The questions this study sought to answer were: Do normally developing children exhibit phonological process deviations; what is the frequency of occurrence of each phonological process deviation by age group; and does the number of phonological process deviations and the average total frequency of occurrence of phonological process deviations decrease as age increases?

Most of the studies on language acquisition techniques provided by parents have been addressed to the training of parents for prevention of language disabilities and disorders (Latzke, 1975). Few investigations have involved language acquisition of the superior functioning child (Patterson, 1981). Hence, the purpose of this study was to survey language acquisition techniques provided by parents of talented and gifted children (TAG) who were enrolled in the Beaverton School District Number 48 TAG program. The first question dealt with what materials and/or equipment did the parents use in aiding their child's language development. The second question dealt with which particular methods did the parents use in aiding their child in language acquisition.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine and estimate the effectiveness of a group speech and language improvement program on the speech and language skills of children at the kindergarten level.

The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of occurrence of specific speech disfluencies in 4-year-old Alaska Native children to those of 4-year-old Caucasian children. Specifically, eight disfluency types were investigated: part-word repetition, word repetition, phrase repetition, interjection, revision-incomplete phrase, disrhythmic phonation, tense pause, and intrusive schwa. The questions addressed in the study were: 1. Do 4-year-old Alaska Native children exhibit a higher frequency of disfluencies than 4-year-old Caucasian children? 2. Do 4-year-old Alaska Native children exhibit a greater frequency of specific disfluencies, in terms of part-word repetition, word repetition, phrase repetition, interjection, revision-incomplete phrase, disrhythmic phonation, tense pause, or intrusive schwa than 4-year-old Caucasian children? 3. Do 4-year-old Alaska Native and Caucasian children exhibit a higher frequency of low risk disfluency types (word repetition, phrase repetition, interjection, and revision-incomplete phrase) when compared to high risk disfluency types (part-word repetition, disrhythmic phonation, tense pause, and intrusive schwa)?

Measurement of maximum duration of phonation has been suggested by several voice experts as a clinical tool for assessing vocal function (Arnold, 1955; Irwin, 1965; Yanagihara, Koike and von Leden, 1966; and Boone, 1971). Most of the investigations of maximum phonation time have been conducted using adult populations. exceptions to this can be found in the studies by Launer (1971) and Coombs (1976). An apparent need, therefore, existed to investigate maximum phonation time in children. The present study was designed to investigate the affects of age, sex, height, weight and vital capacity on the maximum duration of phonation of sustained /a/ in children eight and ten years of age when controlling for pitch and intensity.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of geographical differences on the DSS normative data for children ages 2 6.0 to 6.11, by comparing the original DSS normative data (Koenigsknecht, 1974) with that obtained in Canby, Oregon. A collateral purpose was to develop norms for the geographical area of Canby, Oregon, using the DSS procedure. Forty children, ten within each of the four, three-month age subgroups between 6.0 and 6.11, were chosen. All of the children came from monolingual, middle-class families and had normal hearing, normal receptive vocabulary skills, and no known unusual social, developmental, or behavioral histories. A language sample, from which a corpus of 50 utterances was selected for analysis, was elicited from each child. Each corpus was analyzed according to the DSS procedures recommended by Lee (1974).

Research regarding children's instrumental articulation development has provided the speech clinician with schedules of speech sound development. These developmental tables list ages when specific phonemes are mastered by normal children. Such schedules tend to give the impression that certain sounds must be developed before others can occur. Menyuk (1972) has expressed a similar point of view regarding phonemes /t/ and /k/. She has hypothesized: that phoneme /t/ must develop before phoneme /k/; and that sound element initial /t/ is mastered at an earlier age than initial /k/. The present investigation was designed to operationally test the validity of Menyuk's observations. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the ages at which phonemes /t/ and /k/ are mastered by normally developing children, thereby obtaining the order in which these phonemes are learned. A secondary purpose was to present an alternative to the concept of mastery of speech sounds by determining the ages at which children acquire phonemes /t/ and /k/. Four specific questions were posed by this study: Is phoneme /t/ mastered before phoneme /k/? Is sound element initial [t} mastered before initial [k]? What is the order of mastery of the remaining two sound elements of each phoneme? What is the order of acquisition of the two phonemes?

