Pro-fono : revista de atualizacao cientifica最新文献

Background: Communication of autistic children.

Aim: To assess the communication functionality of verbal and non-verbal children of the autistic spectrum and to identify possible associations amongst the groups.

Method: Subjects were 20 children of the autistic spectrum divided into two groups: V with 10 verbal children and NV with 10 non-verbal children with ages varying between 2y10m and 10y6m. All subjects were video recorded during 30 minutes of spontaneous interaction with their mothers. The samples were analyzed according to the functional communicative profile and comparisons within and between groups were conducted.

Results: Data referring to the occupation of communicative space suggest that there is an even balance between each child and his mother. The number of communicative acts per minute shows a clear difference between verbal and non-verbal children. Both verbal and non-verbal children use mostly the gestual communicative mean in their interactions. Data about the use of interpersonal communicative functions point out to the autistic children's great interactive impairment.

Conclusion: The characterization of the functional communicative profile proposed in this study confirmed the autistic children's difficulties with interpersonal communication and that these difficulties do not depend on the preferred communicative mean.

Background: The use of computerized technology in language therapy with children of the autistic spectrum.

Aim: To assess the interference of using computers and specific programs during language therapy in the functional communicative profile and socio-cognitive performance of children of the autistic spectrum.

Method: 23 children with ages ranging between 3 and 12 years were individually video recorded prior to and after a set of 10 regular language therapy sessions (i.e. a total of two video samples per subject) using computerized games according to the child's choice.

Results: The following expressions were used by the therapists to describe the children's performance during the use of computers: more attentive, more communicative initiatives, more eye contact, more interactive, more verbalizations, more attention and more action requests. Qualitative and quantitative progresses were identified, although without statistical significance. Those progresses were observed after a time period that is smaller than the usually applied to this kind of comparison and it seems to be a promising result.

Conclusion: More controlled associations and comparisons were not possible due to the groups' heterogeneity and therefore more consistent conclusions are not possible. It was clear that the subjects presented different reactions to the use of computerized resources during language therapy.

Background: Development of oral narrative.

Aim: To verify narrative and pause duration, number of words and interlocutor's interventions in the oral narratives of children with typical development.

Method: This study involved 31 subjects divided into four groups according to age: GI (3:1 to 4:0 years), GII (4:1 to 5:0 years), GIII (5:1 to 6:0 years) and GIV (6:1 to 7:0 years). Samples of spontaneous narrative and narrative based on a book without words were video recorded, transcribed and statistically analyzed using the Fisher's exact test (nonparametric) and the linear regression model with mixed effects.

Results: The results of pause duration, narrative duration and number of words were significantly higher for the narrative samples produced using a book than those obtained in the spontaneous narratives (p-value < 0.01). Regarding the number of interventions, a correlation (p-value = 0.03) between age and number of interventions was observed for the book context. It was observed that the number of interventions decrease with age.

Conclusion: Children presented longer narratives in the book context. However, no significant differences were observed between the age groups. The results of the study also suggest that the interlocutor's interventions become less necessary with the aging process.

Background: The Auditory Nerve Recovery Function (REC) may be extracted from the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential (ECAP). ECAP may be influenced by the stimulation received (or the deprivation of stimulation) and by the etiology of the hearing loss, consequently it might affect the REC.

Aim: To verify whether there is a correlation between the REC and each of the following factors: etiology, time of auditory deprivation and time of hearing aid use before cochlear implantation (CI).

Method: Retrospective study. Data regarding etiology, time of auditory deprivation, time of hearing aid use before cochlear implantation were collected in children and adults who received a Nucleus®24. All patients who presented neural response at surgery and whose REC was assessed intraoperatively were included in this study. Fifty patients were selected, 26 children and 24 adults. Patients were divided according to the REC classification into three groups (GI: fast recovery; GII: intermediate recovery and GIII: slow recovery) to allow correlation analysis.

Results: Data analysis did not show any statistically significant correlation between the recovery function and the pre-implant studied characteristics. Nevertheless, it was observed that there was a greater concentration of both, children and adults, in the intermediate recovery function values. GI did not present individuals with infectious etiologies, such as meningitis, rubella and cytomegalovirus. REC average scores were slower in infectious etiologies for both children and adults.

Conclusion: There was no statistically significant correlation between the recovery function and factors such as etiology, time of auditory deprivation and time of hearing aid use prior to CI.

Background: Understanding the experience of people who stutter, both in and out treatment, will lead to improved outcomes.

Aim: To investigate how stuttering affects the quality of life of children and adolescents who stutter.

Method: The Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering--School-Age (OASES-S) was used to assess the impact of stuttering and the Fluency Profile Protocol was used to stuttering severity.

Results: These age groups do experience moderate negative impact as measured by the OASES-S. The results showed a tendency toward a positive correlation between severity and the impact of stuttering on quality of life.

Conclusion: A better understanding of the impact of stuttering in these age groups provides a needed guide for the development of stuttering treatments and treatment outcomes research.

Background: Swallowing evaluation of older individuals with coronary disease referred to heart surgery.

Aim: To identify the characteristics of the swallowing function in older individuals referred to myocardial revascularization surgery (MR), using an evaluating protocol composed by a water test, cervical auscultation and pulse oximetry.

Method: The Assessment Protocol for Dysphagia Risk through a Combined Swallowing test and Vital Signs monitoring was used (PADTC)--measurements of HR and SpO2 (heart rate and oxygen saturation), water swallowing test with 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 e 20 ml, measurement of respiratory rate and cervical auscultation. The electronic stethoscope was used to analyze the number of swallows, response time and swallowing sound classification. In the Research Group (RG) older individuals with heart disease who were referred to MR were included. In the Control Group (CG) healthy older individuals were included.

