Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica最新文献

Introduction: In learning to read, children learn to integrate orthographic, phonological, and semantic codes into highly specified and redundant lexical representations. The aim is to test a proposed model for the relationship between phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) as mediated by word reading (WR) and spelling (SP) in children with developmental dyslexia (DD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mild intellectual disability (ID).

Methods: The relation between PA and RAN was found to be mediated by WR and SP in children with DD, ADHD, and mild ID. Three groups of children were included: DD children (N = 70), ADHD children (N = 68), and ID children (N = 69). This is a quantitative correlational, cross-sectional study investigating the strength and direction of relationships among proposed variables.

Results: The relation between PA and RAN was found to be mediated by WR and SP. Based on their correlation analysis, the researcher concluded that there are significant correlations between PA, RAN, WR, and SP. PA correlates positively with RAN and SP. RAN correlates positively with WR and SP.

Conclusion: The study extended our knowledge of the relationship between PA and RAN as mediated by WR and SP in children with DD, ADHD, and mild ID. In practice, this is conducive to promote the utilization of "PA" and "RAN" so as to improve the early literacy skills (WR and SP) among children with DD, ADHD, and mild ID.

Introduction: This study examined the immediate acoustic, auditory-perceptual, and self-perceptual effects of two semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTs): straw phonation and straw phonation into a cup of water, delivered in a remote setting.

Method: Thirty-six participants (19 females and 17 males) completed a baseline battery of acoustic recordings, followed by one of two SOVTs, and an identical post-task battery. The procedure repeated itself to include the other SOVT. Participants were also asked to rate their self-perceived vocal effort and quality following each condition. Recordings were presented to three expert listeners for completion of auditory-perceptual analysis.

Results: Acoustically, a significant decrease in shimmer was noted following straw phonation. Auditory-perceptual analysis revealed a significant increase in the perception of strain following straw phonation into a cup of water. While no significant differences were found between SOVT tasks in self-perception of vocal effort, a significant increase in self-perception of vocal loudness was reported following straw phonation into a cup of water.

Conclusion: SOVTs have a varied, yet significant short-term impact across acoustic, auditory-perceptual, and self-perceptual measures of voice production. Straw phonation provided consistently significant acoustic results, with nearly every variable improving to some degree. Results also support the notion that shimmer is an acoustic measure that is particularly susceptible to change following modest manipulation. These results, in addition to the auditory-perceptual and self-perceptual findings, have a direct impact on how SOVTs are being used clinically and may generalize to inform the way voice metrics are collected and analyzed.

Introduction: Attitudes of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) toward stuttering play an important role in managing stuttering cases. Yet, such studies had not been studied in Malaysia, a country that is still developing the profession of speech-language pathology. This study aimed to explore the attitudes of Malaysian SLPs and speech-language pathology students toward stuttering.

Methods: A total of 50 SLPs and 67 speech-language pathology students completed the Clinician Attitudes Toward Stuttering (CATS) inventory. There were eight domains of attitudes toward stuttering: (a) etiology, (b) early intervention, (c) therapeutic efficacy, (d) personalities of people who stutter (PWS), (e) clinician expertise and roles, (f) teacher/counsellor roles and client/public reactions, (g) therapy strategies, and (h) parent attitudes. Descriptive data were presented, and multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to examine the effects of clinical certification on the eight domains of attitudes toward stuttering.

Results: Participants who possessed a clinical certification were more accepting toward the personalities of PWS and therapy strategies. On the other hand, participants without a clinical certification were more accepting toward clinician expertise and roles.

Conclusions: Current curriculum and professional training should be reevaluated to remediate less accepting stereotypes held by SLPs and students toward PWS and to enhance essential skills such as counseling.

Introduction: It is important to analyze the micro- and macrostructure of connected language production across languages in neurotypical and impaired speakers such as people with aphasia (PWA). However, the validity, reliability, sensitivity, or specificity of the available Brazilian-Portuguese connected language production batteries remains untested.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary assessment of the translated Brazilian-Portuguese Story Retell Procedure (SRP-BP) in PWA and neurotypical control participants (NCPs) and investigate whether the SRP can serve as a measure of overall communication impairment in PWA.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was developed at the Federal University of São Paulo. Seven right-handed PWA and 14 NCPs were recruited. PWA had a single left-hemisphere post-stroke lesion and were without severe aphasia or non-fluent aphasia that might interfere with performing the SRP. The connected language measures calculated from the SRP-BP were the numbers of words, information units, and propositions produced. The data were analyzed with the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test.

