bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Lexical Intervention on the Phonology of Late Talkers
Authors: Girolametto Luigi , Pearce Patsy Steig , Weitzman Elaine
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether a focused stimulation intervention focusing on lexical training has indirect, secondary effects on children's phonological abilities. Twenty-five toddlers with expressive vocabulary delays and their mothers were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The children were between 23 and 33 months of age at entry into the study and were at the single-word stage of language development. Parents of late talkers in the experimental group were trained to employ frequent, highly concentrated presentations of target words without requiring responses. Two measures of phonological diversity (i.e., syllable structure level and consonant inventory) and one measure of accuracy of production (i.e., percent consonants correct) were measured prior to and following intervention within the context of mother-child interactions. The toddlers who received intervention made treatment gains in two areas of phonological ability. They used a greater variety of complex syllable shapes and expanded their speech sound inventories to include more consonant sounds in both initial and final position. In contrast, there were no effects of language treatment on the accuracy of correct production when compared to the adult phonological system.
Recognizing Famous Voices
Authors: Schweinberger Stefan R. , Herholz Anja , Sommer Werner
Published: July 2014

The current investigation measured the effects of increasing stimulus duration on listeners′ ability to recognize famous voices. In addition, the investigation studied the influence of different types of cues on the naming of voices that could not be named before. Participants were presented with samples of famous and     Unfamiliar voices and were asked to decide whether or not the samples were spoken by a famous person. The duration of each sample increased in seven steps from 0.25 s up to a maximum of 2 s. Voice recognition improvements with stimulus duration were with a growth function. Gains were most rapid within the first second and less pronounced thereafter. When participants were unable to name a famous voice, they were cued with either a second voice sample, the occupation, or the initials of the celebrity. Initials were most effective in eliciting the name only when semantic information about the speaker had been accessed prior to cue presentation. Paralleling previous research on face naming, this may indicate that voice naming is contingent on previous activation of person-specific semantic information.
Symbolic Play of Children With Language Impairment
Authors: Casby Michael W.
Published: July 2014

There have been a number of studies that have reported on the symbolic play abilities of children assessed as demonstrating developmental language disorders or specific language impairment. In general, this research has reported significant differences in the symbolic play abilities of children with language impairment and those developing language normally. In most, though interestingly, not all cases, the differences reflected less developed symbolic play of the children with language impairments. It will be argued here that these reported differences should not be interpreted as demonstrative of marked deficits in the general representational or specific symbolic play competence of children with language impairments. It will be argued further that part of the research conducted to date on the symbolic play abilities of children with language impairment has been confounded by the encroachment of language into the research procedures, that the level of play often investigated has not been unquestionably symbolic in nature, and that the actual differences in symbolic play have not been substantial.
Truncation Patterns in English-Speaking Children's Word Productions
Authors: Kehoe Margaret , Stoel-Gammon Carol
Published: July 2014

This study examines English-speaking children's truncation patterns (i.e., syllable deletion patterns) in multisyllabic words to determine if they are consistent with metrical constraints or perceptual biases. It also examines segmental influences on children's truncations. Children, age 22–34 months, produced three-syllable novel and real words and four-syllable real words, which varied across stress and segmental pattern. Results revealed a significant stress pattern effect on truncation rate, but findings were not consistent with metrical or perceptual salience predictions. The clearest account of the findings came from an analysis of truncation rate across individual words: Children truncated WSW (weak-strong-weak) words and words that contained intervocalic sonorants more frequently than other words. Analysis of truncation patterns in SWW and SWSW words revealed that final unstressed syllables were more frequently preserved than nonfinal unstressed syllables. Findings support the interaction between metrical, syllabic, and acoustic salience factors in children's multisyllabic word productions.
Scalp Potentials Evoked by Amplitude-Modulated Tones in Dyslexia
Authors: McAnally Ken I. , Stein John F.
Published: July 2014

We recorded the far-field EEG potential evoked by amplitude modulation of acoustic stimuli (the amplitude modulation following response, AMFR) in adults with developmental dyslexia and in a matched control group of adults with no history of reading problems. The mean AMFR recorded from participants with dyslexia was significantly smaller than that recorded from members of the control group. In contrast, the amplitude of the click-evoked auditory brainstem response ABR) was not significantly different between participant groups. Also, there was no difference between participant groups in the latency of the AMFR or ABR. The reduced AMFR in listeners with dyslexia may reflect impaired ability of the auditory system to follow rapid changes in stimulus energy, a cue believed to be important in the perception of speech.
MLD in Children
Authors: Grose John H. , Hall Joseph W. , Dev Madhu B.
Published: July 2014

