Speech Language Pathology

Alteraciones del lenguaje en la esquizofrenia: Síntomas clínicos y medidas psicolingüísticas 1 This paper presents the study of global discurso en una muestra de sujetos con coherence of discourse that shows a esquizofrenia y sujetos controles normales, sample of schizophrenic patients and encontrando diferencias significativas matched controls. We found differences entre ambos que se mantienen en el statistically significatives within produc tiempo tions of both groups of subjects stables PALABRAS CLAVES: esquizofrenia, on time. discurso, medidas psicolingüísticas. KEY WüRDS: schizophrenia, discourse, psycholinguistic measures.

Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a iii ETHICAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a My wife, Dories, and my children, Samkelisiwe, Ndumiso and Nokubonga, I LOVE YOU. Thank you for your prayers, the support and patience shown during the period of this study. My mother, Mvuyazi and my Siblings, thank you very much for your support and prayers. My late brother, Isaac, brother Samuel, and uncle DJ, for your inspiration, encouragements and support since boyhood. My supervisor, Prof M W H Braun and my co-supervisor, Dr W J Rauscher, for your unfailing guidance, support, efforts and patience. If it were not for you I would not have completed my studies. My colleagues in the DMSTE at UL, and friends, Dr L T Mabasa, Mr D Mathumbu and Dr T A Mapotse, for your encouragement, assistance and support which were invaluable as this road was not easy to travel, God bless you! The teachers, learners and schools that participated and offered time to make this project a success, thank you so much. I am grateful to the Mpumalanga Department of Education for allowing me to conduct my research in your schools. My gratitude goes to Win Phillips, the editor, who spent long hours editing my work, thank you so much.

Purpose The objective of this study was to examine the effects of coaching by speech-language pathologists on educators' interactive shared book reading, children's participation in shared reading, and children's language development. Method Thirty-two educators and small groups of preschoolers were randomly assigned to experimental and comparison groups. The experimental group ( n = 15) received 4 in-service workshops plus 5 individualized coaching sessions. The comparison group received only the 4 workshops. Participants were video-recorded during a shared book reading activity with a small group of children at pretest and posttest. The video recordings were transcribed and coded to yield measures of conversations, educators' questions, and children's responses. The mean length of utterances of the children's responses was also calculated. Results There were no significant Time × Group interaction effects for the number and length of shared reading conversa...

Kathy L. Chapman, Ph.D., Adriane Baylis, Ph.D., Judith Trost-Cardamone, Ph.D., Kelly Nett Cordero, Ph.D., AngelaDixon, M.A., Cindy Dobbelsteyn, M.Sc., Anna Thurmes, M.A., Kristina Wilson, Ph.D., Anne Harding-Bell, Ph.D.,Triona Sweeney, Ph.D., Gregory Stoddard, Ph.D., Debbie Sell, Ph.D.Objective: To describe the results of two reliability studies and to assess the effect of trainingon interrater reliability scores.Design: The first study (1) examined interrater and intrarater reliability scores (weighted andunweighted kappas) and (2) compared interrater reliability scores before and after training on theuse of the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech–Augmented with British English-speaking children.The second study examined interrater and intrarater reliability on a modified version of the CleftAudit Protocol for Speech–Augmented (Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech–Augmented–AmericleftModification) with American and Canadian English-speaking children. Finally, comparisons weremade between th...

Objective To describe the results of two reliability studies and to assess the effect of training on interrater reliability scores. Design The first study (1) examined interrater and intrarater reliability scores (weighted and unweighted kappas) and (2) compared interrater reliability scores before and after training on the use of the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech–Augmented (CAPS-A) with British English-speaking children. The second study examined interrater and intrarater reliability on a modified version of the CAPS-A (CAPS-A Americleft Modification) with American and Canadian English-speaking children. Finally, comparisons were made between the interrater and intrarater reliability scores obtained for Study 1 and Study 2. Participants The participants were speech-language pathologists from the Americleft Speech Project. Results In Study 1, interrater reliability scores improved for 6 of the 13 parameters following training on the CAPS-A protocol. Comparison of the reliability r...

This study aimed to gather information from school-and clinic-based professionals about their practices and opinions pertaining to the provision of bilingual supports to students with developmental disabilities. Using an online survey, data were collected in six socio-culturally and linguistically diverse locations across four countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. In total, 361 surveys were included in the analysis from respondents who were primarily teachers and speech-language pathologists working in schools, daycares/preschools, or community-based clinics. The overall picture that emerged from the data reflected a disconnection between practice and opinion. In general, respondents believed that children with both mild and severe disabilities are capable of learning a second language, although their opinions were more neutral for the latter group. However, children with both mild and severe disabilities who spoke only a minority language at home had less access to services for second language learners than did their typically developing peers, although respondents agreed that such services should be more available. Regardless of clinical group, children who lived in homes where a minority language was spoken were often exposed to, assessed in, and treated in the majority language only; again, respondents generally disagreed with these practices. Finally, second language classes were less available to children in the two disability groups compared to typically developing bilingual children, with general agreement that the opportunity to acquire a second language should be more available, especially to those with mild disabilities. Although the results indicate that there is a considerable gap between current practices and professional opinions, professionals appear to be more supportive of bilingual educational opportunities for these populations than was suggested by previous research.

