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Biomedical subjects

R J McCauley

Publications and source records attributed to R J McCauley.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Disfluency and time perception.

Stuttering is manifested as a disruption in speech timing, but it may stem from a more basic temporal disorder (R. D. Kent, 1984). We compared the ability of stuttering and nonstuttering adults to estimate protensity and to distinguish the relative lengths of short tones. We also examined whether there is a correlation between a person's degree of disfluency and the ability to measure protensity or judge the relative lengths of short tones. Twenty stuttering and 20 nonstuttering adults were given the Duration Pattern Sequence Test. They were also asked to estimate the lengths of 8 tones and silent intervals. A negative correlation was found between degree of disfluency and ability to determine the relative lengths of short tones. A positive correlation was found between degree of disfluency and length of protensity estimates.

Adult↗

Intelligibility and phonetic contrast errors in highly intelligible speakers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Intelligibility data, phonetic contrast errors, and information regarding subsystem involvement were examined in 29 highly intelligible subjects (18 women and 11 men) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Results are discussed in terms of data for individual subjects, the group as a whole, and for subgroups based on dysarthric status and gender. Of particular interest are findings that suggest early laryngeal involvement as well as gender-related differences for several contrasts.

Adult↗

The identification of language impairment in the selection of specifically language-impaired subjects.

This review focused on the methods used to identify language impairment in specifically language-impaired subjects participating in 72 research studies that were described in four journals from 1983 to 1988. The single most frequent source of information used in the identification process was found to be test data. There was, however, considerable variability and, often, a lack of clarity regarding the specific number and identity of tests used. More specific findings on test use indicated that researchers routinely assessed both expressive and receptive language and that they used incomplete tests. When test scores used in identification and selection were examined, there was a wide range of score types, and age-equivalent scores were by far the most common and often the only type of score utilized. Conclusions are drawn regarding the impact of these findings on the interpretation and generalizability of this research literature.

Child↗

Contrastive stress, phonetic context, and misarticulation of /r/ in young speakers.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of contrastive stress and phonetic context on misarticulations of consonantal /r/. Subjects were 9 children between the ages of 4:5 (years:months) and 5:7 who exhibited normal articulation development but inconsistently misarticulated /r/. The experimental task was designed to elicit consonantal /r/ in two phonetic contexts ([rV] & [CrV]) and two stress conditions (primary & nonprimary stress). Three listeners who were naive to the experimental hypotheses judged the children's productions for accuracy of /r/ production and for stress. Significant main effects were obtained for context and stress: /r/ productions were more often judged as correct in clusters than in singletons and in words not receiving primary stress than in words receiving primary stress. Results are discussed in terms of the possible effects of production and perceptual variables on listener judgments. Inferences are drawn concerning future research on speaker and listener effects in the study of articulation.

Articulation Disorders↗

Use of a hinge-type speech prosthesis.

This report describes a hinge-type speech prosthesis and its owner's use of the two halves of her cleft velum to elevate the velar section of the prosthesis. With the prosthesis, her speech is free from articulation errors, audible nasal emission, and hypernasality. Acquisition of the ability to move the velar section is discussed.

Cleft Palate↗

Psychometric review of nine aphasia tests.

Nine aphasia tests are reviewed using six psychometric criteria appropriate to standardized tests. The number of criteria met by individual tests ranged from one to five, with a median and mode of three. A seventh criterion was applied to six tests that used normative data. Two of the six reviewed tests met that criterion. The need for test manuals to contain a wide range of psychometric information is discussed and, in particular, the role of subject description in test standardization is emphasized.

Aphasia↗

Psychometric review of language and articulation tests for preschool children.

Thirty language and articulation tests developed for use with preschool children were reviewed using ten psychometric criteria appropriate to norm-referenced tests. Half of the reviewed tests met no more than two criteria, and only three tests met over four criteria. Most frequently unmet criteria were those requiring empirical evidence of validity and reliability. Implications are drawn regarding the current status of norm-referenced language and articulation tests for preschool children.

Articulation Disorders↗

Use and misuse of norm-referenced tests in clinical assessment: a hypothetical case.

The purposes of this paper are to discuss concepts that are fundamental to proper use of norm-referenced tests in clinical assessment, to consider common errors in the use of such tests, and to suggest alternatives to norm-referenced testing for certain assessment purposes. A hypothetical client is used to illustrate the following errors: the use of age-equivalent scores as the sole summary of test results, the use of individual items to formulate therapy objectives, and the failure to consider the possible effects of measurement error when difference scores are used to assess progress or to examine patterns of impairment.

Age Factors↗