bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Class Talk
Authors: HONEYFORD R.
Published: November 2007

The linguistic problems of working class children in schools which are essentially middle‐class in their language and cultural expectations have been highlighted by the work of Bernstein and Lawton. The inter‐dependence of language and cognitive growth is also now well documented. But there is little to show how the two groups of significant adults in children's lives ‐ parents and teachers ‐ compare in their linguistic competence and habits.

It was postulated that in making the transition from home to school pupils in a comprehensive school serving a working‐class area of the north‐west were involved in a process of linguistic adaptation. Two groups were chosen at random after stratifying. These consisted of ten teachers sub‐divided into 2times5 groups to represent Arts and Science; and fifteen parents stratified into 3times5 sub‐groups to represent the three ability streams into which the school at that time segregated its pupils.

Speech samples were recorded for both groups in standardised, non‐directed group discussions and individual interviews. These were then transcribed and analysed. The analysis was of limited focus ‐ only certain structural and lexical items were considered ‐ phonetic qualities and errors were ignored. The categories into which the speech was analysed corresponded to those of the Elaborated and Restricted Codes postulated by Bernstein.

Twenty‐five categories were compared and, by means of non‐parametric statistics the significance of the differences between the performances of the groups and sub‐groups, were evaluated. The direction and magnitude of the differences were as predicted in twenty‐three of the categories. Within the limitations imposed by such small samples the hypothesis was considered to be confirmed.

This finding has significance for all those who handle working‐class children either for educational purposes or remediation. An awareness of the structural and lexical gulf between the speech of middle‐class adults and the working‐class child is indispensable for effective communication ‐ a systematic investigation of pronunciation and accent differences would probably indicate that the linguistic gulf is greater than that revealed by the present study.
Perception of Rhythmic Sequences by Receptive Aphasic and Deaf Children
Authors: KRACKE ILSE
Published: November 2007

Three groups of carefully selected children, twelve with severe receptive aphasia, twelve with profound hearing loss and twelve unimpaired controls were given the task of discriminating between simple rhythmic sequences. The results of the aphasic children were very poor whereas the deaf and the control children did not differ significantly. The disability of the aphasics was found to transcend the auditory modality. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
The Effect of Therapy Given in Hebrew on the Home Language of the Bilingual or Polyglot Adult Aphasic in Israel
Authors: FREDMAN MARION
Published: November 2007

A group of 40 bilingual or polygot adult aphasics in Haifa, Israel, were tested and retested after three months speech therapy conducted in Hebrew. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of therapy given in Hebrew on the patient's home language. The Wepman and Jones Language Modality Test of Aphasia (L.M.T.A.) was adapted and translated into Hebrew. A home language questionnaire was also devised in order to compare results before and after therapy both in Hebrew and in the patient's home language. The correlation coefficient between the results on the L.M.T.A. and the patient's home language were significantly high. The results suggest that therapy in Hebrew had a positive effect on the patient's skill in communication in his home language.
A Structured Approach Teaching Aphasics Basic Sentence Types*
Authors: NAESER MARGARET A.
Published: November 2007

This study investigated a structured approach teaching three basic sentence types (b.s.t.) to adult aphasics. The three types: verb form, to be; verb, transitive; and verb, intransitive are used in applied linguistics and transformational grammar material in teaching English as a second language to foreign adults. Aphasics were selected for the study on the basis of good verbal output and auditory input scores measured by the PICA. Subjects were given a pre‐ and post‐test measuring verbal syntactic performance for the three b.s.t.'s. They participated in a one month therapy program which presented these sentence types. All improved in the post‐test in verbal production of each b.s.t., as well as pattern carryover, and subject/verb agreement. This type of therapy approach is offered as a possible future part of a programmed language rehabilitation program similar to that which Holland (1970) has suggested.
Therapeutic and Diagnostic Applications of Delayed Auditory Feedback
Authors: McCormick Barry
Published: November 2007

For many years the principles of Delayed Auditory Feedback (D.A.F.) have been utilised: (a) in test for investigating non‐organic hearing problems and (b) as a therapeutic aid to increase the oral fluency of stutterers.

With reference to (a) above, if D.A.F. is to be of true value as a test for providing definitive information about the normality or otherwise, of a subject's auditory thresholds, then it is desirable that any subjective judgments of the effects on a person's voice, should be replaced by a quantifiable measure.

