Mary Gorham-Rowan

Valdosta State University | VSU · Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders

Introduction: Thickened liquids are frequently recommended for individuals with swallowing disorders who are at risk of aspiration. However, thickened liquids may be poorly tolerated and result in reduced fluid intake, which may impact performance in a number of areas. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible impact of a thickened liq...

Student-athletes are at risk for vocal difficulties due to their utilization of poor vocal hygiene as well as their increased risk for reflux. However, there is limited research on the impact of reflux on the vocal characteristics of student athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between laryngopharyngeal reflux and...

The goal of the current investigation was to establish proof of concept regarding measurement of blood lactate levels as an indicator of laryngeal muscle activity and fatigue, as well as to examine the relationship between blood lactate levels and NMES intensity. Fifteen participants completed a vocal loading exercise while blood lactate was measur...

Objective This study was conducted to explore the potential use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation as an adjunctive treatment for muscle tension dysphonia. Methods Voice data and ratings of fatigue and soreness were obtained for two experiments. Experiment one examined the vocal effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation applied to the n...

Objective: To determine the effect of a vocal loading task on vocal function before and after 24 hours of thickened liquid use. Methods: Seven healthy adults, ages 19 to 52 years of age, were recruited as participants. Baseline data regarding daily food/liquid intake and urine specific gravity levels (USG) as a marker of hydration were obtained. Pa...

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the combined effects of educational kinesiology tasks and stuttering treatment on the fluency of a preschool child who stutters. Method: This paper details a case study. After the initial diagnosis of a 3-year; 5-month old male with a very severe fluency disorder as indicated by the SSI-4, f...

Purpose: Thickened liquids are frequently recommended for patients with dysphagia to minimize aspiration. When discussing the use of thickened liquids with graduate students in Communication Sciences & Disorders (CSD), it is beneficial to discuss the potential effect(s) of this dietary recommendation. Graduate level preparation involving first-hand...

Recent studies have examined the application of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to treat individuals with voice disorders. Appropriate protocols should be established for effective use of NMES. The purpose of this study was to use acoustic data to evaluate the effectiveness of NMES to the anterior neck in reducing vocal fatigue and musc...

We observed whether 30 minutes of neuromuscular electrical stimulation applied to the necks of healthy speakers would result in significant acoustic changes and perceptions of fatigue and/or delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Twelve participants were assigned to experimental (n=6; 3 male and 3 female) and control groups (n=6; 3 male and 3 female...

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) revised the standards for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in 2005 (ASHA, 2005). Clinical supervisory faculty have been directly affected in their work with graduate clinicians. Knowledge and skills acquisition now must meet the new certification standards for speech-language pathology....

The purpose of this study was to determine if measurable changes in fundamental frequency (F(0)) and relative sound level (RSL) occurred in healthy speakers after transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) as applied via VitalStim (Chattanooga Group, Chattanooga, TN). A prospective, repeated-measures design. Ten healthy female and 10 healthy male...

To examine the effects of initiating oral contraceptive (OC) use on spectrally based acoustic measures. Case history. A 23-year-old female volunteered to participate in the study. Voice recordings were obtained during eight consecutive menstrual cycles: two cycles before the onset of OC use and six cycles after the initiation of OC use. Recordings...

Transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) is being used more frequently by speech-language pathologists to treat individuals with dysphagia since the advent of VitalStim ® . Anecdotal reports suggest changes in voice quality associated with TES. This study was completed to examine acoustic measures of voice change in normal speakers following TES...

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to examine possible differences in laryngeal aerodynamic measures during connected speech associated with oral contraceptive (OC) use. Eight women taking an OC, and eight others not taking an OC, participated in the study. Three trials of syllable /p/repetitions were obtained using a circumferentially vent...

To examine possible differences in glottal airflow parameters according to oral contraceptive (OC) use. The participants included 16 women, 20-24 years of age. Eight women were taking a triphasic OC; the remaining 8 women were not taking any form of oral contraception (NOC). All participants were recorded on days 7 and 14 of their menstrual cycle....

Previous studies of the effect of hormonal changes across phases of the menstrual cycle on voice onset time (VOT) have not considered the variable of oral contraceptive use. The purpose of this study was to examine both the effects of menstrual cycle phase and that of oral contraceptive use on VOT. It was hypothesized that women taking oral contrac...

The attainment of a feminine-sounding voice is a highly desirable goal among male-to-female transgender (MFT) persons, but this goal may be difficult for many to accomplish. The characteristics associated with a feminine vocal quality include increases in fundamental frequency and in vocal breathiness. In this study, we used inverse-filtering of th...

Unlabelled: Common perceptual characteristics of the elderly voice include hoarseness, breathiness, instability, and a change in the pitch of the voice. Although research is available concerning changes in the elderly voice, little research has been completed to examine the relationship between the perception of voice quality and acoustic measures...

To compare objective voice measures of vocal stability during different speech tasks in women taking oral contraceptives to those in women not taking oral contraceptives. Voice recordings obtained from 28 women, aged 20-30 years old, were used for the study. Eighteen of the women were taking some form of oral contraception at the time of the record...

Although the use of oral contraceptives among young women is common, there are relatively few data concerning the effect of such medication upon vocal function. This paper investigated differences in objective voice measures in young women taking a triphasic oral contraceptive compared to women not taking any such medication. The results of paired...