Cajun English (CE) is an understudied dialect that is spoken in and around the Acadian triangle of Louisiana. Of the studies that exist, almost all have been completed with adults. The purpose of the current study was to determine if children whose parents have identified their family as Cajun use five phonological features of CE (/t, d/ for /θ, ð/, nonaspirated /p, t, k/, heavy vowel nasalization, monophthongization, and glide weakening on vowels) more frequently than those identified as non-Cajun. The participants were 11 kindergarteners who were identified as Cajun or non-Cajun and who resided in Assumption Parish in rural south Louisiana. Cajun status was determined through a questionnaire that asked families about their family history, self and familial exposure to Cajun French, and self and familial French-speaking abilities. Measures of the childrens use of CE phonological features was based on an analysis of one-minute audio clips that had been randomly extracted from 30-minute, examiner-child play-based language samples. The participants with Cajun status produced the /t, d/, heavy vowel nasalization, and monophthongization features more frequently than the participants with a non-Cajun status, and the difference was statistically significant for the monophthongization feature. This finding may suggest that CE phonological features are currently heard in the vowels that children produce. In addition, all of the participants produced higher frequencies of the CE features than did a group of same-age participants who lived in a neighboring parish and who had been previously studied. This finding may indicate parish effects on childrens CE phonological use that need to be considered as a contributing factor in discussions of dialect variation and change.

Five kindergarten subjects who had no known disabilities, but were identified as low beginning readers received intervention using both Plain Word Cards (PWC) and pictured word cards, termed MorphoPhonic Faces (MPF). A group of eight words were presented as printed word cards and a comparable group of eight words were presented as MPF. Results revealed that MPF did not hold an advantage for learning and retaining sight words compared to the plain print words. Improvements in sight word training corresponded in time with improved skills underlying the alphabetic principle, including phonological awareness skills and letter-sound learning, as well as emerging decoding skills for two subjects. These findings suggest that working on larger units such as words with a focus on initial sounds and word patterns has a positive (and probably reciprocal effect) on phoneme and grapheme level skills.

The IT-MAIS is a caregiver-report tool used to assess a childs functional auditory development pre- and post-implantation (Zimmerman-Phillips, et al., 2001) and as a measure of functional auditory behaviors in studies exploring cochlear implant (CI) candidacy (Barker, Kenworthy, & Walker, 2011; Franz 2002; Osberger, Zimmerman-Phillips, & Koch, 2002). However it lacks psychometric analysis of its overall reliability and validity, which are essential in determining the strength of the IT-MAIS conclusions in determining the direction of a childs clinical intervention outcomes. Barker, Donovan, Schubert, and Walker (2013) showed in their longitudinal study that caregivers did not predictably respond to items from the IT-MAIS. These unpredictable caregiver responses to the tools items lower the reports caregiver reliability. We predicted that videos for each IT-MAIS item could accurately depict the assessments targeted auditory behaviors if both rater groups found the same videos to be most representative of each IT-MAIS item. In Study 1 we generated 6 video scenarios and had 10 pediatric audiologists rate the video scenarios for each IT-MAIS item using a 7-point Likert scale. Results from Study 1 showed that pediatric audiologists found two scenarios for each IT-MAIS item that differed only by their point of view. Then the results from Study 1 and were filmed the 2 top-rated video scenarios for each IT-MAIS item. In Study 2, 5 different pediatric audiologists determined whether each video accurately depicted its corresponding IT-MAIS item. In Study 3, 20 caregivers rated how representative each video was of its corresponding IT-MAIS item using a 7-point Likert scale. Results from Studies 2 and 3 showed that the reporting audiologists and caregivers found the same 10 videos to be most representative. Those final videos were found to accurately depict the targeted behavior in each IT-MAIS item, and are the first step in improving the IT-MAIS intra-rater reliability. Our future directions suggested the need for these final 10 videos to be used in the IT-MAIS clinical administration to determine if they allow more predictable caregiver responses. These videos can be found to improve the IT-MAIS intra-rater reliability if caregiver responses become more predictable.

