Biomedical subjects

I Uys

Publications and source records attributed to I Uys.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

[Afrikaanse Reseptiewe Woordeskattoets (ARW) : Suitability for a group of non-standard Afrikaans speaking children].

The need for culturally appropriate language tests served as motivation for this study. The aim of the study was to evaluate the suitability and adaptability of the Afrikaanse Reseptiewe Woordeskattoets (ARW) (Buitendag, 1994) for a group of seven and ten year old non-standard Afrikaans speaking children from the coloured community in Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga and Northern Province. In order to achieve this goal the ARW (Buitendag, 1994), and a questionnaire regarding socio-economic deprivation, were administered to a proportionally stratified randomized sample of 960 children. Test bias was evaluated by comparing the psychometric characteristics of the test for the research group to those of the normative group. Various test adaptation procedures were considered, namely adaptations to the rank order of item difficulty, test starting points and test procedures. The results indicated the same degree of confidence in the test results of the two groups. It demonstrated that the original rank order of item difficulty does not need to be changed and that corresponding increase in ARW scores is evident with an increase in age in both groups. The findings imply that the test measures the same ability in the two groups. Although comparison of the psychometric characteristics of the test for the research group to those for the normative group failed to identify test bias, intra-group comparison indicated that the test may be linguistically biased against the socio-economically deprived sub-group. Significant differences in individual ARW scores occurred when a shift in the child's basal or ceiling item occurred as a result of the biased items. The test's cultural validity for the group may be increased by lowering the test starting points, in order to prevent reversed testing. Culturally appropriate responses should be accepted as correct, in order to award equal credit to standard and non-standard language responses and to take intra-group differences into consideration. This research is an important contribution towards the expansion of the speech-language therapist's skills and resources, vitally needed to provide culturally relevant services in South Africa to all individuals with communication disorders.

Black or African American↗

PubMed1997

The development of a model for geodesic learning: the geodesic information processing model.

The current article suggests that alternatives to the current traditional learning methods are essential if learning institutions are to provide people with effective life skills that enable them to be autonomous learners. This suggestion is based on a body of literature on alternative learning which stresses the need for fundamental change and hence, a paradigm shift in the perception of learning in order to cope with the world-wide information explosion. The alternative non-traditional approach proposed is geodesic learning which stresses learning how to learn and self-directed inquiry as essential life-skills which enable systems as well as the people in the systems to bring about their own transformation in response to changing situations and requirements. The current article discusses an alternative service delivery model, the geodesic information processing model, which falls within the realms of the geodesic philosophy. The implications of this alternative approach for the speech-language therapist are discussed.

Child↗

PubMed1997

Speech discrimination by elderly hearing instrument users.

This study investigates the influences of aging on the speech discrimination abilities of elderly hearing instrument users. A survey method was used and thirty subjects, with the same degree of peripheral hearing loss, were divided into two groups of fifteen persons each. Group 1 consisted of elderly hearing instrument users who experienced little or no speech discrimination problems while group 2 consisted of persons with severe speech discrimination problems. The Synthetic Sentence Identification test, the Staggered Spondaic Word test and phonemically balanced words with an ipsi-competitive speech noise, were used to ascertain their speech discrimination capabilities in different listening situations. The elderly also completed a self-evaluation scale. The results of the study indicate that the aging process and changes in central auditory processing contribute to the complexity and diversity of elderly hearing instrument user's speech discrimination problems. The results also stress the importance of comprehensive intervention programmes for elderly hearing instrument users.

Aged↗

PubMed1995

[The relationship between spoken and written language in learning impaired people].

The aim of this study was to explore the interrelationship between spoken language, written language, and phonological processing. The empirical study was administered on nine Afrikaans-speaking, language-impaired children in grade two by means of accidental sampling. Conformable to predetermined objectives, spoken language parameters, written language parameters, and phonological processing parameters were identified. The subjects' level of functioning with regard to each parameter, and the interrelationship between these parameters were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed and described. The results of this study indicated significant correlations between spoken language, written language and phonological processing abilities of the selected language impaired subjects.

Child↗

PubMed1995

Early recurrent otitis media, language and central auditory processing in children.

The study examines the relationships that exist between early recurrent otitis media, language and central auditory processing in children. A retrospective case-control experimental design was employed and ten subjects were allocated to each of the two research groups, namely children with a history of early recurrent otitis media (research group 1) and children without a history of early recurrent otitis media (research group 2). The children in both research groups were in grade one and turning 7 years old. The language and central auditory processing of the subjects were assessed using the Clinical Evaluation of Language Function (Wiig & Semel, 1980) and the Willeford Battery of Central Auditory Function (Willeford, 1974). The results showed that the language and central auditory processing of the children with a history of early recurrent otitis media were significantly poorer than that of their disease-free peers. The results stress the importance of vigorous identification and management programmes for children with a history of early recurrent otitis media.

Audiometry↗

PubMed1991

[The Afrikaans receptive vocabulary test (ARV): description and psychometric evaluation].

This article focuses on the psychometric characteristics of "Die Afrikaanse Reseptiewe Woordeskattoets (ARW)". The psychometric analysis indicates the test forms (A and B) to be equivalent, reliable and valid and that the ARW can thus be used with confidence as a screening and re-evaluation device for the evaluation of receptive vocabulary as well as intelligence.

Child↗

PubMed1991

[An integrated approach to the evaluation and treatment of the pre-school stutterer with speech and language problems: a case report].

This study aimed at the evaluation of the efficacy of a parent-centered intervention strategy, based on an integrated approach to the diagnosis and treatment of the pre-school stutterer. A number of psycho-linguistic, psycho-social, physiologic and fluency variables were measured before, during and after intervention. The therapy programme was individualized for and implemented with a mother and her four year old son. Results indicate a decrease in the mother's fluency-inhibiting interaction patterns, an improvement in her son's receptive and expressive language skills and an increase in speech fluency and naturalness. The extent to which this behaviour generalized to the extra-clinical situation is still undecided.

Child, Preschool↗