Although Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ''everyone has a right to freedom of opinion and expression'', for people with communication disability this may not be a reality. This commentary shares a practical example of how people with communication disabilities together with speech-language pathology (SLP) students, academics and clinical staff co-designed and co-implemented a Communication Awareness Training Programme for catering staff to enable communication access in coffee shops and restaurants. This is an example of how SLPs can embrace their social responsibility to break down barriers for people with communication disabilities. This commentary shares the reflections of those involved and how they felt empowered because they had learned new skills and made a difference. This commentary highlights the need for co-design and co-delivery of programs to raise awareness of communication disability among catering staff and how the stories of people with communication disabilities served as a catalyst for change. It also highlights the need to SLPs to move intervention to a social and community space.

The inscription dating 1216 belonging to the church of Santa Maria de Castrelos (Vigo, Spain) linked to the Knights Hospitallars order of San Juan of Malta is studied; its epigraphic, chronological and historical aspects are also analyzed. Its content allows us to compare both the Knights Hospitallars order in Portugal and in León.

Australian English is a regional dialect of English which shares its phonemic inventory with Southern British English through the historical connection with the dialects of the British Isles (in particular London) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries ). Speakers of present-day Australian English are typically those who are born in Australia or who immigrate at an early age when peer influence is maximal. 1 Such speakers fall into three major dialect subgroups: Standard Australian English, Aboriginal English and Ethnocultural Australian English varieties. Standard Australian English (SAusE) is the dominant dialect and is used by the vast majority of speakers. It is a salient marker of national identity, and is used in broadcasting and in public life. The Aboriginal and Ethnocultural varieties are minority dialects allowing speakers to express their cultural identity within the multicultural Australian context . The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the main features of SAusE. Like all spoken dialects, sociodemographically and stylistically significant accent variation is present in the community. Such variation is chiefly associated with vowel realisation, however, connected speech processes and suprasegmental characteristics also play an extremely important role (see for instance, . The specific detail of these sociostylistic variations present in the dialect will not be offered here as much more work is still required before a solid empirical picture of such variation can be presented. The accent variation that is present amongst speakers of SAusE has traditionally been described with reference to a continuum of broadness, ranging from the most overtly local form (Broad) through to that which bears some resemblance to Received Pronunciation of British English (Cultivated) . Over the past 40 years, there has been a gradual movement of speakers away from the extremities of this broadness continuum reflecting recent sociocultural change in Australia including post-colonial independence and sociopolitical maturity. The majority of younger speakers today prefer to select speech patterns from the central or General part of the broadness continuum . 1 The term 'Australian English' has previously been used more restrictively to describe the dialect of the primarily Anglo-Celtic population of Australian speakers . In this paper we take a more inclusive approach and use the term Australian English more liberally to apply to the dialects of all speakers who are born in and grow up in Australia. The term 'Standard Australian English' is considered a sub-class of Australian English and refers to the majority dialect which contrasts with the other Australian English dialects: Aboriginal English and Ethnocultural varieties.

Australian English Pronunciation and Transcription is the first textbook to clearly describe Australian English speech patterns. This groundbreaking work addresses pronunciation characteristics and provides detailed instruction in both phonetic and phonemic transcription of the dialect. Through comprehensive coverage of traditional and revised systems of phonemic transcription, Australian English Pronunciation and Transcription offers an astute and engaging exploration of one of the core global dialects of English. Australian English Pronunciation and Transcription is complemented by an extensive website, www.cambridge.edu.au/academic/austenglish, which provides further explanatory materials and exercises with audio examples. This unique text, in tandem with these valuable pedagogical features, is an essential resource for students and teachers of linguistics, speech pathology and language education.

Australian English Pronunciation and Transcription is the first textbook to clearly describe Australian English speech patterns. This groundbreaking work addresses pronunciation characteristics and provides detailed instruction in both phonetic and phonemic transcription of the dialect. Through comprehensive coverage of traditional and revised systems of phonemic transcription, Australian English Pronunciation and Transcription offers an astute and engaging exploration of one of the core global dialects of English. Australian English Pronunciation and Transcription is complemented by an extensive website, www.cambridge.edu.au/academic/austenglish, which provides further explanatory materials and exercises with audio examples. This unique text, in tandem with these valuable pedagogical features, is an essential resource for students and teachers of linguistics, speech pathology and language education.

The utilisation of telehealth services in speech-language pathology is increasing and becoming more accessible to individuals. This review aims to explore the effects of telehealth on speech-language pathology outcomes. In addition, this review highlights the extent to which speech pathologists implement telehealth services. Method: An exploratory scoping review was conducted in order to identify the literature and research central to the topic of telehealth in speech-language pathology. Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) scoping review method was utilised for searching multiple databases. Seven databases were utilised in this review. Results: Over 1,500 articles were identified across several databases. A large number of articles were deemed relevant (217). After a secondary screening this number was reduced to seventy-nine (n=79). In addition, some of the identified literature explored telehealth in multidisciplinary settings, which provides an insight into telehealth outcomes, yet do not solely focus on speechlanguage pathology.

