bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ignition of a nanosecond-pulsed near atmospheric pressure discharge in a narrow gap
Authors: Müller Sarah , Luggenhölscher Dirk , Czarnetzki Uwe
Published: April 2011

The ignition phase and the transition to quasi dc glow operation of a narrow-gap near atmospheric pressure discharge in hydrogen are investigated experimentally. The discharge is ignited by a short 10 ns voltage pulse with a peak voltage of 1.3 kV followed by a 150 ns plateau of about 350 V. Pulsing is at 12 kHz which leaves a significant amount of residual charge between the individual pulses. Temporally resolved laser electric field measurement in the centre of the discharge employing a non-linear four-wave mixing scheme, ultra-high speed optical imaging by an ICCD camera at Balmer-alpha and Fulcher lines as well as the undispersed emission, and current and voltage measurements are performed. Special emphasis is put on a detailed analysis of the measured data by combining the results from the various diagnostics. This allows in addition to the directly measured quantities determination of the absolute evolution of the electron density, the development of space charge shielding, and the observation of the local electron dynamics. Pressure variations in a limited range indicate reasonable agreement with the Paschen law but also raise questions on the definition of the breakdown voltage under highly transient conditions.
Simulation of cylindrical electron cyclotron wave resonance argon discharges
Authors: Sfikas S , Amanatides E , Mataras D , Rapakoulias D
Published: April 2011

A fluid model of a cylindrical electron cyclotron wave resonance (ECWR) argon discharge is presented. The results for a 1 mTorr argon discharge were checked against the analytical theory, simulation and experimental data. The basic plasma properties as power dissipation, magnetic field, electric potential, electron density and temperature were very well reproduced using predefined boundary conditions for the magnetic potential. The results of this model were further used as inputs for the simulation of plasma expansion into a diffusion region, allowing thus fast and complete modelling of a typical ECWR plasma reactor.
Modelling the impacts of environmental variation on the distribution of blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, in the Pacific Ocean
Authors: Su Nan-Jay , Sun Chi-Lu , Punt André E. , Yeh Su-Zan , DiNardo Gerard
Published: April 2011

Su, N-J., Sun, C-L., Punt, A. E., Yeh, S-Z., and DiNardo, G. 2011. Modelling the impacts of environmental variation on the distribution of blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, in the Pacific Ocean. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1072–1080. Blue marlin are distributed throughout tropical and temperate waters in the Pacific Ocean. The preference of this species for particular habitats may affect its distribution and vulnerability to being caught. The relationships between the spatial pattern of blue marlin abundance and oceanographic conditions, which may be influenced by climate change, were examined using generalized additive models fitted to catch and effort data from longline fisheries. Distributions of blue marlin density, based on combining the probability of presence and abundance given presence, indicate that there is annual variation in the distribution of blue marlin and that the population apparently moved east during the 1997–1998 El Niño. The interannual variability in blue marlin distribution appears to be associated with El Niño events and is related to shifts in sea surface temperature and the deepening of the thermocline. Models of catch and effort that include oceanographic variables could be used, given predictions from climate models, to explore future changes in distribution, which could then be used to provide management advice related to time-area closures.
Detection of active, potentially acetate-oxidizing syntrophs in an anaerobic digester by flux measurement and formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS) expression profiling
Authors: Hori Tomoyuki , Sasaki Daisuke , Haruta Shin , Shigematsu Toru , Ueno Yoshiyuki , Ishii Masaharu , Igarashi Yasuo
Published: April 2011

Syntrophic oxidation of acetate, so-called reversed reductive acetogenesis, is one of the most important degradation steps in anaerobic digesters. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of the micro-organisms involved. Here we investigated the activity and composition of potentially acetate-oxidizing syntrophs using a combinatorial approach of flux measurement and transcriptional profiling of the formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS) gene, an ecological biomarker for reductive acetogenesis. During the operation of a thermophilic anaerobic digester, volatile fatty acids were mostly depleted, suggesting a high turnover rate for dissolved H2, and hydrogenotrophic methanogens were the dominant archaeal members. Batch cultivation of the digester microbiota with13C-labelled acetate indicated that syntrophic oxidation accounted for 13.1–21.3 % of methane production from acetate. FTHFS genes were transcribed in the absence of carbon monoxide, methoxylated compounds and inorganic electron acceptors other than CO2, which is implicated in the activity of reversed reductive acetogenesis; however, expression itself does not distinguish whether biosynthesis or biodegradation is functioning. The mRNA- and DNA-based terminal RFLP and clone library analyses indicated that, out of nine FTHFS phylotypes detected, the FTHFS genes from the novel phylotypes I–IV in addition to the known syntrophThermacetogenium phaeum(i.e. phylotype V) were specifically expressed. These transcripts arose from phylogenetically presumed homoacetogens. The results of this study demonstrate that hitherto unidentified phylotypes of homoacetogens are responsible for syntrophic acetate oxidation in an anaerobic digester.