The first aim of this study was to obtain a more detailed picture of the effect of masker bandwidth (20 Hz to 1000 Hz bandwidth) on the masking level difference (MLD) for a 500-Hz signal as a function of listener age. The results of the pure-tone signal experiment showed that the MLDs of older children differed from adults only for the narrowest masker bandwidth. In contrast, children younger than about 7 years of age tended to have smaller MLDs than adults at all but the widest masker bandwidths. These results suggest that the younger the listener, the wider the noise bandwidth must be for MLDs of adult magnitude to be observed. One interpretation of this effect is that younger listeners require relatively great spectral dissimilarity (and, therefore perceptual dissimilarity) between the signal and masker in order to obtain MLDs of adult magnitude. The second aim of this study was to test this possibility by determining the MLD for noise signals in cases where the signal and masker bandwidths were the same. The results of this experiment showed that the MLDs of children were as large as those of adults when the signal/masker bandwidth was 320 Hz, but were smaller than those of adults when the signal/masker bandwidth was 20 Hz. This indicates that the factor limiting the MLD for narrowband noise in children is related more to the masker bandwidth than to the perceptual similarity between the signal and the masker.
The Ability of Children With Specific Language Impairment to Access and Participate in an Ongoing Interaction
Authors: Brinton Bonnie , Fujiki Martin , Spencer Julie Campbell , Robinson Lee A.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the ability of 6 children with specific language impairment (SLI), ages 8;10 to 12;5 (years; months), to enter and participate in an ongoing dyadic interaction. Performance was compared to that of 6 chronological agematched (CA) peers and 6 language-similar (LS) peers. All children in the LS and CA groups successfully accessed the interaction, and most did so quickly. Two children from the SLI group did not access, and the 4 remaining subjects required varying amounts of time to access. Following successful access, the triadic interactions of subjects were examined. The accessing children with SLI talked significantly less, were addressed significantly less, and collaborated less than either of the partners within their triads. Few significant differences were observed between LS or CA children and their partners.
Long-Term Phonatory Instability in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Hartelius Lena , Buder Eugene H. , Strand Edythe A.
Published: July 2014

This paper uses a new approach to describe and quantify the long-term phonatory instability of speakers with MS. Sustained vowel phonations of 20 individuals with a definite diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and 20 age- and gendermatched individuals with normal speech were recorded. The phonations were f
0
and intensity analyzed and subjected to spectral analysis using the Fast Fourier Transform. Three methods for analyzing the instabilities are presented, compared, and related to perceptual judgments: (a) coefficients of variation, (b) magnitudebased analysis of spectral energy, and (c) frequency-based analysis of spectral components. All measures reliably distinguished between individuals with MS and persons with normal speech. A single factor based on a linear discriminant analysis of the frequency-based measures was especially useful in distinguishing these groups. Critical frequency bands of instability, corresponding to
wow
(1–2 Hz),
tremor
(around 8 Hz), and
flutter
(17–18 Hz), distinguished the MS group from those of the control group.
Speech Recognition as a Function of the Number of Electrodes Used in the SPEAK Cochlear Implant Speech Processor
Authors: Fishman Kim E. , Shannon Robert V. , Slattery William H.
Published: July 2014

Speech recognition was measured in listeners with the Nucleus-22 SPEAK speech processing strategy as a function of the number of electrodes. Speech stimuli were analyzed into 20 frequency bands and processed according to the usual SPEAK processing strategy. In the normal clinical processor each electrode is assigned to represent the output of one filter. To create reduced-electrode processors the output of several adjacent filters were directed to a single electrode, resulting in processors with 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, and 20 electrodes. The overall spectral bandwidth was preserved, but the number of active electrodes was progressively reduced. After a 2-day period of adjustment to each processor, speech recognition performance was measured on medial consonants, vowels, monosyllabic words, and sentences. Performance with a single electrode processor was poor in all listeners, and average performance increased dramatically on all test materials as the number of electrodes was increased from 1 to 4. No differences in average performance were observed on any test in the 7-, 10-, and 20-electrode conditions. On sentence and consonant tests there was no difference between average performance with the 4-electrode and 20-electrode processors. This pattern of results suggests that cochlear implant listeners are not able to make full use of the spectral information on all 20 electrodes. Further research is necessary to understand the reasons for this limitation and to understand how to increase the amount of spectral information in speech received by implanted listeners.
The Relationship Between Middle-Class Parents’ Book-Sharing Discussion and Their Preschoolers’ Abstract Language Development
Authors: Kleeck Anne van , Gillam Ronald B. , Hamilton Lori , McGrath Cassandra
Published: July 2014