Purpose: This project sought to explore the utilisation and effectiveness of alternative and augmentative communication by speech-language pathologists and other health professionals among patients in palliative care (PC) or end-of-life care (EOLC). Method: An exploratory scoping review was conducted aiming to discover key literature, research, approaches and results pertaining to the topic of AAC, SLPs, health practitioners, PC and EOLC. Result: A total of 817 articles were retrieved, however only nine (n = 9) literature reviews were found of relevance to the specific research. Conclusion: The literature identified that SLPs and health practitioners do utilise AAC in palliative and EOLC, however the main focus of the articles related to evaluating the significance and effectiveness of AAC in these settings. Due to the lack of explicit information regarding the utilisation of AAC by SLPs and other health professionals in EOLC settings, conclusions across the relevant literature were found to be similar. That is, AAC strategies were beneficial for patients in EOLC throughout the disease trajectory. AAC was found to increase patient quality of life, as patients were able to communicate their needs and wants to their loved ones and the health-care team. It is strongly recommended that future SLPs and other health practitioners gain appropriate exposure, experience and knowledge regarding AAC, in order to ensure patients and their families are aware of the various options that provide a smoother transition towards EOL.

Este documento presenta una síntesis de una investigación de tipo descriptivo que pretende identificar a partir de la revisión teórica de literatura nacional e internacional y de las contribuciones de clínicos expertos en el área de la rehabilitación vocal, los lineamientos, métodos y procedimientos que guían la evaluación del comportamiento vocal y los principios que orientan la intervención terapéutica, para ello se aplicaron entrevistas, se diseño una guía a partir de dos fuentes: por una parte, de las categorías trabajadas en la revisión conceptual; y por otra, se abordaron y modificaron algunos puntos de un instrumento utilizado por Behrman (1999) en un estudio relacionado con el establecimiento de prácticas comunes en patólogos de habla y lenguaje de la ASHA.

Introducao: o fonoaudiologo atua em diferentes contextos profissionais, realizando diversas intervencoes, que podem ser analisadas quanto as possibilidades de participacao da Fonoaudiologia na insercao social e profissional de seus clientes. Objetivo: investigar a percepcao dos fonoaudiologos sobre como sua atuacao contribui para a integracao social e profissional de seus clientes. Metodos : Casuistica:60 fonoaudiologos.Foi utilizada a tecnica de amostragem por bola de neve, a partir de divulgacao feita por Email em listas de contatos de fonoaudiologos. Os fonoaudiologos responderam um questionario, aplicado em formato online ( Googledocs ®) para a caracterizacao dos participantes e duas questoes dissertativas referentes a integracao social/profissional dos clientes. A analise qualitativa estabeleceu 12 categorias de analise a posteriori a partir das respostas as questoes dissertativas. Resultados: Os sujeitos eram predominantemente mulheres(93,3%), com idade inferior a 41 anos (71,...

Communication problems experienced by nonspeaking, critically ill patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) have serious implications for the physical and psychological well-being of patients and the quality of their care. These problems are most profound for those with prolonged critical illnesses who are at the highest risk of dying. Recently, speech language pathologist (SLP) services have been used to provide augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assistance to this vulnerable group of patients, their caregivers, and medical staff. Here we present three clinical cases that illustrate the application of AAC strategies across different levels of illness severity and communication impairment for nonspeaking patients in the ICU. Both high-tech communication devices with voice output and low-tech options were used for each patient according to their motor and cognitive abilities. To accommodate fluctuations in patient status and communication needs, multiple AAC strategies were integrated into the communication repertoire and tailored for each case. Medical personnel involved in these cases attributed enhanced communication efficiency, improved ventilator weaning trials, and increased patient engagement to the AAC techniques. This approach has the potential to improve symptom communication and to ease suffering for seriously ill ICU patients with speech limitations.

Purpose: Disaster management is a topic that is multi-faceted and intricately maintained by professionals who volunteer their expertise and time to assist those who have been affected by an unforeseen disaster.Creating a well-rounded and effective team is of immense importance during disaster situations. Speech￾language pathologists can provide vital skills in the realm of communication, feeding, and other areas. However, the role of speech language pathologists within the disaster management team is not well documented in the literature. The purpose of the study was to identify awareness, involvement, and training of speech language pathologists in disaster management stages through exploration of their self-reported
knowledge, skills, and roles to better understand their likelihood of response and potential collaborative roles within a disaster management team. Method: To gather data on self-reported awareness, knowledge,
skills, participation, training, and perceptions of speech language pathologists as part of the disaster management stage, a cross-sectional survey study was designed. The study specifically targeted licensed
speech language pathologists within the state of Florida. Results: There were 216 viable survey responses to analyze. Descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted to examine how speech-language
professionals perceive their fit in the arena of disaster management. Speech language pathologists who responded to this survey were primarily white, 40–49-year-old females who had experienced some form of disaster. Most respondents reported receiving no training in disaster management; however, they indicated that speech language pathologists and other healthcare professionals have unique skills that could contribute to disaster management stages. Although there was reportedly limited training
and guidance available and minimal professional experience with disaster, speech language pathologists who reported having professional experience with disaster stages, indicated an increased likelihood of participating in future disaster management. Conclusions: Similar to interdisciplinary teams found in clinical practice, healthcare professionals need training and education about their roles to form teams to address the needs of individuals in all disaster management stages. Analyses indicated that speech
language pathologists perceive themselves, and other healthcare professionals, could provide meaningful contributions to the disaster management team; however, they have not had adequate professional
experience or training.

