bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Implications of RTI and EBP for SLPs: Commentary on L. M. Justice
Authors: Ukrainetz Teresa A.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This commentary responds to Justice’s article on response to intervention (RTI) and evidence-based practice (EBP) for reading instruction. The educational changes brought about by RTI and EBP provide an opportunity as well as a challenge for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to make fundamental changes in service delivery.

Method

In this article, I discuss how RTI will change who qualifies as reading disabled and who receives special reading instruction. I examine how RTI might change who qualifies and how they qualify for speech-language services. Finally, I consider what can be taken from EPB and RTI to improve speech-language service delivery.

Conclusion

RTI has the potential to fundamentally change regular education and its interface with special education. If SLP clinicians, researchers, and policymakers recognize the possibilities, RTI could also significantly and positively impact educational speech-language pathology.
Making Evidence-Based Decisions About Child Language Intervention in Schools
Authors: Gillam Sandra Laing , Gillam Ronald B.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The results of recent survey studies suggest that speech-language pathologists base most of their clinical decisions on information they were taught during their graduate programs, their clinical experience, and the opinions of colleagues (T. Wolf & J. Balderson, 2005; R. Zipoli & M. Kennedy, 2005). This is contrary to the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP), in which clinical decisions arise from the integration of scientific evidence, clinician experience, and client needs. Our field’s interest in EBP is relatively young. Currently, there are no published committee-derived EBP guidelines for providing language intervention services for children with language disorders. Until national or international organizations publish recommendations from EBP guideline writing panels, clinicians will need to make personal evidence-based decisions with relatively little assistance from outside sources. The purpose of this article is to summarize a seven-step process for making local EBP decisions.

Method

The authors provide information about a method for forming clinical questions, finding relevant scientific studies, and evaluating those studies that requires relatively little time and few external resources. The authors also provide a system for integrating scientific evidence with their own expertise and training within the context of their employment settings. Finally, an example is provided to show clinicians how to use the evidence-based decision-making process to answer a clinical question about clinical methods for improving grammatical morphology in children with speech-language impairment.

Conclusion

It is possible for clinicians to make time- and resource-efficient evidence-based decisions that integrate scientific evidence, clinical expertise, and student–parent preferences.
Speech and Articulatory Rates of School-Age Children in Conversation and Narrative Contexts
Authors: Sturm Jennifer A. , Seery Carol H.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This study provides preliminary reference data for speech and articulatory rates of school-age children in conversational and narrative speaking contexts.

Method

Participants included 36 typically developing children in 3 groups of 12 participants at ages 7, 9, and 11 years. Conversational and narrative speech rates were measured in words per minute, syllables per minute, and syllables per second.

Results

Speaking rates increased with age between ages 7 and 9, but rates were similar between ages 9 and 11. Between contexts, only the words per minute measure was significantly higher (faster) in narrative than in conversation.

Implications

These results are important to the assessment, treatment, and management of children with communication disorders in clinical or school settings.
The Effects of In-Service Education to Promote Emergent Literacy in Child Care Centers: A Feasibility Study
Authors: Girolametto Luigi , Weitzman Elaine , Lefebvre Pascal , Greenberg Janice
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a 2-day in-service education program for (a) promoting the use of two emergent literacy strategies by early childhood educators and (b) increasing children’s responses to these strategies.

Method

Sixteen early childhood educators were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. The experimental in-service program sought to increase educators' use of abstract utterances and print references. Educators were videotaped with small groups of preschoolers during storybook reading and a post-story craft activity. Pretest and posttest videotapes were coded to yield rates of abstract language, verbal print references, and children’s responses.

Results

In comparison to the control group, educators in the experimental program used more abstract utterances that elicited talk about emotions and children’s past experiences during storybook reading. They also used significantly more print references during a post-story craft activity. In addition, children in the experimental group responded more often with appropriate responses to abstract utterances and print references in comparison to children in the control group.

Conclusion

A 2-day in-service education program resulted in short-term behavioral changes in educators' use of abstract language and print references. Suggestions for improving instruction include providing opportunities for classroom practice with feedback, modeling the use of strategies in classroom routines, and long-term mentoring of educators to promote retention of gains.
Prologue: Understanding Children Who Have Been Affected by Maltreatment and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Authors: Hyter Yvette D.
Published: May 2007

This prologue introduces an important topic for multiple disciplines involved with children and their families. This introduction includes a review of some of the current literature on the effects of maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure on child development, an explanation of why this topic is essential learning for communication professionals, prevalence figures for the occurrence of these effects, and a summarization of the articles that have been contributed by a cross section of researchers from various disciplines.
Sensory Modulation Disorders Among Children With a History of Trauma: A Frame of Reference for Speech-Language Pathologists
Authors: Atchison Ben J.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to present definitions and concepts about sensory modulation, illustrate behavioral aspects of sensory modulation disorders, describe a framework for assessment and intervention, and present advances in research.

