Monthly Archives: March 2011
High-functioning autism or asperger’s syndrome: The language issue
Conclusions: Despite substantial limits linked to the validity of the results obtained by the subject studies, the conclusions do favour challenging the validity of criterion D of the DSM-IV (2000).
from CASLPA, The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
The irritable larynx syndrome as a central sensitivity syndrome
The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for irritable larynx syndrome have a high incidence of co-morbidity with irritable bowel syndrome, fi bromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and migraine. A second goal of the study was to provide support for the hypothesis that the irritable larynx syndrome represents a central sensitivity syndrome in which laryngeal and paralaryngeal muscle systems overreact to normal sensory stimuli. One-hundred-and-ninety-fi ve consecutive patients given the diagnosis of irritable larynx syndrome between the years 2000 and 2008 were reviewed for symptom distribution, symptom triggers and treatment profi les. Co-morbidity data were recorded for psychiatric diagnoses, irritable bowel syndrome, fi bromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma, chronic headache and multiple chemical sensitivity. Many patients in the group had prior or current diagnoses of depression (54%) or anxiety (38%). Other diagnoses included irritable bowel syndrome (57% of patients), fi bromyalgia (28%), chronic fatigue syndrome (42%), and chronic headache (49%). More than half of the patients reported two or more of the co-morbidities. We conclude that irritable larynx syndrome is usually seen in patients manifesting a broad picture of disorder due to central nervous system hypersensitivity. Irritable larynx symptoms in patients with central sensitivity syndrome may relate to co-existent gastroesophageal refl ux. Caregivers need to be aware of these related disorders and understand how treatment modalities are integrated.
from CASLPA, The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
Blind randomized controlled study of the efficacy of cognitive training in Parkinson’s disease
The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of a cognitive training program on cognitive performance and quality of life in nondemented Parkinson’s disease patients. Participants who met UK Brain Bank diagnosis criteria for Parkinson’s disease, with I–III Hoehn & Yahr, aged 50–80, and nondemented (Mini-Mental State Examination ≥ 23) were recruited. Patient’s cognitive performance and functional and quality-of-life measures were assessed with standardized neuropsychological tests and scales at baseline and after 4 weeks. Subjects were randomly and blindly allocated by age and premorbid intelligence (Vocabulary, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III) into 2 groups: an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received 4 weeks of 3 weekly 45-minute sessions using multimedia software and paper-and-pencil cognitive exercises, and the control group received speech therapy. A total of 28 patients were analyzed. Compared with the control group participants (n = 12), the experimental group participants (n = 16) demonstrated improved performance in tests of attention, information processing speed, memory, visuospatial and visuoconstructive abilities, semantic verbal fluency, and executive functions. There were no observable benefits in self-reported quality of life or cognitive difficulties in activities of daily living. We concluded that intensive cognitive training may be a useful tool in the management of cognitive functions in Parkinson’s disease. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society
from Movement Disorders
Assessing the productive vocabulary of Spanish–English bilingual toddlers from low-income families
This study investigates the utility and validity of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) for use with low-income parents and their 24- to 36-month-old Spanish–English bilingual children (n = 79). Issues in the interpretation of the integrated CDI/Inventarios del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas (IDHC) score to index bilingual children’s overall conceptual knowledge are also considered. Results indicate that the CDI/IDHC can be used with this population through at least age 36 months and parents are accurate reporters of their children’s Spanish and English vocabulary. The value of the integrated score was confirmed. However, given the lack of norms associated with the integrated score, the complexity of determining how best to interpret this score was underscored.
Changes in language usage of Puerto Rican mothers and their children: Do gender and timing of exposure to English matter?
This longitudinal study investigated changes in reported language usage between Puerto Rican mothers and their preschoolers over a 4-year period. It also examined whether differences in language usage occurred depending on the timing of children’s exposure to English and children’s gender. Seventy-six mothers reported the languages they and their children used when talking to each other during 2 years in Head Start, kindergarten, and first grade. Mothers of children who were exposed to Spanish and English prior to preschool entry reported using more English to their children than mothers of children who were not exposed to English until after preschool entry. The language usage of the children followed the same patterns as their mothers. The difference between the groups was maintained over the 4 years, although both groups increased their English usage. A gender effect was observed. Mothers of girls were five times more likely to use “More or All Spanish” than mothers of sons. In addition, girls who were exposed to Spanish only prior to preschool entry were six times more likely to speak to their mothers in “More or All Spanish” than other participating children. The bidimensional model of acculturation is used to present and interpret the findings.