An error budget for different sources of error in digital soil mapping
Authors: Nelson M. A. , Bishop T. F. A. , Triantafilis J. , Odeh I. O. A.
Published: April 2011

Digital soil mapping is gathering momentum across the globe, driven by a need for soil information and made possible by the increasingly widespread availability of spatial data that can be used to represent Jenny's (1941) soil forming factors. Much of the focus is on the predicted values of soil properties but it is equally important to quantify associated prediction errors.

Previous studies have considered individual sources of error in a digital soil map but none have considered the combined effect of all sources. In this study, we develop an error budget procedure to quantify the relative contributions that positional, analytical, covariate and model error make to the prediction error of a digital soil map of clay content. We consider four scenarios corresponding to typical levels of data quality: (i) good, (ii) legacy, (iii) spectroscopic and (iv) poor quality data.

The error budget procedure uses both geostatistical and Monte‐Carlo simulation to produce numerous realizations of the data and their underlying errors. Linear mixed models are used to construct the digital soil map. In this implementation we consider the error associated with the measurement of the clay content; the location of the survey sites; the interpolation of the covariate (ECa); and the estimation of the fixed effects, random effects and interpolation from the linear mixed model.

For all data quality scenarios, the error from the model dominated the prediction error (mean square error of 67.24–72.41% Clay2). Where the analytical error was small, the error attributed to the covariate was greater than the analytical error. This relationship was reversed in the data quality scenarios where the analytical error was large. Under all data quality scenarios, the effect of positional error was negligible.
Systemic root signalling in a belowground, volatile‐mediated tritrophic interaction
Authors: HILTPOLD IVAN , ERB MATTHIAS , ROBERT CHRISTELLE A. M. , TURLINGS TED C. J.
Published: April 2011

Plants attacked by leaf herbivores release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) both locally from the wounded site and systemically from non‐attacked tissues. These volatiles serve as attractants for predators and parasitoids. This phenomenon is well described for plant leaves, but systemic induction of VOCs in the roots has remained unstudied. We assessed the spatial and temporal activation of the synthesis and release of (E)‐β‐caryophyllene (EβC) in maize roots upon feeding by larvae of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, as well as the importance of systemically produced EβC for the attraction of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis megidis. The production of EβC was found to be significantly stronger at the site of attack than in non‐attacked tissues. A weak, but significant, increase in transcriptional activity of the EβC synthase gene tps23 and a corresponding increase in EβC content were observed in the roots above the feeding site and in adjacent roots, demonstrating for the first time that herbivory triggers systemic production of a volatile within root systems. In belowground olfactometers, the nematodes were significantly more attracted towards local feeding sites than systemically induced roots. The possible advantages and disadvantages of systemic volatile signalling in roots are discussed.
Clinical expectations in undergraduate education
Authors: BRAY MONICA , TODD CELIA
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  In recent years, speech and language therapists have recognised the importance of clinical supervision. Rose (1991) suggested that ‘the type of supervision received as a student is very necessary, but our experience of it good or bad, may colour our views on receiving supervision post‐qualification’. Increasing student numbers and increased responsibilities and demands for time on clinicians in the field has made it even more essential that the period of clinical placement should provide a quality learning experience for the student and a postive experience for the clinician. Students involved in clinical practice often carry with them a high level of anxiety related to their expectations about the experience they are about to undergo. Clinicians, too, have expectations of students in the clinic. Knowledge of what will happen and what will be expected of one leads to a feeling of control and thus a reduce of the anxiety (Stengelhofen, 1993). A clearer understanding of what is expected and what can realistically be provided in the clinical setting will enable tutors in educational establishments to plan clinical placements and make relevant curriculum changes. Final‐year students and their potential supervising clinicians were asked to provide an anonymous unstructured description of their expectations regarding the placement. Clinicians were asked to consider what they might expect from the student in relation to the students' personal qualities, the ability to relate to others and clinical management issues. Similarly, students were asked to put down what they might expect of themselves, their clinician and their placement. These descriptions were then examined, leading to an identification of constructs and a measure of the frequency of their occurrence. Comparison of the information from students and from clinicians was made. Based on these findings, post‐experience questionnaires were designed to establish the degree to which the expectations had been met. A preliminary examination of the data suggests that students and clinicians have very different expectations. Specific learning goals were identified as a priority by many of the students, whereas clinicians placed a heavy emphasis on professional behaviour. The post‐experience questionnaires have been designed to compare the students' and clinicians' perceptions of the experience with the degree to which they feel their expectations have been met. The outcome of this research will be to provide a framework for students and clinicans to discuss their expectations of each other. This should enable them to negotiate appropriate aims and establish a clear contract for the period of placements (Hawkins & Shohet, 1989). It should also provide information to tutors in educational establishments which can be utilised in planning and development relevant to the reality of current speech and language therapy practice (Eastwood, 1995).