Thirty-five mothers and fathers were videotaped in their homes as they read a familiar and unfamiliar book to their preschoolers aged between 3;6 and 4;1. Parental discussions about the text were coded for four levels of abstraction and correlated with children’s gains one year later on a formal test of the same four levels of language abstraction (the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument). Parental input at three of the four levels of abstraction was positively and significantly correlated with their children’s gains at the highest level of abstraction. This was also the level at which children’s scores were the lowest initially and showed the greatest gains. The results suggest that discussions during book reading with preschoolers may be a positive influence, since it was parents’ amount of input at lower as well as higher levels of abstraction that correlated with the children’s development of more abstract language. We speculate that more input at lower levels might enhance learning by creating a climate of success in allowing children to display mastered skills, whereas more input at higher levels might enhance learning by challenging children with abstract language skills they are just beginning to acquire. In contrast to previous research, these results suggest that there is a great deal of variability in middle-class families in the amount of input that children receive at various level of abstractions during book sharing.
Coordination of Lip Muscle Activity by 2-Year-Old Children During Speech and Nonspeech Tasks
Authors: Ruark Jacki L. , Moore Christopher A.
Published: July 2014

This investigation was designed to quantify the coordinative organization of lip muscle activity of 2-year-old children during speech and nonspeech behaviors. Electromyographic (EMG) recordings of right upper and lower lip activity of seven 2-year-old children were obtained during productions of chewing, syllable repetition, lip protrusion, and speech (repeated two-word utterances) tasks. Task comparisons revealed that the coordinative organization of upper and lower lip activity is task specific; different coordinative strategies are employed for different tasks. Lip protrusion and syllable repetition tasks yielded strong coupling of upper and lower lip activity. Lip rounding (sentences containing the lip-rounding vowel /u/) and "nonlabial" speech tasks (sentences free of bilabials and lip-rounding vowels) resulted in low coupling of upper and lower lip activity. Moderate levels of coupling of upper and lower lip activity were evident for chewing and bilabial speech tasks (sentences loaded with bilabial plosion). This finding, that the coordinative elements of the perioral system of 2-year-olds are task specific, extends the results of previous studies of adults and children, where task-specific coordinative strategies were employed by the mandibular and perioral systems Moore, 1993; Moore & Ruark, 1996; Moore, Smith, & Ringel, 1988; Wohlert & Goffman, 1994). The task-dependent coordination of the perioral system of 2-year-olds supports the notion that developing speech and earlier developing oromotor behaviors (i.e., sucking, chewing) are mediated by different control mechanisms.
Effects of Stimulus Variability on Speech Perception in Listeners With Hearing Impairment
Authors: Kirk Karen Iler , Pisoni David B. , Miyamoto R. Christopher
Published: July 2014

Traditional word-recognition tests typically use phonetically balanced (PB) word lists produced by one talker at one speaking rate. Intelligibility measures based on these tests may not adequately evaluate the perceptual processes used to perceive speech under more natural listening conditions involving many sources of stimulus variability. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of stimulus variability and lexical difficulty on the speech-perception abilities of 17 adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. The effects of stimulus variability were studied by comparing word-identification performance in single-talker versus multipletalker conditions and at different speaking rates. Lexical difficulty was assessed by comparing recognition of "easy" words (i.e., words that occur frequently and have few phonemically similar neighbors) with "hard" words (i.e., words that occur infrequently and have many similar neighbors). Subjects also completed a 20-item questionnaire to rate their speech understanding abilities in daily listening situations. Both sources of stimulus variability produced significant effects on speech intelligibility. Identification scores were poorer in the multiple-talker condition than in the single-talker condition, and word-recognition performance decreased as speaking rate increased. Lexical effects on speech intelligibility were also observed. Word-recognition performance was significantly higher for lexically easy words than lexically hard words. Finally, word-recognition performance was correlated with scores on the self-report questionnaire rating speech understanding under natural listening conditions. The pattern of results suggest that perceptually robust speech-discrimination tests are able to assess several underlying aspects of speech perception in the laboratory and clinic that appear to generalize to conditions encountered in natural listening situations where the listener is faced with many different sources of stimulus variability. That is, wordrecognition performance measured under conditions where the talker varied from trial to trial was better correlated with self-reports of listening ability than was performance in a single-talker condition where variability was constrained.
Adjustment to Hearing Impairment II
Authors: Erdman Sue Ann , Demorest Marilyn E.
Published: July 2014

To study adjustment to hearing impairment, clinical records from a five-center consortium (
N
=1,008) were used to create a heterogeneous clinical database with results of audiometric tests, demographic and case history information, and responses to the Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI; Demorest & Erdman, 1986, 1987). Normative findings have been described previously (Erdman & Demorest, 1998). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that audiometric variables were moderately correlated with communication performance, behavioral strategies, and personal adjustment. With hearing impairment controlled statistically, age and education effects were evident in many areas of adjustment; correlations between adjustment and gender were relatively weak; and marital status, employment status, and race/ethnicity were rarely significant correlates.
Heritability of Poor Language Achievement Among Twins
Authors: Tomblin J. Bruce , Buckwalter Paula R.
Published: July 2014

