bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Approach to the Treatment of Severe Dysphasia: A Case Study
Authors: DAVIES CAROL L. , GRUNWELL PAMELA
Published: November 2007

This paper describes the application of linguistic principles in the treatment of a case of long‐standing severe dysphasia who had previously failed to make any progress with expressive speech ability despite intensive therapy. It could thus be considered that the patient was acting as his own “control” (Sefer 1973). This seems to be an interesting case in that, as the linguistic analysis indicates, while there seems to have been some delayed spontaneous recovery in vocabulary and morphology, sentence structure always followed the patterns taught.
Automatic Triggering of Auditory Feedback Masking in Stammering and Cluttering
Authors: DEWAR ANN , DEWAR A. D. , BARNES H. E.
Published: November 2007

An apparatus is described providing an auditory feedback masking noise of variable amplitude and mean frequency, triggered by means of a throat microphone switch and therefore independent of subject control. Evaluation tests of this device made on 53 stammerers demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing stammering and in abolishing gross concomitant movements. Repeated tests on one subject over a period of 22 weeks produced no discernable improvement of his general speech although, when in use, the apparatus maintained its effectiveness throughout this period. Tests on five independently diagnosed clutterers demonstrated a significantly reduced response to auditory feedback masking as compared with stammerers.
A Comparison of the Phonological Systems of Mental Age Matched, Normal, Severely Subnormal and Down's Syndrome Children
Authors: DODD BARBARA
Published: November 2007

A comparative study of the number and type of phonological errors made spontaneously and in imitation by mental age matched normal, severely subnormal and Down's Syndrome children was carried out. The results indicated that the normal and severely subnormal non Down's Syndrome children performed equally, while the Down's Syndrome children made more errors, and those errors were more inconsistent as compared to the other two groups. The Down's Syndrome children made fewer errors in imitation than they did in spontaneous production.

These findings were interpreted as an indication that phonological development is linked to general mental development in severely subnormal non Down's Syndrome children. The exceptional performance of the Down's Syndrome group was hypothesized to be partly due to a general difficulty in generating predetermined sequences of movements.
Language Vulnerability, Speech Delay and Therapeutic Intervention
Authors: BROWN BETTY BYERS
Published: November 2007

During the process of speech acquisition all children must be vulnerable to linguistic mishap. While most children transcend the vulnerable periods without breakdown others may be unable to do so because of the coincidence of events or the particular inter‐action between circumstances and disposition. In these cases there may be ensuing speech delay or deviation. It is believed that the clues for remedy lie in the language behaviour of the child.

Reference is made to a small study undertaken with a view to distinguishing at an early age between delay and deviation in emerging phonology and syntax. Implications for therapy are discussed.
The Relationship between Semantic Impairment in Comprehension and Naming in Aphasic Patients
Authors: GAINOTTI G.
Published: November 2007

The aim of the present research consisted in studying if in aphasia the signs of semantic impairment that can be observed at the levels of language production and of auditory comprehension are independent, or if they are reciprocally related. The emission of one or more semantic paraphasias at a test of naming pictures was considered as indicative of a semantic disorder at the expressive level, while the number of semantic errors obtained at the “verbal sound and meaning discrimination test” was retained as an index of the defect of semantic discrimination at the receptive level. One hundred and thirteen unselected aphasic patients were taken into account in our research: 77 of them (68%) showed at least one semantic paraphasia at the test of naming pictures, whereas 60 (53%) obtained a pathological number of semantic errors at the test of verbal auditory comprehension. The emission of semantic paraphasias and the impairment of the semantic system at the receptive level were strongly reciprocally related. This finding seems to show that in aphasia the semantic level of integration of language is more or less severely impaired.
A qualitative assessment of comprehension and imitation in language‐delayed pre‐school children in comparison with normal children of the same age*
Authors: STANTON ANN MARY
Published: November 2007

The Comprehension of specific linguistic structures and contexts are of extreme importance, particularly in the language‐delayed child, and often overlooked in assessing Comprehension of total utterances. In this study a group of language‐delayed preschool children were assessed in comparison with a normal group, on various measures of linguistic structure both in Comprehension and Imitation tasks. A qualitative analysis of the resultant data was made, and an attempt to further analyse response patterns in terms of possible cognitive strategies being used. The hypothesis that the language‐delayed children might not have the same capacity for language comprehension as the normal child was not supported although differential effects of changes in linguistic structure and context were found.
Auditory Frequency and Intensity Discrimination Ability of Cerebral Palsied Children
Authors: FAIRES WESLEY L. , LANKFORD SIDONIE E.
Published: November 2007

The auditory frequency and intensity discrimination ability of 26 cerebral palsied subjects, ages seven through eleven years, was evaluated and compared to the auditory frequency and intensity discrimination ability of 58 normal subjects.