Measures of speech and language ability in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) at age 4-5 years are reliant on parent and teacher reports and a direct assessment of receptive vocabulary. In Wave 1, 25.2% of parents had concerns about how their child talked and made speech sounds, and teachers reported that 22.3% of children were less competent in their expressive language ability than other children of a similar age (McLeod & Harrison, 2009). Although each of these measures is contextually relevant, the use of different questions makes it difficult to assess the correspondence between parent and teacher identification of children with communication difficulties. Large epidemiological studies often rely on parent and teacher reports alone. It has been suggested that this may misrepresent prevalence rates through failing to identify more subtle impairments (Blum-Harasty & Rosenthal, 1992; Wake & Reilly, 2001) or through over-identifying mild impairments (Whitworth, Davies, Stokes, & Blain, 1993). In LSAC, parent and teacher reports of receptive language ability can be compared with the direct assessment of receptive vocabulary; however, no assessments of speech and expressive language status were conducted. This poster reports findings from the Sound Effects Study, an ARC Discovery Project which used LSAC measures to identify a sample of 143 4-to 5-year-old children (96 boys, 46 girls) identified by parents and or teachers as having difficulty talking and making speech sounds. Specifically, it examines the extent of correspondence between direct assessment of speech impairment and identification by parents, teachers and children. • Parent reported concern for children's speech corresponded most closely to the diagnosis by a qualified speech pathologist of children with speech impairment with a sensitivity of 83 3%

The Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) (McLeod, Harrison & McCormack, 2012a, 2012b; McLeod, Crowe, & Shahaeian, 2015) is a new parent-report screening tool designed to identify young children with speech difficulties. The ICS provides an easy-to-use, cost effective method of early identification of children at risk of future communication and literacy difficulties. It is suited for use in educational, health and disability contexts, providing professionals (teachers, speech-language pathologists) with information about children's intelligibility (how well they are understood by different communication partners, including parents, family members, friends, teachers, and strangers). Early screening for speech sound disorders and childhood apraxia of speech enables families and children to access appropriate early intervention to ameliorate future risks.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the efficacy of water resistance therapy (WRT) in a long-term period of voice treatment in subjects diagnosed with voice disorders. Methods. Twenty participants, with behavioral dysphonia, were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: (1) voice treatment with WRT, and (2) voice treatment with tube phonation with the distal end in air (TPA). Before and after voice therapy, participants underwent aerodynamic, electroglottographic, acoustic, and auditory-perceptual assessments. The Voice Handicap Index and self-assessment of resonant voice quality were also performed. The treatment included eight voice therapy sessions. For the WRT group, the exercises consisted of a sequence of five phonatory tasks performed with a drinking straw submerged 5 cm into water. For the TPA, the exercises consisted of the same phonatory tasks, and all of them were performed into the same straw but the distal end was in air. Results. Wilcoxon test showed significant improvements for both groups for Voice Handicap Index (decrease), subglottic pressure (decrease), phonation threshold pressure (decrease), and self-perception of resonant voice quality (increase). Improvement in auditory-perceptual assessment was found only for the TPA group. No significant differences were found for any acoustic or electroglottographic variables. No significant differences were found between WRT and TPA groups for any variable. Conclusions. WRT and TPA may improve voice function and self-perceived voice quality in individuals with behavioral dysphonia. No differences between these therapy protocols should be expected.

This study is concerned with the expression and recognition of basic emotions in blind and sighted people. We collected audiovisual recordings from blind and sighted people who were asked to produce specific utterances in such a way that they would fit different emotional contexts (i.e., angry, happy, sad, scared). In a perception experiment, 75 sighted participants had to guess which emotion from a blind or sighted person was enacted in one of three conditions (audio-only, video-only, audiovisual). While emotions expressed by sighted people were comparatively more easy to judge in audiovisual and video-only presentations, it turned out to be the case that emotions of blind people were more often correctly classified in the audio-only condition. Interestingly, the general patterns in classification accuracy were remarkably similar across conditions, and across speaker type.

