published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the cognitive and psycholinguistic processes of rural Mexican children and compare them to urban Mexican children using the Spanish Version of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Ability as the primary diagnostic instrument. Additionally, Physical, Environmental, and Psychological test correlates are surveyed to demonstrate their application in the diagnostic and interpretive processes. Fifty-nine children, aged four to nine, were tested in this project. The children were all monolingual Spanish speaking, and they all lived in or very near Santa Rosalillita, a small mid-peninsula fishing cooperative in Baja California, Mexico. The cumulative total of the I.T.P.A. subtest raw scores for the Santa Rosalillita children are compared to the scores of two samples of urban children which were used in the I.T.P.A. standardization procedure. A series of t tests are used to analyze the data. The Physical, Environmental, and Psychological test correlates are examined by using obtained I.T.P.A. profiles, a questionnaire, and the author's on-site observations. The relevant results of this study are: (1) There appears to be a significant difference between the five year old children of Santa Rosalillita when they are compared to the two groups of five year old urban Mexican children. (2) There were no significant differences between the seven and nine year old groups of Santa Rosalillita children when they were compared to the seven and nine year old groups of urban Mexican children. (3) Physical, Environmental, and Psychological test correlates can provide important information in the diagnosis and interpretation of the Spanish I.T.P.A. It was concluded that extreme caution be used with the Spanish I.T.P.A. when it is employed with rural Mexican children below the age of six. The results suggest that the Spanish I.T.P.A. be used as one of several sources of information in the effort to serve the educational needs of Mexican children, but not as the only source of information. Further research may focus on rural children living in other geographic locales of Mexico, or on the development of appropriate and useful educational methods and materials for assimilating Mexican youngsters into American schools.

A apraxia de fala na infância (AFI) representa uma desordem de origem neurológica na qual a precisão e a consistência dos movimentos de fala estão prejudicadas na ausência de déficits neuromusculares. Na literatura nacional, poucos são os estudos relacionados ao tema; além disso, chama a atenção o fato de que no Brasil a maioria dos fonoaudiólogos não tem conhecimento teórico e prático em sua formação de base sobre a AFI. O objetivo deste estudo foi elaborar um checklist para identificação dos sinais de apraxia de fala na infância em pré-escolares entre 3 e 6 anos de idade para uso de Fonoaudiólogos. Na etapa 1 do estudo foi realizada revisão da literatura internacional para levantamento das características de AFI descritas, sendo essa etapa finalizada com a elaboração das primeiras versões checklist, uma para fonoaudiólogos e uma para pais. Na etapa 2, foi realizada a análise do instrumento elaborado por um comitê de 13 fonoaudiólogos especialistas. Para estratificar a opinião dos juízes foi utilizado o Índice de Validade de Conteúdo (IVC). Ao final dessa etapa, o checklist foi reformulado e finalizado. A partir da leitura dos artigos, foram selecionadas 36 características mais prevalentes ou com maior relevância para compor a primeira versão do checklist. As características foram organizadas em 6 categorias: histórico familiar; características verbais / de fala; características motoras gerais; características orais (não-verbais); aspectos suprassegmentais de fala e características pré-linguísticas e linguísticas, e junto a cada um dos subitens foi adicionado uma breve explicação e/ou exemplo. A avaliação do checklist pelos juízes resultou em reformulações quanto a linguagem utilizada, inclusão de exemplos e exclusão de subitens considerados técnicos. Com relação a versão para pais, foi consenso entre eles a necessidade da utilização de uma linguagem mais simples e acessível, assim como a inclusão de maior número de exemplos. Todos os juízes consideraram o checklist uma ferramenta útil para o rastreio da AFI. Além disso, todos os subitens apresentados no checklist alcançaram IVC superior a 0,80 e o IVC-médio do instrumento de modo geral foi de 0,86, demonstrando alta confiabilidade do instrumento. O checklist apresentou, portanto, validade de conteúdo e futuras pesquisas serão realizadas com o objetivo de verificar sua aplicabilidade, validade de critério, de constructo e fidedignidade. O presente estudo atingiu seu objetivo a partir da apresentação de um checklist para identificação de sinais de AFI entre crianças de 3 a 6 anos, em duas versões, uma para pais e outra para fonoaudiólogos. / Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) represents a disorder of neurological origin in which the precision and consistency of speech movements are impaired in the absence of neuromuscular deficits. In the national literature, there are few studies related to the subject; moreover, in Brazil most speech therapists do not have theoretical and practical knowledge in their basic training on CAS. The aim of this study was prepare a checklist for the identification of CAS signs in preschool children between 3 and 6 years old for use by speech therapists. In the first step of this study, a review of the international literature was conducted to survey the described CAS characteristics. This step was completed with the preparation of the first checklist versions, one for speech therapists and one for parents. In the second step, the analysis of the instrument elaborated by a committee of 13 specialist speech therapists was carried out. In order to stratify the opinion of the judges, the Content Validity Index (CVI) was used. At the end of this step, the checklist was reformulated and finalized. From the reading of the articles, we selected 36 more prevalent or more relevant characteristics to compose the first version of the checklist. The characteristics were organized into 6 categories: family history; verbal / speech characteristics; general motor characteristics; oral (non-verbal) characteristics; suprasegmental aspects of speech and pre-linguistic and linguistic characteristics, and a brief explanation and / or example was added to each of the subitems. The evaluation of the checklist by the judges resulted in reformulations regarding the language used, inclusion of examples and exclusion of technical subitems. Regarding the version for parents, there was consensus among them the need to use a simpler and more accessible language, as well as the inclusion of more examples. All judges considered the checklist a useful tool for CAS screening. In addition, all subitems presented in the checklist reached CVI greater than 0.80 and the mean CVI of the instrument was generally 0.86, demosntrating high instrument reliability. The checklist therefore presented content validity and future research will be carried out with the aim of verifying its applicability, criterion validity, construct and reliability. The present study reached its aim from the presentation of a checklist for identification of CAS signs among children aged 3 to 6 years, in two versions, one for parents and another for speech-language pathologists.