The changing style of clinical teaching
Authors: DICKER PENNY , CROUCH TRUDY
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  This paper describes and discusses the different forms of clinical teaching used at the University of Reading. Within the University we have a purpose‐built clinic with excellent observational facilities. This has always been used for clinical teaching, however, with the increasing numbers of students during the last few years, we have been developing and extending this resource.
What's the point of placements?
Authors: FREEMAN MARGARET , EASTWOOD JENNIFER , WHITEHOUSE JANE , SHUTE CHARLES
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  Although the clinical placement is a major component in the education of student speech and language therapists, there has been little research about the nature of the placement as a learning experience. This paper reports a study which elicited the views of participants in clinical placements organised by two universities. The results of a detailed questionnaire, completed by 45 final‐year students, 173 clinicians and 15 lecturers revealed little agreement on the factors which were deemed most important for students' learning on placements. In summary:

Students valued: independent decision‐making, clinical and general management skills and getting through/passing the course.

Clinicians valued: professional competence, clinical and general management skills and careers commitment.

Lecturers valued: interpersonal and social skills, clinical and general management skills and relating theory to practice.

This apparent mis‐match of perceptions could have major implications for the participants who may be unaware that they have different expectations for placement outcomes and yet are all involved in the assessment process. Some explanations of this disparity are explored. It is suggested that a strong influencing factor is the lack of coherent theories, either of therapy itself or the ways in which therapy is taught and learned. Current learning on clinical placements may be described as an apprenticeship in which students learn to follow clinical procedures passed down from the ‘master’ clinician. Absence of explicit theory ensures that participants' subjective viewpoints — rather than theoretical orientation — form the basis of the process of learning to become a speech and language therapist.
Research! Who me?
Authors: DENNIS FIONA
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  I am a speech and language therapist with no previous experience of research who was given the opportunity to work part‐time on a research project as part of a multidisciplinary team. I was lucky to be based in a centre well‐known for its research into developing computer systems for the disabled and with a special interest in communication. The job of the team was to develop and evaluate a predictive conversational system called Talksbac for aphasic adults. This paper explains this research and also the feelings I experienced as a speech and language therapist working in an acute hospital setting and in an academic research environment.
The uses and abuses of information in contracting for speech and language rehabilitation
Authors: PETHERAM BRIAN , ENDERBY PAMELA
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  This paper is concerned with the challenge to the profession represented by the purchase of rehabilitation by third parties, which is becoming the norm in the UK as well as in many other countries. Central to this process is the development of formal information systems as a basis for decision‐making about resource allocation. Experience of such procedures in other fields has let to the development of a body of knowledge and theory about the positive and negative aspects of such changes. These concepts are introduced and applied to speech and language rehabilitation. The particular information requirements of rehabilitation purchase are identified in more detail and examples of how they might be met are supplied. The examples are based on established and experimental information systems which are already being used in this context. The paper concludes that the profession must be pro‐actively involved in the specification of such decision support systems if the potential benefits are to be realised and the pitfalls avoided.