We studied the effect of two social settings (collaborative versus competitive) on the visual and auditory expressions of uncertainty by children in two age groups (8 and 11). We conducted an experiment in which children played a quiz game in pairs. They either had to collaborate or compete with each other. We found that the Feeling-of-Knowing of eight-year-old children did not seem to be affected by the social setting, contrary to the Feeling-of-Knowing of 11-year-old children. In addition, we labelled children’s expressions in clips taken from the experiment for various visual and auditory features. We found that children used some of these features to signal uncertainty and that older children exhibited clearer cues than younger children. In a subsequent perception test, adults rated children’s certainty in clips used for labelling. It appeared that older children and children in competition expressed their confidence level more clearly than younger children and children in colla...

Introduction: Post-extubation swallowing changes are widely identified and studied, in which dysphagia is identified in the oral and pharyngeal phases, accompanied by laryngeal penetration and aspiration. However, orofacial myofunctional changes in post-extubation patients are still not well described in pediatrics. Objective: Verify the influence of orotracheal intubation on orofacial myofunctional changes in lactates. Methods: Cross-sectional study, performed in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit from November 2015 to September 2016. Participants were divided into two groups: study group, with medical diagnosis of congenital heart disease, post-cardiac surgery, undergoing OTI for at least 6 hours, and the control group was composed of infants aged 0 to 6 months, previously healthy, who did not have any previous IOT. After selection, babies from both groups were submitted to the same assessment protocols. * Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre UFCSPA, RS, Brazil. ...

Introduction: Post-extubation swallowing changes are widely identified and studied, in which dysphagia is identified in the oral and pharyngeal phases, accompanied by laryngeal penetration and aspiration. However, orofacial myofunctional changes in post-extubation patients are still not well described in pediatrics. Objective: Verify the influence of orotracheal intubation on orofacial myofunctional changes in lactates. Methods: Cross-sectional study, performed in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit from November 2015 to September 2016. Participants were divided into two groups: study group, with medical diagnosis of congenital heart disease, post-cardiac surgery, undergoing OTI for at least 6 hours, and the control group was composed of infants aged 0 to 6 months, previously healthy, who did not have any previous IOT. After selection, babies from both groups were submitted to the same assessment protocols. * Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre UFCSPA, RS, Brazil. ...

Background: Infectious diseases have always been the lime light of global health with very little focus on childhood surgical conditions despite the fact that children constitute about half of the population in LMICs. A significant proportion of the burden of global disease can be reduced by surgical intervention. South Africa is one of the pioneers of the practice of paediatric surgery in Africa with a great burden of paediatric surgical conditions. Few studies, if any, have investigated the burden of operative paediatric surgical procedures in South Africa. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to look at the scope of operative paediatric surgical procedures at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and reports on the numbers of elective and emergency procedures over a 12-month study period. Results: There were 1699 operative general paediatric surgical procedures of which 61.7% were electives and 38.3% were emergencies. The scope of general paediatric surgical conditions operated on fell under the categories of congenital anomalies, infections and tumours. Of these, surgeries for congenital anomalies were performed in almost all the subspecialties. There is a high operative paediatric surgical burden at the CHBAH. The role of paediatric surgical care as an essential component of global health cannot be underrated.

OBJECTIVE To determine the level of understanding and use of augmentative and alternative communication devices in Pakistani speech pathologists.. METHODS The cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to June 2015 in six major cities of Pakistan: Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. It comprised speech and language pathologists who were asked to fill a questionnaire that consisted of10 questions. Data was analysed using SPSS17. Result: Overall calculated mean and standard error of mean from the respondents who agreed and strongly agreed regarding understanding, opinion-assessment and treatment about augmentative and alternative communication was153±36.373 and 12.124 respectively. RESULTS Of the 132 subjects, 68(51.5%) were in the education group and 64(48.5%) in the control group. Postintervention, 11(16.2%) women in the education group and 37(57.8%)in the control group developed severe preeclampsia. Subsequently, 44(64.7%) in the education group had ...

The purpose of this study was to examine parent/caregiver perspectives and experiences of speech-language pathology provision during the COVID-19 pandemic for children born with cleft palate. An online questionnaire to parents of children born with cleft palate asked about delays and changes to speech-language pathology provision during the first U.K. national lockdown. Parents were also asked their views on the effectiveness of online speech-language pathology provision. Analysis considered variation in speech-language pathology provision by region. Chi-square and Mann–Whitney U tests examined associations between speech-language pathology provision and socioeconomic status and child age. Free text responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three hundred fifty-six (39.3%) children were receiving speech-language pathology intervention before the first national lockdown. A further 49 (9.0%) were due to start speech-language pathology intervention during the lockdown....

Purpose: Aphasia has a negative impact on a person's quality of life (QOL). The Stroke Aphasia Quality of Life-39 scale (SAQOL-39) is a widely-used measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) developed for people with aphasia that has been translated into several languages. Its psychometric properties have been examined not only in English, but also in other languages. This study examined the reliability and validity of a translation and adaptation of the SAQOL-39 into Serbian in Serbian-speaking people with aphasia. Method: Using forward and backward translation, the SAQOL-39 was translated and adapted from English into Serbian and its psychometric properties were examined in 90 Serbian-speaking people with a broad range of times post-onset of aphasia. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and other analyses were conducted. Result: Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Serbian version was high (Cronbach's a > 0.9; ICC !0.87), which is similar to versions of the scale in other languages. The Serbian translation and adaptation of the SAQOL-39 was shown to be a valid and reliable measure of QOL in people with aphasia with reliable psychometric properties and is suitable for the assessment of Serbian people with aphasia.

