bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
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

ABSTRACTAn 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

ABSTRACTThis 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

ABSTRACTA 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

ABSTRACTDysarthria, 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

ABSTRACTThis 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

ABSTRACTLaryngographic 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

AbstractFollowing 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

AbstractA 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

AbstractThe 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.
Beyond randomised controlled trials: The case for effective case studies of the effects of treatment in aphasia
Authors: Howard David 
Published: November 2007

AbstractRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) of aphasia therapy have not established that speech therapy is effective with aphasic patients. The characteristics of RCTs, and the assumptions they make, are examined and it is argued that RCTs could never have produced useful information about the effects of treatment with aphasic patients; it is not sensible to investigate the effects of a set of heterogeneous treatment techniques applied to a heterogeneous group of subjects measuring improvement with generalised and insensitive assessment techniques. Instead, effective studies of treatment in aphasia will investigate the usefulness of specific and motivated treatment methods applied to specific aphasic patients. The methodological requirements of scientific studies of aphasia treatment of this kind are discussed, and the appropriateness of three types of experimental design is considered.
Evaluating the effects of speech therapy for aphasics: Developing the single case methodology
Authors: Pring T. R. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractDissatisfaction with the group study approach to treatment efficacy for aphasia has led to widespread advocacy of single case studies. Such studies may also be important since they allow the individual clinician to evaluate her/his own therapy. Despite a wide literature on single case studies in general the details of their application in this area have received little discussion. It is argued that the approach is most compatible with the application of well defined treatment procedures to specific areas of linguistic deficit. Moreover the requirement for frequent assessments of progress is only likely to be met by the use of brief and equally specific assessment procedures designed by the therapist. Finally the likelihood that progress may be slow and may need to be dissociated from improvements due to natural recovery indicates the need for statistical analysis. Since the appropriate methods are little known some possible statistical procedures are discussed.
In defence of randomised controlled trials, with suggestions about the possible use of meta‐analysis
Authors: Fitz‐Gibbon C. T. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractHoward and Pring, in this Forum, appear to attack RCTs, especially in their abstracts. A closer look at their articles and the arguments advanced will, it is argued, leave intact the reputation of RCTs as the most appropriate methodology for testing hypotheses. It is also argued here that it might be desirable to move away from reliance on statistical significance testing and focus instead on estimating Effect Sizes. Meta‐analysis is a technique of research synthesis which does this.
Microcomputer speech therapy for dysphasic adults: A comparison with two conventionally administered tasks*
Authors: Kinsey Claire 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThere has been a great deal of speculation regarding the role of microcomputers in the re‐training of dysphasic patients. Enthusiasm should be tempered with caution and each application in this new and exciting area has to be clearly defined if it is to have an impact in the future. This study is one of a series and compares the performances of dysphasic stroke patients on selected speech therapy tasks administered both in the conventional way and using a microcomputer. The twelve subjects were assessed on linguistic and non‐linguistic tasks, which were matched across the two situations. Both quantitative and qualitative measures of patients performances were analysed. After an initial familiarity task, no significant differences were noted between the scores in each situation. Theoretical and practical implications of using the computer to supplement speech therapy are discussed.
The development of conversational disability: a case study
Authors: Conti‐Ramsden Gina , Gunn Margaret 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTAlong with the pragmatic revolution has come the realisation that some children have major difficulties in engaging and maintaining conversational interaction. The present study displays the evolving profile of a boy, Tony, who experiences problems in this area. It is argued that in order to understand the nature of such problems it is necessary not only to have detailed and rigorous analysis of language samples but also data collected across time and in areas other than conversational development.
EMG biofeedback and relaxation in the treatment of hyperfunctional dysphonia