Priorities, protocols and outcomes: contracting for your caseload
Authors: MEIKLE MARGARET S
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  The process of negotiating for speech and language therapy services has changed considerably in the last four years. It is no longer possible to rely on the service being purchased just because it is there. Purchasers have become much more sophisticated in determining their requirements, and cost, quantity and quality have many elements. As in many districts throughout the country, Portsmouth found itself apparently with a demand that outstripped the supply of resources available. In meeting our purchaser's requirements under the Patient's Charter (DoH, 1992) that we see people for the first time within six weeks, a subsequent waiting list and waiting time for treatment built up to unacceptable levels. In order to try and respond to clinical need, the following measures were developed: (1) Priority Rating Scales — all patients seen for an initial appointment and assessment were given a priority rating; (2) Each disorder was approached according to defined clinical protocols; (3) Each episode of care was measured against established goals and outcomes were recorded by use of a light pen data recorder. This paper will briefly outline the development of each of the three areas above and discuss the benefits and advantages already perceived. The paper also highlights the use of the above tools in contract negotiation in an endeavour to ensure that there is more meaningful currency between the purchaser and ourselves as providers. In an environment within the public sector, where there is minimal new financial growth, purchasers of healthcare are keen to ensure that there is a clear return for their investment. There is a requirement on all providers to clarify their capacity within existing resources and to be more detailed about identifying shortfalls in provision. It is necessary for all professional managers to take the lead in these areas in order to ensure their service maintains a high profile during the agreeing of contracts.
An action research study on the provision of training for special needs support assistants by a speech and language therapy department*
Authors: DOBSON SUSAN
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  This study describes an investigation into the efficacy of a training strategy for education support assistants working with children who had Statements of Special Educational Needs. There is a lot of recent evidence that improving the quality of the language environment for children with learning and communication disabilities is an effective use of speech and language therapists' time. However, a pilot study had shown this form of therapeutic approach does not appear to meet the expectations of unqualified support assistants in schools. In the locality studied, the speech and language therapists work closely and frequently with support assistants and use them to deliver children's therapy programmes within the daily classroom environment. Training has become an increasing activity in the day‐to‐day duties of speech and language therapists. The author examined whether training courses are an effective and efficient use of clinical therapeutic time in this context. Nationally, there is very little evidence of any form of training available for education support assistants, either on the job, through in‐service training from therapists, or the employing Education Authorities. The project used the qualitative research technique of in‐depth tape‐recorded interviews to investigate the views, feelings and perceptions of participants in the study. It followed an action‐research methodology. The action‐research strategy followed a three‐stage cycle: (1) Identification of the support assistants' training needs from the Speech and Language Therapy Service by use of a questionnaire, interviews with Education Officers about the level of provision in the Education Authority training programme about language development, and an examination of available documentation; (2) The design, planning and delivery of a series of courses by the Speech and Language Therapy Service incorporated the information obtained, with the collated views about training provision for support assistants given local therapists presenting the courses; (3) An evaluation of whether the courses met the stated training needs of the support assistants and whether this form of training package is art effective means of raising the awareness of support staff that enhancing the language environment is a valuable approach for children with communication disabilities. This information was mainly obtained by interviews with groups of support assistants working in different educational settings. The information was triangulated with information from the interviews with speech and language therapists who presented the courses. It was also supplemented by observations and field notes over the term following the course presentations. The paper questions the effectiveness of the model of training used for this staff group. It also discuss the efficacy of the strategy and its value as part of the duties of a speech and language therapist.
Communication and the mentally ill patient
Authors: MUIR NIKI
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  Do speech and language therapists have a role to play in mental health, or is this a further move away from the core skills of the profession (Enderby & Davis, 1989)? Care in the community means that many more people with a history of mental illness are going to be receiving their healthcare in general settings, thus placing demands on the profession to make a local response to meeting needs. It is the premise of this article that speech and language therapists are likely to prove valuable members of the multi‐disciplinary team, with the ability to contribute a further dimension to care planning — that of specific clinical input to the wide range of language, speech and communication impairments associated with the major mental illnesses.
The vocal quality of people with Down's syndrome
Authors: PRYCE MARY
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  The vocal quality of people with Down's syndrome is distinctive. It is described in the literature as ‘harsh’, ‘gutteral’ or ‘gruff. This research considered three possible hypotheses: (1) That there is an abnormality in the laryngeal architecture of people with Down's syndrome; (2) That the overall flaccidity in the muscles, including the muscles of the neck, influences the vocal quality; (3) That the open‐mouthed posture, causing drying of the muscosal lining of the oral cavity, has some effect on the quality of voice.
