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At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources

A comparison of verbal and written language in Alzheimer's disease.

UNLABELLED: Few studies have examined characteristics of both verbal and written language of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study used parallel measures (picture description, word fluency, spelling to dictation, and confrontational naming) to compare verbal and written language of individuals with mild AD, moderate AD, and normal controls (14 participants per group). Goals were to determine whether verbal/written differences would be exhibited within groups, and to identify measures sensitive to the effects of mild AD. Results showed that increasing AD severity led to decline in performance for most tasks, but only word fluency differentiated subjects with mild AD from normal controls. Confrontational naming was the only task to identify a difference in verbal and written performance for an AD group but not controls; moderate AD subjects performed worse in written naming. Similar verbal and written performance for the spelling to dictation task indicates impairment to central spelling processes in AD. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, participants will be able to: (1) identify verbal and written language measures which are sensitive to the effects of mild AD; (2) describe similarities and differences in verbal and written language performance among mild AD subjects, moderate AD subjects, and controls; (3) describe how findings may inform clinical practice for individuals with mild AD.

Aged↗

Training caregivers to facilitate communicative participation of preschool children with language impairment during storybook reading.

UNLABELLED: This study reports the effects of training six adult caregivers to use an interactive reading routine, termed Complete Reading Cycle (CRC), during storybook reading with their preschool children, aged 3;2 to 3;5, who exhibited language impairment. Caregivers were taught to be more responsive to their children's communicative attempts during reading and to more actively engage the children in reading the story. Measures of child change included communicative participation and lexical diversity of utterances during adult-child shared reading. Children significantly increased the frequency of communicative turns, total number of words, and number of different words produced during shared storybook reading as a result of caregiver training. Five of the six children had higher mean frequencies for story initiations during training. However, increases in initiations were not statistically significant, with considerable variability across children for this measure. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to discuss positive communicative changes in children with language impairment during adult-child storybook reading. (2) As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to use the storybook reading procedures with parents of preschool children exhibiting language impairment.

Adult↗

Communication effectiveness of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among speech intelligibility and communication effectiveness as rated by speakers and their listeners. Participants completed procedures to measure (a) speech intelligibility, (b) self-perceptions of communication effectiveness, and (c) listener (spouse or family member) perceptions of communication effectiveness for speakers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The results of this study revealed that perceptions of communication effectiveness for speakers with ALS were quite similar for the speakers and their frequent listeners across 10 different social situations. ALS speakers and their listeners reported a range of communication effectiveness depending upon the adversity of specific social situations. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to identify social contexts that are identified by persons with ALS as difficult for effective communication. (2) As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to describe ALS symptomatology using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. (3) As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to administer the CETI-M as a measure of communication effectiveness for persons with ALS. (4) As a result of this activity, the participant will gain information that will assist them in counseling persons with ALS and their families.

Adult↗

Intelligibility of speech produced during simultaneous communication.

UNLABELLED: This study investigated the overall intelligibility of speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC). Four hearing, experienced sign language users were recorded under SC and speech alone (SA) conditions speaking Boothroyd's (1985) forced-choice phonetic contrast material designed for measurement of speech intelligibility. Twelve hearing-impaired listeners participated, with three of them randomly assigned to audit the speech sample provided by each one of the four speakers under the SC and SA conditions. Although results indicated longer sentence durations for SC than SA, results showed no difference in the overall intelligibility of speech produced during SC versus speech produced during SA, nor any difference in pattern of phonetic contrast recognition errors during SC. This conclusion is consistent with previous research indicating that temporal alterations produced by SC do not produce degradation of temporal or spectral cues in speech or disruption of the perception of specific English phoneme segments. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) describe simultaneous communication; (2) explain the role of simultaneous communication in communication with children who are deaf; (3) discuss methods of measuring speech intelligibility; and (4) specify the ability of listeners to perceive speech produced during simultaneous communication.

Communication↗

Acoustic and perceptual characteristics of vowels produced during simultaneous communication.

UNLABELLED: This study investigated the acoustical and perceptual characteristics of vowels in speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC). Twelve normal hearing, experienced sign language users were recorded under SC and speech alone (SA) conditions speaking a set of sentences containing monosyllabic words designed for measurement of vowel duration, formant frequencies, and fundamental frequency in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) syllables and 60 listeners audited the speech samples. Although results indicated longer sentence and vowel durations for SC than SA, the data showed no difference in spectral characteristics of vowels produced during SC versus SA, indicating no degradation of vowel spectrum by rate alteration during SC. Further, no difference was found in listeners' ability to identify vowels produced during SC versus SA, indicating no degradation of vowel perceptual cues during SC. These conclusions are consistent with previous research indicating that temporal alterations produced by SC do not produce degradation of segmental acoustical characteristics of spoken English. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) describe simultaneous communication; (2) explain the role of simultaneous communication in communication with children who are deaf; (3) describe vowel acoustics in English speech; (4) discuss methods of measuring vowel perception; (5) specify the acoustic characteristics of vowels produced during simultaneous communication; and (6) specify the ability of listeners to perceive vowels in speech produced during simultaneous communication.