It has been suggested that timing the reading of a passage may be useful for this purpose. Another approach is to measure the effects on the intensity of a subject's voice. A procedure was devised by the author to assess the value, if any, of the latter two measurements on a sample of 25 normally hearing subjects and on two cases with suspected non‐organic hearing problems. A very clear pattern emerged for all the cases tested. It was found that if a relatively long delay time of two‐thirds of a second was used, then at feedback levels in excess of 60 dB, a very marked effect could be detected on the subject's voice level, and furthermore, the voice increased progressively as the intensity of the feedback signal was increased. Although it would appear logical that this should be the case, here the magnitude of the effect was being scrutinised.

The author believes that such measurements of the effects of D.A.F. on a subject's voice level might provide useful indications to the integrity of a subject's speech feedback loop. This may be of diagnostic significance when investigating the monitoring systems of stutterers and patients with various voice disorders.

At delay times as long as two‐thirds of a second, the Lombard Voice Reflex, and the effects of D.A.F. will interact in a complex way, and the resulting experience may be more beneficial to stutterers than either of the more familiar methods of (1) administering D.A.F. at shorter delay times or (2) masking a stutterer's voice with an external source of noise.

Brief discussion of the terminology used to describe non‐organic hearing problems; the studies of the effects of D.A.F. on stutterers; and the Lombard Voice Reflex is included.
Characteristics and Progress of a Group of Language Disordered Children with Severe Receptive Difficulties
Authors: Petrie Ian
Published: November 2007

This paper presents data concerned with the characteristics and progress of eleven children with severe receptive language difficulties attending a residential special school. Observations and standardised test results were obtained relating to hearing and listening behaviour, social adjustment, motor co‐ordination, visual‐spatial and sequencing skills, non‐verbal intelligence and language behaviour. In general the reliability of the measurements employed appeared to be reasonably satisfactory.

All the children were impaired in listening skills and had difficulties in language acquisition, but in other respects they showed a wide range of individual problems. Improvement was measured by means of test‐retest analyses. Those children who gained higher initial ratings in listening behaviour, language ability and social adjustment made more progress in language development. However in spite of very favourable teaching conditions the progress made by this sample of children in spoken language acquisition during the period of the study was generally very small.
Language Disabilities of Adolescents: Implications for Diagnosis and Remediation
Authors: WIIG ELISABETH H.
Published: November 2007

The present paper reviews and integrates the results of investigations of the language abilities of learning‐disabled adolescents by the author and her associates. The findings indicate that adolescents with specific learning disorders may demonstrate (1) cognitive‐semantic and linguistic processing deficits characterized by delays in the acquisition of linguistic rules and syntactic maturity and in cognitive and logical growth or (2) dysnomia characterized by verbal paraphasias and reduced speed and accuracy of retrieval of verbal labels, verbal associations and syntactic structures. Tests are discussed which may be used to assess the language processing and production abilities of adolescents. The tests focus on the evaluation of (a) cognitive‐semantic processing, (b) linguistic processing, (c) productive control of linguistic structures, and (d) convergent and divergent semantic production. The implications of the findings for remedial intervention are discussed. The current data suggest that intervention may be required to (a) increase the efficiency of short‐term memory, (b) facilitate the acquisition and productive control of syntactic structures and complex sentence transformations, and (c) facilitate the retrieval of verbal labels and associations and syntactic structures from long‐term memory. Remedial objectives and strategies are discussed against a background of relevant theoretical data.
Language and Intelligence in Dysphasia: Are they related?
Authors: EDWARDS SUSAN , ELLAMS JOAN , THOMPSON JAMES
Published: November 2007

Sixty‐two dysphasic patients were tested on the Matrices, the Schuell and a measure of communication ability. The non‐verbal intelligence of these subjects as tested by Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices was at about the average level despite their language impairment. Intelligence correlated more strongly the more complex the tasks on each section of the Schuell. The measure of communication ability correlated strongly with the more lengthy Schuell assessment. Regression equations for predicting Schuell scores were calculated and some features of the intelligence‐language link in dysphasia discussed.
Is Autism primarily a Language Disorder?
Authors: BOUCHER JILL
Published: November 2007

In this paper some theories which see language disorder as having a central role in the genesis of the autistic syndrome are described, and evidence relating to these theories is discussed. It is concluded:

that it is unlikely that the language disorder in autism is either a severe form of receptive‐executive developmental dysphasia, or dysphasia combined with visual impairments causing failure to develop visual language systems;

that the language disorder is not a disorder of inner language in the sense of being an impairment of symbolizing processes, nor in the sense of being a global impairment of the acquisition of concepts and conceptual thinking;

that there is no reason to suppose that any one criterial feature of autism (such as language impairment) is primary in the sense of causing other criterial features of autistic behaviour to occur; moreover, defects of communication and inner language are almost certainly cognitive in origin and may only be part of a wide ranging cognitive impairment. Language impairment is not, therefore, likely to prove to be the primary disturbance in autism, though language difficulties are conspicuous and important.
Congenital Auditory Imperception ‐ A Follow up Study
Authors: WARD SALLY , McCARTNEY ELSPETH
Published: November 2007