Method

A review of descriptive and evidence-based literature related to the impact of exposure to both prenatal and postnatal trauma on sensory modulation is provided, with additional information gleaned from recent assessment data on children with a history of trauma who are served by the Southwest Michigan Children’s Trauma Assessment Center (CTAC).

Clinical Implications

The review of the literature indicates support for the presence of sensory modulation disorders among traumatized children. In addition, the emerging data now being gathered on children who have been assessed by CTAC indicate a significant prevalence of sensory modulation disorders among children with a history of trauma alone, and those with both trauma and a diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Awareness, recognition, and identification of behaviors associated with this disorder, and referral to appropriate professionals, is essential to ensure effective preventive and intervention services.
Child Maltreatment: A Global Issue
Authors: Westby Carol E.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This article explains why children with speech and language impairments are at increased risk for having experienced abuse, neglect, and trauma and how maltreatment may vary across cultures.

Method

International literature on maltreatment is reviewed in order to provide frameworks for identifying what constitutes maltreatment across cultures; how cultural variations in discipline practices impact maltreatment; and professionals' roles in treatment when they encounter children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma.

Conclusion

Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are required to document and report any instance of suspected child abuse. To intervene effectively with children and families from diverse cultures who experience maltreatment, professionals must understand when a practice causes harm and be able to modify childrearing practices in culturally acceptable ways.
Epilogue: Understanding Children Who Have Been Affected by Maltreatment and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Future Directions
Authors: Hyter Yvette D. , Way Ineke
Published: May 2007

This epilogue summarizes the six articles presented in the clinical forum focused on understanding children who have been affected by maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure. It presents common themes that emerged among the articles and future research directions.
The Personalized Cueing Method: From the Laboratory to the Clinic
Authors: Marshall Robert C. , Freed Donald B.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The personalized cueing method is a novel procedure for treating naming deficits of persons with aphasia that is relatively unfamiliar to most speech-language pathologists. The goal of this article is to introduce the personalized cueing method to clinicians so that it might be expanded and improved upon. It is also hoped that this article will promote further research in the treatment of naming deficits of clients with aphasia.

Method

This clinical focus article (a) describes the origins of the personalized cueing method, the steps involved in creating personalized cues, and training and assessment procedures used with the personalized cueing method; (b) summarizes the published research supporting the use of the personalized cueing method; and (c) highlights some of the clinical advantages of this novel naming treatment for clients and clinicians.

Results

Research with the personalized cueing method indicates that durability (long-term naming accuracy) for items trained with the personalized cueing method exceeds that for items trained with phonological cueing and other methods. It further shows that as the stimuli used to train naming in the personalized cueing experiments have become more realistic, durability of personalized cueing has increased.

Conclusion

Personalized cueing is a parsimonious approach for treatment of naming deficits of persons with aphasia that has shown positive treatment effects in 8–12 training sessions.
Developmental Relationships Between Language and Theory of Mind
Authors: Miller Carol A.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This tutorial is intended to inform readers about the development of theory of mind (understanding of mental states) and to discuss relationships between theory of mind and language development.

Method

A narrative review of selected literature on language and theory of mind is presented. Theory of mind is defined, and commonly used measures of theory of mind are described. Developmental relationships between language and theory of mind in typical and atypical populations are discussed. Literature-based suggestions for clinical assessment and intervention are provided, using a hypothetical case study.

Conclusions

The article serves as an introduction to current research about language and theory of mind, and emphasizes their interdependence in development. Implications of the relationships between theory of mind and language development for language assessment and intervention are discussed, and an argument is made that taking theory of mind into account will help clinicians enhance children’s communication and language development.
The Index of Narrative Microstructure: A Clinical Tool for Analyzing School-Age Children’s Narrative Performances
Authors: Justice Laura M. , Bowles Ryan P. , Kaderavek Joan N. , Ukrainetz Teresa A. , Eisenberg Sarita L. , Gillam Ronald B.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This research was conducted to develop a clinical tool—the Index of Narrative Microstructure (INMIS)—that would parsimoniously account for important microstructural aspects of narrative production for school-age children. The study provides field test age- and grade-based INMIS values to aid clinicians in making normative judgments about microstructural aspects of pupils’ narrative performance.

