Seminars in Speech and Language最新文献

Students who speak African American English are typically rated lower in language and literacy ability than students who speak General American English. When this happens, it can lead to higher referral rates for evaluations for speech and language disorders and a mischaracterization of academic ability due to linguistic biases. This study explores how teacher ratings of student language and literacy ability are influenced by student dialect use.Teachers completed a questionnaire about students' language and literacy skills. Two measures of student dialect use were computed from student language samples: percent dialect density and a listener judgment task. Linear regressions were conducted to determine the predictive effects of dialect density and listener judgments on teacher ratings. Given that there were significant differences in teacher ratings across grade levels, analyses controlled for student grade.Across two measures of dialect, results suggested that student dialect use did not significantly influence teacher ratings of language and literacy skills when controlling for student grade.The results suggest that factors other than student dialect use may influence teacher ratings. Future research should consider both student-level variables (e.g., socio-economic status) and teacher-level variables (e.g., training and exposure to language variation).

This qualitative study examines Black and White teachers' beliefs about narrative language and language variation, particularly African American English (AAE), expressed in interviews following their informal assessment of second-grade students' narrative skills. Using raciolinguistics and language ideologies as conceptual frameworks, we conducted a secondary analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews. We found that the Black and White teachers prioritized narrative sequencing and downplayed grammatical and phonological variation in their assessments, but the two groups differed in how they talked about language variation. Deficit-inflected views were expressed by teachers in both groups, but Black teachers also talked about the social contexts and cultural meanings of language variation. Both groups reported evaluative and instructional practices that were informed by their beliefs. By centering teachers' voices, this study offers deeper insight into how beliefs shaped by race, experience, and context may influence perceptions of AAE-speaking students' language and narratives. The findings highlight the need for critical reflection in teacher preparation regarding language ideologies and linguistic inequity in classrooms, as well as culturally-responsive practices among speech-language pathologists, educators, and researchers working with children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

This exploratory study evaluated the impact of a structured class project focusing on service, gratitude, and self-care on the happiness levels across three cohorts of speech-language pathology university students.Participants included 82 students from three cohorts: two undergraduate and one graduate. Over 15 weeks, students engaged in weekly activities from the three categories. Pre- and postintervention happiness levels were assessed using both the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and data from two survey questions.The results indicated a statistically significant improvement in overall happiness scores across all three cohorts, with service-to-others identified as the most impactful practice.These findings suggest that psychoeducation and structured happiness-enhancing activities can effectively improve mental health among university students, especially those in helping professions. Integrating such interventions into educational settings could support student well-being, warranting further research on their long-term benefits and applicability across different fields.

The purpose of the study was to explore the awareness of ableism in the context of stuttering among speech language pathologists (SLPs) in India.Eighty SLPs were asked to explain the concept of ableism in their own words. Following this, a hypothetical conversational transcript between an SLP and a person who stutters was given to participants along with a response sheet. For each of 20 marked statements in the transcript, the respondents decided whether the statement made by the SLP tended toward being ableist or affirming.Only three SLPs were aware of the term ableism; six SLPs thought they were aware of the term but could not define it correctly. Thirty-two SLPs scored lower than 50% on the second task that involved the classification of statements as relatively more ableist or more affirming. Only one SLP achieved a full score of 20 on the second task. Responses to individual statements revealed insights for future training programs for SLPs on ableism in the context of stuttering.Findings suggest a need to improve SLPs' understanding and implementation of affirming attitudes toward neurodiversity in the management of stuttering.

This investigation compared the effectiveness of the Cycles Approach with and without auditory stimulation. Using an alternating treatment design (AATD), three preschool-aged children with severe phonological disorders received a modified Cycles Approach targeting two phonological patterns. Effectiveness was measured by the percentage of occurrence of errors. Treatment outcomes were analyzed across experimental conditions and participants with respect to the effectiveness of the Cycles Approach, modified by including and excluding auditory stimulation. All participants demonstrated improvements in speech sound production skills when auditory stimulation was withheld. Two participants demonstrated a statistically significant change in speech intelligibility from baseline to intervention regardless of auditory stimulation inclusion. One participant experienced a statistically significant difference in speech intelligibility when auditory stimulation was withheld. Parents of all participants indicated improvements in their child's speech intelligibility on a posttreatment questionnaire. This investigation substantiates prior research suggesting that a modified Cycles Approach is an effective intervention to treat preschool children with phonological disorders. For the three participants in this study, implementing auditory stimulation techniques did not improve or expedite speech intelligibility outcomes, and for one participant, improved clinical outcomes were achieved without the use of auditory stimulation.