The auditory frequency discrimination ability of the cerebral palsied subjects was significantly inferior to the ability of the normal subjects when comparison was made using both chronological and mental ages. The auditory intensity discrimination ability of the cerebral palsied subjects was significantly inferior to the normal subjects only when the groups were compared by chronological age. Comparison by mental age showed a nonsignificant difference.

The results suggest that additional investigation should pursue the influence of inferior auditory frequency and intensity discrimination on the ability to process sophisticated language information.
The Effect of Auditory Feedback Masking on Concomitant Movements of Stammering
Authors: DEWAR ANN , DEWAR A. D. , ANTHONY J. F. K.
Published: November 2007

Abnormal activity of the orbicularis oculi muscles concomitant with stammering was abolished at the same time as the speech disfluency by larynx‐triggered auditory feedback masking. Similar abnormal muscular activity observed in two “ex‐stammerers” exhibiting fluent speech at the time of testing was also abolished by the AFM device.

All of the eight stammerers tested using a hand control switch to the AFM device showed delays in operating the switch which reduced the effectiveness of auditory masking in suppressing stammer.
Token Test Performances by Learning Disabled and Achieving Adolescents
Authors: LAPOINTE CONSTANCE M.
Published: November 2007

Token Test performances by 32 learning disabled and 20 achieving adolescents were investigated and compared. Results indicated that the development of language processing abilities continues into adolescence, but that learning disabled, subjects to not attain maturity at the same age as achieving subjects. A sub‐group of learning disabled adolescents was characterized by language processing deficits involving reduced memory for critical elements and. difficulty in performing the logical operations necessary to process linguistic concepts, suggesting reduced simultaneous analysis and synthesis. The findings indicate that the Token Test may be a useful tool, when used in its complete form, for the diagnosis of subtle receptive language disorders in learning disabled adolescents.
The bilingual child in the speech therapy clinic
Authors: MILLER NIKLAS
Published: November 2007

The paper considers some aspects of the linguistic assessment of the alleged speech and language delayed/deviant bilingual child in the speech therapy clinic. The suggested procedures remain intentionally within the bounds of what might be achieved by therapists utilising existing materials and skills, but emphasises some factors in assessment which it is believed have been hitherto neglected. A more detailed analysis of the bilingual child's sociolinguistic background and the nature of bilingualism is called for, and features to be noted in this analysis are outlined. The use and interpretation of formal tests is dealt with, and how these relate to notions of dominance, non dominance, mixed codes etc. Finally the use of contrastive analysis, error analysis and awareness of interference in connection with the assessment of the bilingual's speech and language is explained and evaluated. Some aspects of counselling and the place of the bilingual in the speech clinic are mentioned. Works dealing in greater depth with topics covered are quoted throughout for those wishing to develop the themes further.
Classification of Infant Vocalization
Authors: STARK RACHEL E. , ROSE SUSAN N. , BENSON PETER J.
Published: November 2007

A series of attempts to develop a behavioural classification system for use in a first stage analysis of infant vocalization data are reported. The data were cross‐sectional and obtained from 11 different infants between the ages of 1 and 40 weeks. A set of terms and definitions were developed by two judges and their reliability assessed by having a third judge classify the data, using the terms and definitions in written form only. Implifications of the findings with respect to inter‐judge agreement and disagreement and usefulness of system for further studies of infant vocalization are discussed.
Establishing Generative Performance and Cross Modal Generalization of the Manual Plural Sign in a Severely Retarded Deaf Girl*
Authors: SMEETS PAUL M.
Published: November 2007

A severely retarded deaf female was taught the pluralization rule of the American Sign Language concurrently in the receptive and expressive modality. Receptive training established pointing to either one or a pair of pictures in response to the demonstration of the noun‐sign with or without the S‐sign. Expressive training established the usage of the correct noun‐sign with or without the S‐sign when presented one or two same pictures.

The training procedures were effective in establishing a generative understanding and generative usage of the manual plural sign after being trained on sufficient items in one or the other modality.

Experimental control of the training procedures was demonstrated by using the same procedures during the standard and the reversed pluralization rule.
The time, amount, and pattern of Language Improvement in Adult Aphasics
Authors: HANSON W. R. , CICCIARELLI A. W.
Published: November 2007

Thirteen adult aphasics (L‐CVA) were administered the Porch Index of Communicative Ability at intervals throughout language rehabilitation. The time, amount, and pattern of change in PICA subtest scores were investigated. All subtest scores showed positive change. The average time required for peak improvement in overall score was 8.94 months post onset. Receptive language processes improved more quickly and completely than expressive. The course of language recovery appears somewhat predictable in terms of time, amount, and pattern of improvement.
Modification of the Mother‐Child Interchange
Authors: CLEZY GILLIAN
Published: November 2007

This presentation is designed to illustrate a planned programme of assessment and goaled therapeutic procedures which encompass the child and his emotional and linguistic environment as well as his innate skills and capacities. The aim is not to exclude traditional assessment procedures, but rather to add to them by broadening the diagnosis and remediation to include those other variables which may have a profound effect upon the child. Particular emphasis is laid on the child's interchange with his mother and/or substitute and discussion centres around a graphic model to facilitate presentation.