Method

Narrative samples using a single-picture elicitation context were collected from 250 children age 5–12 years and then transcribed and segmented into T-units. A T-unit consists of a single main clause and any dependent constituents. The narrative transcripts were then coded and analyzed to document a comprehensive set of microstructural indices.

Results

Factor analysis indicated that narrative microstructure consisted of 2 moderately related factors. The Productivity factor primarily comprised measures of word output, lexical diversity, and T-unit output. The Complexity factor comprised measures of syntactic organization, with mean length of T-units in words and proportion of complex T-units loading most strongly. Principal components analysis was used to provide a linear combination of 8 variables to approximate the 2 factors. Formulas for calculating a student’s performance on the 2 factors using 8 narrative measures are provided.

Conclusions

This study provided a method for professionals to calculate INMIS scores for narrative Productivity and Complexity for comparison against field test data for age (5- to 12-year-old) or grade (kindergarten to Grade 6) groupings. INMIS scores complement other tools in evaluating a child’s narrative performance specifically and language abilities more generally.
Comparison of Meaning and Graphophonemic Feedback Strategies for Guided Reading Instruction of Children With Language Delays
Authors: Kouri Theresa A. , Selle Carrie A. , Riley Sarah A.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

Guided reading is a common practice recommended for children in the early stages of literacy development. While experts agree that oral reading facilitates literacy skills, controversy exists concerning which corrective feedback strategies are most effective. The purpose of this study was to compare feedback procedures stemming from 2 different theoretical perspectives on literacy development.

Method

Fourteen children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 21 with typically developing language read aloud 2 stories to an adult examiner who presented corrective feedback prompts when reading miscues (errors) occurred. One type of feedback based on whole language principles emphasized meaning aspects of a text. The other type consisted of graphophonemic (GP) word-decoding strategies. Before reading, participants were provided instruction on 5 key words taken from each story text. This instruction emphasized either meaning or GP aspects of specific key words. Story comprehension questions followed readings.

Results

Findings indicated that more miscued words were corrected overall through the use of GP feedback cues; however, some meaning-based instructional advantages were indicated for key word identifications for children with SLI. Higher story comprehension scores were yielded in the GP condition for both groups.

Conclusions

Both meaning-based and phonemic key word reviews, prior to oral reading, appear to be effective strategies for children with SLI. The use of GP word-decoding cues may be more effective than meaning-based cues for facilitating correction of reading miscues during children’s oral readings. Further research findings are discussed along with clinical implications for using corrective feedback procedures.
The Composition of Normative Groups and Diagnostic Decision Making: Shooting Ourselves in the Foot
Authors: Peña Elizabeth D. , Spaulding Tammie J. , Plante Elena
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The normative group of a norm-referenced test is intended to provide a basis for interpreting test scores. However, the composition of the normative group may facilitate or impede different types of diagnostic interpretations. This article considers who should be included in a normative sample and how this decision must be made relative to the purpose for which a test is intended.

Method

The way in which the composition of the normative sample affects classification accuracy is demonstrated through a test review followed by a simulation study. The test review examined the descriptions of the normative group in a sample of 32 child language tests. The mean performance reported in the test manual for the sample of language impaired children was compared with the sample’s norms, which either included or excluded children with language impairment. For the simulation, 2 contrasting normative procedures were modeled. The first procedure included a mixed group of representative cases (language impaired and normal cases). The second procedure excluded the language impaired cases from the norm.

Results

Both the data obtained from test manuals and the data simulation based on population characteristics supported our claim that use of mixed normative groups decreases the ability to accurately identify language impairment. Tests that used mixed norms had smaller differences between the normative and language impaired groups in comparison with tests that excluded children with impairment within the normative sample. The simulation demonstrated mixed norms that lowered the group mean and increased the standard deviation, resulting in decreased classification accuracy.

Conclusions

When the purpose of testing is to identify children with impaired language skills, including children with language impairment in the normative sample can reduce identification accuracy.
Stuttering Treatment Research 1970–2005: I. Systematic Review Incorporating Trial Quality Assessment of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Related Approaches
Authors: Bothe Anne K. , Davidow Jason H. , Bramlett Robin E. , Ingham Roger J.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To complete a systematic review, with trial quality assessment, of published research about behavioral, cognitive, and related treatments for developmental stuttering. Goals included the identification of treatment recommendations and research needs based on the available high-quality evidence about stuttering treatment for preschoolers, school-age children, adolescents, and adults.

Method

Multiple readers reviewed 162 articles published between 1970 and 2005, using a written data extraction instrument developed as a synthesis of existing standards and recommendations. Articles were then assessed using 5 methodological criteria and 4 outcomes criteria, also developed from previously published recommendations.

