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Role of intelligence tests in speech/language referrals.

This study examined the relation of the WISC-R Verbal IQ with measures of oral and written language among 190 students referred to a private educational clinic over a 5-yr. period. Correlations of Verbal IQ with scores on measures of oral language, written language, receptive language, reading comprehension, and basic reading skills were calculated for the total sample and by Grades 1-3, 4-7, and 8-11. Standard regression coefficients were used to estimate the proportion of variance explained by these five measures. Significant correlations were found for Verbal IQ with the measures, ranging from .36 (Basic Reading Skills) to .69 (Receptive Vocabulary). Multiple regression indicated that 59% of the variance was explained by the five measures and that three--Oral Language, Receptive Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension--contributed significantly to Verbal IQ. Correlations across grades showed inconsistent differences by grade for Verbal IQ with language variables. Implications for speech-language referral practices are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Comprehension and production of gestures by children with normal and impaired language at ages 4, 5, and 6.

12 children with normal verbal language, ages 4, 5, and 6, were matched with 12 children with impaired verbal language. When the two groups were compared for comprehension and production of nonverbal gestures as well as verbal language, the latter group scored more poorly in both areas. Implications for speech-language pathologists and other professionals in the assessment and remediation of language in language-impaired children are mentioned.

Age Factors↗

Correlations among WISC-R IQs and several measures of receptive and expressive language for children referred for Special Education.

For 42 children from rural north central Kansas school districts (27 boys, 15 girls) who were referred for Special Education testing, the WISC-R IQs (Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance), the means on the Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised, and the Test of Language Development were recorded from the children's files. No sex differences on any variable were noted; all variables correlated (Pearson) significantly but varied in magnitude. This group of tests, being intercorrelated, can be used to collect information on children's academic, speech, and language abilities. Valid judgments can be made regarding children's academic abilities for school when multiple tests are administered by professional staff.

Child↗

Interrater reliability of the scoring of the screening test of adolescent language.

Group administrations of the Screening Test of Adolescent Language have been successful in identifying students with English-language problems among groups of university students who include many recent immigrants from southeastern Asia. However, scoring several items requires subjective judgement. Accordingly, interrater reliability was investigated by having two independent examiners score the written responses of 299 first-year medical students at two Australian universities. The examiners produced very similar distributions of total scores with means of 20.36 and 19.36 and achieved a high agreement in the categorisation of students with English problems. The Spearman rank-order correlation of 0.83 was high and statistically significant from zero.

Adolescent↗

Language in ageing persons with Down syndrome.

Several cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study were conducted on the language abilities of various cohorts of persons with Down syndrome aged between 14 and 50 years. No significant difference was observed on any of the receptive and productive morphosyntactic and lexical measures used, suggesting no marked change in the language of these persons from adolescence onto late adulthood. Repeated measures of cerebral metabolic rate (CMR) for fluorodeoxyglucose using a Positron Emission Tomography were made over a 4-year interval with 7 participants with Down syndrome aged between 37 and 49 years. A gradual decrease in global CMR for both cerebral hemispheres and for each participant was documented. It was particularly marked for 3 participants. However, no language deterioration could be associated with their marked lowering in CMR.

Adolescent↗

Hereditary dysfunction of the brain stem auditory pathways as the major cause of speech retardation.

Grossly abnormal auditory brain stem responses (ABR) and abnormally high stapedius reflex thresholds were found in 2 pairs of siblings, not akin. Pure tone audiometry showed moderate to moderately severe hearing impairment in all 4 subjects, but neither the ABR findings nor the stapedius reflex thresholds were compatible with pure cochlear lesions. In all the cases the benefit from using hearing aids was conspicuously poor, and the development of oral language markedly retarded, one pair of siblings being essentially incapable of oral--aural communication. A cousin to one of the pairs of siblings showed similar but less pronounced symptoms and signs. Intelligence was judged to be normal in all 5 individuals and neurologic examination did not reveal CNS abnormalities besides the hearing impairment. We assume dysfunction of the brain stem auditory pathways to be the main cause of the speech retardation in the 2 pairs of siblings and the abnormality to be hereditary in nature.

Adolescent↗

ABR in patients with congenital/early acquired sensorineural hearing loss, abnormal stapedius reflex thresholds and speech retardation.

The auditory brain stem response (ABR) was recorded in 14 young subjects with mild to moderately severe congenital/early acquired sensorineural hearing loss and abnormal stapedius reflex thresholds. The speech problems of these patients as evaluated by experienced examiners were considered to be more pronounced than could be explained from the hearing loss as measured by the pure tone audiometry. Psychological testing yielded intelligence scores within normal limits or above average for age in 11. They all gave abnormal ABR, indicating dysfunction of the auditory brain stem pathways or, in a few cases, of the cochlear part of the auditory nerve. Presumably, the electrophysiologically demonstrable pathological changes were caused by perinatal complications or early life infectious disease. ABR may prove valuable in the evaluation of children with speech retardation.

Adolescent↗

Language abilities of mildly closed head injured (CHI) children 10 years post-injury.

