Communicative Function and Diversity in Provider, Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Child, and Caregiver Speech during Telepractice

Authors

Rebekah G. O'Bryan, University of LouisvilleFollow
Jessica M. Julian, University of LouisvilleFollow
Maria V. Kondaurova, University of LouisvilleFollow

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Abstract

How does the use of telepractice during speech language therapy affect the communicative function and communicative diversity of provider, deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) pediatric patient, and caregiver speech? This study examined communicative functions and diversity in the provider, DHH children with cochlear implants (n = 7, mean age = 4.9 years, range = 3.5-6.75 years), and caregiver utterances during one 30-minute in-person and one sequential tele session, order counterbalanced. To measure communicative function, each utterance was classified into 16 mutually exclusive categories for the child and into 15 categories for the adults. Communicative diversity was calculated as the number of different kinds of utterances that each participant used [range = 1-17]. The analysis of communicative categories demonstrated that the child used one category (description) more often in the in person than in the tele session. The provider used more repetitions and expansions in the tele than the in-person session. The provider produced more closed and open questions, decontextualized references, action/play directive, negation in the in-person than the tele session. The caregiver used six categories (repetition, affirmation, label, open question, action/play directive, confirmation) more often in the tele than the in-person session. The provider speech was more pragmatically diverse in the in-person than the tele session. No significant difference in DHH children and caregiver diversity scores was found. The results suggest that the communicative function and communicative diversity of the provider, pediatric patient, and caregiver speech are affected by remote communication such as telepractice.

Publication Date

2020

Keywords

telepractice; speech; pragmatics; communication; speech therapy; deaf & hard-of-hearing

Disciplines

Communication | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Psychology | Speech and Hearing Science | Speech Pathology and Audiology

Recommended Citation

O'Bryan, Rebekah G.; Julian, Jessica M.; and Kondaurova, Maria V., "Communicative Function and Diversity in Provider, Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Child, and Caregiver Speech during Telepractice" (2020). Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase. 45.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/uars/45