Five children who presented at audiology clinics as being unresponsive to sound, but whose responses to testing suggested auditory imperception rather than peripheral deafness, are studied developmentally. Auditory behaviour is looked at in detail and some reference made to the educational implications of this disorder. It is concluded that, since they did not learn to comprehend language through auditory perceptual training methods, other language teaching modes may have to be considered with such children.
An Intensive Group Programme for Adolescent Stammerers
Authors: RUSTIN LENA
Published: November 2007

This paper describes an intensive programme for teenage stammerers using behaviour modification. Treatment, which evoked the principals of learning theory, was adapted to each childs personal needs but was carried out within a structured group.

The discussion puts forward various suggestions which might account for the measurable success of this form of treatment.
Dysphasic Stroke Patients and the Influence of their Relatives
Authors: MULHALL DAVID J.
Published: November 2007

This paper investigates the mutual influence which dysphasic stroke patients and their relatives have on each other. Evidence is presented which indicates some of the difficulties a spouse might have and their repercussions for the patient. The method used, structures interview data and produces a graphical representation of the relationship. This provides an overview which is easily understood and thus helps the spouse to decide how best to cope. The paper concludes with a discussion of the advantages of using this system as an adjunct to speech therapy.
Behavioural Treatment of Social Difficulties with an Aphasic Woman and a Dysarthric Man*
Authors: DAMON SHEILA G. , LESSER RUTH , WOODS ROBERT T.
Published: November 2007

Two cases are described in which speech therapists and psychologists collaborated in behaviour therapy for patients with communication disorders after brain‐damage. Anxiety reduction techniques were used with a woman with mild aphasia, and social skills training with a man with dysarthria. It is suggested that there are advantages in not making a sharp demarcation of roles between psychologists and speech therapists in the mental rehabilitation of the brain‐damaged.
Progress Report on an Evaluation of Speech Therapy for Aphasia
Authors: DAVID RACHEL M. , ENDERBY PAM , BAINTON DAVID
Published: November 2007

A feasibility study of a proposed evaluation of speech therapy for acquired aphasia is described.

Patients were allocated randomly to either individual speech therapy or an equal amount of intervention from untrained volunteers. Their progress was closely followed for 12 weeks of treatment and subsequently until the end of one year. Thirteen patients completed the study and the results are reported. After some minor changes to the Protocol the Study continues as a large scale, multicentre project.
Psycholinguistic Abilities and Audiometric Performance in Partially Hearing Children
Authors: BENCH JOHN , COTTER SARAH
Published: November 2007

Twenty partially hearing children aged 9–18 years were assessed for connected‐speech (sentence list) audiometry with and without their hearing aids, for the auditory/verbal subtests of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA), and for the quality of their uttered speech (SQ). The threshold shift obtained when listening with an aid was poorly related to all variables, apart from a significant quadratic correlation with the unaided speech intelligibility threshold. Otherwise, the audiometric measures were generally moderately or highly correlated with ITPA scores and SQ. The slopes of the speech audiograms were the audiometric measures best correlated with ITPA scores, while the threshold audiometric measures were best correlated with SQ. Performances across the ITPA subtests, which were lower than would have been obtained for normally hearing children, were significantly and highly intercorrelated, suggesting a general rather than a specific linguistic retardation in aspects assessed by the auditory/verbal subtests. The relationships between the audiometric and psycholinguistic variables are discussed, and a case is made for further work.
Is all your Schuell really necessary?
Authors: THOMPSON JAMES , ENDERBY PAM
Published: November 2007

The Schuell is an extensive and time consuming test, which has encouraged clinicians to eliminate items on an ad hoc basis.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss an item analysis of the Schuell so as to create a shorter form of the test. Results based on 88 patients are presented, and a potential short form of the test discussed.
Using the computer to analyse Articulation Test data
Authors: SOMERS HAROLD L.
Published: November 2007

This paper concerns the computer package CAT (Computerised Articulation Test), a study of the feasibility of using the computer to analyse Articulation Test data. The package is described in detail, and the hopes for its future development are expressed.
The Acquisition of Signs by the Mentally Handicapped: Measurement Criteria
Authors: FAWCETT G. F. , CLIBBENS J. S.
Published: November 2007