The language functioning of a group of 14 children who had sustained a mild closed head injury (CHI) at least 10 years previously was assessed. The subjects were administered a battery of language assessments including an overall language test, and specific language skills assessments. Performance of the head-injured group was compared with that of a group of non-neurologically impaired accident victims matched for age, sex and educational level. Overall language performance of the experimental group did not differ significantly from the controls.

Adolescent↗

Whatever happened after the 'return from silence'?

A case is presented of a child who, following unexpected rapid recovery of functional communication skills 9 months post-severe closed head injury, continued to progress in speech and language skills even 4 years post-injury. Although the child did not recover to premorbid levels of functioning, her recovery over such a protracted period proved quite remarkable. The case is considered in the light of recent findings on the recovery of linguistic skills subsequent to childhood closed head injury.

Anomia↗

Severe closed-head injury in childhood: linguistic outcomes into adulthood.

The language functioning of a group of adults who had sustained a severe closed-head injury in childhood was evaluated. The subjects were administered a battery of language assessments including measures of syntax, semantics and pragmatics, as well as a measure of metalinguistic ability. Performance of the experimental group was compared with that of a control group matched for age, sex and educational level. Results indicated that all areas of language competence assessed (syntax, semantics, pragmatics) appeared to be compromised by the childhood closed-head injury.

Adolescent↗

Auditory deprivation--an intrinsic or extrinsic problem? Some comments on Kyle (1978).

The relevance of animal work to early auditory deprivation, as discussed by Kyle (1978), is questioned. It is argued that auditory experience from birth, or even much later, is not necessarily required for subsequent hearing for spoken language. It is also questioned whether concern for intrinsic difficulties, such as possible cortical damage resulting from auditory deprivation, is appropriate. A more productive approach may be to pay more attention to the extrinsic aspect--the linguistically principled rehabilitation of the hearing-impaired child.

Adolescent↗

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: language deficits in children post-treatment.

The language abilities of a group of 22 children (aged between 5 years and 17 years, 9 months) treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) were investigated and compared with those of a group of non-neurologically impaired, age- and sex-matched controls. The language test battery included an age-appropriate measure from the Test of Language Development (TOLD) series, consisting of either the Test of Adolescent Language (TOAL--2), or the Test of Language Development--Intermediate or --Primary (TOLD--I or --P); the timed subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Function (CELF); the Boston Naming Test; and one of either the Token Test or the Token Test for Children, depending on the age of the subject. As a group, the leukaemia subjects performed significantly worse than the controls on the TOAL--2, TOLD--I, TOLD--P, Token Test, and Boston Naming Test. The need for post-treatment monitoring of the language abilities of children treated for ALL to enable early remediation of areas of deficit is highlighted.

Adolescent↗

Providing intensive therapy in schools for children with no identified provision.

The provision of a speech and language therapy service to a school-age child with little home support and no identified provision for extra help in school has always proved challenging to service providers and causes many services to make hard choices in terms of best use of limited resources. These children commonly at stage three of the Code of Practice (Department for Education 1994) fall between two stools: a school which cannot provide extra help in order to carry out a speech and language therapy programme; and a speech and language therapy service which cannot effect change without back up in the home or school. In this paper a project which provides therapy programmes to this group of children via a student clinical placements initiative is reported. The project is discussed in terms of client outcomes data and offers suggestions as to how findings may be interpreted.

Child↗

Language and conversational abilities in Williams syndrome: how good is good?

Grammatical performance of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) has been reported as being unimpaired, despite their comparatively low IQ and poor general cognitive ability. Specific language impairment (SLI) is often seen as the converse of WS, showing poor linguistic ability relative to level of cognitive functioning. Detailed profiles of language functioning in four children with WS and four with SLI are presented which show a much less clear-cut picture than is often portrayed and suggest that children with WS may be less linguistically able than is commonly reported. A comparison of results on standardised tests with performance in real conversations shows that not only the children with SLI but also those with WS have significant linguistic difficulties. This has clear implications for their management by speech and language therapists.

Child↗

The Listening Skills Test--a new instrument to assess children's pragmatic ability.

Research has established that the development of autonomous (as opposed to collaborative) communication skills, using referential communication speaker and listener tasks, develops only slowly during the primary school years. Such a finding has implications for the classroom which puts a premium on independent language processing. Although the importance of oral language is recognised in the National Curriculum, there has been little attempt to assess the ability formally. The Listening Skills Test is a standardised pragmatic instrument focusing on the 3 1/2-7 years age group. The test is in four parts and assesses the ability to make judgements about the efficacy of verbal messages or instructions. Tasks include relating messages to arrays of pictorial items, making judgements about statements that refer to one complex picture, marking routes on a street plan in response to an extended set of instructions, and the ability to evaluate purely verbal utterances. The overall aim of the test is to assess children's ability to make sense on their own of verbal information in a decontextualised situation thought to represent the nature of much transactional communication in the classroom. Suggestions for remediation that have arisen from research conducted by the authors are also discussed.

Child↗