The diagnostic procedures outlined attempt to identify the interchanges and behaviours which may be either advantageous or detrimental to the child's development as a creative and experimental scientist or the mother's skill as a linguistic model and rein forcer. The therapeutic procedures have, as their goals, modifications of the identified behaviours. Close involvement of the mother or substitute is mandatory throughout the implementation of this programme.
Spontaneous and Imitated Responses in Articulation Testing
Authors: JOHNSON SANDRA , SOMERS HAROLD
Published: November 2007

This paper represents a renewed investigation into the question of spontaneous and imitated responses in articulation testing. It first reviews the work done in this field in a critical manner, thereby forming the basis of a new experimental design. The subjects of the experiment were children in the reception classes of two Bolton infant schools. Apart from comparing the two modes of testing, other interactions were also investigated, namely sex, age (c. 4;.9 versus c. 5;.9), and order of testing. The test used was the Edinburgh Articulation Test. This experiment differs from all its predecessors in that it involves British children and a British test: to the best of our knowledge this is the first time this has been done. The results suggested that there is a significant difference between the two modes, that older children perform better on both modes when given the imitation test first, and that girls of this age are overall slightly better articulators than boys. We conclude that elicitation of responses by imitation should be avoided if at all possible.
Phonological Analysis: A Multifaceted Approach
Authors: LUND NANCY L. , DUCHAN JUDITH F.
Published: November 2007

A common technique in analyzing phonology of children with articulation problems is the matching of the error phoneme to target phoneme and, if there is a mismatch, classifying it as a substitution, omission or distortion. This traditional analysis has a number of deficiencies. For example, it can fail to detect the specific allophones involved in distortion errors, or it may lead to describing misarticulations as inconsistent, when, indeed they are not. This paper argues for a multifaceted approach to phonological analysis in order to find patterns to account for the “inconsistencies”. The approach advocated is a discovery procedure where clinicians look for regularities in the articulation of particular children. Three types of analyses are suggested. The first is an adaptation of traditional analysis. It utilizes multiple samples of narrowly transcribed sound productions and classifies errors by feature substitution or feature‐plus‐position regularities. The second is context sensitive analysis which recognizes that sounds and syllables when produced in connected sequences can affect one another. Phenomena such as reduplication, assimilation, weak syllable deletion, and coalescence are revealed through this analysis. The third is idiosyncratic structure analysis which reveals phonological structures which are peculiar to a particular child. Examples of nasal structures, two‐syllable structure and consonant vowel structure are given.
Parastandardized Examination Guidelines for Adult Aphasia
Authors: SPARKS ROBERT W.
Published: November 2007

A 20‐point examination guide is offered as a model for speech pathologists to use in broadening their knowledge of the aphasic patient's behavior beyond the limits afforded by standardized and published aphasia tests. Although the guide's major purpose is a focus on the patient as a potential candidate for language therapy, it also discusses the examination strategies used by the clinician to facilitate the aphasic's maximum recovery of language.
The Influence of Intonational Style on the Young Child's Ability to Understand Sentences: A Research Note on Passives
Authors: WHELDALL KEVIN
Published: November 2007

Two groups of 20 nursery school children were tested on a measure of receptive language development. The test required the children to demonstrate their comprehension of spoken sentences by selecting appropriately from sets of pictures. The first group heard the sentences presented in a highly intonated, lively form, whereas the second group heard a flat, monotonic presentation. Mean total test scores were not significantly different for the two groups but a powerful, isolated effect on the comprehension of passive sentences was in evidence favouring the heavily intonated condition. This finding is interpreted in terms of current accounts of the development of receptive control of the passive form in young children.
Genuine and Artificial Stammering: An EMG Comparison*
Authors: CODE CHRIS
Published: November 2007

A pilot experimental procedure was designed to determine whether genuine stammering and artificially induced stammering in a normal speaker are manifestations of the same phenomenon: results would indicate that they are not. It is further concluded that there is no significant difference between genuine fluency in a normal speaker, and artificially induced fluency in a stammerer using auditory feedback masking. A simple device for achieving delayed auditory feedback is also described.
The Effectiveness of an Intensive Group Speech Therapy Programme for Adult Stammerers
Authors: HELPS ROSEMARIE , DALTON PEGGY
Published: November 2007