There has been much criticism of experimental work involving the teaching of signs to the mentally handicapped. Aside from poor experimental design and inadequate description of subjects, the presentation of results has been vague and the measurement problems involved in sign language research have not been formally addressed or solved. These problems lead to difficulties in replicating work and designing follow‐up studies. The current paper examines problems involved in attempts to measure sign acquisition and examines possible solutions in terms of reliability and validity.
Predicting Psychosocial Adjustment to Aphasia
Authors: MÜLLER D. J. , CODE CHRIS , MUGFORD J.
Published: November 2007

This paper is concerned with how psychosocial adjustment in aphasic patients is perceived by speech therapists, spouses or significant others and aphasic patients. Two important factors are considered, firstly the extent to which incongruity exists in different individuals' predictions of psychosocial adjustment to aphasia, and secondly degrees of optimism experienced by all the main parties. It is reported that in a sample of 21 aphasic patients a wide range of incongruence was found and that spouses and aphasic patients were more optimistic than speech therapists. Correlations between age and time since onset are discussed. The importance of these findings for counselling are considered and the need for longitudinal studies identified.
Teaching Stutterers the Skill of Fluent Speech as a Preliminary to the Study of Relapse
Authors: EVESHAM MARGARET , HUDDLESTON ANITA
Published: November 2007

An investigation is currently taking place into the effect of stuttering relapse rate of a combined programme of training in speech technique and psychological reconstruction. The programme of training in speech technique which enables stutterers to learn the skill of fluent speech in a short time is described and evaluated.
A Student‐Centred Approach to the Evaluation of Clinical Skills
Authors: STACKHOUSE JOY , FURNHAM ADRIAN
Published: November 2007

Because of the importance of self‐monitoring and evaluation to the development of clinical competence, a project was set up to introduce self‐assessment, by means of a rating scale in the clinical training of speech therapists. Comparisons were made between the students', clinicians', and tutors' ratings of the students to investigate possible differences in perceptions of the students' clinical performance. To look at the predictive value of these ratings, correlations were run on the rating scores with the end of year practical and written examination results. Differences between raters did emerge and the predictive value of the scales shows tutors to have the highest correlation and students the lowest. Possible reasons for these results are discussed and guidelines are given for the use of this type of evaluation in student training.
The effects of adult behaviours on increasing language delayed children's production of early relational meanings
Authors: Olswang Lesley B. , Coggins Truman E.
Published: November 2007

This intervention study examined the influence of adult behaviours on the emerging productive abilities of two language delayed preschoolers. In order to maximize the probability of isolating differential treatment effects, three different treatment strategies were designed that systematically manipulated particular adult antecedent and consequent events. Examination of treatment data indicated that the teaching strategies were not differentially effective in increasing the frequency with which the children encoded two‐term target relations. Linear regression analyses, however, revealed the existence of specific time periods in which rapid rates of production were observed for both children. This outcome is discussed with respect to the timing of early intervention and specific child variables that may reflect a readiness for acquiring early linguistic behaviours.
Automated LARSP: Computer‐assisted grammatical analysis
Authors: Bishop D. V. M.
Published: November 2007

This paper describes a computer program, written for an Apple II microcomputer, which does a largely automatic LARSP analysis on sentences typed in by the user. The user interacts with the program to specify parts of speech, and to make decisions where the analysis is ambiguous. The program is usually more accurate than analysis done by hand, and is a useful tool in training therapists in the use of LARSP.
Notes and Discussion Papers: 1: Auditory discrimination in speech‐impaired and normal children as related to age
Authors: Morgan Rosemarie A.
Published: November 2007

This study used a minimal pairs paradigm to assess auditory discrimination skills with four groups of children: pre‐school and school‐age children with articulatory defects, and pre‐school and school‐age normal speaking children. The aim was to show how the discriminatory abilities of the groups compared with each other.
NOTES AND DISCUSSION PAPERS: 2: Parental speech to language delayed children: a home intervention study
Authors: Hornby Garry , Jensen‐Procter Georgia
Published: November 2007

The study aimed to change a mother's verbal interaction with her language delayed twin boys in order to improve the language model which she provided. A single subject research design was used to evaluate the effects of treatment in which mother played language games with one of the twins. Home observations were conducted in which all of the twins' utterances were recorded and the mother's verbal behaviour was coded. Results showed that mother substantially increased her level of verbal interaction with the twins and also increased the proportion of her statements and questions relative to demands. In addition, the twins increased the number and length of their utterances in response to treatment. Further, the changes in both mother's and the twins' verbal behaviour generalized to extra‐treatment settings.
Detecting abnormal auditory behaviours in infancy: The relationship between such behaviours and linguistic development
Authors: Ward Sally
Published: November 2007