Adult↗

Comprehension of idioms in adolescents with language-based learning disabilities compared to their typically developing peers.

UNLABELLED: Adolescents with language-based learning disabilities (LBLD) often interpret idioms literally. When idioms are provided in an enriched context, comprehension is compromised further because of the LBLD student's inability to assign multiple meanings to words, assemble and integrate information, and go beyond a local referent to derive a global, coherent meaning. This study tested the effects of context and familiarity on comprehension of 24 idioms in 22 adolescents with LBLD. The students completed the Idiom Comprehension Test (ICT) [Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 30 (1999) 141; LSHSS 34 (2003) 69] in one of two conditions: in a story or during a verification task. Within each condition were three familiarity levels: high, moderate, and low. The LBLD adolescents' data were then compared to previously collected data from 21 age-, gender-, and reading ability-matched typically developing (TD) peers. The relations between reading and language literacy and idiom comprehension were also examined in the LBLD adolescents. Results showed that: (a) the LBLD adolescents generally performed poorly relative to their TD counterparts; however, the groups performed comparably on the high and moderate familiarity idioms in the verification condition; (b) the LBLD adolescents performed significantly better in the verification condition than in the story condition; and (c) reading ability was associated with comprehension of the low familiarity idioms in the story condition only. Findings are discussed relative to implications for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and educators working with adolescents with LBLD. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) describe the importance of metalinguistic maturity for comprehension of idioms and other figures of speech; (2) understand the roles of context and familiarity when assessing idiom comprehension in adolescents with LBLD; and (3) critically evaluate assessments of idiom comprehension and determine their appropriateness for use with adolescents with LBLD.

Adolescent↗

Pediatricians' opinions about otitis media and speech-language-hearing development.

UNLABELLED: Twenty-five pediatricians responded to a confidential survey about their opinions on the relationship between otitis media and children's speech-language-hearing status. Results found that pediatricians did not necessarily agree that otitis media has an impact on speech-language-hearing development. Pediatricians reported that an early otitis media onset (birth to age 2) affects speech-language development, but they also reported that parents and daycare environments could mitigate any otitis media effect. Pediatricians reported a possible otitis media impact on hearing status, but they did not necessarily agree that an otitis media history required referral for audiological testing. Clinical implications are discussed for collaboration among pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) The reader will become familiar with pediatricians' opinions about the impact of otitis media on speech-language development. (2) The reader will become familiar with strategies to support interdisciplinary collaboration between pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists.

Attitude to Health↗

It is not just the poor kids: the use of AAE forms by African-American school-aged children from middle SES communities.

UNLABELLED: This study examined the production of African-American English (AAE) forms produced by 69 school-aged African-American children from middle socio-economic status (SES) communities to determine if age would influence: (a) the number of different types of AAE tokens and (b) the rate of dialect. Descriptive data revealed that there were more than 20 AAE morpho-syntactic forms collectively used by the children. The findings also indicated that factors of age, gender, and sampling context interacted in a variety of ways to influence these children's production of the number of different types of AAE tokens, and the rate of dialect. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Readers should have (1) an increased awareness about the use of AAE forms in school-age children from middle SES homes; (2) a greater understanding of how the production of AAE might be influenced by age, gender, and sampling context.

Black or African American↗

Stuttering and the basal ganglia circuits: a critical review of possible relations.

UNLABELLED: The possible relation between stuttering and the basal ganglia is discussed. Important clues to the pathophysiology of stuttering are given by conditions known to alleviate dysfluency, like the rhythm effect, chorus speech, and singing. Information regarding pharmacologic trials, lesion studies, brain imaging, genetics, and developmental changes of the nervous system is reviewed. The symptoms of stuttering are compared with basal ganglia motor disorders like Parkinson's disease and dystonia. It is proposed that the basal ganglia-thalamocortical motor circuits through the putamen are likely to play a key role in stuttering. The core dysfunction in stuttering is suggested to be impaired ability of the basal ganglia to produce timing cues for the initiation of the next motor segment in speech. Similarities between stuttering and dystonia are indicated, and possible relations to the dopamine system are discussed, as well as the interaction between the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia. Behavioral and pharmacologic information suggests the existence of subtypes of stuttering. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the reader will (1) become familiar with the research regarding the basal ganglia system relating to speech motor control; (2) become familiar with the research on stuttering with indications of basal ganglia involvement; and (3) be able to discuss basal ganglia mechanisms with relevance for theory of stuttering.

