Monthly Archives: February 2009
Phonological awareness and early reading development in childhood apraxia of speech (CAS)
Conclusions & Implications: Children with CAS are particularly susceptible to phonological awareness and reading delay. Intervention for children with CAS must facilitate skills underlying reading development in addition to resolving speech deficits in order to improve the spoke and written language outcomes of this population.
from the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
Maternal input and lexical development: the case of deaf pre-schoolers
Conclusions & Implications: The results indicate that hearing mothers were sensitive to the needs of their deaf children. This sensitivity was to children’s word knowledge. Mothers seemed aware of what words were in their children’s lexicon. Mothers did not rely on their children’s ability to use novel mapping, even for the linguistically advanced children.
from the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
Exploration of a ‘double-jeopardy’ hypothesis within working memory profiles for children with specific language impairment
Conclusions & Implications: A predominant feature of the working memory profile of SLI was a marked deficit on phonological loop tasks. Although scores on complex working memory tasks were also depressed, there was little evidence for a strong interpretation of double-jeopardy within working memory profiles for these children, rather these findings were consistent with an interpretation of a constraint on phonological loop for children with SLI that operated at all levels of a hierarchical tripartite model of working memory (Baddeley and Hitch 1974). These findings imply that low scores on complex working memory tasks alone do not unequivocally imply an independent deficit in central executive (domain-general) resources of working memory and should therefore be treated cautiously in a clinical context.
from the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
Coping ability and everyday life situations in relation to audiological rehabilitation
Abstract
The relationship between the reported use of coping strategies and experience of everyday life prior to audiological rehabilitation and the number of rehabilitation consultations needed, were studied in a group of adults. The study took place at St. Olav’s University Hospital, Norway and included 132 adult patients (77 men and 55 women) with no previous audiological rehabilitation or experience with hearing aid (HA) use. Hearing impairment was assessed by pure tone audiometry, while use of communication specific coping strategies and daily life situations were obtained using self-report inventories. The latter concerned activity limitation, participation restriction, and psychological well-being. The patients’ hospital records were reviewed approximately 18 months after their first consultation. In total, 41 patients (31%) needed no more than the required minimum number of three consultations to complete rehabilitation including HA fitting, while 91 patients needed more than this. Logistic regression was used to study coping and everyday life in relation to the need for three versus more consultations. Little experienced participation restriction was related to the need for only three consultations. Use of communication specific coping strategies, activity limitation, or psychological well-being was not associated with the number of consultations needed.
Area Spt in the Human Planum Temporale Supports Sensory-Motor Integration for Speech Processing
Processing incoming sensory information and transforming this input into appropriate motor responses is a critical and ongoing aspect of our moment-to-moment interaction with the environment. While the neural mechanisms in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) that support the transformation of sensory inputs into simple eye or limb movements has received a great deal of empirical attention – in part because these processes are easy to study in non-human primates – little work has been done on sensory-motor transformations in the domain of speech. Here, we used fMRI and multivariate analysis techniques to demonstrate that a region of the Planum Temporale (Spt) shows distinct spatial activation patterns during sensory and motor aspects of a speech task. This result suggests that just as the PPC supports sensorimotor integration for eye and limb movements, the Spt forms a sensory-motor integration circuit for the vocal tract.
from the Journal of Neurosphysiology
Constraint-Induced Language Therapy
Constraint-induced language therapy (CILT), a treatment technique for individuals with aphasia, has received considerable attention in the recent literature. Although introduced less than 10 years ago, CILT has garnered much interest among practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers, thereby making the topic one of considerable importance to the profession. Derived from animal studies and modeled after constraint-induced movement therapy used in physical therapy for individuals with limb weakness, CILT encompasses basic neuroscience principles, including forced use of verbal language and massed practice.
In CILT, a small group of patients with aphasia take part in language activities in which they are constrained to verbal responses that are shaped toward more expansive utterances over time. In contrast to other aphasia treatment approaches that promote the use of compensatory communication modalities such as gesture, drawing, or writing, in CILT no compensatory nonverbal communication strategies are allowed during the language activities. Improved verbal responses are the goal of treatment. Furthermore, treatment is provided on an intensive schedule, up to three hours per day for five days per week.
from the ASHA Leader
Reading, dyslexia and the brain
Conclusions: Different neuroimaging methods can contribute different kinds of data relevant to key questions in education. The most informative studies with respect to causation will be longitudinal prospective studies, which are currently rare.
from Educational Research
Pelizaeus Merzbacher disease: morphological analysis of the vestibulo-cochlear system
Abstract
Conclusion: In agreement with previously published findings, our results demonstrate that Pelizaeus Merzbacher disease (PMD) does not affect the development and morphology of the peripheral vestibulo-cochlear system. Objective: PMD is a consequence of X-linked mutation of the main central nervous system (CNS) myelin protein resulting in a complex neurological syndrome. Otorhinolaryngological symptoms include nystagmus and alterations of auditory-evoked brainstem responses. To date no histopathological analysis of the inner ear has been performed. Materials and methods: The temporal bone morphology of an affected fetus was examined with light microscopy and synchrotron radiation-based micro computed tomography. Results: The regular structure of the vestibulo-cochlear system was shown in this multi-modular analysis.