Authors: Andrews Mrs Shirley , Warner Jennifer , Stewart Robert 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTTwo methods of relaxing laryngeal musculature were investigated in adults with hyperfunctional dysphonia. Assessments were conducted pre‐treatment, post‐treatment and at three month follow‐up. Measures included the level of superficial laryngeal tension using an electromyogram, control of vocal fold vibration using Fx traces from an electrolaryngograph and an auditory evaluation using a phonation profile. Two personality questionnaires were administered and the subjects' self‐rating of voice was recorded. The duration of treatment was noted. Subjects were matched into groups receiving either laryngeal EMG biofeedback or progressive relaxation, both within a graded voice training programme. A significant improvement in all measures occurred for both programmes, which was maintained at follow‐up. No significant difference between the two approaches emerged. Implications for the assessment and treatment of hyperfunctional dysphonia are discussed.
Intelligibility: a linguistic view
Authors: Connolly John H. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTThe concepts of speech intelligibility and unintelligibility are examined from a theoretical linguistic point of view, and it is argued that unintelligibility is a special case of a broader phenomenon which is here termed indeterminability. It is further contended that the identification of potential sources of unintelligibility and other kinds of indeterminability should be an aim of linguistic assessment procedures.
Atypical dysarthria in Munchausen syndrome
Authors: Kallen Deborah , Marshall Robert C. , Casey Daniel E. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTThe evaluation and treatment of a 40 year old man with a diagnosis of Munchausen syndrome with accompanying dysarthria is described. The patient responded to symptomatic behavioural therapy similar to that for other functional speech and voice disorders. The speech pathologist may serve an important role in the management of such cases.
A case of mixed transcortical aphasia following drug overdose
Authors: Chenery H. J. , Murdoch B. E. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTA case is presented of a 35‐year‐old, right‐handed man who exhibited a range of clinical features indicative of mixed transcortical aphasia subsequent to a heroin overdose. The findings of a comprehensive language evaluation, neurological assessment and neuroradiological examination are described and discussed. The major feature of the patient's language disorder was the relative loss of the voluntary aspects of language (eg spontaneous speech; the ability to initiate or actively participate in conversations) compared to the preservation of the automatic, non‐volitional components of language (eg repetition; rules of syntactic agreement; completion phenomena; and verbal automatisms). It was concluded that the features of mixed transcortical aphasia demonstrated were most likely the result of anoxic changes in the arterial borderzone occurring secondary to the drug overdose.
Acquisition of syntax in Panjabi and English
Authors: Duncan Deirdre M. , Gibbs Dorothy A. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTNinety‐nine bilingual children with Panjabi as a mother‐tongue and English as a second language were assessed, in three age/term groups between six and a half and eight and a half years, on oral expressive language tests of their syntax development in Panjabi and in English. The two major findings were, firstly, that in English second language development seems to follow, broadly speaking, first language acquisition patterns and, secondly, that there are almost no data to support the idea of language transfer as far as mixing of Panjabi syntax into English is concerned, while there appears to be intrusion of English into Panjabi in specific structures.
On choosing a methodology to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions: a brief reply to FitzGibbon
Authors: Pring T. R. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTDiscussion of the problems involved in assessing the effects of therapies offered to aphasic patients appears to have become a dispute about methodology. Since it is important that therapists devote more effort to experimentally evaluating therapy, uncertainty about the appropriate methodology is unlikely to be helpful. The choice of methodology in this instance reflects the current state of knowledge about aphasia therapy and the nature of the questions we wish to answer. Since therapists will wish to discover effective therapies further large scale studies of the general impact of therapy are unlikely to be informative.
Aetiologies of aphonia following closed head injury
Authors: Scholefield Judith A. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTThree patients in a neurosurgical unit following road traffic accident are described. Patient A was aphonic post‐traumatically. Voice returned suddenly and spontaneously three months post trauma. Patient B, with a severe closed head injury, presented with localised oedema of the vocal cords and laryngeal stridor caused by removing his own endotracheal tube thirteen days post trauma, resulting in aphonia. Voice returned gradually over the next sixteen days. Patient C sustained a spinal injury in addition to a severe closed head injury. He was also aphonic post trauma. The initial stage of this was thought to be traumatic mutism. A residual lower motor neurone dysarthrophonia remained, however. Various explanations for the aphonia are explored; in particular for Patient A the possibility is discussed of frontal lobe‐limbic involvement, nerve damage at both upper and lower motor neurone levels and right hemisphere involvement. Diagnoses of aphonia following head injury and therapeutic procedures are discussed.