Results: The NCPs produced significantly more information units and propositions in each of the 12 SRP-BP stories than the PWA group. The same group results were found for the number of words for 11 of the 12 stories, with no statistically significant difference between groups for the Água (Water) story.

Conclusion: The SRP-BP distinguished the connected language production of PWA from that of NCPs. These results motivate additional psychometric assessment and test development of the SRP-BP in neurotypical, PWA, and other language and cognitively impaired populations.

Introduction: The stigma associated with wearing hearing aids, known as the "hearing aid effect," remains a significant issue in hearing healthcare. Despite notable changes in the look and feel of hearing aids over the last decade, little is known about the influence of socioeconomic factors on the perception of different hearing devices in a socioeconomically diverse setting. Therefore, the objective of the study is to determine the hearing aid effect across a range of hearing devices and its association with socioeconomic factors, namely, area of residence and level of education across African communities.

Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design with 322 participants (161 rural, 161 urban), mean age 31.9 years (14.7 SD). Participants rated photographs of seven different styles of devices (standard behind-the-ear hearing aid [BTE HA] with an ear mould, mini BTE HA with a slim tube [ST], in-the-canal [ITC] HA, AirPod, receiver in canal [RIC], completely-in-canal HA, and Personal Sound Amplification Product [PSAP]) worn by a peer model using a validated scale of eight attributes (attractiveness, age, success, hardworking, trustworthiness, intelligence, friendliness, education). The ratings of the BTE HA with ear mould were used as a benchmark for comparison.

Results: No hearing aid effect was observed across all participants (n = 322) with device ratings ranging between neutral and positive. Significant differences between device ratings were evident for attractiveness for ST and PSAP and trustworthiness for ITC. In terms of residence, urban participants provided more favourable ratings compared to rural participants, with significant differences across three attribute ratings: hardworking for ST; attractiveness, hardworking for ITC; age for RIC and AirPod; and hardworking for PSAP. For level of education, significant differences were found for attributes of attractiveness (H = 13.5; p = 0.001) for ITC; attractiveness (H = 14.7; p = 0.001) for PSAP; age (H = 9.5; p = 0.009) for RIC; age (H = 14.3; p < 0.001) and intelligence (H = 15.1; p < 0.001) for AirPod; and hardworking (H = 11.9; p = 0.003) for ST.

Conclusion: Overall, participants had a neutral to positive view of hearing devices with preferences for less visible, conventionally styled devices. Socioeconomic variables such as educational attainment and geographical location influence perceptions of hearing devices emphasizing the importance of taking these aspects into account when prescribing hearing devices.

Introduction: Providing an adapted language input in a multicultural classroom is often challenging to educators. Teachers are frequently the parents' first contacts for language counseling and educational support, and therefore, they may influence the language exposure not only in the classroom but at home as well. This study aimed to investigate the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral attitudes of teachers toward multilingualism in Flanders. The effects of contextual teacher- and school-related properties on the attitudes of teachers were also considered.

Methods: An online survey questioning the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral attitudes of teachers was developed and distributed to all schools in Flanders. 710 preschool, primary, and secondary teachers completed the questionnaire.

Results: The results showed rather positive attitudes toward heritage language maintenance and multilingualism. However, there are still some misconceptions about multilingual language learning strategies. Teachers are interested in extra training, as they find it hard to use the languages of their pupils as a resource in their teaching practice.

Discussion: Teachers mostly consider multilingualism an added value. Supplementary training and extra advice given by speech-language therapists could be helpful to inform teachers about the importance of their students' proficiency in the heritage language and could give teachers insight into the principles of second language acquisition.

Introduction: Vowel production in dysarthria tends to be centralized, which is affected by many factors. This study examined the acoustic effects of speaker sex, tones, and speech samples (including sustained vowels, syllables, and sentences) and their interactions on vowel production in Mandarin speakers with poststroke spastic dysarthria.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients with poststroke spastic dysarthria (18 males, 10 females) and 21 healthy speakers (11 males, 10 females) with no significant difference in sex and age with dysarthria were recruited. They were asked to read sustained vowels /a, i, u/, 12 syllables, and 12 sentences containing three vowels in four tones (bā, bá, bǎ, bà, bī, bí, bǐ, bì, pū, pú, pǔ, pù). Multiple spectral and temporal acoustic metrics were analyzed.