Of 65 stammerers undergoing intensive group therapy, 21 used syllable‐timed speech as their control technique, while 44 used prolonged speech. The first group only achieved 20% improvement at the six month reassessment. The second group reached 61% improvement. Of the prolonged speech group 19 undertook regular follow‐up therapy after the course and their improvement scores showed a mean of 86%. Assessment procedures are discussed in relation to prediction of outcome and suggestions made for further developments in therapy in the light of the results.
Neuropsychological Processes in Adult Aphasia: Rationale for Treatment
Authors: FARMER ALVIRDA , O'CONNELL PAMELIA F.
Published: November 2007

This paper discusses adult aphasia as a disorder resulting from separate or combined dysfunctions of several neuropsychological processes. It is argued that the characteristics of verbal expression generally indicate the manner in which these processes are dysfunctioning. Such a rationale indicates that diagnosis and treatment should be based on identifying these neuropsychological processes and designing clinical activities which facilitate more efficient functioning rather than attempting to “reteach” specific linguistic patterns.
The Developmental Language Programme. Results from a Five Year Study
Authors: COOPER JEAN , MOODLEY MOLLY , REYNELL JOAN
Published: November 2007

The setting up and preliminary findings of the Developmental Language Programme have been described in a previous article (1974). This article presents the findings after five years, from 50 children in the language class setting; and 69 children in the parent programme (language “clinic”) under the direction of a speech therapist. In addition to The Wolfson Centre groups, the findings are reported on field trials carried out in local authority class and clinic settings. The large majority of the “programme” children made accelerated progress in all language‐related areas of development. Group comparisons showed that all groups, including the field trials, using the Developmental Language Programme made better progress than (a) children of similar age and handicap having no special help, and (b) those having conventional weekly speech therapy. Practical implications are discussed, including the deployment of speech therapy services.
Involving parents in extending the language development of their young mentally handicapped children
Authors: McCONKEY ROY , JEFFREE DOROTHY M. , HEWSON SIMON
Published: November 2007

Language facilitation schemes for the Mentally Handicapped have been designed mainly for use by therapists or teachers and they have tended to ignore the contribution which parents inevitably make to their child's development of language. However in this study, the parents were solely responsible for carrying out the language learning activities at home. They were given guidance on the choice of suitable learning objectives and games to play and. where necessary, their teaching methods were modified. The result demonstrated that parents were effective in teaching their child to identify and name objects and to structure two‐word sentences. It is argued that a “parent‐centred” approach not only makes more effective use of professional resources but that it may overcome the generalisation problems encountered by previous approaches.
Deglutition problems in head and neck cancer patients: implications for the speech pathologist
Authors: FLEMING SUSAN M. , WEAVER ARTHUR W.
Published: November 2007

Patients with head and neck cancer frequently have swallowing impairment. Speech pathologists may overlook these patients unless there is an accompanying speech problem. The association of dysphagia and speech problems was evaluated, therefore, in an attempt to better define their relationship. Fifty‐eight head and neck cancer patients were classified as to whether they had total laryngectomy, supraglottic laryngectomy, or oral/pharyngeal resection. The patients in each of these three subgroups were evaluated six weeks post‐operatively for any difficulties encountered with the factors, speech, swallowing, and aspiration. An interval scale was used to rate the severity of impairment associated with each factor. Analyses substantiate the close inter‐relationship of speech and swallowing deficits. Since speech pathologists work with the mechanisms related to the factors evaluated in this investigation it is logical that they should develop therapy regimens which remedy dyspagia.
Aphasic Comprehension and Preference of Rate‐Altered Speech
Authors: RIENSCHE LINDA L. , WOHLERT AMY , PORCH BRUCE E.
Published: November 2007

This investigation examined both the preferred listening rate of individual aphasic subjects relative to their optimal comprehension rate and the relationship of individual subject variables to each of those rates. The preferred listening rates of 15 aphasic subjects were determined as the mean of five trials in which the rate of speech played by an electronic time‐compressor/expander was adjusted. Each subject's comprehension was then tested at time‐expanded rates of 0%, 30%, 60%, and 100%. Individual subjects did not appear to have superior comprehension at the rate nearest their preferred listening rate. However, they demonstrated greater variability in their preferred listening rate choices than previously reported for normal subjects and a positive relationship was obtained between individual subject's variability in choosing a preferred listening rate and the variability in his comprehension scores. It was suggested that this finding may be related to “tuning in” and “fading out” behaviors associated with variability in individual aphasic's performance. This suggestion was discussed relative to unclear findings obtained in previous investigations employing time‐expanded speech with aphasic subjects and the clinical use of such techniques. Further research investigating the use of various time‐expanding techniques with subjects displaying much performance variability was indicated.
Cognitive Development in Pre‐Adolescent Language Impaired Children
Authors: JOHNSTON JUDITH R. , RAMSTAD VIVIAN
Published: November 2007