Results

Analyses found 39 articles that met at least 4 of the 5 methodological criteria and were considered to have met a trial quality inclusion criterion for the purposes of this review. Analysis of those articles identified a range of stuttering treatments that met speech-related and/or social, emotional, or cognitive outcomes criteria.

Conclusions

Review of studies that met the trial quality inclusion criterion established for this review suggested that response-contingent principles are the predominant feature of the most powerful treatment procedures for young children who stutter. The most powerful treatments for adults, with respect to both speech outcomes and social, emotional, or cognitive outcomes, appear to combine variants of prolonged speech, self-management, response contingencies, and other infrastructural variables. Other specific clinical recommendations for each age group are provided, as are suggestions for future research.
Communication in Young Children With Fragile X Syndrome: A Qualitative Study of Mothers' Perspectives
Authors: Brady Nancy , Skinner Debra , Roberts Joanne , Hennon Elizabeth
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To provide descriptive and qualitative information about communication in young children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and about how families react to and accommodate communication differences in their children.

Method

In-depth interviews were conducted with 55 mothers of young children with FXS. Interviewers asked mothers to describe their children’s communication, strategies they used to help promote their children’s communication, communication-related frustrations, their expectations for their children, and the roles that they perceive for themselves.

Results

Over half the children were nonverbal and learning to communicate with augmentative and alternative communication. Mothers reported using strategies that were developmentally appropriate and recommended by early childhood experts, such as reading and talking to their children. Many mothers identified challenges faced in helping their child to communicate, and some cited difficulty obtaining speech-language services as a challenge. Mothers identified their roles as caregiver, teacher, therapist, and advocate.

Conclusions

The perspectives offered by mothers are valuable because they indicate how children with FXS communicate in natural contexts. Information about mothers' expectations and roles may help clinicians to be sensitive to variables that will affect working with young children and their families.
Predicting Lexical Density Growth Rate in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Yoder Paul J.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this longitudinal correlational study was to test whether an environmental variable and 4 child variables predicted growth rate of number of different nonimitative words used (i.e., lexical density).

Method

Thirty-five young (age range = 21–54 months) children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who were initially nonverbal or low verbal participated in the study. Lexical density was measured at 3 times: at entry into the study as well as 6 months and 12 months after entry into the study. Growth curve analysis was used to test the associations. The predictive value of the putative predictors in the model was tested after controlling for initial expressive language impairment.

Results

Initial frequency of intentional communication and diversity of object play were predictors of lexical density growth above and beyond initial expressive language impairment (both pseudo
R
2
s = .14).

Conclusions

Intentional communication and diversity of object play may represent important prelinguistic goals for young children with ASD. These skills not only have been shown to be malleable through treatment, but they also provide a context for linguistic input from others that may facilitate language development.
Complexity in Treatment of Syntactic Deficits
Authors: Thompson Cynthia K. , Shapiro Lewis P.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This article addresses complexity in the context of treatment for sentence structural impairments in agrammatic aphasia, with emphasis on noncanonical sentences involving linguistic movement and their related counterparts. Extensions of the complexity effect to recovery of canonical sentences also are discussed, stressing the linguistic properties of verbs as well as grammatical morphology in building complexity hierarchies.

Method

A number of variables to consider in developing complexity hierarchies in the syntactic domain are addressed, and a series of studies using single-subject controlled experimental analysis are discussed.

Results

Findings across studies show that training complex sentences results in improvement of simpler structures when, and only when, the underlying linguistic properties are shared by both. The opposite approach, training simple structures first and building to more complex ones, does not provide the full benefit of treatment, in that little or no generalization occurs across structures.

Conclusion

Using complex language material as a starting point for treatment of sentence structural deficits in aphasia results in cascading generalization to simpler, linguistically related material and expands spontaneous language production in many language-disordered adults with aphasia. Clinicians are, therefore, urged to adopt this approach in clinical practice, even though it is counterintuitive and departs significantly from conventional treatment methods.
Validity of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories for Measuring Language Abilities in Children With Cochlear Implants
Authors: Thal Donna , DesJardin Jean L. , Eisenberg Laurie S.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To examine the validity of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) for measuring language abilities in children with profound hearing loss who are using cochlear implants.

Method

Twenty-four children with cochlear implants and their mothers participated in this study. Children ranged in age from 32 months to 86 months (the majority were 32 to 66 months old). The number of months postimplantation ranged from 3 to 60 (the majority were around 24 months). Mothers completed the CDI before behavioral testing. Behavioral measures included the Reynell Developmental Language Scales and measures of vocabulary and grammar from a spontaneous language sample.

