Dr. Linton Hutchinson's Blog (9)

Research design is the plan and structure of an investigation for the
purposes of obtaining answers to research questions. The basic purposes
of research designs are to provide answers and to control variables of
interest. An appropriate research design allows the investigator to
obtain answers to questions of research and to control the expiremental,
extraneous, and error variances of the research problem being studied.

There are two major classes of research design… Continue

Motor speech disorders are disorders of speech resulting in disruptions
in motor programming. They are caused by neurologic impairment. Motor
speech disorders encompass apraxia of speech and the dysarthrias. The
former (apraxia), a disorder in planning resulting from an impairment in
the ability to carry out sensorimotor commands for the purposes of
positioning and moving muscles for the volitional production of speech.
The latter (dysarthria), a movement disorder result… Continue

Aphasia is a disorder in the use of language. It is the result of
damage or injury to the language dominant region of the brain. The
most common cause of aphasia is interruption of blood supply to the
brain. Other causes of the disorder are traumatic brain injury, brain
tumors, infections, exposure to toxic chemicals, or nutritional
disturbances.

Typically following thhe first few days of an acute injury to the brain,
there is extensive disruption of cerebral pro… Continue

Modeling of the Vocal Tract:

A basic tool in science is modeling. Since vocal tracts, brains,
galaxies, etc. are too complex to be studied in their natural state, a
model of the actual physical object is constructed and studied. For
example, a model of the vocal tract begins with a tube with a uniform
diameter along its length. The tube is closed at one end and open at
the other. The closed end of the tube can be thought of as the glottis
and the open end of the… Continue

The Measurement of Stuttering Behavior Part I of II

How does one define stuttering?

The answer to this question becomes increasingly important when working with a person who stutters. Over the years, research into stuttering has contributed several ways to define the phenomenon better known as stuttering. Here are 3 of the 5 ways to define stuttering behavior. The clinician should become familiar with the advantages and limitations of each method before using them.

1)… Continue

At age 2-3 months the child:

o Turns head towards voice, rattle, music
o Gains full visual focus
o Visually recognizes caregiver
o Raises head and chest when lying on stomach
o Smiles reflexively
o Quiets self with sucking
o Repeats own actions
o Visually scales for sounds

At age 4-6 months the child:

o Plays with fingers, puts hands together
o Pulls to sit, can sit propped for 10-15 minutes
o Rolls over
o Enjoys being pulled to… Continue

I. Language can be divided into 3 components

o Form (syntax, morphology, phonology)
- Syntax contains the rules that dictate the acceptable sequence, combination and function of words in a sentence
- Morphology indicates how morphemes are combined to form words
- Phonology is the study of the sound system of a language
o Content (semantics or meaning)
- Includes the relations between language, thought and behavior
o Use (pragmatics or function)
- Set of… Continue

I. Nativist Theory

o Chomsky was interested in a theory of universal grammatical rules of language.
o Chomsky stated that the capacity to learn language was innate.
o Nativist Theory stresses language form (syntax) and underlying mental processes.
o Theory states that children are born with a language acquisition device (LAD)
o In order to trigger this LAD device, the child needs input from the environment, however language is innate therefore the environment's role is m… Continue

I. Behavioral Theory (Learning theory)

o B.F. Skinner most noted researcher of this theory.
o States that language is a learned behavior
o Based on modeling, imitation, practice and reinforcement
o States that the child's interaction with the environment is crucial;
o Children learn through their interactions with the environment

Example: The child begins to babble (universal sounds) through conditioning, sounds of babbling become modified. Sounds of English are… Continue