In order to examine the basis of familial associations with poor language achievement, 62 twinship pairs and 3 sets of triplets were studied in which at least one member presented poor oral language status in the absence of other developmental or sensory impairments. Rates of concordance for poor language were compared between the monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) pairs. Concordance for the MZ pairs was .96, whereas it was .69 for the DZ pairs. The DeFries-Fulker method for computing heritability of extreme scores was employed yielding a h2gof .45. Similar results were obtained for those pairs containing only children with performance IQs above 85, but with at least one member having language below –1SD. A comparison of DZ twins with singleton sibling pairs with at least one affected member and of similar age showed that DZ twins were more similar with respect to language achievement than singleton pairs. Thus, twinning appeared to have influenced twin resemblance among those where at least one member presented poor language achievement. These results support the hypothesis that genetic factors contribute to the liability of poor language achievement in children who do not present other developmental or sensory disorders.
Modality Interactions of Speech and Signing in Simultaneous Communication
Authors: Wilbur Ronnie B. , Petersen Lesa
Published: July 2014

This study addresses speech and signing interaction during simultaneous communication (SC). Productions of sentence stimuli by ASL-English bilinguals (CODAs) and signed English (SE) users who know no ASL (SIMCOMs) were compared in two conditions (speech-alone or signing-alone, speech and signing combined). Speech took longer combined than alone, whereas SE took longer alone than combined. The increased duration of speech-combined resulted from increased syllable duration, number of gaps, and gap duration. Rate of signing had a significant effect on speech duration. The decreased duration of signed sentences combined resulted from decreased sign duration, decreased gap duration, and increased sign omissions. Knowledge of ASL was reflected in qualitative differences between the two groups. Sign omissions were analyzed by grammatical category; these are discussed in terms of context-supported permissible deletions and the compensatory use of ASL nonmanual marking devices.
Spatiotemporal Stability of Lip Movements in Older Adult Speakers
Authors: Wohlert Amy B. , Smith Anne
Published: July 2014

Although the intelligibility of healthy older adults normally seems unimpaired, age-related changes occur in sensorimotor components of the speech system and in such global parameters as speech rate. In order to clarify the effect of these changes on the variability of speech movements, we examined oral peripheral abilities, speech rate, and speech kinematics in a group of 10 adults age 76–83, compared to a group of 10 young adults. Participants repeated a short phrase 15 times at habitual, fast, and slow rates. The resulting lip displacement signals were time- and amplitude-normalized, and successive standard deviations along the movement waveforms were summed to produce a spatiotemporal index (STI) representing individual variability in movement pattern. Participants tended to show greatest variability at slow rate, less variability at fast rate, and least variability at habitual rate. For the older adults, STI at habitual rate was significantly higher (more variable) and speech durations were longer than those of young adults. Perioral strength and tactile acuity were poorer in these older adults than in young adults. We conclude that as sensorimotor abilities change in old age, speakers are less consistent in the spatiotemporal organization of speech movements, reflecting decreased stability of speech motor control.
Maturation of Peripheral and Brainstem Auditory Function in the First Year Following Perinatal Asphyxia
Authors: Jiang Ze D.
Published: July 2014

Maturation of peripheral hearing and auditory brainstem following perinatal asphyxia was investigated by longitudinal recording of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) during the first year of life in affected infants. The general maturational course of the BAEP following asphyxia was similar to that in a control group of infants with normal births, although there were some abnormalities in the BAEP. Response threshold elevation seen in a few asphyxiated infants improved significantly during the first 3 months. The interpeak intervals in the asphyxiated infants did not differ significantly from that of the control-group infants except in the first month, when the I–V and III–V intervals were significantly prolonged in the severe asphyxia group. In contrast, wave V amplitude and V/I ratio were always smaller when compared to that of the control-group infants. Amplitude reduction of wave V was more sustained than the prolonged I–V interval. Persistent hearing loss and brainstem auditory impairment were seen in 6.8% and 14.6% of the asphyxiated infants, respectively. These findings suggest that asphyxia does not interfere significantly with the maturation of the auditory system in most asphyxiated infants and that sustained peripheral hearing loss and brainstem impairment occur only in a small proportion of affected infants.
Treatment Efficacy
Authors: Ramig Lorraine Olson , Verdolini Katherine
Published: July 2014