Thesis (M. Communication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Purpose: Reading aloud to children and having a conversation about a book, which is read to them, has attracted much attention as important factors that influence children's language development. Language development for children is one of the most important tasks that the preschool- teachers have, and according to “Läroplanet”, all children must have the opportunity to develop their language. The aim of this study was to examine how reading aloud, and by letting them speak about a certain book, “boksamtal” impacts preschool-children`s ability to develop their language according to preschool- teachers. Method: I have used a qualitative method by interviewing four preschool- teachers. Moreover, I applied a literature review related to the topic. The information given in the interviews has been analyzed by the use of socio-cultural theories and previous researches. To get a better answer to the main question of the purpose, I have arranged four sub-queries. These are the following questions: How can reading aloud and book discussion influence language development according to preschool- teachers? How does the teachers describe how reading aloud and book discussion can match children`s interests? What prerequisites and obstacles were there when reading aloud and discussing books according to teachers? How the teachers describe the role of the environment, in which reading aloud and book discussion is taken place, for language development? Results: The study shows that reading aloud occurs as a daily activity in the general preschool. Those preschool teachers we spoke to have been reading aloud to children, but not all of them have actually discussed books with children at all. In order to stimulate children for reading books and let them have a conversation and expose them to books, texts and the literature environment, in which the reading takes place to adapt to their interests, age and level of language skills. Groups with many children are perceived by preschool teachers to have a negative impact on book discussion. Conclusion: My study shows that these preschool teachers are conscious about the positive impact, of reading aloud and letting them discuss their books, on children's language development,  but due to some negative factors , the time deficiency for instance,  they priority reading aloud in front of book discussion. The teachers consider that for development, they must stimulate children`s interest to reading and book discussion, which together with environment around the children must be adapted with children`s age, interest and language skill level.

Univ., Diss.--Hamburg, 2004.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-182). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-143). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-200).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-111). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.