Browsing by Author "Johnson, Courtney A."

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    Remote Assessment of Verbal Memory in Youth With Cochlear Implants During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2021) Kronenberger, William G.; Montgomery, Caitlin J.; Henning, Shirley C.; Ditmars, Allison; Johnson, Courtney A.; Herbert, Carolyn J.; Pisoni, David B.; Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine
    Purpose: Youth with cochlear implants (CIs) are at risk for delays in verbal short-term memory (STM)/working memory (WM), which adversely affect language, neurocognitive, and behavioral outcomes. Assessment of verbal STM/WM is critical for identifying and addressing these delays, but standard assessment procedures require face-to-face (FTF) administration. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and validity of remote testing methods (teleassessment) of verbal STM/WM in youth with CIs as a method of addressing COVID-19–related restrictions on FTF test administration. Method: Tests of verbal STM/WM for nonwords, digit spans, letter–number sequences, sentences, and stories were individually administered by speech-language pathologists over a teleassessment platform to 28 youth (aged 9–22 years) with CIs and 36 same-aged normal-hearing peers. Examiners, parents, and participants completed quality and satisfaction ratings with the teleassessment procedure. Teleassessment scores were compared to results of tests obtained at FTF visits an average of 1.6 years earlier. Results: Quality and satisfaction ratings for teleassessment were high and in almost all cases did not differ between the CI and normal-hearing samples. Youth with CIs scored lower than normal-hearing peers on measures of verbal STM/WM, and scores for digit span and letter–number sequencing did not differbetween teleassessment and FTF methods. Correlations across teleassessment and FTF visits were strong for digit span, letter–number sequencing, and sentence memory, but were more modest for nonword repetition. Conclusion: With some caveats, teleassessment of verbal STM/WM was feasible and valid for youth with CIs.
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    Verbal Working Memory Error Patterns and Speech-Language Outcomes in Youth With Cochlear Implants
    (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2021) Romano, Daniel R.; Kronenberger, William G.; Henning, Shirley C.; Montgomery, Caitlin J.; Ditmars, Allison M.; Johnson, Courtney A.; Bozell, Hannah D.; Yates, Adeline D.; Pisoni, David B.; Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine
    Purpose: Verbal working memory (VWM) delays are commonly found in prelingually deaf youth with cochlear implants (CIs), albeit with considerable interindividual variability. However, little is known about the neurocognitive information-processing mechanisms underlying these delays and how these mechanisms relate to spoken language outcomes. The goal of this study was to use error analysis of the letter-number sequencing (LNS) task to test the hypothesis that VWM delays in CI users are due, in part, to fragile, underspecified phonological representations in short-term memory. Method: Fifty-one CI users aged 7-22 years and 53 normal hearing (NH) peers completed a battery of speech, language, and neurocognitive tests. LNS raw scores and error profiles were compared between samples, and a hierarchical regression model was used to test for associations with measures of speech, language, and hearing. Results: Youth with CIs scored lower on the LNS test than NH peers and committed a significantly higher number of errors involving phonological confusions (recalling an incorrect letter/digit in place of a phonologically similar one). More phonological errors were associated with poorer performance on measures of nonword repetition and following spoken directions but not with hearing quality. Conclusions: Study findings support the hypothesis that poorer VWM in deaf children with CIs is due, in part, to fragile, underspecified phonological representations in short-term/working memory, which underlie spoken language delays. Programs aimed at strengthening phonological representations may improve VWM and spoken language outcomes in CI users.