Do dyslexics have auditory input processing difficulties?
Word production difficulties are well documented in dyslexia, whereas the results are mixed for receptive phonological processing. This asymmetry raises the possibility that the core phonological deficit of dyslexia is restricted to output processing stages. The present study investigated whether a group of dyslexics had word level receptive difficulties using an auditory lexical decision task with long words and nonsense words. The dyslexics were slower and less accurate than chronological age controls in an auditory lexical decision task, with disproportionate low performance on nonsense words. The finding suggests that input processing difficulties are associated with the phonological deficit, but that these difficulties may be stronger above the level of phoneme perception.
Apparent-time evolution of /l/ in one African American community
In the wake of numerous analyses of vowels in African American English (AAE), this study examines acoustically the phonetic production of a consonant—the word-initial lateral /l/—across several generations of speakers from a long-standing African American community in central North Carolina. The results of the study show that /l/ is darker in younger AAE speakers than in older ones, independent of phonetic context. Comparisons with ex-slave recordings suggest that a light variant of /l/ may be a substrate feature of AAE that has changed in recent decades. Additional comparisons with regional European Americans suggest that the darkening may be due to convergence with majority American English dialects.
Interaction between social category and social practice: explaining was/were variation
This paper explores the ways in which structural and practice-based social constraints contribute to the maintenance of nonstandard were in Bolton, England. Using data from a school ethnography, 2747 tokens of first- and third-person singular was/were are analyzed according to informants’ social class, community of practice, self-identification, and place of birth. Varbrul analyses reveal consistencies in the linguistic constraints on variation irrespective of the type of social analysis undertaken. These patterns generally confirm the findings of previous was/were studies. However, comparisons of log likelihood results suggest that although different social factors constrain this variation with varying degrees of accuracy, no one factor alone sufficiently explains it. Comparisons of groups and individual speakers reveal that nonstandard were maintenance is in fact explained by the combined effect of an established correlation between nonstandard were and local social structures and on-going revitalization of the form in contemporary forms of social practice.
The sociolinguistic variant as a carrier of social meaning
Traditionally used as a “heuristic device” (Labov, 1978), the sociolinguistic variable has taken on a new role as a primitive of speaker/hearer mental models in third-wave variation work (Eckert, 2005, 2008). Results from a sociolinguistic perception study suggest that at least in some cases, variants of the same variable function independently as loci of indexically linked social meaning. Listener responses were collected to three matched guises of the English variable (ING): -in, -ing, and a neutral guise with no audible (ING) tokens. The results counter the study hypothesis that listener expectation, triggered by speaker regional accent, would shape (ING)’s impact. Instead, the two variants showed distinct social associations: the -ing guises were rated as more intelligent/educated, more articulate, and less likely to be a student than either the -in or neutral guises, which did not differ significantly. In contrast, -in guises made speakers sound less formal and less likely to be gay than the -ing and neutral guises, which did not differ. These results suggest that third-wave work needs to more closely examine the role of the variable in theorizing the relationship between linguistic and social structures.
Otorhinolaryngological findings and hearing in HIV-positive and HIV-negative children in a developing country
The otorhinolaryngological (ORL) manifestations of Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are common, but remain poorly characterized among children of Sub-Saharan Africa, where 90% of new pediatric infections occur. Our objective was to compare ORL findings and hearing in HIV-positive and -negative children of Luanda, Angola, using a comparative study of 78 outpatients from the HIV polyclinic and of 78 age- and sex-matched controls in a pediatric hospital with interview, general and ORL examination, brainstem auditory evoked potentials, and at age >5 years pure tone open-air audiometry. ORL pathology emerged in 92% of HIV-positive and 78% (p = 0.02) of control children. HIV-associated ORL findings comprised dental caries (56 vs. 32%; p = 0.0009), cervical lymphadenopathy >1 cm (45 vs. 10%; p < 0.0001), facial skin lesions (32 vs. 5.1%; p 25 dB (13 vs. 1%; p = 0.009). Other HIV-associated characteristics included ear pain (44 vs. 27%; p = 0.006), earlier otorrhea episodes (34 vs. 17%; p = 0.004), tuberculosis (29 vs. 2.6%; p < 0.0001), and pneumonia (22 vs. 2.6%; p = 0.0003). ORL pathology appeared usual in both HIV-positive and -negative children. However, the overall high frequency and severity of the findings among the HIV-positive children require regular inclusion of the ORL area in these children’s clinical evaluation.