This article reviews the literature on the efficacy of treatment for voice disorders primarily using studies published in peer-reviewed journals. Voice disorders are defined, their frequency of occurrence across the life span is reported, and their impact on the lives of individuals with voice disorders is documented. The goal of voice treatment is to maximize vocal effectiveness given the existing disorder and to reduce the handicapping effect of the voice problem. Voice treatment may be (a) the preferred treatment to resolve the voice disorder when medical (surgical or pharmacological) treatments are not indicated; (b) the initial treatment in cases where medical treatment appears indicated; it may obviate the need for medical treatment; (c) completed before and after surgical treatment to maximize long-term post-surgical voice; and (d) a preventative treatment to preserve vocal health. Experimental and clinical data are reviewed that support these roles applied to various disorder types: (a) vocal misuse, hyperfunction and muscular imbalance (frequently resulting in edema, vocal nodules, polyps or contact ulcers); (b) medical or physical conditions (e.g., laryngeal nerve trauma, Parkinson disease); and (c) psychogenic disorders (e.g., conversion reactions, personality disorders). Directions for future research are suggested which maximize clinical outcomes and scientific rigor to enhance knowledge on the efficacy of voice treatment.
Treatment Efficacy
Authors: Carney Arlene Earley , Moeller Mary Pat
Published: July 2014

This article provides a review of the topic of treatment efficacy for children with hearing loss. Efficacy is related to a wide range of treatment goals in the areas of sensory and perceptual skill development, language development (regardless of communication modality), speech-production skill development, academic performance, and social-emotional growth. Topics addressed in this article include (a) the definition of hearing loss in children; (b) incidence and prevalence data; (c) the effects of childhood hearing loss on daily life, including language and literacy, speech perception and production, socialization and family dynamics; (d) the role of audiologists and speech-language pathologists in managing children with hearing loss; and (e) a summary of pertinent efficacy research for children with hearing loss. The analysis of the available research suggests that (a) early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing has long-term positive effects on overall development; (b) a variety of communication modalities exist for this population, and research to date has been more descriptive than prognostic on the choice of modality; (c) sensory aids (hearing aids, tactile aids, and cochlear implants) provide different degrees of benefit for children in the areas of speech perception, production, and language development, depending upon the extent of their hearing loss; (d) few studies have addressed rates of learning and long-term outcomes, but existing data suggest that enriched programs provide some children with hearing loss with the ability to overcome developmental lags in language and academic skills.
Treatment Efficacy
Authors: Gierut Judith A.
Published: July 2014

This report addresses the efficacy of treatment for functional phonological disorders in children. The definition of phonological disorders and their incidence and prevalence are first presented. The impact of this disorder on the lives of children and the role that speech-language pathologists play in treating this disorder are then discussed. Evidence of the positive outcome of phonological treatment is reviewed, with particular emphasis on treatment procedures that have been deemed effective, the specific effects of these treatments on improving intelligibility, and comparisons between treatments in facilitating improved sound production.
The Development of Grammatical Case Distinctions in the Use of Personal Pronouns by Spanish-Speaking Preschoolers
Authors: Anderson Raquel T.
Published: July 2014

Data on personal pronoun development in Spanish-speaking children was obtained in this study. Forty monolingual Puerto Rican Spanish-speaking children between the ages of 2;0 and 3;11 participated in the investigation. Two tasks were designed to obligate production of nominative and object pronouns in both reflexive and non-reflexive forms. Productive use and error analysis data were obtained and compared to previous data on pronoun development in English. By contrast with the order of productive use of grammatical case distinctions reported in the literature for English-speaking children, the children in the present study demonstrated a pattern in which nominative pronoun use preceded object case use. Implications of these findings for developmental theories that have been presented to explain pronoun development are discussed.
Performances of Young African American Children on Two Comprehension Tasks
Authors: Craig Holly K. , Washington Julie A. , Thompson-Porter Connie
Published: July 2014

This investigation examines the performances of 63 urban 4-to 7-year-old African American children from middle-income homes on two tasks designed to assess the development of comprehension skills. Performances on a task designed to elicit responses to wh-questions, and another to distinctions between active and passive sentence constructions, revealed grade effects and a positive relationship to age. The findings are discussed in terms of the appropriateness of using tasks of these types with young African American boys and girls who are dialect users.
The Acquisition of Arabic Consonants
Authors: Amayreh Mousa M. , Dyson Alice T.
Published: July 2014