Results

Both the Words and Gestures and the Words and Sentences forms of the CDI were shown to have excellent validity for this sample of children, if they had language that was in the range measured by the instrument. Correlations with behavioral measures ranged from .41 to .93 and were comparable to those reported for children with typical development.

Conclusions

The CDI forms are valid tools to use with children who are using cochlear implants and who are in the early stages of language development, even if they are older than the norming sample. Age-equivalence may be obtained if children score below the median for the oldest age norms. They may also be used to describe the language of children who are not at ceiling. Specific recommendations for interventionists are provided.
Differing Perspectives on What to Do With a Stuttering Preschooler and Why
Authors: Onslow Mark , Yaruss J. Scott
Published: May 2007

Purpose

In order to produce a compact and readable review of clinical issues for clinicians, the authors developed a “1,000-bites” format in which they discuss a topic initiated by one of the authors.

Method

The format is designed to give the reader the feeling of contemporaneous observation of a conversation between 2 authors. To that end, the format guidelines are as follows: (a) alternating responses from the authors with no response greater than 100 words; (b) a maximum of 1,000 words per author; (c) when one author has used 1,000 words, the other can complete 1,000 words in a final response or opt to not issue a final response; (d) debate may be controversial and vigorous but must be collegial; and (e) a noncontemporaneous edit by an author to a response requires the agreement of the other author.

Conclusions

The “1,000-bites” format achieved a collegial exchange between 2 discussants with differing opinions by creating a single work of shared authorship by them. Arguably, this format is more informative to clinicians than independent essays and rebuttals in a sequence of letters to the editor. One of its advantages is that it provides insights into the issue at stake by means of short and contemporaneous segments of spontaneous interaction.
Clinician–Child Interactions: Adjustments in Linguistic Complexity
Authors: DeThorne Laura S. , Channell Ron W.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This pilot study examined the extent and nature of associations in the linguistic complexity used by child and clinician within conversational interactions.

Method

Correlation analyses focused on semantic and morphosyntactic language sample measures from an experienced speech-language clinician and 29 children with language impairment.

Results

Positive associations emerged between a variety of child and clinician measures, even when the effect of child age was removed. The most robust effect related to clinician adjustments in both morphosyntactic complexity and vocabulary diversity associated with differences in children’s developmental sentence scores.

Conclusions

Within a conversational exchange, the clinician in this study made significant adjustments in her linguistic complexity that were due, at least in part, to the linguistic complexity used by the children with whom she was interacting. Associations were similar to adjustments reported in prior studies of parent and teacher interactions with children with differing language abilities. However, the extent to which these findings generalize to other clinicians needs to be examined. Results from the present study challenge clinicians to dedicate conscious thought toward how their linguistic input should be structured, taking into consideration both the goal of the interaction and each child’s profile of linguistic strengths and weaknesses. Directions for future research are also provided.
African American English Dialect and Performance on Nonword Spelling and Phonemic Awareness Tasks
Authors: Kohler Candida T. , Bahr Ruth Huntley , Silliman Elaine R. , Bryant Judith Becker , Apel Kenn , Wilkinson Louise C.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To evaluate the role of dialect on phonemic awareness and nonword spelling tasks. These tasks were selected for their reliance on phonological and orthographic processing, which may be influenced by dialect use.

Method

Eighty typically developing African American children in Grades 1 and 3 were first screened for dialect use and then completed a standardized test of phonological processing and a nonword spelling measure. The influence of dialect was analyzed in both experimental tasks, followed by a qualitative analysis of dialect use in nonword spellings.

Results

Dialect density measures based solely on the use of African American English (AAE) phonological features explained few differences in phonological processing scores. In contrast, correlations indicated that children with higher dialect densities produced more nonword spelling errors influenced by AAE, an effect most evident in Grade 3. Qualitative analyses revealed AAE phonological features occurring in many of the misspelled nonwords.

Conclusion

After Grade 2, nonword spelling may be more sensitive to the effects of dialect variation than are phonemic awareness tasks. It is suggested that spelling may be a more sensitive clinical indicator of difficulties in integrating the phonological and orthographic information needed for fluent decoding skill.
Multimedia Hearing Handicap Inventory: Reliability and Clinical Utility
Authors: Holcomb Sara S. , Punch Jerry L.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This preliminary study evaluated the test–retest reliability, internal-consistency reliability, and listener reactions to the design and functional utility of the Multimedia Hearing Handicap Inventory (MHHI).

