SLHS 3000 Final Study Guide

Speech Science

The study of speech, including its anatomical and physiological bases, production, and perception.

Language Science

The study of systems of verbal or nonverbal communication.

Hearing Science

The study of hearing and its relation to communication.

Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)

A professional who prevents, assesses, diagnoses, and treats speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders.

Audiologist

A professional who provides care in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, and treatment of hearing, balance, and other auditory disorders.

ASHA

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; provides certification and ethical standards for SLPs and audiologists.

CCC-SLP

Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology; requires a master's degree, clinical hours, passing the Praxis, and a fellowship.

Code of Ethics - Principle I

Hold paramount the welfare of persons served professionally or involved in research.

Free Morpheme

A morpheme that can stand alone with meaning (e.g., 'book').

Bound Morpheme

A morpheme that must be attached to a free morpheme to have meaning (e.g., '-s').

Semantics

The study of meaning in language.

Pragmatics

The study of how language is used in social contexts.

Cultural Humility

A lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique regarding cultural identity and biases.

Dialect

A rule-governed variation of a language used by a group of speakers.

Accent

A variation in pronunciation often associated with a particular region or language background.

Respiratory System

Provides airflow for speech; includes lungs, trachea, diaphragm, etc.

Laryngeal System

Generates phonation through vocal fold vibration.

Supralaryngeal System

Shapes airflow into speech sounds using articulators like tongue, lips, velum.

Myoelastic-Aerodynamic Theory

Explains vocal fold vibration via muscle elasticity and air pressure.

Phoneme

The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning.

Allophone

A variation of a phoneme that does not change meaning.

Phonological Processes

Patterns of sound errors children use to simplify speech as they learn to talk.

SODA

Acronym for types of articulation errors: Substitution, Omission, Distortion, Addition.

Perlocutionary Stage

Birth to 8-10 months; unintentional communication.

Illocutionary Stage

8-10 months; intentional communication through gestures.

Locutionary Stage

Around 12 months; intentional communication using words.

Mean Length of Utterance (MLU)

Average number of morphemes per utterance used to assess language development.

Pinna

The external part of the ear that collects and directs sound waves into the ear canal.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Hearing loss due to problems in the outer or middle ear that block sound transmission.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss due to damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve.

Audiogram

A graph that shows the results of a hearing test.

Tympanometry

A test that measures the movement of the tympanic membrane (eardrum).

Aural Rehabilitation

The process of identifying and diagnosing a hearing loss and providing therapies to improve communication.

Hearing Aid

A device that amplifies sound for individuals with hearing loss.

Auditory Training

Exercises that improve listening skills in those with hearing loss.

Cleft Palate

An opening in the roof of the mouth due to incomplete fusion during fetal development.

Submucous Cleft

A cleft covered by the lining of the roof of the mouth, often harder to detect.

Hypernasality

Excessive nasal resonance due to velopharyngeal dysfunction.

Velopharyngeal Port

The space that separates the oral and nasal cavities during speech and swallowing.

Stuttering

A fluency disorder characterized by repetitions, prolongations, and blocks in speech.

Normal Disfluency

Typical speech disruptions such as interjections or phrase repetitions that occur in all speakers.

Blocks

Complete stoppage of speech during a stuttering moment.

Dysphonia

Any disorder of the voice including problems with pitch, loudness, or vocal quality.

Vocal Nodules

Small, benign growths on the vocal folds often caused by vocal misuse.

Spasmodic Dysphonia

A voice disorder characterized by involuntary spasms of the vocal folds during speech.

Vocal Fold Paralysis

A condition where one or both vocal folds do not move properly.

Aphasia

A language disorder resulting from brain damage, often due to stroke, affecting communication abilities.

Broca's Aphasia

Non-fluent aphasia with good comprehension but poor speech production.

Wernicke's Aphasia

Fluent aphasia with poor comprehension and frequent nonsensical speech.

Apraxia of Speech

A motor speech disorder where individuals have difficulty planning and producing the movements needed for speech.

Dysarthria

A motor speech disorder resulting from weakness or incoordination of the speech muscles.

Right Hemisphere Disorder

Damage to the brain's right hemisphere leading to issues with attention, emotion, and pragmatics.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

An injury to the brain caused by an external force, affecting cognitive, speech, and language functions.

Emergent Literacy

Early skills, knowledge, and attitudes that precede learning to read and write, such as print awareness and phonological awareness.

Print Awareness

Understanding that print carries meaning, and includes knowledge of how books are organized and how text is read.

Phonological Awareness

The ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken words, including rhyming, syllables, and phonemes.

Grapheme

The smallest unit of written language that represents a sound (phoneme) in a word.

Phoneme

The smallest unit of sound that can change the meaning of a word.

SLP's Role in Literacy

SLPs help identify, prevent, and treat literacy disorders by supporting language development, phonological awareness, and reading/writing skills.

Stages of Reading Development

Typically include emergent, early, transitional, and fluent stages as children become skilled readers.

Emergent Writing

The early stage of writing development where children use scribbles, shapes, or letter-like forms to express ideas.

Writing Genres

Different types of written expression, including narrative, informative/expository, and persuasive writing.