Different resting state brain activity and functional connectivity in patients who respond and not respond to bifrontal tDCS for tinnitus suppression
Tinnitus is an ongoing phantom percept. It has been demonstrated that bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can reduce tinnitus. In this study, one group of patients reported a substantial improvement in their tinnitus perception, whereas another group described minor or no beneficial effect at all. The objective was to verify whether the activity and connectivity of the resting brain is different for people who will respond to bifrontal tDCS for tinnitus in comparison with non-responders. Higher gamma band activity was demonstrated in right primary and secondary auditory cortex and right parahippocampus for responders. It has been shown that gamma band activity in the auditory cortex is correlated with tinnitus loudness and that the anterior cingulate is involved in tinnitus distress. People who were going to respond to bifrontal tDCS also demonstrated an increased functional connectivity in the gamma band between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the right parahippocampus as well as the right DLPFC and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC). An analysis revealed that responders to bifrontal tDCS also experienced a larger suppression effect on TMS placed over the right temporal cortex (i.e. auditory cortex) than non-responders. Responders to bifrontal tDCS seem to differ in resting brain activity compared to non-responders in the right auditory cortex and parahippocampal area. They also have a different functional connectivity between DLPFC and, respectively, the sgACC and parahippocampal area. These connectivities might explain the suppression effect for both tinnitus loudness and tinnitus-related distress.
Corrigendum to “Longitudinal cerebral blood flow changes during speech in hereditary ataxia” [Brain & Language 114 (2010) 43–51]
from Brain and Language
Cochlear implantation in patients affected by superficial hemosiderosis of the central nervous system
The objectives of the study were to: report three more cases of cochlear implantation (CI) in patients affected by superficial hemosiderosis of the central nervous system (SH-CNS); assess whether CI may be a viable option in this disease. The study was conducted in a tertiary referral center. Pre-operative and post-operative clinical notes of three patients with SH-CNS were reviewed. Two out of three cases showed very good results with CI in sentence perception in noise over 90%. For the other case, hearing performance was very low. He showed only disyllabic word identification abilities in a closed set (40%). Cochlear implantation may be a viable option for patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss due to SH-CNS. In these cases, an adequate pre-operative counseling, explaining the possibility of poor post-operative results and/or the worsening of the outcomes in the following years, is important.
Developing professional learning for staff working with children with speech, language and communication needs combined with moderate-to-severe learning difficulties
This article presents research undertaken as part of a PhD by Carolyn Anderson who is a senior lecturer on the BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Strathclyde. The study explores the professional learning experiences of 49 teachers working in eight schools and units for children with additional support needs in Scotland. In particular, she examines the professional learning experiences of teachers working with children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) combined with moderate-to-severe learning difficulties. While the teachers under study predominantly engaged with informal professional learning, she observes that they often expressed a lack of confidence in this form of professional development, tending to value formal learning regardless of impact. In response she raises a number of important questions about the role of Initial Teacher and Postgraduate Education and the ways in which schools understand reflective practice.
from the British Journal of Special Education
A new system for subtitles in the theater in Spain
This system carries out subtitling in the real time of events for an audience, without the need for highly qualified personnel. Its area of application is live events based on a pre-established script such as theatre, conferences, ceremonies, etc., which allow the synchronized broadcast of any accessibility element for a live event as it unfolds, and at a low cost. For that purpose, a technician is in charge of previously generating all of the accessibility elements (titles, sign language video and audio description) and afterwards synchronizing and carrying out their broadcast as the play is performed.
from EurekAlert.org