Returning to employment is a common goal for individuals with stroke-induced aphasia, and success or failure in doing so can significantly impact quality of life. This study investigates the factors that hinder and facilitate return-to-work for people with aphasia, based on the perspectives of individuals with aphasia.Twenty people with varying severities of stroke-induced aphasia participated in virtual focus groups and discussed their experiences with returning or attempting to return to work. Qualitative content analysis was conducted to categorize the factors impacting return-to-work described by participants. Results were compared between participants who had and had not successfully returned to work.Communication, Cognitive Deficits, and Physical Disability were the most frequently discussed Barriers to regaining employment. Patience and Slowed Pace, Change in Type of Employment, Supportive Environment, and High-Technology Aids were the most reported Facilitators. Participants who were actively employed indicated Facilitators more frequently than those who had not returned to work.Consensus from the primary stakeholders is critical in prioritizing a plan of action for employment re-entry. This study provides insights from those with aphasia looking to return to work that identify factors that rehabilitation professionals may already be addressing and those that require more attention.

The purpose of this clinical seminar is to clarify terminology and promote accurate understanding of linguistic concepts and use of related terminology among speech-language pathologists, linguists, educators, researchers, and interdisciplinary teams. In this paper, we clarify two phenomena, verbal /s/ and code shifting that have been used in both child and adult African American Language (AAL) literature, and explain the implications that clarifications have for more careful descriptions of child AAL. In addition, we highlight aspectual forms and variable use of constructions in caregiver speech as a means of exemplifying patterns of variation in children's input that should be taken into consideration in their development of AAL. The paper concludes with implications and recommendations for assessment and future research.

Speech language pathologists (SLPs) are charged with providing equitable, clinically competent services for all individuals, regardless of their cultural or linguistic background. One practice known to be culturally fair is the use of narrative assessments. However, given the persistent emphasis on "standard" English in written communication, it is critical to examine how SLPs perceive and evaluate the writing of students who use diverse linguistic variations.In this mixed methods study, 42 Black and White SLPs rated the written narratives (one fictional, one personal) of two second-grade Black students who used African American English (AAE) and general American English (GAE). SLPs provided explanations detailing their rationale for their ratings.Findings indicated that there were no significant race-based differences for ratings. Fictional narratives were rated more favorably than personal narratives, and narratives written by the GAE speaker were rated more favorably than the AAE speaker. Qualitative analyses supported these findings as justifications largely involved grammar, followed by punctuation and writing conventions.These findings highlight the potential influence of pervasive language ideologies that favor features of GAE among SLPs. SLPs' justifications focused on components of macrostructure and microstructure, with an emphasis on microstructure (e.g., grammar and punctuation), suggesting that SLPs prioritize "correctness" over content.

Children who speak African American English (AAE) may have an elevated likelihood of being diagnosed with language disorders. Traditional language sample analysis (LSA) metrics, such as Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS), are based on the morphosyntax of General American English (GAE) and may not accurately reflect the language abilities of AAE-speaking children. We examined the effectiveness of computerized Black English Sentence Scoring (BESS) in distinguishing between typically developing (TD) and developmental language disorder (DLD) in AAE- and GAE-speaking children compared with DSS.Language samples from 88 children (22 DLD, 66 TD) ages 5;0 to 7;02, comprising 44 AAE-speaking children and 44 GAE-speaking children, were analyzed using Computerized Language ANalysis (CLAN) DSS and BESS options.Results of a two-level ANOVA did not show evidence of any effect by dialect and scoring method. Logistic regression analyses revealed that both DSS and BESS exhibited poor classification accuracy, suggesting that they are statistically unreliable methods of DLD identification in children who speak either AAE or GAE.Although BESS is intended to minimize linguistic bias compared with DSS, neither approach yielded adequate diagnostic accuracy in this study. However, both can provide valuable information on grammatical features in a child's expressive language to guide intervention.