This normative study of the acquisition of consonants of Arabic as spoken in Jordan answered 4 questions: (1) What percentage of children at each of 9 age levels produced each consonant correctly? (2) What are the ages ofcustomary production, mastery, andacquisitionfor each phoneme? (3) Does accuracy of consonants within sound classes vary by position in the word? (4) What are the differences in ages of acquisition between Arabic and English? Samples were collected from 180 normally developing children between the ages of 2:0 and 6:4. The percentages of accuracy of both standard and acceptable consonants were plotted and showed clear developmental trends. Medial consonants were significantly more accurate than initial and final consonants. The ages of customary production, acquisition, and mastery of Arabic consonants were similar to those for English but with notable exceptions that have implications for description of phonological acquisition. Support for previously proposed universal sound acquisition sequences was found, but some language-specific effects were also seen.
Communicative Competence as Perceived by Adults With Severe Speech Impairments Associated With Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Bedrosian Jan L. , Hoag Linda A. , Johnson Dallas , Calculator Stephen N.
Published: July 2014

The effects of aided message length (single-word vs. phrase-generated messages) and partner feedback (presence vs. absence of expanded message repetitions) on perceptions of the communicative competence of an adult augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system user were examined. Subjects consisted of 12 nonambulatory adults with severe speech impairments associated with cerebral palsy. Four scripted videotaped conversational conditions involving the AAC system user and a typically speaking partner were employed to manipulate the two independent variables. A balanced incomplete block design was used. Following each viewing, subjects completed a questionnaire designed to assess the communicative competence of the AAC system user. Results indicated that neither independent variable had an impact on the subjects' ratings of communicative competence. Findings are compared with those from an earlier investigation, and clinical implications are discussed.
Lingual Action in Normal Sequential Swallowing
Authors: Chi-Fishman Gloria , Stone Maureen , McCall Gerald N.
Published: July 2014

Current knowledge about the flexibility in lingual motor control and performance during swallowing is incomplete. The present study aimed at gaining a better understanding of the tongue's motor flexibility and at identifying variable versus invariant lingual motor program parameters in light of changing swallowing task demands (discrete vs. sequential). Specifically, the timing and patterns of tonguepalate contact and the associated changes in tongue shape and action were examined in 5 normal adults using simultaneous electropalatography and ultrasound. Tasks for discrete swallowing included 5 and 30 cc of water; tasks for sequential swallowing involved drinking 200 cc of water at normal and fast rates. Results showed little variation in propulsive contact pattern as a function of task or subject. However, the tongue demonstrated shorter movement duration and overlapping gestures during sequential swallowing. Thus, continuous drinking was performed without changes in motor strategies per se but with changes in the timing coordination of the "drink" and "swallow" action sequences. These findings support the theory that the deglutitive lingual motor program has both invariant and variant parameters, and that movement pattern and action sequence reflect fixed elements within the structure of the motor program, but movement timing can be modified according to the demands of the task at hand.
Speaking-Rate-Induced Variability in F2 Trajectories
Authors: Tjaden Kris , Weismer Gary
Published: July 2014

This study examined speaking-rate-induced spectral and temporal variability of F2 formant trajectories for target words produced in a carrier phrase at speaking rates ranging from fast to slow. F2 onset frequency measured at the first glottal pulse following the stop consonant release in target words was used to quantify the extent to which adjacent consonantal and vocalic gestures overlapped; F2 target frequency was operationally defined as the first occurrence of a frequency minimum or maximum following F2 onset frequency. Regression analyses indicated 70% of functions relating F2 onset and vowel duration were statistically significant. The strength of the effect was variable, however, and the direction of significant functions often differed from that predicted by a simple model of overlapping, sliding gestures. Results of a partial correlation analysis examining interrelationships among F2 onset, F2 target frequency, and vowel duration across the speaking rate range indicated that covariation of F2 target with vowel duration may obscure the relationship between F2 onset and vowel duration across rate. The results further suggested that a sliding based model of acoustic variability associated with speaking rate change only partially accounts for the present data, and that such a view accounts for some speakers' data better than others.
A Tutorial on Conducting Meta-Analyses of Clinical Outcome Research
Authors: Robey Randall R. , Dalebout Susan D.
Published: July 2014

Throughout the educational, medical, psychological, and social sciences, meta-analysis is the present-day, broadly accepted means for combining many quasiexperiments in a synthesis for the purpose of establishing the weight of scientific evidence bearing on a certain research question. Meta-analysis thereby is the preferred method for determining the preponderance of evidence in clinical-outcome research relating to questions of treatment efficacy and treatment effectiveness. Relatively few meta-analyses appear in the literature of the communication disorder sciences. The purpose of this tutorial is to enhance the familiarity and accessibility of this technology in the domains of audiology and speech-language pathology. The results of the accompanying example constitute a preliminary meta-analysis of patient-perceived treatment effectiveness. The substance of the tutorial, however, transcends disciplinary interests regarding types of communication disorder.
Understanding Referential Expressions in Context
Authors: Abbeduto Leonard , Short-Meyerson Katherine , Benson Glenis , Dolish Joanna , Weissman Michelle
Published: July 2014