This study investigates conceptual development in seven pre‐adolescent language impaired children with normal range performance IQ. Across a variety of Piagetian tasks these children performed less well than would be expected for their mental age. This was particularly true for tasks demanding anticipatory imagery. These findings suggest that language impairment may be accompanied by pervasive cognitive deficits – including difficulties with non‐linguistic symbolic representation.
The Speech and Language Development of Low Birth Weight Infants
Authors: WRIGHT N. E. , THISLETHWAITE D. , ELTON R. A. , WILKINSON E. M. , FORFAR J. O.
Published: November 2007

A group of 70 low birth weight infants and 49 matched controls were studied at 3;5 years of age for speech and language development and hearing acuity as part of an ongoing developmental study of low birth weight infants.

Results showed that the low birth weight infants were found to be significantly delayed in language expression and comprehension when compared with their controls. There was not a significant difference between the two groups in speech articulation or hearing.

Certain social and environmental factors were found to be strong predictors of speech and language development in both groups.
Imaginative Play in Language Disordered Children
Authors: MPhil ORLEE UDWIN , YULE WILLIAM
Published: November 2007

The study involved a comparative investigation of imaginative play behaviour in a clinical group of 15 language disordered preschool boys and a control group of 15 normal speakers, matched for age, sex, socio‐economic status and non‐verbal IQ. When compared with the normal speakers, the clinical group showed serious deficits in imaginative play in free play sessions and on a standardised Symbolic Play Test. Over the total sample, significant correlations were found between imaginative play and expressive and comprehension language abilities, which persisted even after controlling for intelligence, thereby supporting the contention of a generalised symbolic function common to both language and imaginative play. Most of these correlations did not hold up in the case of each group separately, which may have been due to the more limited range of variability in the variables concerned within each group.
The Internal Representation of Word‐Final Phonemes in Phonologically Disordered Children
Authors: HUGHES RHONWEN E.
Published: November 2007

This study investigates the pluralisation of words in three phonologically disordered children to determine whether they select plural endings on the basis of their own erroneous surface forms of word‐stems or on the basis of internal representations which are closer to the adult forms than the surface forms suggest.

Results suggest that:

a) The procedure used can provide valuable information about children's internal phonological representations and could be of clinical value.

b) In the subjects tested there are instances where internal representations of words are shown to be closer to the adult forms than the children's surface forms would imply. However there is evidence that their internal representations are not always exactly equivalent to the adult forms.
Intensive speech therapy for cleft palate children
Authors: Albery Liz , Enderby Pam
Published: November 2007

Forty six children with deviant articulation secondary to cleft palate or other velo‐pharyngeal disorders took part in a controlled trial, to gauge the efficacy of intensive speech therapy. Subjects were randomly allocated either to attend a six‐week intensive course of speech therapy, or to continue with their conventional weekly therapy. Results indicate a significant improvement in articulation for those children receiving intensive help immediately post‐course as compared with a very slight improvement seen in the speech of the control group. This improvement achieved by children on the course was maintained throughout the two‐year follow‐up period and, although the articulation of the control group continued to improve, at the end of the two year follow‐up period the children on the course had better articulation scores.
NOTES AND DISCUSSION PAPERS: 1: Non‐verbal communication of aphasic patients
Authors: Behrmann Marlene , Penn Claire
Published: November 2007

The non‐verbal communication of eleven aphasic patients was investigated within a dyadic communication framework. Results were then compared with those of standardised aphasia measures. Appropriateness and functions of the non‐verbal behaviours were found to differ among patients and to correlate poorly with other test measures. Case examples are provided and neurological and clinical implications are discussed.
NOTES AND DISCUSSION PAPERS: 2: Therapists' views on the clinical usefulness of four aphasia tests*
Authors: Beele K. A. , Davies Ena , Müller Dave J.
Published: November 2007

Although tests of aphasia have been critically discussed (e.g. Darley, 1979; Müller, Munro & Code, 1981) little data exist from practising speech therapists as to their clinical usefulness in the assessment and management of aphasic patients. This study was carried out to meet this need. The subjects were speech therapists who were representative of different areas of the U.K. The four most frequently used tests were found to be An Aphasia Screening Test, the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, the Minnesota Test for the Differential Diagnosis of Aphasia and the shortened Minnesota Test for the Differential Diagnosis of Aphasia (Thompson & Enderby, 1979). The majority of therapists were not entirely satisfied with the clinical usefulness of these tests and some amendments were suggested. Implications relating to the assessment and clinical management of aphasic patients are discussed and the need for a screening test linked more closely to a full battery of tests is noted.
The costs of using trained and supervised volunteers as part of a speech therapy service for dysphasic patients
Authors: Quinteros B. , Williams D. R. R. , White C. A. M. , Pickering M.
Published: November 2007