A multidisciplinary team of experts took stock of the current state of affairs about many aspects of aphasia in India, including community burden, diagnostic assessment, therapy, rehabilitation, research, education, and advocacy. The broad spectrum of aphasiology was matched by the types of participants ranging from neurologists, speech-language pathologists, clinical psychologists, linguists, to experts in neuroimaging and computer sciences. Threadbare discussion in 16 sessions over 3 days leads to the identification of pressing problems and possible solutions. Many action plans have been envisaged and recommendations made. A few examples with high priority are community-based and hospital-based study incidence and prevalence of aphasia, development of test batteries for the assessment of many components of speech and communication in Indian languages which are validated on rigorous psychometric, and linguistic criteria, national registry for aphasia, educational modules about aphasia for different target groups, resources for advocacy and its training, a bank of research questions and outlines of research protocols for young professionals to pursue. The expert group will continue to oversee execution of some of the actionable plans in short and long term.

Purpose: This tutorial is designed for speech-language pathologists who supervise speech-language pathology assistants (SLP-As) and/ or paraeducators. SLP-As and paraeducators often support young children with disabilities within early childhood settings, but do not always have access to professional development to learn and/or enhance their skill set. Practice-based coaching (PBC) provides a collaborative framework under which professionals can effectively implement instructional strategies with fidelity to support preschool children with language delays. Conclusions: In this tutorial, we will share the components of PBC including implementation materials that can be immediately utilized by SLPs. We will also share methods for embedding effective vocabulary instruction into shared book reading sessions to ensure early literacy instruction is more accessible to learners with varying educational needs.

In this article, we consider the processes and knowledge involved in decoding and present some instructional guidelines and suggestions for teaching students the skills necessary for proficient and fluent word reading. The roles and responsibilities of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are also considered. It may have been enough several years ago for SLPs to focus solely on early literacy skills and phonological awareness. This is not the case today. SLPs not only need to collaborate with teachers to develop a comprehensive approach to literacy, but also should be providing direct, explicit instruction of decoding skills for students with language and learning disabilities.

We respond to Bellis, Chermak, Weihing, and Musiek's (2012) criticisms of the evidence-based systematic review of on the effects of auditory training on auditory, spoken, and written language performance of children with auditory processing disorder or language impairment. In general, we argue that the conceptualizations and methods on which our review was based were well motivated, and that our original conclusions are valid given the limited evidence that is currently available from clinical studies of auditory training with school-age children with auditory processing disorder or language impairment.

PurposeTo consider whether auditory processing disorder (APD) is truly a distinct clinical entity or whether auditory problems are more appropriately viewed as a processing deficit that may occur with various developmental disorders.MethodTheoretical and clinical factors associated with APD are critically evaluated.ResultsThere are compelling theoretical and clinical reasons to question whether APD is in fact a distinct clinical entity. Not only is there little evidence that auditory perceptual impairments are a significant risk factor for language and academic performance (e.g., Hazan, Messaoud-Galusi, Rosan, Nouwens, & Shakespeare, 2009; Watson & Kidd, 2009), there is also no evidence that auditory interventions provide any unique benefit to auditory, language, or academic outcomes (Fey et al., 2011).ConclusionBecause there is no evidence that auditory interventions provide any unique therapeutic benefit (Fey et al., 2011), clinicians should treat children who have been diagnosed ...

Purpose In this afterward, I will offer some final thoughts on this clinical forum by considering a central question of EBP—how experimental validation is defined—to illustrate the difficulty involved in implementing EBP. Method The comments draw on critical reviews I have received on my article in this forum and conversations I have had with professional colleagues about EBP. Conclusion Like most scientific constructs, EBP is open to different interpretations. At their worst, these differences have the potential to polarize clinical practice. The hope, however, as Kent and Fey have expressed, is that articles and commentaries such as these will serve as the basis for discussion and even argument among clinicians and researchers as we attempt to define a philosophy and implementation of EBP suited to our profession.

We tested the applicability of the Goettinger Hoarseness Diagram (GHD) for quantitative evaluation of voice disorders after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and compared the obtained data with those from established voice analysis systems such as the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP), electroglottography (EGG) and perceptual ratings using sustained vowel productions from 10 patients with TBI dysarthrophonia at late stages postinjury and of 10 healthy control speakers. Statistical analyses revealed significant intergroup differences with respect to various acoustic and perceptual measures, i.e., irregularity component, noise component, noise-to-harmonic ratio, shimmer, jitter, roughness, creakiness, strained-strangledness, hypernasality. By contrast, the considered EGG estimates, i.e., open quotient and speed quotient, did not allow for separation of patients and controls. In addition, the two GHD components exhibited close correlations to perceived roughness and creakiness, ...