Magical or mechanical? The transition from single‐word to multi‐word utterances
Authors: CORRIN JULIETTE
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  This paper highlights work from a Master's study which aimed to identify developmental patterns of transitional talk in normal children and code them. Particular attention was paid to Scollon's (1979) coding of vertical talk sequences and the concept of a developmental continuum. Longitudinal conversational samples were collected from two boys between the ages of 19–21 months, recorded in interaction with their mothers. Transcripts were coded for vertical features such as lexical overlap and speaker turn. Graphical display of code frequencies revealed similar trends for the two subjects. Utterance sequences involving lexical repetition were characteristic of the early‐to‐mid transition phase and showed no effect of speaker turn, whilst those involving lexical difference typified the mid‐to‐late transition phase and were sensitive to speaker turn. The transition from single‐ to multi‐word utterances only gradually became independent from lexical overlap in the child's own prior talk and continued to be dependent on the mother's intervening talk. Discussion focuses on the concept of a three‐dimensional approach to the presyntax transition analysing horizontal, vertical and diagonal utterance sequences. The clinical relevance of the work is explained.
Parent‐child interaction: a father and mother with their language‐impaired child
Authors: PORTER E RUTH
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  In the last decade, research has established the competence and sensitivity of fathers with their young children. In the field of child language, the significance of father's input has also been recognised. In fact, some researchers suggest that parents in the Western world play complementary rather than redundant roles. The present investigation which is longitudinal in design compares a father and mother in conversation with their language‐impaired child; it documents the differences and similarities across the parents. Interestingly, on the part of the language‐impaired child, most of the differences were influenced by differences in parental strategy. The implications of these findings which highlight the interactive nature of parent‐child conversation are discussed.
Parental involvement in language intervention: a model
Authors: GIBBARD DEBORAH
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  The literature on the use of parental training programmes to help children with various types of learning delays is suggestive that such programmes may be effective in promoting language skills. However, there is a lack of well‐controlled studies. The specific aim of this research was to provide reliable data, by means of a well‐controlled study, concerning the effectiveness of a model of group parent‐based intervention with preschool language‐delayed children, who had been referred for speech and language therapy at a local Health Centre. This parent‐based model of language intervention embodies features of early language learning identified as important by previous research: use of language in familiar contexts, joint focus of attention, turn‐taking and following the child's lead. However, it also involves the setting of specific language objectives. The research comprised two experiments. In Experiment 1 the mothers of children randomly allocated to an experimental group attended fortnightly group parental language training sessions, over a period of six months. These sessions were designed to help them promote the expressive language skills of their children. The mothers of children allocated to a matched control group received no special attention. Formal and informal language assessments were administered to all the children before and after the experimental period. The results showed significantly greater gains in the expressive language skills of the experimental group compared to the control group, thus showing this model of parent‐based intervention to be effective. Experiment 2 was designed to compare the parental involvement approach with individual treatment and to clarify the role of non‐specific ‘Hawthorne‐type’ effects. The experimental group mothers attended parental language training sessions as in Experiment 1. The control group mothers also attended training sessions in this experiment, with the emphasis on general learning skills rather than language. A third group was included, of children who received direct, individual speech therapy. The assessment battery was again given before and after the experimental period. Results showed significantly greater language gains in the parental language training group and the individual speech therapy group in comparison with the non‐specific training group. The two former groups did not differ significantly, indicating that parent‐based language intervention is as effective as individual speech therapy. The results also indicate that individual speech therapy is effective and that the effectiveness of the parental involvement approach cannot be accounted for by nonspecific factors. The research findings are discussed in relation to previous research and methodological issues, with the professional implications of the study.
Reflecting on the links between the earliest mother‐infant relationship and communication difficulties
Authors: FULFORD DEBORAH , MALCOMESS KATE
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  The purpose of this paper is to raise questions and open up a discussion about a group of children we are all becoming more familiar with. The children, typically 2–3 years old, present with severe attention difficulties and little apparent communicative intent. There is anecdotal evidence that there is a growing number of them and there is a feeling from many speech and language therapists that they neither have sufficient skills to help these children nor, more importantly, the means to understand them. In our clinical practice as speech and language therapists we have been strongly influenced by psychoanalytic and systemic thinking. We have found it invaluable to use these frameworks to enhance our understanding of communication difficulties in children, and will draw on these in our discussion. The paper explores a process rather than offers a single solution. We suggest an approach which allows for an individual response to each case, in the belief that for each child there is a new discussion to be had. Starting with a description of the symptoms of a child who came to one of our clinics, the paper leads the discussion through the difficult process of thinking about and trying to understand this communication behaviour. The material is examined from the perspective of the child, the mother and the therapist. An attempt is made to illustrate how the process of reflecting on the reasons for the behaviour and on the feelings which that behaviour evokes, changes significantly the focus of what we can offer these clients. In the authors' experience, reflecting on why the child is communicating in the way he does highlights the emotional underpinnings of communication and leads one back to the earliest mother‐infant relationship. Some understanding of this can give us a basis with which to make sense of the child's pattern of communication when he reaches our clinic a few years later. Thus, this paper advances the view that exploring the earliest communication experience of each child is pivotal to effective treatment and needs to be placed at the heart of our thinking. It suggests the need for a significant shift in the therapeutic focus, from content to process and from acting to reflecting. The concomitant shift which would be needed in the support structures for speech and language therapists for this work to be sustained is also acknowledged.