Results: Results showed that regardless of the speech samples or tones, vowel production was more centralized in dysarthria than healthy controls, manifested as the decrease in F1 range, F2 range, vowel space area (VSA), and vowel articulation index (VAI). A similar performance was observed for male speakers compared to females, and vowel duration in males was shorter than females. F1 range, F2 range, VSA, VAI, and vowel duration were significantly different across speech samples and tones, decreasing in the order of vowel-syllable-sentence and T3-T2-T1-T4, respectively. Interactions of group, speaker sex, speech sample, and tone were more sensitive in VAI and vowel duration.

Conclusion: VAI and vowel duration were recommended as the prior metrics to the assessment of vowel production. Specific influencing factors (speaker sex, speech sample, and tone) of vowel production need to be considered by speech and language pathologists in the assessment and rehabilitation.

Introduction: Swallowing outcomes regarding lingual resistance training have been mixed due to variability in methods, leading to ambiguity concerning the utility of this intervention. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a lingual resistance training protocol on the swallowing function of an individual presenting with dysphagia and reduced tongue pressure following a supratentorial ischemic stroke.

Methods: A study involving a lingual resistance training protocol with videofluoroscopy to measure outcomes comparing different parameters to ASPEKT normative reference values at three timepoints: baseline (videofluoroscopic swallowing study [VFSS] A), following a 4-week lead-in period to control for spontaneous recovery (VFSS B), and at the 8-week endpoint of treatment (VFSS C). The study was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic after 1 participant enrollment and is presented as a single case study.

Results: Isometric tongue pressures: Following the 4-week lead-in, a decline in maximum isometric anterior tongue pressure (MAIP) and regular effort saliva swallow pressures (RESS) was noted; however, there was no change in maximum posterior isometric tongue pressures (MPIP). Isometric tongue pressures improved post-treatment, with increases in MAIP, MPIP, and to a lesser degree RESS. Swallowing function: Impairments in swallowing safety continued between the baseline VFSS A (Penetration-Aspiration Scale score [PAS] = 8) and lead-in VFSS B (PAS = 5). Swallowing safety improved following the intervention, with PAS scores = 1 at the endpoint VFSS C. Pixel-based measures of swallowing efficiency revealed a reduced frequency of post-swallow total pharyngeal residue following the treatment. Improvements were found in two other swallowing parameters, laryngeal vestibule closure integrity and pharyngeal area at maximum pharyngeal constriction, at the endpoint VFSS.

Conclusion: These pilot data suggest improvements in some swallowing parameters as an outcome of intervention.

Introduction: Psychosocial aspects of stuttering may affect the quality of life of a person who stutters (PWS). Further, the social stigma and experiences of PWS may vary globally. The WHO-ICF guidelines recommend quality of life as an essential component in the assessment of individuals who stutter. However, the availability of linguistically and culturally appropriate tools is often a challenge. Thus, the current study adapted and validated the OASES-A for Kannada-speaking adults who stutter.

Method: The original English version of OASES-A was adapted to Kannada using a standard reverse translation process. The adapted version was administered on 51 Kannada-speaking adults with very mild to very severe stuttering. The data were analyzed for item characteristics, reliability, and validity assessment.

Results: The results revealed floor and ceiling effects for six and two items, respectively. The mean overall impact score indicated a moderate impact of stuttering. Further, the impact score for section II was relatively higher when compared to the data from other countries. The reliability and validity analyses showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for OASES-A-K.

Conclusion: The findings of the current research suggest that OASES-A-K is a sensitive and reliable tool to assess the impact of stuttering in Kannada-speaking PWS. The findings also highlight cross-cultural differences and the need for research in this direction.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel diseases, which are among the most common chronic gastrointestinal diseases, can also affect the voice for different reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate acoustic, perceptual, and subjective voice evaluation parameters in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Methods: This prospective case-control study included a total of 80 participants: 28 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 22 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), and 30 healthy controls. Following the endoscopic examination, the fundamental frequency (F0), shimmer (dB), jitter (%), and harmonic/noise ratio (HNR) were measured. GRBAS (grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain) scale was used for perceptual evaluation, and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) Turkish version was used for subjective assessment.

Results: The F0 value was within normal limits in both disease groups in male and female participants and in the control group. Jitter and shimmer values were statistically higher in the UC and CD groups than in the control group. HNR did not differ between CD and control; however, it was statistically lower in the UC group when compared to both the control and CD groups. The total GRBAS score did not differ between the UC and CD groups; however, it was greater in IBD patients compared to the control group. However, these differences were within normative parameters. Although total VHI-10 score did not differ between UC and CD groups, both had a higher voice handicap than the control group.

Conclusion: IBD might have an effect on the voice and voice quality. This disease group was discovered to have perceptual and subjective voice problems additionally.