Speech therapy for dysphasic patients outside hospital, using trained and supervised volunteers, group therapy and home visits from trained speech therapists, was compared with hospital out‐patient speech therapy. The cost per case (direct NHS costs only) for providing community speech therapy for 12 patients was greater than that for providing monthly hospital speech therapy for a similar number. However, when estimated costs per case for a larger group of patients are compared with fortnightly or weekly hospital therapy, community speech therapy is less costly. An assessment of the effectiveness of the speech therapy in these patients suggests that the group given community speech therapy with volunteer support made greater progress than those given therapy as hospital out‐patients.
Speech therapy in Parkinson's Disease: A study of the efficacy and long term effects of intensive treatment
Authors: Robertson Sandra J. , Thomson Fay
Published: November 2007

A study was set up to judge the efficacy and long term effects of intensive speech therapy in patients with Parkinson's Disease. A total of 22 patients entered the study but only 18 completed it. Twelve patients were randomly allocated to a treatment group and participated in a two week intensive speech therapy programme. Ten patients were randomly allocated to a control group and received no therapy. Six of the control group and all twelve of the treatment group patients were available for follow‐up assessments.

It is concluded that a course of intensive speech therapy is of value to patients with speech and voice problems arising out of their Parkinson's Disease and that the effects of speech therapy can be maintained for up to a period of three months at least.
The teaching of tones to children with profoud hearing impairment*
Authors: Yuen Angela Fok Chan Yuen
Published: November 2007

Experiments on the perception of tones in Cantonese have shown that almost all the distinctive features of tones reside in glottal vibration; and examination of the residual hearing ability of the profoundly deaf revealed that very few do not retain low frequency responses if provided with appropriate amplification. Putting the two together, it seems that tones are well within the residual hearing domain where the deaf can operate. The problem seems to lie mainly in overlooking the importance of tones in speech training; this results in the absence of a referential linguistic framework for the reception and production of tones. The present project explores the ability of deaf children to identify tones, through isolating and amplifying the larynx signal. Stress was given to building up the linguistic pattern of tonal relationship prior to the teaching of tones. A programme was produced, specifying the methodology and teaching materials. Several children with profound hearing loss were taught according to the devised plan and every child who went through the programme was able to produce tonal contrasts.
Acoustic measurement of voice quality in dysphonia after severe closed head trauma: A follow‐up study
Authors: Hartmann E. , von Cramon D.
Published: November 2007

The present study employed an inventory of acoustic parameters in the quantitative evaluation of the recovery of normal phonation in dysphonia after severe closed head trauma. The amount of spectral energy in the 1 to 5 KHz range and above 5 KHz was sufficient to differentiate two subgroups of patients and their main patterns of reorganization of phonatory function. One subgroup showed a voice quality compound of breathy and tense, which gradually normalised in the follow‐up period, whereas the other one initially exhibited a normal or lax, breathy voice, which subsequently became more tense. The variance of spectral energy and the duration of aspiration preceding voice onset additionally indicated signs of tense and breathy voice production. Furthermore, the fundamental period perturbation showed that roughness is a less important feature of dysphonia after severe closed head trauma.
The twin situation and its effects on syntax and interactional language over time
Authors: Haden Ricole , Penn Claire
Published: November 2007

The syntactic and interactive language development of a single twin dyad was investigated longitudinally. One of the dyad was language‐impaired and received therapy. The other child developed essentially normal language. This study was conducted over a nineteen‐month period and examined the effects of the twin situation on language form and function. The language sample was the basis for analysis and separate attention was given to each twin alone with the experimenter and then to the twins' interaction with each other and the experimenter in order to examine patterns of conversational dominance. Results indicated that the presence of the normal twin had a depressing effect on certain language measures of the language‐impaired twin but that this effect became less marked after the institution of therapy.
The effectiveness of conductive education principles with profoundly retarded multiply handicapped children
Authors: Cottam Philippa , McCartney Elspeth , Cullen Chris
Published: November 2007

The effectiveness of two teaching programmes based on Conductive Education principles was examined. It was hypothesised that if the teaching programmes based on Conductive Education were more effective with this group of children than traditional teaching approaches then the experimental group should show higher post‐test scores than the control group. It was concluded that the teaching programmes based on Conductive Education principles were no more effective with profoundly retarded multiply handicapped children than more traditional, individual classroom teaching.
Pragmatic disorders: A case study of conversational disability
Authors: McTear Michael F.
Published: November 2007