A screening test was developed in order to discover infants showing auditory perceptual abnormalities before the age of one year. The screen was a questionnaire designed to detect in infancy the abnormal auditory behaviours demonstrated by older children with receptive language delay based on auditory perceptual problems. The screen was administered by Health Visitors to 1070 infants at approximately nine months of age. One hundred and nineteen infants were discovered who demonstrated the behaviours under study and at follow‐up evaluation showed receptive language delay. A strong relationship was found between the number of behaviours detected and the degree of receptive language delay. The number of behaviours detected, however, could not alone be used to predict degree of language delay.
FORUM: PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL FEATURES 1*: Phonetic features and phonological features in speech assessment
Authors: Harris John , Cottam Philippa
Published: November 2007

It has been a weakness of some clinical applications of segmental feature analysis that they fail to discriminate between the general phonetic and strictly phonological aspects of the model. The result is that classificatory features have often been inappropriately employed in speech assessment as phonetic notation devices, a function they are much too abstract to fulfil adequately. In this paper, an attempt is made to demonstrate the value of a two‐stage clinical analysis which clearly distinguishes between the phonetic and phonological dimensions of features. The approach is illustrated through the case study of a five‐year‐old whose production exhibits the effects of what can be termed articulatory weakening. At a phonetic level, a feature analysis based on degree of airflow resistance can be exploited to elucidate the articulatory dimensions of the child's disorder. The insights gained at this stage can subsequently be interpreted in terms of more abstract, classificatory features in order to ascertain the implications that the deviant articulations have for the child's ability to signal the phonological contrasts of normal adult language.
Mispronunciations and compensatory movements of tongue‐operated patients*
Authors: Barry William J. , Timmermann Gerd
Published: November 2007

Palatographic, acceptability and transcription data are presented for extracts from a German text read by seven partial‐glossectomy patients. The speakers' degree of acceptability appears to be related more to postoperative lingual mobility than to the amount of tongue mass remaining. There is a discrepancy between the intelligibility and acceptability of the patients' speech on the one hand and the relative lack of change in palatographic contact patterns on the other. Possible compensatory articulations are discussed.
Phonological versus phonetic disorders: Some suggested modifications to the current use of the distinction
Authors: Hewlett Nigel
Published: November 2007

The distinction between phonetics and phonology as traditionally defined within linguistics is not suitable for direct application to speech pathology. It is argued that its adaptation for the purpose of distinguishing phonetic disorders and phonological disorders has led to anomalies, and, in particular, that loss of phonological contrasts does not necessarily imply that a disorder is (partly) phonological in nature. What is described as a “speaker oriented” description of the distinction is offered, together with a proposal for a three way distinction—into phonological, phonetic and articulatory disorders—to replace the present binary one. It is further suggested that the speech characteristics of some disorders might best be explained as resulting from avoidance strategies undertaken at the phonological level in order to circumvent lower level constraints.
Imitative versus spontaneous language assessment: A comparison of CELI and LARSP
Authors: Hawkins Peter , Spencer Helen
Published: November 2007

Previous studies have shown high correlation between imitation tests and other tests of expressive language. The present study compares one child's performance and relates this to his general linguistic ability. LARSP was found to reflect his ability quite well but CELI grossly underestimated it. We hypothesised that the morphological bias of CELI was responsible, and further investigation confirmed this. Yet the pattern and range of syntactic structures found in the spontaneous sample was confirmed and extended by CELI. Imitation tests can therefore usefully supplement spontaneous‐sample assessment, but require a more purely syntactic basis of scoring.
Oral form recognition with and without palatal coverage
Authors: Oliver R.G.
Published: November 2007

Oral stereognosis testing in the form of an oral form recognition test was carried out on six adolescents who were undergoing routine orthodontic treatment with upper removable appliances. The oral form recognition test was carried out with and without the orthodontic appliance on three visits. There was no significant difference in the number of shapes correctly guessed with and without the orthodontic appliance.
Oral stereognosis and diadokokinetic tests in children and young adults
Authors: Oliver R. G. , Jones M. G. , Smith S. A. , Newcombe R. G.
Published: November 2007

Data on oral stereognostic ability and lip and tongue diadokokinetic tests are presented for a range of ages from eight years to young adults. As anticipated, there is a general improvement in performance with age, but this is not a simple linear function except for the percentage of shapes correctly identified. No evidence could be found to support the theory that improvements in stereognostic skills are related to the onset of the adolescent growth spurt or the cessation of cranio‐facial skeletal development. Sex differences for oral stereognostic ability suggest that ‘oral discriminatory function’ is superior in females, but diadokokinetic tests are apparently at odds with accepted thought; explanations for this are offered. ‘Normal’ values for the diadokokinetic tests (which form part of the Frenchay Dysarthria Test) over the age range studied are presented, information hitherto unavailable.
Acquisition of prepositions in language‐delayed preschoolers: Is intervention effective?
Authors: Telleen Sharon , Wren Carol T.
Published: November 2007