Method

Participants were 51 adults exhibiting hearing sensitivity ranging from normal hearing to severe hearing loss. Different test–retest sequences, using different combinations of the long and short programs of the MHHI, were administered to 3 experimental groups composed of 17 participants each. An exit interview was used to evaluate the MHHI’s clinical utility.

Results

Results revealed the MHHI to have high test–retest reliability and high internal-consistency reliability, and thus to have statistical properties similar to those of the original screening versions of the Hearing Handicap Inventories for Adults and for the Elderly. Participant feedback regarding the MHHI’s overall clinical utility, the informational content of its long program, and the Hearing Profile feature was highly positive.

Conclusions

Results demonstrate the clinical potential of a multimedia approach in advancing the audiologic rehabilitation process.
Analysis of Responses to Individual Items on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory According to Severity of Tinnitus Handicap
Authors: Handscomb Lucy
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To investigate whether certain aspects of tinnitus tend to trouble people even when they are not severely affected by tinnitus in many ways.

Method

A total of 274 patients who had requested a tinnitus clinic appointment were divided into 4 categories depending on their Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores: no handicap (0–16), mild handicap (18–36), moderate handicap (38–56), or severe handicap (58–100). Mean scores for each of the 25 items on the questionnaire were calculated and compared within each group and between the 4 groups.

Results

Two items concerning lack of control over tinnitus and inability to escape it had the highest mean score overall and in each category, and elicited positive responses from the majority of patients in all but the “no handicap” group. One item concerning the belief that tinnitus indicates a terrible disease was found to have the lowest mean score overall and in each category and elicited negative responses from the majority of patients in all but the “severe handicap” group.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that only those who are severely handicapped by tinnitus tend to regard it as a terrible disease, and that lack of control and inability to escape are common feelings among many people with tinnitus, from the most to the least severely handicapped.
Auditory Processing Disorder in Children Diagnosed With Nonverbal Learning Disability
Authors: Keller Warren D. , Tillery Kim L. , McFadden Sandra L.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To determine whether children with a nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) have a higher incidence of auditory processing disorder (APD), especially in the tolerance-fading memory type of APD, and what associations could be found between performance on neuropsychological, intellectual, memory, and academic measures and APD.

Method

Eighteen children with NVLD ranging in age from 6 to 18 years received a central auditory processing test battery to determine incidence and subtype of APD. Psychological measures for assessment of NVLD included the Wechsler Scales, Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test. Neuropsychological measures included the Category Test, Trails A and B, the Tactual Performance Test, Grooved Pegs, and the Speech Sounds Perception Test. Neuropsychological test scores of the NVLD+APD and NVLD groups were compared using analysis of covariance procedures, with Verbal IQ and Performance IQ as covariates.

Results

Sixty-one percent of the children were diagnosed with APD, primarily in the tolerance-fading memory subtype. The group of children with APD and NVLD had significantly lower scores on Verbal IQ, Digit Span, Sentence Memory, Block Design, and Speech Sounds Perception than children without APD. An ancillary finding was that the incidence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was significantly higher in children with NVLD (with and without APD) than in the general population.

Conclusion

The results indicate that children with NVLD are at risk for APD and that there are several indicators on neuropsychological assessment suggestive of APD. Collaborative, interdisciplinary evaluation of children with learning disorders is needed in order to provide effective therapeutic interventions.
Speech Recognition in Noise in Children With Cochlear Implants While Listening in Bilateral, Bimodal, and FM-System Arrangements
Authors: Schafer Erin C. , Thibodeau Linda M.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

Speech recognition performance in noise was examined in children with cochlear implants (CIs) when using (a) a second CI (bilateral group), (b) a hearing aid (HA) on the nonimplant ear (bimodal group), and (c) a frequency modulation (FM) system on 1 or both sides.

Method

While always maintaining use of the first CI, 2 groups participated in 6 conditions each using various listening arrangements with the second CI, HA, or FM system. Speech-in-noise thresholds were determined using simple phrases, classroom noise, and a method-of-limits approach.

Results

No group differences were detected across any conditions. In the no-FM-system conditions, no significant benefit of bilateral or bimodal input was found relative to a single CI. In the FM-system conditions, thresholds were significantly lower (up to 20 dB) relative to all other conditions when FM-system input was provided to the first-implanted side or to both sides simultaneously.

Conclusions

Children’s speech-in-noise thresholds did not improve when providing input to the second side with a CI or an HA relative to a single CI. However, children with CIs had better speech recognition in noise with the use of an FM system on one or both sides relative to the conditions with no FM system. Binaural conditions with a single FM receiver on the second CI or HA yielded significantly poorer performance than any other FM condition.
Recognition of Simulated Telephone Speech by Cochlear Implant Users
Authors: Fu Qian-Jie , Galvin John J.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To evaluate cochlear implant users’ understanding of telephone speech.