Along with recent developments in discourse and conversation analysis has come the recognition that some children are impaired in their ability to engage in conversational interaction. In some cases this disability has not been strongly associated with language deficits at other levels of linguistic analysis. This case study of a ten year old child presents a detailed analysis of disordered conversational data as a basis for assessment and remediation, using data from spontaneous conversation as well as from more structured communication tasks. Although the child is deficient in both interactional and transactional aspects of conversation, his major problem is seen to lie in the integration of these components. Furthermore, as the detailed analysis and interpretation of the data reveals, he adopts a variety of communicative strategies to compensate for these deficiencies. Some general implications are drawn for further research in this area.
The use of specific semantic word categories in the diagnosis of dysnomic learning‐disabled children
Authors: German Diane J.
Published: November 2007

The word finding skills of dysnomic children (learning‐disabled children with word finding problems) were compared with those of learning disabled and normal children without word finding problems when naming letters, numbers, and colours. Comparison of word finding skills between groups and conditions were made with respect to completion time, errors, and secondary characteristics. Learning‐disabled children with word finding problems manifested significantly more errors, longer completion times, and more secondary characteristics on letter and colour naming while performing similarly to children without word finding problems on number naming tasks. Learning disabled children without word finding problems did not differ significantly from normal children in their naming of colours, letters, or numbers. Implications for the use of specific semantic categories in the assessment of word finding disorders are discussed.
The language of dementia in the elderly: A pilot study
Authors: Stevens Susan
Published: November 2007

This paper reports on cognitive and communicative testing of 50 patients showing signs of severe dementia, using procedures readily available to speech therapists in Britain. The necessity of constructing a differentially diagnostic screening procedure is emphasised.
Recent advances in the assessment of ‘failed’ oesophageal speakers
Authors: Perry Alison , Edels Yvonne
Published: November 2007

By means of videofluoroscopy laryngectomy patients can be clearly categorised into five mutually exclusive groups. It has been shown that difficulties in oesophageal voice acquisition are directly related to adequacy of the pharyngo‐oesophageal (P‐E) segment, which is a direct result of the type of surgery used at the time of initial laryngectomy. This paper gives indications for intervention in each of the five groups described and emphasises the need for earlier objective evaluations in order to remedy these difficulties.
Stuttering relapse: The effect of a combined speech and psychological reconstruction programme
Authors: Evesham Margaret , Fransella Fay
Published: November 2007

An investigation was carried out to test the hypothesis that stutterers who achieved fluent speech during two weeks of intensive treatment would be less likely to relapse if they were also helped to reconstrue themselves as fluent people. Forty eight stutterers were randomly allocated to a technique or a construct group. By means of a form of behaviour modification they were helped to speak fluently. Then the treatment of the technique group focused on the practice of fluent speech in many situations while the construct group were helped to reconstrue this fluency along the lines of personal construct therapy. The treatment proved to be effective in reducing stuttering behaviour and the relapse rate was low. A comparison of the groups showed that the construct group had a significantly lower relapse rate than the technique group.
Articulatory and voicing characteristics of adult dysarthric and verbal dyspraxic speakers: An instrumental study
Authors: Hardcastle W. J. , Barry R. A. Morgan , Clark C. J.
Published: November 2007

The instrumental techniques of electropalatography and pneumotachography are used to examine details of tongue‐palate contacts and VOT characteristics of three adult male subjects: two described as dysarthric and one as dyspraxic. A comparison is made between the subjects, and the results are compared with data from four normal speakers. The information is considered with reference to the neurological bases of these disorders of speech, and the advantages of an instrumental investigation over traditional auditory based assessments are exemplified. Some implications for therapy are also considered.
Transcribing phonetic detail in the speech of unintelligible children: A comparison of procedures*
Authors: Amorosa H. , von Benda U. , Wagner E. , Keck A.
Published: November 2007

An analysis of ‘live’ transcriptions of children's unintelligible speech revealed low agreement on phonetic detail even between experienced transcribers. In addition, especially on complex items, agreement often did not reflect the child's production but rather the transcribers' ‘normalisation’ of what they had heard. A group of experienced transcribers who were allowed to listen to high‐quality tapes as often as they found necessary reached 95–97% agreement on phonetic detail, provided they could discuss discrepancies, in exceptional cases with the help of a spectrogram. Transcriptions obtained in this way are reliable representations of the speech of unintelligible children and allow differentiation between purely phonological disorders and other disorders of speech production.
Aphonia after closed head injury: Aetiologic considerations
Authors: Sapir Shimon , Aronson Arnold E.
Published: November 2007