One of the primary responsibilities of a speech pathologist is the assessment of a child’s language. Many studies have been done in the area of language development. The results of these studies have varied causing concern among researchers over the validity of the data gathered. Many factors that could affect the results of previous research have been investigated. Until recently, however, there has been relatively little research about the effects of examiner differences on the results of language assessments. Research in the area of examiner differences has resulted in the discovery of factors which could affect the results of language assessments and, more specifically, Mean Length of Response (MLR). McGuigan (1963) suggested the interaction of the examiner's personality characteristics and the independent variable. Cowan et al., (1963) suggested examiner and stimulus variables could affect the subject according to the age and sex of the child. Wilson (1969) stated that there was no standardization for an examiner's method of eliciting a language sample or for the stimulus materials used by the examiner. Casteel (1969) suggested an interaction between the examiner and the setting of the examination. He concluded that the best results were obtained when the examiner was in his most comfortable setting (the mother in the home and the speech pathologist in the clinic). A study by Mathis (1970) substantiated the results of the study by Casteel (1969). Mathis concluded that the speech pathologist elicits as representative a language sample from the child in the clinic as the mother elicits from the child in the home. The purpose of this study was to discover to what extent the MLR of children will differ when elicited by two examiners, the speech pathologist and the mother, who are in the clinical setting. Fourteen children, four years of age, were examined in the clinical setting by the speech pathologist and the mother. Twenty-eight 15-minute tape recorded conversations were transcribed, the MLR tabulated, and the results analyzed statistically by means of the t-test for significance. The Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient was used to compare the consistency of each child's performance with that of his peers from one examination to another. The results indicate that there is a statistically significant difference between the amount of language elicited by the speech pathologist and the mother in favor of the speech pathologist when the examination takes place in the clinical setting. The .05 level of confidence was established for this test.

Purpose: The occurrence of similar speech and non-speech behaviors in some children with autism and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) calls for the consideration of CAS in some children with autism. The majority of research on CAS has been conducted with children who are otherwise typically developing. The purpose of this study was to determine whether and to what extent children with autism are being diagnosed with or suspected to have CAS as well as what assessment and treatment methods are currently being used with these children. Method: A nationwide survey of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working with children ages 0-6 years was distributed through snowball sampling, e-mail distribution lists and Facebook discussion pages. The survey requested information on numbers of children served with autism and suspected CAS as well as the criteria used to identify CAS in children with autism and the treatment methods being used in intervention. Results: 132 surveys were received and analyzed. SLPs from across the United States participated in the study. The mean number of children with autism currently served per participant was 6 children and the mean number of children with autism and suspected CAS per participant was 1. Participants reported suspected CAS in 16% of children with autism. SLPs working in the field the longest and those serving more total children with autism were suspecting CAS in children with autism more often than other participants. Of the total participants, 80% indicated that they would begin assessment for CAS in a child with autism as soon as they notice specific signs of CAS. The most common markers used were difficulty combining and sequencing phonemes and inconsistent production of speech sounds. Participants reported using a wide range of assessment tools to assess for CAS in a child with autism. Participants tended to rely upon informal assessment measures for this population; the most common assessment tool was a connected speech sample. The most commonly used intervention technique with this population was AAC; participants also reported high familiarity with PROMPT as a treatment for CAS. The least commonly used intervention technique was integral stimulation; 62% of the participants indicated that they have no knowledge of the technique. Conclusion: Results revealed that on average, SLPs are suspecting CAS in approximately 1 in 5 children with autism but much fewer children with autism have a second diagnosis of CAS. The decision of when to assess a child with autism for CAS as well as the assessment tools used varied greatly across participants. Participants reported using up to 22 different diagnostic markers to identify CAS in a child with autism. It was also discovered that not all of the traditional diagnostic markers for CAS should necessarily be considered diagnostic markers of CAS in a child with autism (e.g. suprasegmental abnormalities). With no scientific research to date regarding treatment efficacy for the treatment of CAS in children with autism, SLPs are forced to rely on anecdotal data when selecting a treatment to target CAS in a child with autism; SLPs may not be using the most effective treatment methods for this population. Results of the study support continued investigation of CAS in children with autism. There is a strong need for the development of clear diagnostic guidelines for CAS in a child with autism as well as reliable assessment tools that should be used. Further studies are needed to identify the most effective treatment approach for children with CAS and autism and how an SLP should incorporate that treatment into an overall comprehensive treatment approach for autism.

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