Following , the process of recovery from aphasia is seen as involving stimulation, motivation, and facilitation. The most adequate studies of aphasia therapy outcome focus on facilitation to the virtual exclusion of stimulation and motivation, although clinical experience suggests their importance. Motivation includes both the subjective and experiential aspects of the patient's response to aphasic disablement (anxiety, feelings of inadequacy) and the quality of the speech-therapist/ patient alliance during the treatment. Retrospective studies utilizing sufficiently improved aphasics and ratings of the patient-therapist alliance are suggested as preliminary means of defining "motivation" in this context more accurately. Research approaches are also outlined which would assess the importance of and interaction between the three factors implicated in recovery for therapeutic outcome. Research into the outcome of aphasia therapy suffers from a variety of conceptual and methodological shortcomings . Darley (1977) notes: No investigation to date has included an adequately selected control group of untreated patients for comparison with an adequate experimental group of treated patients. No study to date has been of such magnitude or scientific rigor as to yield unequivocal differential statements about the objectively measured improvement of patients with aphasia of various etiologies, severity and duration; site and extent of the lesion; and ages, health, and backgrounds of patients subjected to competent treatment regimens of various types, intensities, and durations. Clinical experience and discussions of aphasia therapy repeatedly emphasize the importance of psychological factors, especially the role of motivation in the patient's treatment (Darley

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) constitute a group of disorders characterized by changes present at early ages and manifesting in the areas of development of communication, behavior, and interpersonal relationship. Because ASD significantly affects communication and the social skills, all multicultural context needs to be better investigated. There is an urgent need to understand the impact of migratory process, bilingual environment exposure on the language development of children with ASD. The present study aims to present the results of 657 foreign residents in Brazil that answered an online questionnaire to know the consolidated information about ASD. Participants from 23 countries responded to the survey. Bolivia and Argentina were the countries with the highest number of participants. The present study found that 100% of the participants have heard of autism. About 80.6% of the sample had a family member with autism. The sociodemographic diversity identified in this study reflects the sociocultural diversity present in Brazil, besides reinforcing the importance of considering this population when thinking about strategies and behaviors directed at individuals with ASD.

This issue of the JSBFa presents 12 original articles, two case reports, an article on evidence-based Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and a brief communication. The common thread is to highlight various aspects of normality in the area of human communication disorders, hearing, balance and swallowing. The area of orofacial myology contributed with four original articles, one related to aspects of swallowing, and also a critical review of the literature on exercise physiology published in the session of Evidence-Based Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. The area of language contributed with six original articles, including two on aspects of writing, one on the relationship between auditory processing and phonological awareness and another on a test for assessment of aphasia, as well as a case study on the functional aspects of communication in small children. The voice area contributed with an original article on theatre actors and a brief communication on two response modalities of a self-assessment protocol of the impact of dysphonia. The area of balance contributed with an original article that analyzed the posture based on virtual reality stimuli. The first orofacial myology article, from Ramires, Ferreira, Marchesan, Cattoni & Andrada e Silva, presents a proposal for facial type determination through anthropometry, analyzing 105 adults and concluding that some indexes and proportions vary according to facial type and gender, although anthropometric variables did not prove reliable in predicting facial types. The article from Motta, César, Bommarito & Chiari analyzed the axial force of the tongue in 92 individuals from different ages and verified that the medium period to reach the tongue's maximum force is shorter in adults, although the maximum force and the tongue's accumulated energy are not influenced by age. The article from Silva-Munhoz & Bühler describes the fluoroscopic findings of swallowing in 20 preterm infants, comparing them to 17 full-term infants. The authors concluded that preterm infants from zero to six months of age have nasopharyngeal and gastroesophageal reflux, as well as more desaturation, hypothesizing that the swallowing disorders were due to immaturity in the swallowing function. The article from Pernambuco, Silva, Lima, Cunha, Santos, Cunha & Leão characterized the electrical activity of the masseter muscle during swallowing of liquids in 14 healthy young adults and concluded that there is muscle electrical activity during this task, with different responses bilaterally, influenced by the volume swallowed. Regarding the articles on the area of language, the first contribution, from Ortiz & Costa, evaluated the use of M1-Alpha test in 30 normal subjects with low education, from both genders, to obtain reference data, and concluded that low education influenced the performance of subjects in tasks of copying, writing to dictation, reading comprehension and reading aloud. The study from Capellini, Amaral, Oliveira, Sampaio Fusco, Cervera-Mérida & Ygual-Fernández characterized the spelling performance of 120 students, from 2nd to 5th grade from public school, based on the semiology of the error. The authors concluded that the profile of spelling acquisition in the Portuguese writing system indicates normal development of writing in this population, showing progress according to education level. The study from Bigarelli & Ávila also analyzed the narrative and orthographic writing abilities in elementary school students, identifying characteristics and correlations in 160 children between 8 and 12 years old. The study concluded that the private schools students presented a better orthographic and narrative performance than the public school students; as the grades progressed, their performance in writing and text production tasks were influenced. The article from Grivol & Hage analyzed the phonological working memory of 90 normal subjects -30 children, 30 adults, and 30 elderly -and concluded that elderly obtained worse performance, and that adults have better storage of verbal material, suggesting that phonological working memory suffers decline with the aging process.