Method

Telephone speech was simulated by band-limiting broadband speech stimuli. Multitalker vowel, consonant, and sentence recognition was measured for both simulated telephone speech and broadband speech in 10 postlingually deafened adult cochlear implant users. The study was approved by the St. Vincent’s Hospital institutional review board, and signed, informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Results

There was no significant difference in vowel recognition scores between broadband and telephone speech. However, mean consonant and sentence recognition scores were significantly poorer with telephone speech.

Conclusions

The limited telephone bandwidth significantly reduced cochlear implant users’ understanding of telephone speech. The effect of band-limited speech was highly variable, suggesting that the contribution of high-frequency information to speech recognition varied significantly among the cochlear implant users.
Speech, Prosody, and Voice Characteristics of a Mother and Daughter With a 7;13 Translocation AffectingFOXP2
Authors: Shriberg Lawrence D. , Ballard Kirrie J. , Tomblin J. Bruce , Duffy Joseph R. , Odell Katharine H. , Williams Charles A.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The primary goal of this case study was to describe the speech, prosody, and voice characteristics of a mother and daughter with a breakpoint in a balanced 7;13 chromosomal translocation that disrupted the transcription gene,FOXP2(cf. J. B. Tomblin et al., 2005). As with affected members of the widely cited KE family, whose communicative disorders have been associated with a point mutation in theFOXP2gene, both mother and daughter had cognitive, language, and speech challenges. A 2nd goal of the study was to illustrate in detail, the types of speech, prosody, and voice metrics that can contribute to phenotype sharpening in speech-genetics research.

Method

A speech, prosody, and voice assessment protocol was administered twice within a 4-month period. Analyses were aided by comparing profiles from the present speakers (theTBfamily) with those from 2 groups of adult speakers: 7 speakers with acquired (with one exception) spastic or spastic-flaccid dysarthria and 14 speakers with acquired apraxia of speech.

Results

The descriptive and inferential statistical findings for 13 speech, prosody, and voice variable supported the conclusion that both mother and daughter had spastic dysarthria, an apraxia of speech, and residual developmental distortion errors.

Conclusion

These findings are consistent with, but also extend, the reported communicative disorders in affected members of the KE family. A companion article (K. J. Ballard, L. D. Shriberg, J. R. Duffy, & J. B. Tomblin, 2006) reports information from the orofacial and speech motor control measures administered to the same family; reports on neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings are in preparation.
Early Effects of Responsivity Education/Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching for Children With Developmental Delays and Their Parents
Authors: Fey Marc E. , Warren Steven F. , Brady Nancy , Finestack Lizbeth H. , Bredin-Oja Shelley L. , Fairchild Martha , Sokol Shari , Yoder Paul J.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy of a 6-month course of responsivity education/prelinguistic milieu teaching (RE/PMT) for children with developmental delay and RE/PMT’s effects on parenting stress in a randomized clinical trial.

Method

Fifty-one children, age 24–33 months, with no more than 10 expressive words or signs, were randomly assigned to treatment/no-treatment groups. Thirteen children in each group had a diagnosis of Down syndrome.

Results

In 1 of 2 multivariate comparisons, the RE/PMT group exhibited superior gains in communication compared with the no-treatment group. The treatment effect for overall use of intentional communication acts in the child–examiner context was significant (
d
= .68, 95% confidence interval = 0.12–1.24). There were no effects on child outcomes due to presence or absence of Down syndrome. RE/PMT led to modest increases in recoding of child acts by parents of children who did not have Down syndrome. There were no effects on parenting stress associated with the intervention or the presence or absence of Down syndrome.

Conclusions

RE/PMT may be applied clinically with the expectation of medium-size effects on the child’s rate of intentional communication acts after 6 months of intervention. The approach warrants further investigation with modifications, such as delivery at higher intensity levels.
Action Naming in Spanish and English by Sequential Bilingual Children and Adolescents
Authors: Jia Gisela , Kohnert Kathryn , Collado Julissa , Aquino-Garcia Francia
Published: May 2007

Purpose

Verb processing in early sequential Spanish–English bilinguals was investigated. Primary study goals were to identify potential patterns of development in relative levels of verb processing efficiency in a 1st (L1) and 2nd (L2) language and to investigate factors influencing cognitive control of the dual-language system in developing bilinguals.

