Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology最新文献

In typically developing (TD) children, early gestures emerge before first words and predict spoken language. Language development in children with cochlear implants (CI) vary due to factors such as implantation age and exposure to spoken language, but variation is largely unexplained. Little is known about gestures in children with CI and how this is related to vocabulary. In this study, spontaneous use of gestures during assessment of receptive and expressive vocabulary was examined and related to vocabulary test results in ten children with CI, aged 25-39 months. The results were compared to those of individually age and sex matched TD children with normal hearing. All children were tested with the vocabulary test, the Picture Naming Game (PiNG). The test situation was video recorded to capture the children's use of deictic, iconic, and conventional gestures. Children with CI had lower vocabulary scores and used fewer gestures than TD children. Observable but statistically non-significant relationships between gestures and vocabulary were found in children with CI, as well as between vocabulary score and implantation age. The findings indicate that gestures should be included in the assessment and intervention of young children with challenges in their development of spoken language.

Background: Stuttering, during adolescence, may influence adult life. However, little is known about currently applied clinical procedures for assessment and treatment of stuttering in adolescence.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate clinicians' assessment and intervention routines and if choice of intervention was related to factors such as age, gender, or stuttering severity.

Method: Medical records from 51 adolescents who had visited a Speech and Language Therapy clinic were included. Group differences were analysed through nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and correlations through Spearman's correlation test.

Results and conclusions: Most of the participants were assessed through subjective severity ratings or descriptions in free text and no formal treatment evaluation was performed. All participants received treatment in line with evidenced based practice for adults who stutter. There was a significant difference in number of sessions related to gender and overt stuttering severity but not to age. The clinicians rely on their clinical expertise regarding assessment of overt symptoms and impact of stuttering which may be a deliberate choice related to the need of their clients and ethical considerations. The inconsistent use of assessment tools hindered treatment evaluation, which is desirable to ensure optimal care.

Necrobiotic xanthogranuloma (NXG) is a rare non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis with exceptionally uncommon laryngeal involvement. We report a 45-year-old male presenting with hoarseness and airway obstruction due to a supraglottic mass. Surgical excision via microlaryngoscopy was complicated by recurrent bleeding, which was ultimately managed with superior thyroid artery ligation. Histopathological evaluation confirmed NXG, showing necrobiosis, giant cells, cholesterol clefts, and CD138 positivity. The patient recovered uneventfully, with symptom resolution and a patent airway at follow-up. This case emphasizes the need to consider NXG in the differential diagnosis of laryngeal masses and highlights the importance of multidisciplinary evaluation and surgical preparedness for hemorrhagic complications.

Introduction: The primary objective of this systematic review was to identify and assess the Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) used in studies of prophylactic dysphagia intervention for patients with head and neck cancer undergoing non-surgical treatments. A secondary objective was to evaluate the quality of the PROMs used in these intervention studies and examine the articles related to their development.

Method: Five databases (MEDLINE via PubMed, Web of Science, Pro-Quest, CINHAL, and SCOPUS) were searched for intervention studies on dysphagia in head and neck cancer patients, initiated before or during radiation/chemoradiation, with at least one PROM outcome. Studies on the psychometric development of identified PROMs were also analyzed separately.

Result: Sixteen intervention studies met the inclusion criteria. Twenty studies on development of 17 PROMs were evaluated. The most used were: MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and EORTC Quality of Life Head and Neck Module (EORTC-QLQ-H&N35). PROMs varied in construct and developmental characteristics, and none met criteria for all measurement domains.

Conclusion: Although several studies on prophylactic dysphagia intervention during radiation therapy have reported significant improvements in the clinician-rated outcomes, the current systematic review revealed that patient-reported findings do not depict significant changes pre- and post- intervention, however a trend towards improved scores was noted that warrants further investigation. Including PROMs in research and clinical settings is important, but their growing number makes selecting the right one challenging. Users should exercise caution and understand a PROM's developmental characteristics before use. t.

This comment grew out of a talk given at the 2025 National Center for Voice and Speech conference entitled "Voice and Speech in the Age of Machine Learning." Logopedics, phoniatrics, and vocology will all benefit from artificial intelligence with reduced time and effort in clinical management and improved research protocols. With that benefit, however, comes a concern about future scientific revolutions that are born with human intelligence, thinking about anomalies in data sets that can easily be overlooked by algorithmic approaches. This paper reviews the classic thinking of Thomas Kuhn on scientific revolutions in the middle of the twentieth century and philosophic contribution in the twenty-first century by Wissner-Gross and Freer about intelligence.

There is increasing evidence for the usefulness of psychological concepts in voice practice and voice therapy. Existing psychological conceptualisations of voice disorders feature principles from cognitive-behavioural therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and personality psychology, to formulate how voice problems might develop and/or become persistent. Voice practitioners are encouraged to apply these principles when working with people with voice disorders to aid rehabilitation and improve psychosocial wellbeing as it relates to voice use. To this end, this tutorial offers a primer for compassion focused therapy (CFT), a model of psychological therapy that might be useful to voice practitioners and patients in understanding and working with psychological factors in voice use. It first introduces the theoretical underpinnings of CFT and the concept of the three affect regulation systems, with suggestions for how the therapeutic model can be introduced and applied to voice patients. It then draws out therapeutic components often used within CFT and considers how they might integrate within voice rehabilitation. The aim is to increase awareness and knowledge of CFT, and prime future research and practice by illustrating how CFT might be applied in vocal health and voice care.