Many language‐delayed children experience difficulty with prepositions, but few instructional guidelines exist. A group of 25 language‐delayed preschoolers made significant gains on a test measuring comprehension of 20 prepositions following five months of systematic instruction by classroom teachers in a preschool setting. They continued to improve on a second post‐test after four additional months of instruction. The instructional method is discussed in detail, and an analysis of the order of difficulty of the prepositions is presented.
Speech and language handicap: Towards knowing the size of the problem
Authors: Pam Enderby PhD, MSc, FCST Chief Speech Therapist  , Philipp Robin
Published: November 2007

Planning speech therapy services is difficult as the size of the speech and language handicapped population is not known. A literature review has been undertaken to determine the likely incidence and prevalence of persons in the UK with speech and language disorders associated with underlying disease. The findings suggest that previous reports have underestimated the number of persons in the United Kingdom who are likely to have speech or language handicaps and that there are further information needs.
Spastic dysarthria after acquired brain injury: An acoustic study
Authors: Ziegler W. , von Cramon D.
Published: November 2007

CVC syllables, sustained fricatives and rapid diphthong repetitions were examined in ten patients with spastic dysarthria following closed head trauma and cerebro‐vascular accident. Speech samples were evaluated by acoustic signal processing. The data obtained for segment durations, vowel quality, and plosive realisations revealed a disproportionate impairment in gross movements of the tongue back as compared to the tongue blade. In the milder cases target configurations could often be realised to an acoustically normal extent, yet at the expense of production time. This and the abnormalities in diphthong repetitions suggested that the faculty of accelerating the moving structures was limited in the observed spastic dysarthrics. Control of fine forces, however, was not generally impaired.
Some new data using the English Picture Vocabulary Test (full range version) with a British sample
Authors: Bishop D. V. M.
Published: November 2007

The Full Range English Picture Vocabulary Test (EPVT) was given to a sample of over 2,000 normal British children aged between four and thirteen years. Results showed significant deviations from expected values derived from the Full Range EPVT manual. It is argued that this cannot be ascribed to bias in this sample, and it is suggested that users of the Full Range EPVT may prefer to use data from this study as a basis for converting raw scores to standard scores, rather than relying on the tables provided in the EPVT manual.
Developing linguistic awareness: A theoretically based approach to phonological disorders
Authors: Dean Elizabeth , Howell Janet
Published: November 2007

This paper provides a comprehensive therapeutic model for the treatment of phonological disorders, using linguistic and psychological theory as a basis for intervention.

The intervention strategy adopts a view of the child as learning through conflict and reflection and utilises metalinguistic awareness as a therapeutic tool. The practical application of the model is described and specific treatment examples are provided. The possible advantages of the model are discussed and appraised briefly against other phonological intervention strategies.
Mother‐child dialogues: Considerations of cognitive complexity for young language learning children
Authors: Conti‐Ramsden Gina , Friel‐Patti Sandy
Published: November 2007

The application of the Blank and Franklin (1980) cognitively based dialogue coding system to conversations between mothers and their young normal language learning children (age range 12 to 24 months) was explored. The original coding system was adapted to accommodate the children's use of actions as well as language to partake in dialogue. Videotaped, naturally occurring mother‐child interactions for ten dyads provided the data base for the present study. Results demonstrate that mothers address their utterances at, or one level above, the level of complexity to which the children responded most effectively. There was a correspondence between the level of the utterances initiated most often by the children and the level to which they responded best. The use of the adapted coding system with language impaired mother‐child dyads is discussed.
Aphasia with recurrent utterance: A review
Authors: Lebrun Yvan
Published: November 2007

The symptomatology of aphasia with recurrent utterance is described: the nature of the stereotypy is depicted and the concomitant verbal deficits mentioned. The problem of the origin of the stereotypy is reviewed. Anatomico‐clinical correlations are considered and prognosis and therapy discussed.
Towards a classification scheme for aphasic syntax
Authors: Penn Claire , Behrmann Marlene
Published: November 2007

The expressive syntax of 38 aphasics was elicited and analysed according to the Language Assessment, Remediation and Screening Procedure. The results were subjected to hierarchical cluster analysis, from which six discrete subgroups were derived ranging from least to most syntactically competent. Syntactic characteristics of these groups are described and possible explanations for group differences are suggested based on neurological and biographical data. A dynamic explanation taking into account the aphasic's adaptation to his communicative deficit is explored and the implications of a syntactic classification scheme are discussed.
Treatment of agrammatism in long‐term Broca's aphasia
Authors: Helm‐Estabrooks Nancy , Ramsberger Gail
Published: November 2007