Objectives/Hypothesis. To verify the discriminatory ability of human and synthesized voice samples. Study Design. This is a prospective study. Methods. A total of 70 subjects, 20 voice specialist speech-language pathologists (V-SLPs), 20 general SLPs (G-SLPs), and 30 naive listeners (NLs) participated of a listening task that was simply to classify the stimuli as human or synthesized. Samples of 36 voices, 18 human and 18 synthesized vowels, male and female (9 each), with different type and degree of deviation, were presented with 50% of repetition to verify intrarater consistency. Human voices were collected from a vocal clinic database. Voice disorders were simulated by perturbations of vocal frequency, jitter (roughness), additive noise (breathiness) and by increasing tension and decreasing separation of the vocal folds (strain). Results. The average amount of error considering all groups was 37.8%, 31.9% for V-SLP, 39.3% for G-SLP, and 40.8% for NL. V-SLP had smaller mean percentage error for synthesized (24.7%), breathy (36.7%), synthesized breathy (30.8%), and tense (25%) and female (27.5%) voices. G-SLP and NL presented equal mean percentage error for all voices classification. All groups together presented no difference on the mean percentage error between human and synthesized voices (P value ¼ 0.452). Conclusions. The quality of synthesized samples was very high. V-SLP presented a lower amount of error, which allows us to infer that auditory training assists on vocal analysis tasks.

Background: Functional neurological disorder (FND) is common across healthcare settings. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that speech and swallowing symptoms can be present in FND. Despite this, there is a dearth of guidelines for speech and language therapists (SLTs) for this client group. Aim: To address the following question in order to identify gaps for further research: What is known about speech, language and swallowing symptoms in patients with FND? Methods: A scoping review was conducted. Six healthcare databases were searched for relevant literature: CINAHL PLUS, MEDLINE, ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Professionals, Science Citation Index, Scopus and PsychINFO. Main Contribution: 63 papers were included in the final review which ranged from 1953 to 2018. Case studies were the most frequent research method (n=23, 37%). "Psychogenic" was the term used most frequently (n=24, 38%) followed by "functional" (n=21, 33%). Speech symptoms were reported most frequently (n=41, 65%), followed by language impairments (n=35, 56%) and then dysphagia (n=13, 21%). Only 11 publications comment on the involvement of SLTs. Eight papers report direct speech and language therapy input however none studied the effectiveness of speech and language therapy. Conclusion: Speech, language and swallowing symptoms do occur in patients with FND yet is a highly under-researched area. Further research is required to create a set of positive diagnostic criteria, gather accurate data on numbers of patients with FND and speech, language or swallowing symptoms and to evaluate the effectiveness of direct speech and language therapy involvement.

BackgroundFunctional neurological disorder (FND) is common across healthcare settings. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that speech and swallowing symptoms can be present in FND. Despite this, there is a dearth of guidelines for speech and language therapists (SLTs) for this client group.AimsTo address the following question in order to identify gaps for further research: What is known about speech, language and swallowing symptoms in patients with FND?Methods & ProceduresA scoping review was conducted. Six healthcare databases were searched for relevant literature: CINAHL PLUS, MEDLINE, ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Professionals, Science Citation Index, Scopus, and PsychINFO. The following symptoms were excluded from the review: dysphonia, globus pharyngeus, dysfluency, foreign accent syndrome and oesophageal dysphagia.Main ContributionA total of 63 papers were included in the final review; they ranged in date from 1953 to 2018. Case studies we...

Dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing) is a predictable consequence of head and neck cancer and its treatment. Loss of the ability to eat and drink normally has a devastating impact on quality of life for survivors of this type of cancer. Most rehabilitation programmes involve behavioural interventions that include swallowing exercises to help improve swallowing function. Such interventions are complex; consisting of multiple components that may influence outcomes. These interventions usually require patient adherence to recommended behaviour change advice. To date, reviews of this literature have explored whether variation in effectiveness can be attributed to the type of swallowing exercise, the use of devices to facilitate use of swallowing muscles, and the timing (before, during or after cancer treatment). This systematic review will use a behavioural science lens to examine the content of previous interventions in this field. It aims to identify (a) which behaviour change compone...

Patient satisfaction with healthcare has a major impact on clinical outcomes and compliance. Satisfaction with telehealth services for speech and language problems has been documented but not in post-stroke aphasia. The main objective here was to evaluate patient satisfaction with speech tele rehabilitation based on the PACE pragmatic rehabilitation approach in post-stroke aphasia. This study was embedded in a pre-/post-test feasibility and efficacy study in which 20 patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia received 3 weeks of speech therapy (9 sessions) through in-home telerehabilitation. A telerehabilitation platform based on a commercial videoconferencing system (Tandberg 550 MXP) with custom software was used to transmit audio, video and data through a high-speed Internet connection between the participant’s home and the clinician. Participants’ satisfaction with in-home telerehabilitation and healthcare received was assessed using French adaptations of the Telemedicine Satisfa...