Listeners interpret utterances against the
common ground
, or network of presuppositions shared with the speaker. The first purpose of the study was to determine whether individuals with mental retardation use the major sources of common ground (i.e., physical copresence, linguistic copresence, and community member-ship) to resolve referential ambiguity. The second purpose was to determine whether they seek confirmation of their referent choices in accordance with the certainty of interpretation afforded by the common ground. The third purpose was to determine whether they signal noncomprehension when faced with ambiguity and common ground that is not informative. The final purpose was to evaluate the relationship between within-group variability in common ground use and measures of nonverbal cognition, receptive and expressive language, and social cognition. Participants were school-age individuals with mental retardation and typically developing children matched to them on nonverbal MA. Common ground use was examined in a role-playing task in which the participant responded to ambiguous utterances. Common ground was manipulated within participants. We determined whether referent selections were appropriate for the common ground, whether they were accompanied by confirmation requests, and whether noncomprehension was signaled. Both groups used all sources of common ground to resolve referential ambiguity at better than chance levels but were less successful in using community membership. Both groups also requested confirmation of their referent choices most often when the common ground was based on community membership. Both groups signaled noncomprehension when the common ground was not informative. Different aspects of common ground use were related to different predictors for the group with mental retardation.
Characterizing Knowledge Deficits in Phonological Disorders
Authors: Edwards Jan , Fourakis Marios , Beckman Mary E. , Fox Robert A.
Published: July 2014

To aid the development of finer-grained measures of phonological competence within a representation-based approach to phonology, two aspects of nonsymbolic phonological knowledge (knowledge of the acoustic/perceptual space and of the articulatory/production space) were examined in 6 preschool-age children with phonological disorders and 6 typically developing age peers. To evaluate perceptual knowledge, gating and noise-center tasks were used. Children with phonological disorders recognized significantly fewer words than age peers on both tasks. To evaluate production knowledge, spectral and temporal measures were obtained for CV sequences involving both lingual and labial stop consonants. Group differences on this task (such as larger transition slope values from lingual consonants to vowels for children with phonological disorders) were also observed. These differerences were interpreted as indicating that the children with phonological disorders were less able to maneuver jaw and tongue body separately or that they used "ballistic" (i.e., less controlled) gestures from lingual consonants to vowels than their age peers. These results suggest that phonological knowledge is multifaceted, and that seemingly categorical deficits at one level can be linked to less robust representations at other levels.
Derivational Suffix Productivity for Students With and Without Language-Learning Disabilities
Authors: Windsor Jennifer , Hwang Mina
Published: July 2014

The effect of productivity (a correlate of suffix frequency) on students' derivational suffix use was investigated with students with and without language-learning disabilities (LLD). Sixty-nine elementary- to middle-school-age students participated in an elicitation task (in which they produced derived forms) and a forced-choice task (in which they selected derived forms) to label nonsense objects and events. In each task, students used highly productive suffixes to convey a given meaning. For example, students used the highly productive suffix
er
rather than the less productive suffix
ant
to convey an agentive meaning and used the more productive suffix
let
instead of the unproductive suffix
kin
to convey a diminutive meaning. Also, productivity appeared to guide accuracy of suffix use across meanings. For example, the agentive suffix
er
was produced with much higher accuracy than the less productive diminutive suffix
let
. In general, patterns of performance within and across meanings were the same for students with and without LLD. LLD students were less accurate in determining the meanings conveyed by derivational suffixes than typically achieving students matched for chronological age. However, their performance was similar to typically achieving students with comparable language skills.
Recognition of Gated Words by Children With Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Montgomery James W.
Published: July 2014

In this study we examined the lexical mapping stage of auditory word recognition in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Twenty-one children with SLI, 21 children matched for chronological age (CM), and 21 vocabulary-matched (VM) children participated in a forward gating task in which they listened to successive temporal chunks of familiar monosyllabic nouns. After each gate, children guessed the identity of the word and provided a confidence rating of their word guess. Results revealed that the children with SLI performed comparably to the CM and VM children on all seven dependent measures related to lexical mapping. The findings were interpreted to suggest that children with SLI and their normally developing peers demonstrate a comparable lexical mapping phase (i.e., acoustic-phonetic analysis) of auditory word recognition.
Local Norming of the Test of Adolescent/Adult Language-3 in the Ottawa Speech and Language Study
Authors: Johnson Carla J. , Taback Nathan , Escobar Michael , Wilson Beth , Beitchman Joseph H.
Published: July 2014