Briefing for speech and language therapists on the CHAT (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers)*
Authors: DREW AURIOL
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  The author of this paper is a member of a multidisciplinary team engaged in a prospective epidemiological study of autism and pervasive developmental disorders. This paper is a briefing for speech and language therapists on the CHAT project which is funded by the Medical Research Council and involves researchers from three centres: Guy's Hospital; University College London, and Cambridge University. The principle aim was to investigate whether there are key psychological risk indicators for autism in a random population study of children at 18 months of age. If such risk indicators were found, a secondary aim was to assess how well these discriminate children who receive a diagnosis from other forms of develomental delay. Sixteen thousand children in the south east of England were screened for autism by their health visitor or GP, during their routine developmental check‐up, by use of a recently developed instrument. Those failing key items were retested, and if they were still failing, met inclusion criteria for one of three risk groups. Children in these risk groups were then given diagnostic assessments, so as to assign them to one of four presumptive diagnostic groups. The screening instrument used was the CHAT (Checklist for Austim in Toddlers). From a previous high‐risk study, it was predicted that children at 18 months of age who failed three key items (‘gaze‐monitoring’, ‘proto‐declarative pointing’ and ‘pretend play’) would be at risk for specific language delay or general developmental delay. Twelve children out of the total population consistently failed all three key items, 10 of whom (83.3%) were then given a presumptive diagnosis of autism. Of 17 children who failed just one of these key items (‘proto‐declarative pointing’), none received a presumptive diagnosis of specific language or general developmental delay. This suggests that these items from the CHAT are of value in the early detection of autism, and in differentiating autism from other forms of developmental delay. The second stage of the project is under way to ascertain whether findings at 18 months remain consistent at 3 years.
The efficacy of speech and language therapy for cleft palate speech disorders
Authors: ALBERY LIZ
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  The incidence of cleft palate is approximately 1 in 600 live births, and when velopharyngeal disorders (sub‐mucous cleft, pharyngeal disproportion, neurological disorders affecting the velopharynx) are added, most speech and language therapists will treat one or more of this client group in their career. There is a dearth of research literature on the efficacy of therapy, but evidence will be considered related to (1) Type of therapy (neither traditional articulation therapy nor phonological therapy is appropriate in isolation, they need to work hand in hand for maximum efficacy — how is this achieved?). (2) Timing of therapy (more speech and language therapists are working in a preventative role with the parents of infants and toddlers to encourage good feeding, language and phonological development — is this justified by the research literature in terms of outcome and time spent? Controversy exists over whether to correct articulation pre‐ or post‐pharyngoplasty — do we have enough evidence to say which is more ?ffective?). (3) Frequency of therapy — are intensive courses more effective long‐term than conventional weekly therapy?
Fibre‐optic nasopharyngoscopy of velopharyngeal function by speech/language therapists
Authors: SELL DEBBIE
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  Increasingly, speech and language therapists are faced with the possibility of learning and undertaking invasive procedures on their patients. The author has undertaken fibre‐optic nasopharyngoscopy of velopharyngeal function for over five years and has performed endoscopy on more than 500 patients, many of whom are paediatric. This practice is controversial, raising practical, ethical and medical issues. Some of the issues which will be discussed include training, anaesthesia, patients' medical history, technique, evaluation, precautions, and attitudes of clients, carers and fellow professionals. This presentation aims to examine these issues in the context of the model of practice at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children NHS Trust.