Purpose: To investigate whether there is a difference in olfactory functions among individuals who use different voice restoration methods after total laryngectomy.

Method: The study group for this research comprised individuals who had undergone total laryngectomy and aged 44 to 75 years; 10 participants using oesophageal speech, 10 participants using tracheoesophageal speech, and 10 participants using electrolarynx were included. The control group comprised 10 individuals with normal olfactory function of similar age and gender to the individuals in the study group. The participants' olfactory functions were evaluated using the Sniffin Sticks Extended Test. European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire - H&N-35 was used as a subjective scale.

Result: All laryngectomised patients exhibited olfactory impairment, with 73.3% diagnosed with anosmia and 26.7% with hyposmia. Regarding Sniffin Sticks Test combined scores; the mean values of voice prosthesis users, electrolarynx and oesophageal speech group were 8.4, 10.1 and 21.6 respectively, while in the control group it was 38.2. In terms of Sniffin Sticks Test composite scores, the oesophageal speech group had significantly higher scores than the voice prosthesis and electrolarynx groups (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: While all laryngectomised patients showed olfactory dysfunction, those using oesophageal speech - a somewhat overlooked rehabilitation method - exhibited statistically significant preservation of olfactory function compared to other voice restoration techniques. These findings suggest that oesophageal speech may offer distinct advantages for maintaining post-laryngectomy olfactory capacity, warranting further consideration in clinical practise.

Introduction: This study investigates the relationship between the morphological characteristics of the pharyngoesophageal segment (PES), communication experiences, and the acoustic parameters of the tracheoesophageal (TE) voice.

Methods: A total of 55 patients who had undergone total laryngectomy were enrolled in this study between July 2020 and October 2023 in a Department of Otorhinolaryngology at a University Hospital in Croatia. High-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) images of the PES mucosa, an objective assessment of the voice, and a self-assessment questionnaire were analysed.

Results: HSV-based visualisation of PES was clearer in individuals who both self-rated their voice more positively and were rated similarly by a Speech and Language Therapist. The most common shape of PES during the open phase was split side-to-side. The Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy (SECEL:HR) questionnaire showed that the majority of patients were well rehabilitated and satisfied with their voice. A significant correlation was found between the fundamental frequency (f_o), jitter and shimmer and the SECEL:HR questionnaire. The visibility and shape of the PES as well as the amount of saliva could be associated with the reported f_o and the quality of the TE voice.

Conclusion: A better insight into the phonatory movement of the PES mucosa in laryngectomised patients could allow us to better assess the patient's abilities and adjust the duration of voice therapy for each patient. However, due to the high variability of anatomical and morphological variations as well as acoustic measurements limiting the final results, further analyses are needed to clarify the different questions raised.

Introduction: This descriptive study investigated the immediate individual effects of intensive group speech intervention on speech, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction in adolescents born with a cleft (lip and) palate (CP ± L) in the Philippines.

Methods: Four Filipino adolescents with a repaired CP ± L (age range = 17 to 23 years) were included. They presented with at least one cleft-related speech sound error. They received 6 h of intensive group speech intervention over 4 consecutive days (i.e. 1 h and 30 min of therapy each day). Pre- and post-intervention outcomes were collected for speech, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction with group intervention. Individual participant data were reported.

Results: The speech of all four participants improved to a clinically relevant degree for the percentage correctly produced consonants (PCC). Speech understandability and acceptability also improved in every participant. PCC scores of two participants were on a level with peers following the group sessions.

Discussion: Speech and health-related quality of life outcomes improved in all four participants after intensive group intervention. However, not everyone reached the level of peers following 6 h of intervention. Participants who presented with a combination of cleft-related speech sound errors might have benefited from a larger intervention dosage.

Purpose: This clinically based study aimed to explore and describe language ability in 5-12-year-old children with new-onset epilepsy.Participants and methods: Twenty-one consecutively recruited children (eleven boys, ten girls) with new-onset epilepsy, were assessed using Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, fourth edition (CELF-4) and additional tests for verbal fluency/word retrieval and phonology. In addition, caregivers rated their child's speech, language, and communication in everyday context. Based on available tests and clinical observation, an overall evaluation of language ability was made to distinguish children with language disorders and children with language difficulties from those with language abilities within the normal range. Language disorder was diagnosed following the ICD-10 criteria. The cutoff for language difficulties was set at 1 standard deviation below the normative mean on the CELF-4 Core Language Score and additional indices.

Results: Out of twenty-one children, ten (47.5%) met the criteria for a language disorder diagnosis according to ICD-10. Another five (24%) had language difficulties but did not meet the criteria for a language disorder diagnosis according to ICD-10. Hence a total of fifteen (71.5%) children had an impaired language ability affecting different domains of language, including receptive language, language memory, and semantic processing. The remaining six (28.5%) children had average language ability.

Conclusion: In this group of children with new-onset epilepsy, a large over-representation of co-existing language disorder and language difficulties was found. The findings suggest that specific language assessments for children with new-onset epilepsy are needed, to ensure that adequate interventions and support can be offered.