This study describes the response of six, long‐term (mean = 7.9 years) aphasic patients to a treatment programme (HELPSS) for agrammatism. Comparison of dependent test scores obtained before and after treatment showed that significant improvement occurred in verbal expression as measured by the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test (Lee, 1968) and the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (Goodglass & Kaplan, 1972). These results indicate that differential aphasia therapies designed for specific aphasia syndromes can be effective even when administered many years after onset of aphasia.
Sentence comprehension strategies in specifically language impaired children*
Authors: van der Lely Heather , Dewart Hazel
Published: November 2007

This study investigated sentence comprehension and the use of sentence comprehension strategies by specifically language impaired children. Eleven specifically language impaired (SLI) children (aged 4;0 to 6;0), chosen according to strict criteria, were compared with eleven children matched on chronological age and eleven language controls matched on the receptive scores from the Reynell Developmental Language Scale and the British Picture Vocabulary Scale. Subjects acted out active and passive voice sentences that had either a positive or negative semantic bias or were unbiased semantically. The SLI children performed at a signficantly lower level than both the age and language control subjects. They relied more heavily on semantic cues than the language control children and all eleven consistently applied a ‘probable event strategy’. Word order responses that took the first noun to be the actor were used with equal frequency by SLI children and language controls. However, these responses were used less discriminately by the SLI children than the language controls who applied them more frequently to active voice sentences than to passives. The results suggest that the SLI children primarily based their interpretation on semantic expectations or the sequence of content words and relied little on syntactic information.
Can one recover from spasmodic dysphonia?
Authors: Chevrie‐Muller Claude , Arabia‐Guidet Catherine , Pfauwadel Marie‐Claude
Published: November 2007

A follow‐up study of 22 patients with audible symptoms of adductor spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is reported. The analysis included acoustic and electroglottographic recording of continuous speech and of sustained phonation. Using this method different patterns were described from the different possible associations of four features: voice stoppage, laryngealisation, tremor, breathy phonation. The evolution of the SD clinical and physical symptoms is reported in relation to the patterns observed at the onset of the study. The complete recovery of three patients was physically attested to over a lapse of several months. These patients exhibited an identical pattern with isolated voice stoppages and laryngealisation and were the youngest subjects of the sample. A completely similar pattern was observed only in one of the 19 other patients who did not improve. The aetiology of SD is discussed from the information obtained in the study.
Use of the Monterey Programmed Stuttering Therapy in Great Britain
Authors: Rustin Lena , Ryan Bruce P. , Ryan Barbara V.
Published: November 2007

Data were collected on the use of the Monterey Fluency Program by 102 British trained clinicians over a five‐year period with 107 clients who stuttered. Analysis of the data revealed that the clinicians had responded well to the training and used the programme efficiently and effectively. The 107 stutterers improved from 11.3 to .2 per cent stuttering after an average 7.2 hours of therapy. Additional information about programme operation and the types of stutterers in Great Britain was generated.
Computer‐generated phonemic cues: an effective aid for naming in aphasia
Authors: Bruce Carolyn , Howard David
Published: November 2007

This study investigates whether computer‐generated phonemic cues can be used in improving naming in Broca's aphasics, either in treatment or as a prosthesis. Five patients who were able to indicate the initial letters of words which they could not produce, and who responded to phonemic cues given by a therapist, were taught to use a microcomputer as an aid to generate phonemic cues over five sessions. All the patients benefited; four of the subjects were significantly better in naming with the aid, and improvement generalised to names which had not been involved in treatment. Four of the subjects were better at indicating the first letters of names of items in the treatment set than untreated control pictures; it appears that treatment teaches patients about the initial letters in the words. We conclude that microcomputer‐generated phonemic cues are a promising approach to treatment of word retrieval difficulties in aphasia.
Language deficits and specific reading retardation: cause or effect?
Authors: Share David L. , Silva Phil A.
Published: November 2007

The nature of the relationship between general language skills and reading disability was investigated in a large sample of children for whom language data were available at ages 3 and 11. A significant decline in the language skills of the reading‐disabled group between ages 3 and 11 was consistent with the view that general language deficits in this group may be partly the consequence of their reading difficulties.
Counselling and care of laryngectomees: a preliminary study
Authors: Craven Alison , West Robert
Published: November 2007