Clinical outcomes of scala vestibuli cochlear implantation in children with partial labyrinthine ossification
Abstract
Conclusion. Cochlear implantation via the scala vestibuli is a viable approach in those with ossification in the scala tympani. With extended cochlear implant experience, there is no significant difference in the mapping parameters and auditory performance between those implanted via scala vestibuli and via scala tympani. Objectives. To assess the clinical outcomes of cochlear implantation via scala vestibuli. Patients and methods. In a cohort follow-up study, 11 prelingually deafened children who received cochlear implantation between age 3 and 10 years through the scala vestibuli served as participants. The mapping parameters (i.e. comfortable level (C), threshold level (T), dynamic range) and auditory performance of each participant were evaluated following initial cochlear implant stimulation, then at 3 month intervals for 2 years, then semi-annually. The follow-up period lasted for 9 years 9 months on average, with a minimum of 8 years 3 months. Results. The clinical results of the mapping parameters and auditory performance of children implanted via the scala vestibuli were comparative to those who were implanted via the scala tympani. No balance problem was reported by any of these patients. One child exhibited residual low frequency hearing after implantation.
Human Cortical Organization for Processing Vocalizations Indicates Representation of Harmonic Structure as a Signal Attribute
The ability to detect and rapidly process harmonic sounds, which in nature are typical of animal vocalizations and speech, can be critical for communication among conspecifics and for survival. Single-unit studies have reported neurons in auditory cortex sensitive to specific combinations of frequencies (e.g., harmonics), theorized to rapidly abstract or filter for specific structures of incoming sounds, where large ensembles of such neurons may constitute spectral templates. We studied the contribution of harmonic structure to activation of putative spectral templates in human auditory cortex by using a wide variety of animal vocalizations, as well as artificially constructed iterated rippled noises (IRNs). Both the IRNs and vocalization sounds were quantitatively characterized by calculating a global harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR). Using functional MRI, we identified HNR-sensitive regions when presenting either artificial IRNs and/or recordings of natural animal vocalizations. This activation included regions situated between functionally defined primary auditory cortices and regions preferential for processing human nonverbal vocalizations or speech sounds. These results demonstrate that the HNR of sound reflects an important second-order acoustic signal attribute that parametrically activates distinct pathways of human auditory cortex. Thus, these results provide novel support for the presence of spectral templates, which may subserve a major role in the hierarchical processing of vocalizations as a distinct category of behaviorally relevant sound.
Volunteering amongst persons who use augmentative and alternative communication *
Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract.
Revisiting Jarrod: Applications of gestural phonology theory to the assessment and treatment of speech sound disorder
Abstract
Gestural phonology theory questions the dominance of phonological explanations of speech sound disorder in light of technological advances in the measurement of speech articulation. A gestural phonology approach investigates the movements of articulators rather than higher level phonological forms, suggesting that many speech sound disorders are the result of difficulties generating and coordinating articulatory gestures. This has significant implications for assessment and treatment, as new methods are required to investigate articulatory gestures. This article revisits the case of Jarrod, who was the feature of a special issue of Advances in Speech-Language Pathology 8(3) which provided perspectives on a child with unintelligible speech. Jarrod’s assessment data is re-evaluated in light of gestural phonology theory and technological advancements in assessment of speech. Non-standard assessment techniques such as pause distribution analysis, vowel quadrilateral and spectral moment analysis are applied to investigate articulatory movement. Results indicate difficulties with fine force control, coupled with difficulties with timing of articulation, resulting in marked unintelligibility. Treatment recommendations based on these results are presented, incorporating the principles of gestural phonology and dynamic systems theory.
Reflecting connections with the local language: New Zealand English *
Abstract
Speech-language pathologists focus on the details of their clients’ communication difficulties. This is essential in order to carry out therapy appropriately. They often have less time to focus on the state of the language variety, for example Australian English or New Zealand English, in which they are doing therapy. Language variety becomes salient when a speech-language pathologist moves countries and adjustments must be made to his/her habitual clinical expectations. However the local variety can become no more than “background noise” if the clinician continues to practise within a local area. It is essential to examine the details of the local variety of our language in order to keep our perceptions honed and our connections current. This paper will reflect on connections between New Zealand and Australian varieties of English—their shared origins, similarities and differences and changes in progress. Relevance to speech-language pathologists will be emphasized. A sound file is provided (online at www.informaworld.com/ijslp) with a young NZ woman saying the NZE vowels in a /b-t/ framework and also each of John Wells’ key words.
Proceedings of the joint conference of Speech Pathology Australia and the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists’ Association, Auckland, New Zealand, 2008
Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract.
