Communication Sciences and Disorders Theses

Cognitive and linguistic deficits have been found to be present in individuals in the subacute phase of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The present study compared word-finding performance between young adults without a history of mTBI and those with a history of mTBI in the post-subacute phase of injury and examined the relationship between the number of incidents of mTBI and word-finding performance. The Test of Adolescent/Adult Word Finding-Second Edition, Brief Test (TAWF-2, BT) was administered to 33 age and gender matched participants (N=17 mTBI; N=16 controls) to assess word-finding based on timing and accuracy. Participants were divided into four groups based on the number of mTBIs they had experienced in their lifetime from 0 to 3+. There was no significant difference in TAWF-2, BT performance for participants with or without a history of mTBI, regardless of the number of mTBI experienced, in the post-subacute phase of injury.

The risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) increases with age due to engagement in loud activities and beginning work. Thirty-five students within grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 participated in this 100% online/asynchronous hearing conservation program (HCP) at a New Jersey K-8 public school. This program included a pre-survey, a 27-minute online education, a post-survey, and a 3-month post-survey. Participants were randomized into treatment and control groups. All participants received the surveys. Only the treatment group received the HCP. No significant differences were found between treatment and control groups when comparing knowledge and attitude scores on the pre-, post, and 3-month post-surveys. However, significant differences were found within the post-survey knowledge questions without any significant change in the attitude questions for the treatment group, which indicated that students who participated in the HCP had a positive increase in knowledge of NIHL although their attitudes toward prevention did not change.