Blog Archives
Impaired language performance as a precursor or consequence of Rolandic epilepsy?
Language is impaired in children with Rolandic epilepsy. In some children this impairment of language may even be a precursor, for the Rolandic epilepsy. It is undecided however, whether the language impairment develops gradually after the onset of epilepsy, whether Rolandic epilepsy and language impairment are both symptoms of an underlying syndrome or both develop during the process of epileptogenesis as we observed in some children the onset of language impairment before the onset of epilepsy.
from the Journal of the Neurological sciences
Laryngeal tuberculosis: proposal of Speech-Language Pathology intervention in voice disorders following pharmacological treatment
Tuberculosis is a disease that has been present throughout history. In the XIX century the agent that causes the disease was discovered and named mycobacterium tuberculosis. Laryngeal tuberculosis is one of the possible complications from pulmonary tuberculosis, and the most common symptom is hoarseness, as a result of the healing process of ulcerative laryngeal lesions. The purpose of this study was to verify the effectiveness of speech-language therapy in a case of voice disorder following anti-tuberculosis drug treatment. The methodology used was the case study of the patient J.O.B.S, 39 years old, male, hotel receptionist with an eight-hour workday, former smoker, who had hoarseness, tiredness and dyspnea during speech as main complaints. Speech-language therapy sessions started after Speech-Language Pathology and otolaryngological evaluations, with the aims to reduce the laryngeal tension during phonation, induce supraglottic vocal fold separation, help the smooth movement of the vocal folds, install abdominal breathing, and improve pneumophonic coordination. After 12 sessions, several vocal parameters improved, including decrease of vocal tension during speech, use of abdominal breathing, improvement of pneumophonic coordination, loudness increase, and reduction of the abrupt vocal attack, which reflected in vocal emissions with less effort and more socially accepted. In spite of the limitations caused by the healing of the ulcerative lesions, speech-language therapy was important in this case study, and the patient was satisfied with the results obtained, which had positive influences on his oral communication and social life.
Total Obturation of the Velopharynx for Treatment of Velopharyngeal Hypodynamism: Case Report.
A child with microdeletion at 22q11.21 was referred to a craniofacial center due to hypernasality, unintelligible speech and bifid uvula. Velopharyngeal dysfunction remained after surgical repair of submucous cleft palate and speech therapy. A prosthetic-behavioral treatment approach involving total obturation of the velopharynx was successfully implemented for management of velopharyngeal hypodynamism.
from the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal
Impaired language performance as a precursor or consequence of Rolandic epilepsy?
Language is impaired in children with Rolandic epilepsy. In some children this impairment of language may even be a precursor, for the Rolandic epilepsy. It is undecided however, whether the language impairment develops gradually after the onset of epilepsy, whether Rolandic epilepsy and language impairment are both symptoms of an underlying syndrome or both develop during the process of epileptogenesis as we observed in some children the onset of language impairment before the onset of epilepsy.
Phonological changes obtained in the treatment of subjects comparing different therapy models*
the three therapy models were effective for the treatment of children with phonological disorder because they all of them provided an increase in the Percentage of Consonants Correct-Revised, in the number of acquired phonemes and in the types of analyzed generalizations.
Reading scale: proposal to assess reading skills
CONCLUSION: The Reading Scale was a reliable instrument to measure the reading performance of the subjects.
Attaining the lingual components of /r/ with ultrasound for three adolescents with cochlear implants
Children with hearing loss frequently have difficulty learning North American English /r/. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the remediation of North American English /r/ by establishing its tongue movement components for three adolescents with recent cochlear implants (CIs) through the use of ultrasound as an adjunct to speech therapy. The three adolescents had all been diagnosed with severe-to-profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and had recently received unilateral CIs. All three students wore a hearing aid in their other ear. Ultrasound was used to assist in establishing the gestural components of /r/ as a starting point for accurate /r/ production: tongue root retraction, retroflexion or bunching and midline grooving. A single subject design was used, with analyses of the gestural components of /r/ before, during and after intervention. All participants were able to learn the gestural components of /r/ with ultrasound. Furthermore, one of the participants gained accurate production of /r/ in isolation and at the word level.
from the Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology http://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2.0-78149371463&origin=inward&txGid=UsooD3QpokwpawpCzXg7KDx%3a14
Relapse observed in the treatment of phonological disorder*
BACKGROUND: relapse in phonological performance.