Articulatory description and treatment of “lateral /s/” using electropalatography: a case study
Authors: Gibbon F. , Hardcastle W. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTCases of so‐called “lateral /s/” articulation are frequently encountered in the clinic but are difficult to treat using conventional therapy. In this study, the technique of electropalatography (EPG) is used on a 12 year old with a lateral /s/ as a therapeutic tool providing a real‐time visual feedback display of tongue contacts with the palate during speech. EPG provided detailed articulatory information, unavailable from an auditory‐based analysis, which could be incorporated into the therapy programme. A normal /s/ pattern was achieved in connected speech after only four clinical sessions, and was maintained when reassessed after six months.
Psychological change and fluency therapy: a pilot project
Authors: Leahy M. , O'Sullivan B. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTA brief account of psychological group therapy using personal construct theory with stuttering clients is given. The analysis of repertory grids before and after therapy demonstrates the areas that are the focus for change and the amount of changes that did occur during a short (three month) period. Results provide positive support for the use of such an approach.
Accelerated speech in dysarthria after acquired brain injury: Acoustic correlates
Authors: Ziegler W. , Hoole P. , Hartmann E. , von Cramon D. 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTThe present study reports on some acoustic dimensions of perceptually accelerated speech in dysarthria. Twelve dysarthric patients who were clinically judged as presenting an increased speech rate were investigated. Control groups of slowed dysarthrics (n = 12) and of normal subjects (n = 15) were also examined. The speech material consisted of chains of plosive‐vowel syllables uttered in a sentence repetition task. The speech wave envelope of these sentences was evaluated with respect to characteristic temporal and amplitude patterns. Proportions of stop gaps, noise segments and segments of quasiperiodic oscillation were also determined.The patients with accelerated speech had normal or near‐to‐normal syllabic rates. Segmental contrast was more or less reduced, depending on the degree of severity. Concerning the proportions of voiced and voiceless segments two different types of impairment could be discerned. Possible physiological interpretations of these results and the relation between acoustic and perceptual dimensions of speech tempo are discussed.
Language‐impaired children's comprehension of active versus passive sentences
Authors: Precious Ann , Conti‐Ramsden Gina 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTThis study investigated comprehension of active vs passive sentences by language‐impaired children. Twelve language‐impaired children age ranged from 5;0 to 7;4 with comprehension ages ranging from 2;11 to 6;0 participated in this study. Subjects acted out 12 active and passive voice sentences which varied in three dimensions: probable agent, improbable agent and reversible agent. A comprehension maturity effect was found with the children of younger comprehension age interpreting active sentences more accurately than passives while those of older comprehension age interpreted both active and passive sentences more correctly. There was also a differential plausibility effect. The range of strategies used by the language‐impaired children was similar to that used by non‐language‐impaired subjects, showing evidence of a delay, but some qualitative differences were also noted. The strategies were often acquired at a later comprehension age and were used for a longer period of time. Some of the language‐impaired children seemed to reach a plateau and were reluctant to abandon developmentally immature strategies. Comprehension age appeared to be a better predictor of the performance of language‐impaired children than chronological age.
The perception of phoneme sequence: A comparison of dyspraxic and normal children
Authors: Bridgeman Elizabeth , Snowling Maggie 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTThe present experiment examined the perception of phoneme sequence by dyspraxic and normal children, matched on reading age. Both groups of children could discriminate real words equally well but the dyspraxic children had problems in non‐word discrimination. The findings suggest that the dyspraxics have difficulty, not at a peripheral level of auditory discrimination, but at a later stage of phonemic processing where segmentation and coding of phonemes is required.
The maternal language environment of children with language delay
Authors: Davis Hilton , Stroud Amanda , Green Lynette 
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACTThis paper presents potentially interesting data derived by chance while conducting a much larger study of families of children with global delay. The data relate to a comparison of aspects of the maternal language environment of working‐class children with and without language delay, and to the mothers' perceptions of their children. In free play, mothers of children with language delay were found to talk less and to use proportionally more commands. However, these differences disappeared in an instruction situation. These findings were considered in relation to the fact that mothers of the delayed children construed their children in a somewhat more negative way. Although it was not possible to draw causal inferences, the results were discussed in relation to the implications for the subsequent development of the child and intervention strategies generally.