Basal Ganglia↗

Descriptive discourse: topic familiarity and disfluencies.

UNLABELLED: This investigation was undertaken to address questions about topic familiarity and disfluencies during oral descriptive discourse of adult speakers. Participants expressed more attributes when the topic was familiar than when it was unfamiliar. Fillers and lexical pauses were the most frequent disfluencies. The mean duration of each hesitation pause was 776 ms. The sum of hesitation pause durations was well correlated with the number of occurrences. Repetitions, hesitation pauses, and prolongations were shown to have the same role, which was distinct from the role of fillers. The type of analysis conducted in this investigation may be useful in distinguishing between normal and disordered speech production. LEARNING OUTCOMES: The reader will obtain information about the differences between the number of propositions in familiar and unfamiliar oral descriptions. The reader will also become aware of the distribution of disfluencies in discourse categories employed by the participants in this investigation.

Adult↗

Effects of noise and filtering on the intelligibility of speech produced during simultaneous communication.

UNLABELLED: This study investigated the effects of noise and filtering on the intelligibility of speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC). Four normal hearing, experienced sign language users were recorded under SC and speech alone (SA) conditions speaking Boothroyd's forced-choice phonetic contrast material designed for measurement of speech intelligibility. Twenty-four normal hearing listeners audited the speech samples produced by the four speakers under the SC and SA conditions, three listeners in noise and three listeners in filtered listening conditions for each of the four speakers. Although results indicated longer sentence durations for SC than SA, the data showed no difference in the intelligibility of speech produced during SC versus speech produced during SA under either the noise or filtered listening condition, nor any difference in pattern of phonetic contrast recognition errors between the SA and SC speech samples in either listening condition. This conclusion is consistent with previous research indicating that temporal alterations produced by SC do not produce degradation of temporal or spectral cues to speech intelligibility or disruption of the perception of specific English phoneme segments. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) describe simultaneous communication; (2) explain the role of simultaneous communication in communication with children who are deaf; (3) discuss methods of measuring speech intelligibility under filtered and noise conditions; and (4) specify the ability of listeners to perceive speech produced during simultaneous communication under noise and filtered listening conditions.

Adult↗

Phonation offset in tracheoesophageal speech.

UNLABELLED: Tracheoesophageal (TE) speakers often have difficulty producing the voiced-voiceless distinction. Phonation offset (POff) as a TE speaker transitions from a vowel to a stop consonant may be altered, possibly contributing to listener misperceptions. The purposes of this study were to: (1) compare the duration of POff in TE versus laryngeal speakers, and (2) compare POff between TE productions that were accurately versus inaccurately perceived. Phonation offset and offset duration as a proportion of the stop gap (%POff) were greater for the TE versus the laryngeal samples. There was no difference in POff or %POff when comparing accurately to inaccurately perceived TE samples. Tracheoesophageal speakers may have less ability to halt neoglottal vibration compared to laryngeal speakers' ability to stop glottal vibration. Comparable POff for accurately and inaccurately perceived TE samples suggests that POff may not be a particularly salient acoustic feature to the voicing distinction, at least for stop consonants. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) As a result of this activity, participants will be able to describe what phonation offset is relative to the voicing distinction. (2) As a result of this activity, participants will be able to describe phonation offset in tracheoesophageal speakers relative to laryngeal speakers. (3) As a result of this activity, participants will be able to describe whether phonation offset in tracheoesophageal speech has perceptual saliency for listeners.

Aged↗

Complex syntax used by school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) in child-adult conversation.

UNLABELLED: The present study is an investigation of complex sentence structures produced by school-age children in ordinary 100-utterance language samples. A total of 15 children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 15 of their classmates with typical language (TL) were the participants. Each child's conversational sample was coded for several types of complex sentence structures. While a 100-utterance language sample was adequate to yield exemplars of several types of spoken syntactic complexity, findings raise concerns about the content validity of conversational language sampling in the assessment of spoken syntactic complexity. Results also indicated that, although the children with SLI produced fewer complex sentences as well as combined complex sentences than their classmates with TL, they produced some examples of most spoken complex sentence structures in their conversations. Implications for using conversational language sampling to assess complex syntax are discussed. LEARNING OUTCOMES: The reader will (a) explain the strengths and weaknesses of language sampling in assessment of spoken syntactic complexity in school-age children, and (b) describe differences in children with SLI and children with TL for spoken syntactic complexity in child-adult conversation, as well as how to account for those differences.