Harnessing language awareness in a communicative context: a group study of the efficacy of Metaphon
Authors: DEAN ELIZABETH , HOWELL JANET , GRIEVE ROBERT , DONALDSON MORAG , REID JENNIFER
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  Metaphon is a two‐phase therapy procedure for children with disordered phonology. It seeks to influence phonological production by targeting aspects of linguistic awareness within an interactive learning framework. An earlier investigation of this procedure, involving 13 children treated by a single therapist, showed a significant decrease in the occurrence of simplifying processes post‐therapy for most subjects (Howell & Dean, 1994). The investigation reported in this paper sought to test the effectiveness of Metaphon therapy further by studying a larger number of children. In addition, the study was designed to determine the relative contribution to phonological change of the two phases of Metaphon therapy; Phase I which aims to harness awareness of phonological contrasts and Phase II which aims to enhance communicative competence. Fifty children aged between 3;6‐5;6 participated in the investigation. They were treated by 12 speech and language therapists. The criteria used for subject selection ensure that the children had received no previous speech therapy and that their communication difficulties were specific to the speech sound system. They were all monolingual speakers and came from a variety of social backgrounds. The subjects were assigned to four different experimental conditions: Group 1 — Phase I treatment only (six treatment sessions); Group 2 — both phases I and II treatment (10 treatment sessions); Groups 3 and 4 — no treatment (control groups, one for each of the two treatment conditions). (All the children in the control groups received therapy immediately following the experimental period.) A variety of cognitive and linguistic assessments were given to all subjects before and after their respective periods of therapy/no therapy. A comparison of mean error scores on a measure of phonological production before and after the period of therapy/no therapy showed a reduction in error occurrence for all four groups, with the greater change occurring in Group 2, the subjects receiving the complete Metaphon programme. Analysis of covariance revealed a significant interaction between treatment group (control/experimental) and inter‐test interval. The results suggest that Metaphon therapy does have a positive effect on phonological change, with both phases of Metaphon required for maximum effectiveness for most subjects. The implications for clinical practice from this investigation include the following. Firstly, that enhancing awareness of the phonological and communicative aspects of language appears to be an effective way of bringing about phonological change. Secondly, the finding that phonological change occurred in both the treated and non‐treated groups over a relatively short timespan suggests that the potential influence of maturation should be considered when appraising the effectiveness of any therapeutic programme used with this client group.
Addressing the problem of low self‐esteem in speech and language impaired adolescents
Authors: EVERINGHAM CAROL , MATSON GILL
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  A significant number of pupils at the authors' specialist school for severe specific speech and language impairment have references to low self‐esteem in their Statement of Special Educational Needs. It was decided to begin addressing this problem by running a social skills group for adolescent pupils with the objective of helping them to regard themselves more highly. A programme was devised which encouraged them to value their strengths and interact positively with each other. After the group had run for six months their class teachers were interviewed and they reported that, overall, the pupils' self‐esteem had improved. This perception was validated by the questionnaire responses of pupils in a social skills group for school leavers who all felt more confident than when they were first admitted to the school and some identified group work as a way in which they had been helped. A distinction is drawn between social skills intervention for pupils with low self‐esteem and those with low self‐awareness, i.e. with semantic and pragmatic difficulties.
A play‐based procedure for assessing idiom comprehension in children with semantic‐pragmatic difficulties
Authors: KERBEL DEBRA , GRUNWELL PAMELA , GRUNDY KIM
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  In response to the lack of suitable materials for assessing idiom comprehension in children with semantic‐pragmatic difficulties, a new play‐based methodology has been developed. The child listens to a tape‐recorded story into which are embedded a range of commonly used idiomatic expressions. After listening to the story once, the child then acts out the story as it is played again, sentence by sentence. The play is video‐recorded and transcribed. Actions for each idiom are categorised and are then amenable to within‐child, between‐child and between‐group analyses. The results of a pilot project indicate that this methodology overcomes many of the problems inherent in assessing children identified as having semantic‐pragmatic difficulties. As such, the play‐based methodology represents a more accurate tool than existing methodologies for assessing idiomatic comprehension for the purposes of diagnosis, therapy and research. The gathering of valid information regarding idiom comprehension in children with sematic‐pragmatic difficulties is particularly relevant in view of the widespread use of idioms to which children are exposed in daily life. Boatner and Gates (1969) claim that as much as two‐thirds of the English language comprises idiomatic expressions. Research indicates that more than one in 10 teacher utterances contains at least one idiom (Lazar et al., 1989). The high level of idiomatic usage among primary school teachers was confirmed in recordings of routine lessons conducted for this research in mainstream and language unit classes. The idioms used in the play‐based procedure are drawn from these teacher recordings as well as from children's television. The play‐based methodology affords the opportunity to investigate the ability of individual children to cope with the types of idioms to which they are commonly exposed. Additionally, it enables an investigation of the appropriacy of using over‐literal idiom interpretation as a diagnostic feature of semantic‐pragmatic difficulties. Conducting this procedure with different groups of children further allows for the controversial relationships between semantic‐pragmatic difficulties and autism, and semantic‐pragmatic difficulties and specific language impairment, respectively, to be probed. In addition to its value in assessing idiom comprehension, the play‐based procedure has further potential for assessing children's comprehension of, for example, phonemic distinctions and syntactic constructions. This procedure is particularly valuable for use with children in that it requires the child to engage in an intrinsically rewarding task which does not allow the child to fail.