Speech-language pathologists must consider the clients quality of life (QoL) to provide effective and meaningful evidence-based treatment (ASHA, 2005). Quality of life assessment goes beyond language impairments and is often a key part of planning intervention. However, few QoL measures exist for people with aphasia (PWA). The Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39; Hilari, 2003) is one of the few valid and reliable measures used to assess QoL in people with mild to moderate aphasia. However, the validity and reliability of the SAQOL-39 has not been established for individuals with severe aphasia who are unable to read and comprehend the written items (Hilari & Byng, 2001). Proxy reports for people with severe aphasia are not reliable and can contribute to misinterpretation of people with severe aphasia and their QoL (Hilari & Byng, 2009). High-context color photographs may access intact linguistic processes in PWA by bypassing their reading deficits (McKelvey, Hux, Dietz, & Beukelman, 2010). Therefore, visual aids may enhance accessibility of written assessments like the SAQOL-39 for people with severe aphasia. Preliminary content validity has been established for high-context color photographs paired with SAQOL-39 items by normal aging adults (Brouwer, 2013). The present study aimed to continue to establish the content validity of the photographs by investigating how 10 adults with mild to moderate aphasia, aged 30-89 years, rated similarities of photographic representations of SAQOL-39 items, rated on a 7-point Likert scale. The present results supported high content validity of photographic representations. The overall mean rating of items was 6.40 and 92% of the photographs were rated a 6 or 7 at least 60% of the time, indicating most people with mild to moderate aphasia rated photographs highly similar to the written questions they were paired with. This studys results suggest the photographs may make the SAQOL-39 more accessible for people with severe aphasia to self-report on their QoL. Further research is warranted to investigate accessibility of the photographs among the severe aphasia population.

The purpose of this study was to examine Cajun English (CE)-speaking childrens marking of infinitival TO. To do this, CE-speaking childrens marking of infinitival TO was compared to the marking of infinitival TO by Southern White English (SWE)- and African American English (AAE)-speaking children. Marking of infinitival TO also was examined as a function of the childrens clinical status (i.e., Specific Language Impairment, SLI, or typically developing, TD) and by the verb contexts that preceded the infinitival TO forms. <br> <br>The data came from 180 kindergarteners who lived in four rural towns in Assumption Parish, Louisiana. The childrens dialect classifications were based on their school location, which led to 37 children classified speakers of CE, 68 classified as speakers of SWE, and 75 classified as speakers of AAE. The childrens clinical status was based on a review of each childs academic profile and test scores, which led to 54 children classified as SLI and 126 classified as TD. The data were 4,530 infinitival TO contexts that were extracted from play-based, examiner-child, language samples. Within the samples, the childrens infinitival TO contexts were coded as zero marked (e.g., went Ø go) or overtly marked (e.g., went to go), and the preceding verb contexts were classified as GO, COME, WENT, or all OTHER verbs (e.g., want, like, have). <br> <br>Results indicated that the childrens overall marking of infinitival TO did not differ as a function of their dialects. However, the preceding verb context influenced the CE-speaking childrens rates of zero marking in ways that differed from what was found for the SWE- and AAE-speaking children. Also, for each dialect, the childrens overall rates of zero marked infinitival TO were higher for the SLI group than for the TD controls, and this finding was directly tied to differences in the childrens zero marking of infinitival TO when it was preceded by a verb classified as OTHER. Together, these findings show subtle differences in the use of grammar by children who speak different nonmainstream dialects of English while also further documenting the grammatical weaknesses of children with SLI within these dialects.

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Includes bibliographical references / Focus of study and background to the problem: The study focuses on the experiences of children with traumatic brain injury (TBI), their parents and educators of being back at school. TBI is a major health concern in South Africa (SA). Children who sustain a TBI have significant, but often hidden, disorders which affect their learning and social interaction. The South African government endorses a policy of inclusive education (IE); however, the educational environment is stressed and overburdened. Little is known both internationally and in SA about the children's experiences, and the experiences of their parents and educators. Aims: The study has one main aim which is to explore and describe the experience of being back at school of children with TBI, their parents and educators. Methodology: A narrative case study design was used, consisting of two cases of 3 participants each (child with TBI, his parent and educator). Children were aged between 10 and 12 years. Data were collected using multiple open ended interviews. Data analysis was a complex and iterative process across 3 levels. Results: Results are presented across the levels of analysis. Firstly, six individual participant research stories are presented. Secondly, the emergent themes per participant type are given and discussed and finally a multiperspective combined theme is discussed. Conclusion: The experience of being back at school following TBI is a struggle as a policy of IE is expected to be practiced in an unsupported system. The children provided a voice previously lacking in the literature. There was evidence of inclusion being driven from the ground up by parents and educators. Implications of the study for policy makers, rehabilitation and educational professionals are given. A broader view of inclusion is advocated.