Adult↗

Low intensity phonological awareness training in a preschool classroom for children with communication impairments.

UNLABELLED: Phonological awareness is a term that refers to one's knowledge of the sound structure of spoken language. Children who understand that sounds in language represent the letters used in reading and writing typically learn to read more easily than children who do not. Children with language and/or speech impairments often demonstrate a lack of phonological awareness. Thus, it is important to identify problems in phonological awareness and to implement intervention programs early. The purpose of this study was to determine if a low intensity, classroom phonological awareness program improved phonological awareness skills for preschool children with language and/or speech impairments. Results suggested that children made significant gains in phonological awareness after participating in the intervention. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the reader will be able to: (1) identify components of phonological awareness program; (2) evaluate effectiveness of phonological awareness intervention.

Articulation Disorders↗

Evidence-based practice in communication disorders: what do we know, and when do we know it?

UNLABELLED: Evidence-based practice (EBP), a framework that originated in clinical medicine, offers a principled means of addressing longstanding questions about clinical practice in communication disorders. However, in several respects EBP represents a radical departure from traditional thinking in speech-language pathology and audiology. In this paper, I first describe some of the ways in which the EBP orientation challenges conventional wisdom. I then describe criteria from the EBP literature to be used in evaluating evidence on diagnostic procedures. Using EBP criteria to design, conduct, and interpret studies will increase the quality of evidence available to support clinical decision-making in communication disorders, and to the credibility of the field as a whole. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Readers will be able to explain why rigorous scientific studies provide a stronger basis for clinical decision-making than do the opinions of authorities. (2) Readers will be able to list five EBP criteria for evaluating a study of diagnosis. (3) Readers will be able to describe and interpret two measures of diagnostic accuracy. (4) Readers will be able to explain the limitations of small-sample studies of diagnostic procedures.

Biomedical Research↗

Clinical trials: CSDRG overview.

UNLABELLED: Recent importance placed upon efficacy research has spawned the development of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Clinical Trials Research Group (CSDRG). This group, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was organized by the American Speech Language and Hearing Association to address the need for more treatment efficacy research in the domains of evaluation and treatment of communication disorders. This paper outlines the functions of the CSDRG and answers commonly asked questions pertaining to efficacy research. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Readers will: (1) understand how the CSDRG functions within our profession; (2) understand the process through which trials are designed by the CSDRG.

Biomedical Research↗

An ongoing randomized clinical trial in dysphagia.

UNLABELLED: Most of us who have clinical practices firmly contend that the treatments we provide cause beneficial changes in the lives of our patients. Indeed, our clinical experience engenders strong convictions to the point of believing that withholding treatment creates ethical violations. Intellectually, however, we must recognize that the value of treatment needs to be validated through scientific evidence. This paper examines the use of randomized clinical trials as a means of obtaining the type of evidence relevant for work in health care settings. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Readers will be able to explain why randomized clinical trials are conducted. (2) Readers will be able to describe the challenges faced when conducting randomized clinical trials. (3) Readers will be able to explain the ethical considerations involved in study design. (4) Readers will be able to describe the implementation and procedures used in Protocol 201. (5) Readers will be able to describe the two dysphagia interventions and the expected short and long-term effects of these interventions.

Aged↗

Evolution of phonemic word fluency performance in post-stroke aphasia.

UNLABELLED: In this longitudinal study, quantitative and qualitative changes in responses of people with aphasia were examined on a phonemic fluency task. Eighteen patients were tested at 3-month intervals on the letters F-A-S while they received comprehensive, intensive treatment from 3 to 12 months post-stroke. They returned for a follow-up evaluation at an average of 10 months post-intervention. Mean group scores improved significantly from beginning to end of treatment, but declined post-intervention. Patients produced a significantly greater number and proportion of modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) between the beginning and end of treatment, with no decline afterwards, implying that they had access to a wider range of grammatical categories over time. Moreover, patients used significantly more phonemic clusters in generating word lists by the end of treatment. These gains may be attributed to the combined effects of time since onset and the linguistic and cognitive stimulation that patients received in therapy. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Readers of this paper should (1) gain a better understanding of verbal fluency performance in the assessment of aphasia, (2) recognize the importance of analyzing qualitative aspects of single word production in aphasia, and (3) contribute to their clinical judgment of long term improvement in aphasia.

Aged↗