Results: 38 older individuals were evaluated in the RG (mean age 68 years). In the CG, 30 older individuals were evaluated (mean age 70 years). There was a significant difference for the swallowing response time in older individuals with heart disease who presented HR below 60: swallowing response was shorter for 3 ml, 10 ml, 15 ml e 20 ml. HR was lower for individuals with heart disease. No significant difference was found between the groups for the other analyzed parameters.

Conclusion: Older individuals with heart disease presented differences in the swallowing function when compared to healthy older individuals. Older individuals with heart disease presented alterations in the temporal coordination between breathing and swallowing, thus indicating risk for dysphagia.

Background: Maximum phonation times (MPT) of vowels in adult women with vocal nodules.

Aim: To verify and to correlate the values of MPT of vowels in young and middle-aged adult women with vocal nodules.

Method: Database records from a speech therapy school-clinic were used, making up a total of 38 subjects.

Inclusion criteria: female adults, aged between 20 and 53 years, with otorhinolaryngology diagnosis of vocal nodules.

Exclusion criteria: to present a laryngeal pathology other than vocal nodules; hearing loss ; oral breathing; history of neurological, psychiatric, endocrine or gastric disorders; flu or allergy history; drinking and/or smoking habits; previous speech therapy and/or otorhinolaryngology treatments. Anamnesis data, the otorhinolaryngology diagnosis, and the MPT measurements of vowels /a, i, u/ were verified for each subject. MPT evaluation consisted of the duration measurement of three emissions of the vowels, using habitual tone and intensity, until the end of exhalation, with the patient in a standing position, considering the highest value of each vowel. The results were statistically analyzed with a significance level of 5%.

Results: Representative age range; less representative MPT and mean, below normality and with a strong positive and meaningful correlation; moderate, positive and significant correlation between MPTs and their means.

Conclusion: For the group of adult women with vocal nodules, the MPT values were reduced and positively correlated; the MPT of vowel /a/ presented a lower value when compared to the other investigated vowels.

Background: Speech fluency in cluttering.

Aim: To characterize and to compare the speech fluency in cluttering and fluent individuals.

Method: Participants of this investigation were 14 individuals with ages between 8.0 and 40.11 years, of both genders, divided into two groups, paired by age and gender. GI was composed by 7 cluttering individuals and GII by 7 fluent individuals. The Speech Fluency Assessment Protocol was used to gather and to analyze the speech samples, taking into consideration the typology and frequency of speech disruption (SLD and OD) and speech rate, in words and syllables per minute.

Results: Data showed that the groups differed regarding the occurrence of the stuttering-like disfluencies and other disfluencies, number of words and syllables per minute.

Conclusion: Cluttering individuals present a different fluency profile when compared to their fluent pairs.

Background: Distortion product otoacoustic emission measures (DPOAE) verifies, among other characteristics, the emergence and growth rate of the DPOAE response according to sound stimulus intensity (growth curve).

Aim: To estimate the DPOAE threshold in neonates according to the DPOAE growth curve at 2 kHz and 4 kHz, with stimulus presentation ranging between 35 and 70 dB SPL.

Method: Participants were 51 neonates, with 24 to 84 hours of life and with no indication of risk for hearing impairment. The DPOAE were registered in the growth curve function at 2 kHz and at 4 kHz. Neonates were evaluated during the period of hospital stay, after birth. Three possible thresholds were considered (LIM 1, LIM 2 and LIM 3) based on the presence of response at 3 dB SPL in the signal to noise ratio.

Results: The average thresholds intensities ranged from 47.55 to 49.85 dB at 2 kHz and from 55.52 to 59.94 dB at 4 kHz. The mean amplitude response ranged from 6.67 to 8.27 dB at 2 kHz and from 6.99 to 11.35 dB at 4 kHz. There was significant difference between the three thresholds for the two studied frequencies.

Conclusion: The procedure was feasible for the neonatal population revealing mean thresholds of up to 60 dB for both frequencies. Even though participants presented elevated thresholds, robust amplitude responses were observed.

Background: Terminology in Speech-Language and Hearing Science.

Aim: To propose a specific thesaurus about the Speech-Language and Hearing Science, for the English, Portuguese and Spanish languages, based on the existing keywords available on the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS).

Method: Methodology was based on the pilot study developed by Campanatti-Ostiz and Andrade; that had as a purpose to verify the methodological viability for the creation of a Speech-Language and Hearing Science category in the DeCS. The scientific journals selected for analyses of the titles, abstracts and keywords of all scientific articles were those in the field of the Speech-Language and Hearing Science, indexed on the SciELO. 1. Recovery of the Descriptors in the English language (Medical Subject Headings--MeSH); 2. Recovery and hierarchic organization of the descriptors in the Portuguese language was done (DeCS). The obtained data was analyzed as follows: descriptive analyses and relative relevance analyses of the DeCS areas. Based on the first analyses, we decided to select all 761 descriptors, with all the hierarchic numbers, independently of their occurrence (occurrence number--ON), and based on the second analyses, we decided to propose to exclude the less relevant areas and the exclusive DeCS areas.

Results: The proposal was finished with a total of 1676 occurrences of DeCS descriptors, distributed in the following areas: Anatomy; Diseases; Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipments; Psychiatry and Psychology; Phenomena and Processes; Health Care.

Conclusion: The presented proposal of a thesaurus contains the specific terminology of the Brazilian Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences and reflects the descriptors of the published scientific production. Being the DeCS a trilingual vocabulary (Portuguese, English and Spanish), the present descriptors organization proposition can be used in these three languages, allowing greater cultural interchange between different nations.