Method

Four age groups of early sequential Spanish–English bilinguals (5–7 years, 8–10 years, 11–13 years, and 14–16 years of age) named action pictures in single-language (Spanish or English) and mixed-language (alternating Spanish and English) conditions. Dependent variables were accuracy and response time (RT).

Results

Action-naming proficiency improved in both L1 and L2 with age, with a shift from L1 to L2 dominance in accuracy. In comparison with the single-language condition, the mixed-language condition engendered slower RT for all age groups and lower accuracy for the 3 younger age groups. The oldest age group did not show accuracy difference between the conditions.

Conclusions

These general patterns of verb processing across age, language, and processing conditions replicated and enriched previous findings of noun processing in similar populations (K. J. Kohnert, E. Bates, & A. E. Hernandez, 1999). However, verb processing was considerably slower and less accurate than noun processing. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed.
A Randomized Comparison of the Effect of Two Prelinguistic Communication Interventions on the Acquisition of Spoken Communication in Preschoolers With ASD
Authors: Yoder Paul , Stone Wendy L.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This randomized group experiment compared the efficacy of 2 communication interventions (Responsive Education and Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching [RPMT] and the Picture Exchange Communication System [PECS]) on spoken communication in 36 preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Method

Each treatment was delivered to children for a maximum total of 24 hr over a 6-month period. Spoken communication was assessed in a rigorous test of generalization at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up periods.

Results

PECS was more successful than RPMT in increasing the number of nonimitative spoken communication acts and the number of different nonimitative words used at the posttreatment period. Considering growth over all 3 measurement periods, an exploratory analysis showed that growth rate of the number of different nonimitative words was faster in the PECS group than in the RPMT group for children who began treatment with relatively high object exploration. In contrast, analogous slopes were steeper in the RPMT group than in the PECS group for children who began treatment with relatively low object exploration.
Effect of Semantic Naming Treatment on Crosslinguistic Generalization in Bilingual Aphasia
Authors: Edmonds Lisa A. , Kiran Swathi
Published: May 2007

Purpose

The effect of semantic naming treatment on crosslinguistic generalization was investigated in 3 participants with English–Spanish bilingual aphasia.

Method

A single-subject experimental designed was used. Participants received semantic treatment to improve naming of English or Spanish items, while generalization was tested to untrained semantically related items in the trained language and translations of the trained and untrained items in the untrained language.

Results

Results demonstrated a within- and across-languages effect on generalization related to premorbid language proficiencies. Participant 1 (P1; equal premorbid proficiency across languages) showed within-language generalization in the trained language (Spanish) as well as crosslinguistic generalization to the untrained language (English). Participant 2 (P2) and Participant (P3) were more proficient premorbidly in English. With treatment in English, P2 showed within-language generalization to semantically related items, but no crosslinguistic generalization. With treatment in Spanish, both P2 and P3 exhibited no within-language generalization, but crosslinguistic generalization to English (dominant language) occurred. Error analyses indicated an evolution of errors as a consequence of treatment.

Conclusions

These results are preliminary because all participants were not treated in both languages. However, the results suggest that training the less dominant language may be more beneficial in facilitating crosslinguistic generalization than training the more proficient language in an unbalanced bilingual individual.
African American Preschoolers' Language, Emergent Literacy Skills, and Use of African American English: A Complex Relation
Authors: Connor Carol McDonald , Craig Holly K.
Published: May 2007

Purpose

This study examined the relation between African American preschoolers' use of African American English (AAE) and their language and emergent literacy skills in an effort to better understand the perplexing and persistent difficulties many African American children experience learning to read proficiently.

Method

African American preschoolers' (n= 63) vocabulary skills were assessed in the fall and their language and emergent literacy skills were assessed in the spring. The relation between students' AAE use and their vocabulary and emergent literacy skills was examined using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), controlling for fall vocabulary and other child, family, and school variables. Children’s use of AAE was examined across two contexts—sentence imitation and oral narrative using a wordless storybook prompt.

Results

There was a significant U-shaped relation between the frequency with which preschoolers used AAE features and their language and emergent literacy skills. Students who used AAE features with greater or lesser frequency demonstrated stronger sentence imitation, letter–word recognition, and phonological awareness skills than did preschoolers who used AAE features with moderate frequency, controlling for fall vocabulary skills. Fewer preschoolers used AAE features during the sentence imitation task with explicit expectations for Standard American English (SAE) or School English than they did during an oral narrative elicitation task with implicit expectations for SAE.

Conclusions

The nonlinear relation between AAE use and language and emergent literacy skills, coupled with systematic differences in AAE use across contexts, indicates that some preschoolers may be dialect switching between AAE and SAE, suggesting emerging pragmatic/metalinguistic awareness.