexts. The purpose of this work was to construct such materials. Method: A total of 466 allowable contexts for the 24 English consonants were determined by considering positional contexts in terms of word and syllable positions, lexical stress, and proximity to other phonemes. These contexts were filled using 308 unique tokens composed of frequent content words ensuring both phonemic and allophonic coverages. In addition, the words were combined into 37 declarative and interrogative phrases to incorporate prosodic elements of speech. Twenty healthy adults were recorded reading these phrases to assess time and effort required for the task. Results: The newly constructed speech materials achieved high-overall phonetic coverage at 83.05% of all allowable English contexts, including coverage of consonant categories and positional contexts of particular importance for clinical and research purposes. Moreover, these materials attained the balance of consonant frequencies in typical spoken English. This was achieved with 37 phrases that take an average of 3 min, 6 s to read at an average of 5.02 s per phrase. Conclusions: Compared with the commonly used standard reading passages examined in Gurevich and Kim (2022), the newly constructed materials provide significantly superior phonetic coverage, including important linguistic features known to affect production and perception of consonants. The new materials are therefore well suited for eliciting speech representative of General American English for investigating consonant production and perception.

Purpose: To be effective for clinical and research purposes, materials for eliciting speech should have phonetic coverage of a language, which necessarily includes both phonemic coverage (including all phonemes) and allophonic coverage (including positional contexts). The purpose of this work was to quantify allophonic coverage in widely used standard passages. Method: A total of 466 allowable contexts for 24 consonants in English were determined by taking into account positional contexts in terms of word positions, lexical stress, and proximity to other phonemes. The Caterpillar, The Grandfather Passage , and The Rainbow Passage were analyzed with respect to their phonetic coverage of these allowable contexts. Results: The standard passages achieved phonemic coverage, but their phonetic coverage was minimal: 24.89% in The Caterpillar , 27.25% in The Grandfather Passage , and 35.84% in The Rainbow Passage . Conclusion: Our analysis of three standard passages suggests the need for new speech materials that provide not only phonemic but also allophonic coverage so that production and perception of consonants can be examined as a function of their positional contexts.

Consonant production errors are common in dysarthric speech, but not all consonants are affected to the same extent. Currently, only limited knowledge exists regarding whether different positional allophones are affected to varying degrees in dysarthric speech. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of consonants' position-in-words on consonant production accuracy and their relevance to speech intelligibility. To this end, the percentage of correctly articulated consonants was analyzed with respect to position-in-words, manner of articulation, and speakers' overall intelligibility in dysarthric speech secondary to cerebral palsy. Results revealed that consonants were generally more accurate in initial positions than other positions, and when they were singletons rather than clusters. However, fricatives, a category commonly noted for frequent misarticulations, exhibited no significant positional effects, indicating that fricatives were affected to a similar degree across all word positions. In addition, positional asymmetry manifested to a greater degree as intelligibility decreased. Finally, the strength of the relationship between consonant production accuracy and intelligibility varied depending on positions-in-words, with strong correlations in the medial and final cluster positions but no significant correlation for fricatives in the initial and final singleton positions. The correlation was markedly low for the initial consonants, possibly due to the resistance of initial consonants to production errors. The positional asymmetry found in this study necessitates more research on non-initial consonants and clusters for their potential in improving consonant production and speech intelligibility as a part of dysarthria management.

Purpose Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are trained to evaluate and treat dysphagia. One treatment method is to modify diet consistency or viscosity to compensate for swallowing dysfunction and promote a safer intake; this typically involves softening solids and thickening liquids. Thickening liquids is not safer for all patients, and modification of dysphagia diets without adequate training may reduce the quality of dysphagia patient care. Over 90% of SLPs working in health care report exposure to nurses who regularly downgrade dysphagia diets without an SLP consult. This study explores dysphagia diet modification practices of nursing staff with and without dysphagia training. Method Practicing nurses and student nurses ( N = 298) in the United States were surveyed regarding their dysphagia diet modification training and practice patterns. Additionally, a pre-/posttest design was used to determine the efficacy of a short general tutorial on willingness to modify diets without an SLP consult. Results Downgrading diets without an SLP consult is a common practice. Fewer than one third of nurses (31.41%) would avoid it, whereas 73.65% would avoid upgrading without SLP consult. Formal dysphagia training made little difference to this practice. The short general tutorial also had no beneficial effect, in fact slightly reducing the willingness to consult SLPs. Conclusions Dysphagia diet modification practice by nurses is pervasive in U.S. health care. This is a previously unexplored but common issue SLPs face in work settings. This study identifies a need to clarify guidelines and increase interprofessional education between both professions to improve patient care.

Objectives Older adults are at risk for age-related hearing loss and for dementia. Hearing loss increases the risk of dementia and accelerates cognitive decline. There is no cure for dementia, but hearing loss is treatable. Medical professionals who work with individuals with dementia are surveyed to explore whether recommendations made to individuals diagnosed with dementia include hearing assessments. Method A convenience sample of 85 medical professionals in California, Illinois, and Indiana responded to paper surveys in October 2018–April 2019. Results Of the 85 participants, 69 had some level of involvement with dementia. Of these, 16 (23%) reported recommending hearing assessment, and only one (1.45%) reported considering hearing assessment in the top three priorities of recommendations. Conclusions Hearing assessment is not currently a priority for the surveyed medical professionals who work with dementia populations. Advocacy is needed to close the gap between research and practice.

Objective: This study was aimed at determining the risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in middle school band (MSB) and high school band (HSB) members. Method: Between-group comparison of hearing thresholds. Eleven MSB members and 6 MSNB controls, 20 HSB members and 5 HSNB controls. Results: Sixty-four percent of school-age band members presented with 15 dB HL or greater notch at 4,000 or 6,000 Hz in at least one ear. The high school students were slightly more likely to present with a notch. Conclusions: Results indicate that participation in band even as early as middle school increases the risk of developing NIHL, and that the longer the participation the higher the risk. Steps to insure hearing preservation in school-age band members are recommended.

Purpose Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with adults with dysarthria were surveyed to investigate trends of clinical practice for assessing speech intelligibility. Method Two hundred ninety-six SLPs responded to an online survey October 22–November 30, 2015. Results Findings showed that 35% of SLPs lacked access to any standardized assessments of intelligibility, with 66% of these implicating cost as the main reason. Work settings played a role, as all SLPs working in Veterans Affairs hospitals and 97% of SLPs working in university or research clinics reported access to at least one formal assessment. Even with access to formal tools to measure intelligibility, most SLPs preferred less formal measures. It is surprising to note that many SLPs reported using physical examinations (e.g., of cranial nerves and oral mechanisms) to measure speech intelligibility. Conclusions Results indicate the need to increase SLP familiarity with, and access to, currently available standardized assessments, as well as to improve education regarding the fundamental need to rate speech to assess intelligibility. Clinicians may also benefit from new standardized methods to objectively assess intelligibility that are accessible, practical, and efficient.

Interprofessional practice between nurses and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in healthcare is essential, and it is a priority for both professions. Interprofessional education (IPE) is warranted to move forward professional partnership, and would be best served through incorporation into academic training for both disciplines. A combined synchronous and asynchronous e-platform collaborative approach that minimizes encroachment on already overcrowded clinical curricula is described. Implementation is outlined for use within a graduate-level dysphagia course for SLP students and a medical/surgical undergraduate course for nursing students. This model is flexible and lends itself for use in other courses within clinical disciplines.