The young adult norms for the Test of Adolescent/Adult Language-3 (TOAL-3; D. Hammill et al., 1994) are based only on individuals who pursued postsecondary education, a restriction that renders the norms inappropriate for many clinical and research purposes. This research note details the rationale, methods, and results of a local norming of the TOAL-3 spoken language subtests, based on participants from the Ottawa Speech and Language Study (C. J. Johnson et al., 1999). The resulting Ottawa norms represent the full range of young adult language abilities and, therefore, can be used with caution for some clinical and research purposes.
Metrical Effects on Speech Movements in Children and Adults
Authors: Goffman Lisa , Malin Caren
Published: July 2014

The present study investigates motor processes underlying the production of iambic and trochaic metrical forms for children and adults. Lower lip movement was recorded while 16 children between the ages of 3;10 and 4;9 (years; months) and 8 adults produced iambic (e.g., [pép^p]) and trochaic (e.g., ['p^pep]) nonce words. For both children and adults, movement patterns for iambic and trochaic words are well differentiated, but in qualitatively different ways. Most notably, children do not produce amplitude modulated forms for trochees, perhaps reflecting a reliance on early developing rhythmic patterns such as those seen in canonical babbling. In contrast, movements corresponding to iambs are well modulated and particularly stable for both groups of speakers, suggesting that they require increased movement specificity. It appears that metrical forms are perceptually and linguistically established and that the child finds the means available within his or her existent motor repertoire to produce adequately differentiated movements corresponding with iambs and trochees.
Effects of Time-Interval Judgment Training on Real-Time Measurement of Stuttering
Authors: Cordes Anne K. , Ingham Roger J.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a previously developed interval-based training program could improve judges' stuttering event judgments. Two groups of judges made real-time stuttering event judgments (computer-mouse button presses) in 3 to 6 trials before the response-contingent judgment training program and in another 3 to 6 trials after training, for recordings of 9 adults who stuttered. Their judgments were analyzed in terms of number of stuttering events, duration of stuttering, and 5-s intervals of speech that could be categorized as judged (or not judged) to contain stuttering. Results showed (a) changes in the amount of stuttering identified by the judges; (b) improved correspondence between the judges' identifications of stuttering events and interval-based standards previously developed from judgments made by experienced, authoritative judges; (c) improved correspondence between interval-based analyses of the judges' stuttering judgments and the previously developed standards; (d) improved intrajudge agreement; (e) improved interjudge agreement; and (f) convergence between the 2 judge groups, for samples and speakers used during training tasks and also for other speakers. Some implications of these findings for developing standardized procedures for the real-time measurement of stuttering are discussed.
Children's Auditory Lexical Decisions
Authors: Windsor Jennifer , Hwang Mina
Published: July 2014

Twenty-three school-age children with language impairments (LI) and 46 typically achieving children participated in 2 auditory lexical decision tasks. Effects of phonological opacity (i.e., stress and vowel changes involved in forming derivatives from a base word) on word recognition were investigated. In one task, children made lexical decisions about phonologically transparent real derivatives (e.g.,
hatless
) and pseudo derivatives (e.g.,
*
quickless
). In this task, children with LI showed only subtle deficits compared to their chronological-age (CA) peers. In the other task, children made lexical decisions about phonologically opaque real derivatives (e.g.,
acidity
) and pseudo derivatives (e.g.,
*
combinity
) as well as transparent derivatives. In this task, children with LI were substantially less accurate than were CA children in identifying phonologically opaque real derivatives and were slower to do so than both CA and language-age (LA) children. Children in the LI and LA groups were slower than children in the CA group to identify phonologically opaque pseudo derivatives. These results are interpreted within a limited processing capacity account of language impairment.
Brief-Tone Frequency Discrimination by Children
Authors: Thompson Nella C. , Cranford Jerry L. , Hoyer Elmer
Published: July 2014

This study investigated maturational changes in children's ability to discriminate the frequency of short-duration tone pulses. Frequency difference limens (DLs) were measured for digitally generated 1000-Hz tones with pulse durations of 200, 50, and 20 ms using a two-alternative, two-interval, forced-choice procedure. Participants were 16 5-year-old children; 10 children each in the age categories of 7, 9, and 11 years; and a control group of 10 young adults. Eleven of the 5-year-old children were unable to learn the experimental task. All children in the three older groups and the adults successfully completed the study. The five 5-year-old children who completed the task performed similarly to the 7-year-old children. All groups of participants showed an inverse relationship between duration of the signal and the size of the DL. The DLs at all three tone durations were significantly larger for the 7-year-old children than they were for the older children and adults. There were no significant differences in DL size among the 9-year-old, 11-year-old, and adult subjects at any tone duration. These findings suggest that the sensory and/or cognitive skills required to discriminate the frequency of brief-duration tones may not reach maturity until after age 7 years.