This report describes two patients with closed head injuries and post‐traumatic aphonia who regained their voices within one session of symptomatic voice therapy. Their abilities to cough and swallow were intact, and articulation was only mildly impaired. One patient had an ataxic dysarthria and the other had spastic (pseudobulbar) dysarthria. Neither patient had oral‐verbal apraxia. The findings argue against laryngeal paralysis or apraxia of phonation as the underlying cause of the aphonia. Neuropsychologic assessment revealed mild generalised intellectual impairment and frontal lobe signs but no aphasia. We postulate that the aphonia may have been due to a frontal lobe‐limbic system disturbance, which affected these patients' motivation, personality, and judgment. Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of post‐traumatic aphonia are discussed.
A comparison of the intelligibility of some low cost speech synthesis devices
Authors: Keating D. L. , Evans A. L. , Wyper D. J. , Cunningham E.
Published: November 2007

A standard test of phonemic differentiation was used to measure the intelligibility of some common, low cost speech synthesis products. The test measures intelligibility for the distinctive features of speech, namely Voicing, Nasality, Sustention, Sibilation, Graveness and Compactness. Statistical analysis of the data shows significant differences in the intelligibility scores for Phoneme Based Synthesis, Linear Predictive Coding Synthesis and Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation Synthesis.
Relationships between dysarthric groups
Authors: Enderby Pam
Published: November 2007

Dysarthria, the speech disorder resulting from the disturbance of neuromuscular control, can be perceptually confusing, as frequently more than one speech system is affected. However, many authorities have suggested that different characteristics of dysarthria, once identified, can assist in identifying the underlying neuropathology. The Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, which is a simple screening test, has been found to discriminate between five types of dysarthria. It is of interest to consider the manner in which the dysarthric groups relate, as well as how they differ.
Cluttering: A diagnostic case report
Authors: Wolk Lesley
Published: November 2007

This study was a preliminary attempt to explore the use of Luria's Neuropsychological Investigation and a dichotic consonant‐vowel (CV) listening task, in highlighting the symptomatology and in investigating the possibility of central dysfunction in an adult clutterer. On Luria's Neuropsychological Investigation, the symptomatology was consistent with a lesion in the left fronto‐temporal division which was confirmed on the electroencephalogram. Findings on the dichotic CV listening task suggested a disturbance in auditory processing, possibly a specific disturbance in place perception. Prognostic and clinical implications are discussed.
Laryngographic changes following endotracheal intubation in adults
Authors: Lesser T. H. J. , Williams R. G. , Hoddinott C.
Published: November 2007

Laryngographic records were taken from twelve adults to determine if there are any quantifiable changes in voice following endotracheal intubation for anaesthesia. Two changes were seen in the Fx histograms between the pre‐ and post‐intubation records. Firstly an increased low tone scatter and secondly an increase in the fundamental frequency of speech. Using these measures the post‐operative hoarse voice can be quantified.
Measuring progress in aphasia therapy: A multiple baseline study
Authors: Hesketh Anne
Published: November 2007

Following recent criticisms of large‐scale investigations into the efficacy of aphasia therapy, the use of single‐subject research designs has been advocated. This paper considers a range of available designs and describes in detail one study of therapy for an aphasic patient, using a modified multiple‐baseline approach. Two targets were chosen for the patient: reducing dyspraxic errors in reading aloud and increasing the use of a sentence‐initial grammatical subject in speech. The results of the study appear to show differential improvement on the two targets. These findings are discussed with reference to their implications for future therapy. Whereas the experimental demands of some designs might clash with therapeutic priorities, the modified multiple‐baseline approach is sufficiently flexible for clinical use, while, it is argued, adequately demonstrating therapeutic effect. Although initially time‐consuming, the information provided by regular measurement should make therapy a more efficient process and it is suggested that such studies can and ought to be incorporated into the clinical routine.
Building the foundations for sentence production in a non‐fluent aphasic
Authors: Jones Eirian V.
Published: November 2007

A therapeutic programme is described which was designed for a non‐fluent patient whose single word output had remained unchanged for six years despite long‐standing intensive speech therapy. His sentence construction problems were reconsidered in the light of current theoretical hypotheses on normal sentence processing. It is postulated that previous therapy had concentrated on the more superficial aspects of sentence processing ignoring his fundamental problem in mapping meaning relations between semantics and syntax. Therapy designed to achieve accessibility to this mapping information proved efficacious.
Prediction of language recovery in aphasic stroke patients using the Porch Index of Communicative Ability
Authors: Lincoln Nadina B. , McGuirk Elizabeth
Published: November 2007

The study was designed to assess the accuracy of predictions about language recovery made on the basis of performance on the Porch Index Communicative Ability (PICA). There were 124 aphasic stroke patients who had been assessed on the PICA at 4 and 34 weeks after the onset of a stroke. Of these 68 were offered twice weekly speech therapy for 24 weeks and 56 were given no speech therapy. Neither group reached the levels predicted by either Porch's HOAP method or his statistical method. The High‐Low gap at 4 weeks was not correlated with the amount of recovery in either group. Neither prediction was considered sufficiently accurate to be applied in clinical practice.