The purpose of this pilot descriptive study was to begin the exploration of adolescent mothers' and their children's sociodemographic characteristics and language and literacy skills, the home literacy environment (HLE) provided by adolescent mothers, and the quality of linguistic interactions between adolescent mothers and their children. Eight adolescent mother-child dyads were recruited from local school counties. Data were collected through demographic and HLE questionnaires, various language standardized measures (i.e., Preschool Language Scales, Fifth Edition and Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition), and scored interactions between mother-child dyads using the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO). The participating families' sociodemographic were similar to other adolescent families when compared to in national census. The majority of mothers (n = 7) demonstrated below average language skills according to one standardized assessment and provided HLEs of varying quality across the sample. Most children (n = 7) had language scores that fell within the average range of the standardization sample according to one standardize assessment of global language skills. Adolescent mothers demonstrated strong affectionate behaviors, and emerging responsive, encouraging, and teaching behaviors when interacting with their children according to the PICCOLO. This study provides unique data on adolescent mothers' language characteristics that have not been clearly published in the existing literature. Future research including larger sample sizes, more diverse measures of adolescent mothers' language, literacy, and demographic characteristics, and use of a mixed methods research approach is recommended to inform clinical practice with adolescent family units.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the Speech Motor Learning Approach, a treatment that targets motor planning, in one individual with apraxia of speech and aphasia via remote delivery. A single subject multiple baseline across behaviors research design was used to investigate the generalization of treatment effects to untrained contexts across three stages of treatment. Treatment was given two to three times per week and the duration of treatment was specific to the participant. Stimuli consisted of nonwords and real words with target sounds embedded in them. Target sounds were participant specific. Findings show a small positive impact of SML on accurate articulation for target sounds in untrained nonwords and real words and an overall decrease in error frequency in trained stages in an individual with apraxia of speech and co-occurring aphasia. Thus, results indicate that the SML approach improves speech motor planning and programming abilities for this participant and continued investigation is warranted. The impact of co -occurring aphasia, along with attention difficulties in a telehealth treatment delivery model on learning are also discussed.

The study investigated the impact of fourth grade general education teacher implementation of the Vocabulary Scenario Technique – General Education 16 (VST-GE16) protocol on the vocabulary knowledge gains of students from low socioeconomic status (SES) circumstances. For children living in poverty, vocabulary knowledge deficits begin in toddlerhood and persist throughout their lives. Early deficits in vocabulary knowledge translate to performance gaps in vocabulary knowledge, literacy, and academic success between students from higher and lower SES homes. The development of explicit instructional protocols to be used by general education teachers is critical to the amelioration of these intransigent gaps. The study employed a quasi-experimental design (QED) with a treatment and comparison group. The settings for the study were four Title 1 schools in an urban-suburban district. Sixteen teachers (treatment, n = 10; comparison, n = 6), representing 20 classrooms, were recruited into the study. Treatment group teachers, who attended a three-hour face-to-face seminar and one hour of job-embedded coaching, implemented the VST-GE16 protocol and taught 32 academic vocabulary words to their students across a four week period; the comparison group teachers taught the same 32 words to their students using methods typical to their pedagogical practices (Typical Practice instruction) across a four week period. Three hundred and eighty-five fourth grade students participated in the study (treatment, n = 185; comparison, n = 198). Student vocabulary gains were measured with pretest-posttest multiple-choice synonym and cloze words-in-context instruments; data were analyzed using a split-plot Repeated-Measure ANOVA. Results indicated that VST-GE16 instruction significantly outperformed Typical Practice instruction in promoting vocabulary knowledge gains for synonyms and text comprehension. The current study advanced the effort to scale-up evidence-based practices to relevant educational settings and practitioners for the purpose of improving student outcomes, particularly for those students at-risk for academic failure secondary to socioeconomic disadvantage.