Research
The Long term goal of our research is to improve the quality of life of individuals with voice disorders, inappropriate habitual voice users, and individuals in need of gender affirming voice for voice feminization or masculinization.
Check out our research studies by clicking on the side bar menu to learn more about our current projects!
Voice Therapy for Transgender Women
Conversation Training Therapy to Target Voice and Communication for Trans Women
Transgender women who are perceived as having a voice incongruent with their gender expression have reported experiencing various negative psychosocial effects including decreased financial/employment prospects or concerns for personal safety (Oates & Dacakis, 2015). Clinical voice researchers have investigated several modified resonant voice therapies to address concerns of gender congruence with voice for transgender women.
Conversation Training Therapy (CTT) was developed to assist therapeutic carryover for people with voice disorders and to address inconsistencies with motor learning theory posed by voice treatment hierarchies (Gartner-Schmidt et al., 2016). CTT trains target voice production in the context of participant-led conversation using “clear speech.” The application of CTT on participants with functional voice disorders has demonstrated increased generalization of target voice production (Gillespie et al., 2019).
The goal of our study is to adapt a CTT protocol to address voice and communication goals for trans women and to evaluate the effects of CTT on trans women’s voice patterns including average speaking fundamental frequency, smoothed cepstral peak prominence, voice satisfaction, and perception of voice femininity. Participant reported outcomes are a vital component of our study as Davies (2017) concludes that “The match between a client's sense of gender and their voice can profoundly affect wellbeing,” and “The client is the expert in their own sense of gender.”
Our lab hopes to help other speech pathologists facilitate the journey of trans and non-binary people in our community through culturally responsive research utilizing participant-centered outcomes and interventions.
References
Davies, S. (2017). The Evidence Behind the Practice: A Review of WPATH Suggested Guidelines in Transgender Voice and Communication. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups SIG 10, 2(Part 2), 64-73.
Gartner-Schmidt, J., Gherson, S., Hapner, E.R., Muckala, J., Roth, D., Schneider, S., & Gillespie, A.I. (2016). The development of conversation training therapy: A concept paper. Journal of Voice, 30(5), 563-573.
Gillespie, A.I., Yabes, J., Rosen, C.A., & Gartner-Schmidt, J.L. (2019). Efficacy of conversation training therapy for patients with benign vocal fold lesions and muscle tension dysphonia compared to historical matched control patients. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(11), 4062-4079.
Oates, J., & Dacakis, G. (2015). Transgender voice and communication: Research evidence underpinning voice intervention for male-to-female transsexual women. Perspectives on Voice and Voice Disorders, 25(2), 48–58.
For more information, contact the Lead Researcher Mitchell.
To view available case studies please visit our participate page.
Impact of prolonged speaking on teachers' voices
Occupational voice users rely on their voices for their livelihood. The National Institutes of Health report that 7.5 million Americans currently have voice disorders, and that about 500,000 people are diagnosed with voice disorders each year (Higgins and Smith, 2012). Some occupational voice users like teachers, are reported to be at a high risk for developing voice problems (Roy et al., 2004). Recent research findings also highlight the widespread negative social impact of voice disorders including lower academic performance in classrooms when the teacher has a voice problem (Higgins and Smith, 2012). Given the high prevalence of voice problems in teachers, associated economic costs, and societal burden, this area of investigation is timely and necessary. This study aims to examine the effects of lecturing for long periods of time on voice and quality of life in university teachers. There is a lot of research on the prevalence of voice problems in teachers, specifically primary and secondary school teachers, and fewer studies are available for teachers at the university level (Leao et al., 2015). Hence, the primary purpose and motivation of the Voice Lab’s current study is to establish a baseline of information for voice disorders for teachers at the university level impacted by SARS-CoVid-2.
At the beginning of 2020, the country was struck by the highly contagious respiratory virus, SARS-CoVid-2. The nature of this virus required Americans to adhere to a stay at home order, forcing professors to adjust to and carry out class instruction remotely from their homes. Our study is unique in that the recent switch to an online learning format allows us to examine the effects that online vs. face to face lecturing has on voice quality in university teachers. The results of the study will aid in identifying possible preventative measures and treatments of voice disorders. This study will further identify the wide variety of effects from chronic voice disorders and use this data to target specific physiological mechanisms that lead to voice discomfort, voice misuse, and abuse and essentially voice disorders.
This research will benefit SLPs by providing them with data that evaluates the differences in voice production and use between face-to-face lecturing versus online lecturing. The Center for Disease Control’s recommendations to transition to remote learning have forced many educators to change their style of teaching as well as their teaching environment. With all these adaptations, we are able to identify the main characteristics of vocal distress, which will enable SLPs to make recommendations for teachers specifically, that will lessen the occurrence of vocal fatigue and increase knowledge of vocal health and care. The goal of this research is to identify those shifts and their effects on voice quality which will enable Speech-Language Pathologists to make recommendations in both preventative and treatment contexts.
The results provided from this study will improve the quality of life of University professors. This study will allow investigators to examine the causes of vocal impairments, their specific diagnoses, and treatment strategies. By examining what the root causes of vocal impairments are in university professors, we will be able to offer preventive recommendations that will allow teaching professionals to avoid the negative vocal effects that come with teaching for long periods of time. This study will also provide information that will support future recommendations concerning how the voice may recover following prolonged use and what professionals can do to mediate negative effects in their voices.
References:
Higgins, K. P., & Smith, A. B. (2012). Prevalence and Characteristics of Voice Disorders in a Sample of University Teaching Faculty. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, 39, 69-75.
Roy, N., Merrill, R. M., Thibeault, S., Gray, S. D., & Smith, E. M. (2004). Voice disorders in teachers and the general population: effects on work performance, attendance, and future career choices. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 47(3), 542–551.
Leão, S. H. d.,S., Oates, J. M., Purdy, S. C., Scott, D., & Morton, R. P. (2015). Voice Problems in New Zealand Teachers: A National Survey. Journal of Voice, 29(5)
To view available case studies please visit our participate page.
Emotions and psychological impact on the transgender and gender non-conforming population
In this project, we are focusing on the Transgender Non-Conforming (TG NC) community and the impacts COVID-19 has had on it. Since the global pandemic, many resources such as support groups and gender-affirming sources that are necessary for the TG NC community have been deemed "non-essential." Our goal is to bring awareness to the TG NC and shine a light on the inequities that have risen from the pandemic, looking at the emotions and feelings within theTG NC community.