Speech, lexical and literacy problems in children
Authors: STACKHOUSE JOY , WELLS BILL
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  This paper explores the relationship between speech, lexical and literacy problems in children by providing a synthesis of recent research and illustrating the key findings through a case study. Research over the last 20 years has emphasised the verbal rather than visual deficits found in children with specific reading and spelling problems — dyslexia. Children with dyslexic difficulties often have associated speech and language problems. The corollary of this is that young children with speech and language disorders are at risk for later literacy difficulties. Research at the Department of Human Communication Science has been investigating this relationship between spoken and written language difficulties in children. It has identified which speech disorders are most likely to be associated with dyslexic difficulties and why. Perhaps the most important finding of our research for clinical practice is that speech and literacy problems are not separate from each other as previously thought and treated, but that both can stem from from an underlying phonological processing deficit (Snowling & Stackhouse, 1996). The locus of this deficit, however, differs between children in terms of their input, representation and output processing skills and the precise nature of the deficit influences the speech and literacy errors made. Further, the speech and literacy difficulties interact and unfold as the child develops. Sometimes, the speech problem improves and the child is discharged from speech and language therapy but the residual subtle underlying phonological processing deficits are still sufficient to result in reading and spelling problems. These mild but persisting speech disorders in children are a serious educational problem since the extent and cause of the child's specific learning difficulty can remain hidden unless tested in a particular way (Stackhouse & Wells, 1991). Investigating the difficulties encountered by children with speech and literacy problems has shown that they also have specific lexical difficulties. Our psycholinguistic framework for investigating speech difficulties (Stackhouse & Wells, 1993, in press) has recently been extended to incorporate a range of lexical tasks. Subsequent research suggests that word‐finding difficulties, often found in speech‐disordered and dyslexic children, may arise from deficits in the phonological processing system, rather than in the semantic system as has been assumed (Constable, Stackhouse & Wells, 1994). A case study of an 8‐year‐old boy with persisting speech and spelling difficulties will show a direct relationship between imprecise lexical representations and speech and spelling errors. His performance on a range of psycholinguistic tests will be compared to normal control data by z scores. Implications for his therapy and management will be presented. The therapy suggestions target phonological representations as well as speech output skills.
Teachers and speech and language therapists working together: a training package
Authors: OSTIME JANET , SHAW LIZ
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACT  A training package entitled ‘Teachers and Speech and Language Therapists Working Together’ was devised as part of a new mainstream school‐based speech and language therapy service. The package was developed and run by the speech and language therapy department for teachers who were or who would be working alongside therapists. In order for the new service to be effective, good collaboration with education staff was identified as being essential. Teaching staff (though the use of questionnaires) and speech and language therapists identified that in order to achieve successful collaboration it was necessary for skills and knowledge to be shared, with a view to: (1) Increasing teachers' awareness and understanding of communication difficulties; (2) Improving teachers' understanding of the role of the speech and language therapist; (3) Determining what information and advice teachers would find most helpful; and (4) Exploring ways of incorporating speech and language therapy aims into the school curriculum. A six‐session course was planned following consultation with the Local Education Authority's Learning Support Services and teachers who had experience of working alongside speech and language therapists. A two‐way learning process was felt to be vital and sessions were therefore designed to be interactive. The course first ran during the summer term 1993, and has run termly since then. It has been evaluated on each occasion via questionnaires completed by course participants. This process of evaluation has led to both the content and the presentation methods being changed. The changes have included removing items which teachers did not rate as useful and replacing them with more practical activities; making more time to discuss general strategies; increasing the use of video and refining presentation skills. Comments on the questionnaires have shown that participants found most of the content to be useful or very useful. All participants who completed questionnaires stated that they felt either more or much more confident about working with speech and language impaired children. The outcomes of running the course, as measured by questionnaire and therapists' feedback, are: (1) An increased profile for speech and language therapists within schools; (2) Therapists increasing their ability to provide advice which can readily be implemented as part of classroom routines; (3) More effective collaboration between speech and language therapists and education staff due to teachers' increased confidence in their ability to reinforce therapy targets across the curriculum, and an improved shared knowledge base leading to greater ease of joint working; and (4) Identification of the need for more practical training for Learning Assistants.