Eighteen laryngectomees were interviewed about aspects of the counselling and care they had received. Seven had undergone primary voice restoration (PVR) surgery. All had been visited by the ENT surgeon pre‐operatively and ten by a speech therapist. Nine patients had been counselled on psychological adjustment by the ENT surgeon, and six by the speech therapist. Five patients had been visited pre‐operatively by a laryngectomee visitor; in only one case was the issue of psychological adjustment raised. Thirteen out of fourteen smokers continued to smoke after diagnosis, of whom seven could recall having been advised to stop. Only two patients in the PVR group belonged to a laryngectomee club compared with eight in the non‐PVR group. The patients were generally satisfied with the care they although four indicated that changes could be made. One patient who was not given an opportunity to see a laryngectomee visitor would have liked to do so and two patients would have liked to see a speech therapist prior to the operation but were not given the opportunity.
Communication disorders in Legionnaires' disease
Authors: Mackenzie Catherine
Published: November 2007

Although dysarthria has often been noted in Legionnaires' disease sufferers, description of its components has been scarce. Speech production ability was assessed in four long‐standing cases using the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment and some supplementary measures. Present in all subjects were deterioration in intelligibility, slow speaking rate, articulatory errors with the tongue the most involved of the articulators, and disruption of respiratory, laryngeal and swallow mechanisms. Cerebellar signs were evident in all subjects but the overall dysarthria pattern did not correspond closely with ataxic dysarthric features. Reference to aphasia is also made in the Legionnaires' disease literature, but the Token Test, Graded Naming Test and the reading and writing tests of the Western Aphasia Battery did not reveal language deficiency in any of the subjects.
The effects of reduced non‐verbal communication in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Pentland Brian , Gray John M. , Riddle William J. R. , Pitcairn Thomas K.
Published: November 2007

The first impressions formed by 19 senior speech therapy students shown silent video recordings of four patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and four with ischaemic heart disease were measured using visual analogue scales directed at aspects of mood, personality and intellect. Although both patient groups showed no abnormalities in terms of affect, personality and intelligence by standardised psychological tests, the PD patients appeared more anxious, hostile, suspicious, depressed, bored and tense than the controls; they seemd less intelligent, more introverted and passive and looked as if they enjoyed and maintained their part of the conversation less well. They appeared to relate less well to the interviewer although there was no apparent difference in the interviewer's behaviour to the two different disease groups. Overall they were rated as less likeable. The speech therapists' responses did not differ significantly from a previous study of other health professionals. The findings are related to the known effects of speech impairment on impression formation in Parkinson's disease and are discussed in relation to possible effects on therapeutic relationships and management of patients with impaired expressive behaviour.
A double‐blind study of verapamil in the treatment of stuttering
Authors: Brumfitt S. M. , Peake M. D.
Published: November 2007

This paper investigates the statement by Zachariah (The Antiseptic, 1980, Vol. 77, pp. 87–88) that low dose verapamil was effective in controlling stuttering in a majority of patients when compared to placebo. Fourteen subjects were studied over 6 weeks through a double‐blind trial which looked at the speech symptoms, physiological changes and individual subjective ratings of speech. No significant differences were found between the periods of verapamil treatment and placebo.
Language and epilepsy: A review
Authors: Lebrun Yvan
Published: November 2007

This article reviews speech, language and other verbal activities in their relationship to epilepsy.
Professional and family understanding of impaired communication
Authors: Davies Philip , Mehan Hugh
Published: November 2007

This paper examines the contrast between professional and family understanding of impaired communication as well as relatives' claims to comprehend minimal or unintelligible language. The performance of a young head injury victim on the expression section of the Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (FAST) was video‐recorded and played back to a group of rehabilitation specialists and researchers and to the patient's parents. Neither the professionals nor the parents were shown the stimulus card, although one of the professionals had prior knowledge of it. Whereas none of the professionals was able to understand any of the patient's utterances the parents were able to comprehend most of what she said with just one playback of the video‐recording. The formal assessment by the patient's speech therapist and her ratings of the patient on a series of Likert scales were compared with the assessment and ratings by the patient's parents. While there was agreement concerning the patient's abilities at word finding, understanding of others and reading, there was disagreement about the patient's expressive abilities, prosody and writing abilities. It was concluded that relatives' claims to understand minimal or unintelligible language were not without foundation and that their contrasting views about the patient's abilities should not be dismissed. The implications of this for the rehabilitation of impaired communication and for sociolinguistic models of language acquisition are briefly discussed.
In search of qualities: Invited comment on Eastwood's ‘Qualitative research’
Authors: Aylwin Susan
Published: November 2007

Eastwood advocates the use of ‘qualitative research’ as a methodology which may help speech pathology find a research paradigm. This paper supports the utility of qualitative methods in general, outlines some of the safeguards required to rebut the charge that such methods may be subjective and therefore unscientific, indicates some of the kinds of uses to which qualitative research may be put, and suggests further reading for those interested in using qualitative methods.