Hallie Findlan | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Hallie Findlan
Title: I Identified my Grandma’s Voice Disorder and Now I’m Here: An Examination of Speech-Language Pathologists’ Treatment and Decision-making in Therapy for Vocal Polyps
Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Advisor: Joan E. Furey

Vocal polyps are a functional voice disorder that can affect the phonatory patterns of the speaker. The broad purpose of this study was to investigate and examine speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) diagnostic and therapeutic considerations for patients with a vocal polyp. More specifically, I examined speech-language pathologists’ decision-making process regarding patient evaluation, treatment selection, timing of implementation, and perceptions of the effectiveness of different treatment techniques. A total of 26 SLPs completed a 35-question online survey created by the researcher and was distributed to relative groups.

The results of this study suggest that limiting caffeine intake is less important when compared to other vocal hygiene education topics. The results of this study indicate that SLPs consider both the presence of a bilateral/contralateral polyp and the size of the polyp as more influential to the treatment selection process than both the attachment style and the color of the polyp. The major conclusions of this study are that SLPs differ in their opinion on how influential certain aspects of treatment are to their decision-making process, there are differences on how the morphological characteristics of a vocal polyp contribute to an SLPs’ selection of therapeutic techniques, and SLPs consider vocal hygiene education to be an important part of treatment for patients with a vocal polyp.

Key Words: speech-language pathologist (SLP), vocal polyps, voice therapy, decision-making process

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.