AIM: to verify relapse in the phonological performance related to sound production in the treatment of phonological disorder.
METHOD: three subjects with phonological disorders, aged 6:0, 7:0, 7:0 years, were treated for phoneme /r/ using the ABAB-Withdrawal and Multiple Probes Model. After a cycle of treatment, the phonemes that presented relapse in terms of production percentage were compared.
RESULTS: the results indicate that relapse occurred in the phonological system of all subjects. The involved features were mainly related to the main category.
CONCLUSION: a relationship between the features of the treated phoneme and the ones that presented relapse was observed for all of the studied cases.
Vocal quality of patients treated for laryngeal tuberculosis, before and after speech therapy
Conclusions: Following treatment of laryngeal tuberculosis, the incidence of dysphonia was very high. Speech therapy improved patients’ vocal quality.
from the Journal of Laryngology and Otology
Complex onset pre and post phonological disorder treatment in three different phonological therapy models
The three models of phonological therapy were effective for the treatment of complex syllabic onset structure.
Considerations about the role of a speech-language pathologist with the family of a child with Pervasive Development Disorder: case report
The aim of this study was to reflect about and discuss the role of a speech-language pathologist with the family of a child with Pervasive Development Disorder. This case study reported the case of a child with Pervasive Development Disorder that attended speech-language therapy from July/2002 to November/2004. The excerpts of clinical material depict the course of the patient’s history, emphasizing the significant moments that generated development of the therapeutical process related to oral communication and social interaction within his familiar setting. Clinical strategies focused a favorable physical and emotional environment, promoting constitutive experiences that respect the singularity of each patient, considering the realities of the family and the community it is part of. Therefore, in our understanding, speech-language therapy can be directed towards the creation of situations that promote the process [of each patient] of daily life inclusion, with the respect that all people deserve.
Vocal performance evaluation before and after the voiced tongue vibration technique
CONCLUSION: The voiced tongue vibration technique was more effective after a period of three minutes. The results confirmed the effectiveness of this technique, which is widely used in Speech-Language Pathology practice, defining the optimal period of time to perform it.
Choice of target sounds for therapy: analysis focused on distinctive features
The targets of the treatment can facilitate or difficult acquisitions in the phonological inventory. This study had the aim to verify the effectiveness of the therapy proposed by the Multiple Oppositions Model, taking into consideration the target sounds chosen, as well as to analyze the acquired sounds and the distinctive features, based on the target sounds. The researched group comprised five children with phonological disorder, with an average age of 6;1 (years;months). Speech-language pathology and complementary evaluations were carried out. After the assessments, the subjects underwent speech therapy using the Multiple Oppositions Model. After treatment, another evaluation was carried out, in order to compare the therapeutic evolution and the effectiveness of the chosen sound targets for each subject. The phonological inventory and the number of altered distinctive features before and after therapy were compared for each subject, as well as the distinctive features focused during therapy. The subjects who added more phonemes to their phonological inventory were the ones that most decreased the number of altered distinctive features. It can be concluded that the Multiple Oppositions Model provided improvements on the phonological inventory that were related to the characteristics of the target sounds selected for each subject. The subjects whose target sounds contemplated the work with the majority of the altered distinctive features and the most complex sounds in the phonological hierarchy presented greater acquisitions in their phonological inventories.
Visual analysis of spectrographic parameters before and after dysphonia therapy
CONCLUSIONS: Not all evaluated parameters showed significant improvements with therapy, however, acoustic spectrography proved to be an efficient tool to evaluate patients’ progresses during vocal rehabilitation, complementing auditory-perceptual evaluation and composing a multidimensional assessment protocol.
Is speech therapy useful as a complementary treatment for post-tonsillectomy pain?
Speech therapy may cause to strengthen the soft palate muscles and alleviate constant post-tonsillectomy pain. This therapy may be used as a complementary treatment with standard analgesics.
from the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
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