The purpose of this study was to document the auxiliary and copula BE system of African American (AA) children with Gullah/Geechee (GG) heritage and to compare the findings to those from African American English (AAE)-speaking children without this heritage and to what has been documented in previous studies of Gullah and AAE. The data came from 38 children, aged five to six years. Nineteen were from rural South Carolina and classified as GG, and 19 were from rural Louisiana and classified as AAE. All were developing language typically, and the groups were matched on a number of socio-demographic variables and language test scores. The childrens 4,114 productions of BE were elicited using a standardized language screener, probes, and language samples. The GG group produced some patterns of BE that aligned with previous studies of Gullah. These included 81 BEEN and four də forms and variable marking of AM (69%) and WAS/WERE (63% - 88%). Similar to adult AAE, the AAE group did not produce BEEN or də, and they produced categorically high rates of AM and WAS/WERE, with higher rates of overtly marked AM than IS. The GG group also produced patterns of BE that were consistent with both Gullah and AAE. These included variable marking of IS and ARE, with IS > ARE, and significant effects for contractibility (contractible > uncontractible), grammatical function (copula > auxiliary) and preceding contexts (it/that/what > noun > pronoun), although the statistical significance of these effects varied by the type of analysis completed. The AAE group also produced these patterns. These findings indicate that although language contact has led to evolution and change in Gullah, vestiges of this language variety can still be found in the BE system of modern day AA children with GG heritage.

Background: The Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life-39 (SAQOL-39) is a valid and reliable measure of quality of life (QOL) for stroke survivors and people with mild-to-moderate aphasia However, it could not be validated for people with severe aphasia due to their language deficits. Research has shown that combining pictures with written text can support communication effectiveness of people with aphasia. Combining language modalities in this way is a form of alternative or augmentative communication (AAC). The use of AAC has been explored as a possibility to improve communication for people with severe aphasia (Dietz, McKelvey & Beukelman, 2006). Aim: This study sought to examine whether photographic representations of the SAQOL-39 would improve self-reported ratings when completed by people with moderate to severe aphasia. Methods: This study was a prospective, within group design. Four adults with moderate to severe aphasia self-reported their QOL rating through the SAQOL-39. All participants completed the SAQOL-39 in two conditions: written text only, and written-text paired with photographic representations. A 5-point rating scale, derived from the SAQOL-39, was displayed onscreen for participant rating of the degree to which they believed specific aspects of QOL had been impacted by their aphasia. Levels of instruction required to elicit a response were recorded for every item to conclude whether the photographs reduced the amount of researcher cueing required for each item. The mean response time for each item was also recorded. Results: The method of data analysis was changed secondary to recruitment of only four participants. Results of the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test (a = .05) showed that the text plus photograph condition compared to the text only condition did not result in QOL rating changes [(Mdn = 0), Z = -.66, p = .551]. Likewise, the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test (a = .05) showed that the text plus photograph condition compared to the text only condition did not result in faster rating response time [(Mdn = 0), Z = -.94, p = .348]. Descriptively, comparison of changes in level of instruction between the two conditions showed no differences either. Discussion: Further research is encouraged to discover an approach for allowing people with severe receptive aphasia to self-report on their QOL. Replication of this study with a larger sample size is essential to further investigate the effect of using photographic representations of the SAQOL-39 to improve ratings with people with severe receptive aphasia.

This study investigated the acoustic correlates of contrastive stress produced by individuals with Parkinsons disease (PD) to learn more about their ability to modulate acoustic cues to mark contrastive stress. Speech materials from 10 individuals with PD and 10 gender- and age-matched neurologically healthy controls (HC) were recorded and analyzed. The four acoustic measures (peak intensity, peak F0, vowel duration, and acoustic vowel space area) of stressed and unstressed syllables were compared to determine which acoustic parameters are preferentially employed by each group to mark contrastive stress. The results indicated that individuals with PD exhibited significant changes in vowel duration and intensity of stressed/unstressed words to mark contrastive stress in similar ways to their HC counterparts. Unlike the HC group, individuals with PD did not demonstrate an expanded vowel space area (VSA) or employed changes in F0 to mark contrastive stress. Findings on which abilities are better preserved in the PD population for the purposes of marking contrastive stress add to our knowledge of prosodic deficits in this dysarthric population and can aid in the planning and executing of intervention services.

ABSTRACT Objective The present study aimed to determine if a treatment effect is present on speech outcomes in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) given 5 sessions of a manual therapy treatment protocol. Methods A single-subject experimental design (ABAB) study was devised to establish the treatment efficacy of a manual therapy protocol on speech outcomes in children with spastic CP. The protocol was administered to 5 participants, 4-6 years old. It included five intercostal stretches administered in 15-minute sessions for five sessions. During the withdrawal phase, a sham treatment was administered that included an equal dosage of treatment. Measurements of sound pressure level (SPL) and Maximum Phonation Duration (MPD) of /a/ served as the primary outcomes. Secondary outcome measures included speech intelligibility, syllables per breath unit (SBU), and chest structure measurements. Results Trend, level, variability, effect sizes, % of Non-Overlapping Data, and immediacy of effect were combined to support or refute each effect. 15 of 15 demonstrations of effect for SPL, and 9 of 15 demonstrations of effect for MPD were located. This data demonstrate a positive effect on SPL and minimal support for an effect on MPD. Secondary outcome measures of SBU and chest mobility showed a positive treatment effect, while speech intelligibility and abdominal protrusion did not. Conclusions This is the first known study to demonstrate a treatment effect in SPL and SBU using a manual therapy protocol, which provide evidence of a likely treatment effect in speech outcomes in children with spastic CP.

Reading instruction has historically been deemphasized for students in special education, and the limited research on this topic reveals that sight word vocabulary is most commonly taught in special education classrooms (Browder, Wakeman, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Algozzine, 2006). However, successful reading instruction must target the five essential components: vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, phonics, and phonemic awareness (National Reading Panel, 2000). The extremely small body of research attempting to teach phonics and phonemic awareness to students with mild to severe disabilities approaches instruction from a decoding framework with mixed success (Browder et al., 2006). Alternatively, this study aims to teach from an encoding framework. Encoding is the process of converting speech sounds to print by applying the alphabetic code (Herron, 2008). Students are actively engaged in the process relying on their current level of knowledge to construct words. Any attempt is viewed as a success that can be gradually improved by feedback and increased phonological and phonemic awareness. This study investigated whether encoding practice embedded in a narrative context would improve participants developmental spelling patterns across intervention sessions, and whether scores on measures of phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, print knowledge, language abilities, and spelling would improve following the 18 intervention sessions. Prior to any intervention, participants completed multiple baseline probes attempting to spell three lists of target words that were randomly selected from the words that would be targeted during intervention. Immediately before intervention sessions, participants attempted to spell five target words independently. During intervention sessions, the same five words were practiced in a narrative context with scaffolding and feedback (i.e., examiner and Phonic Faces). Participants again attempted to spell the same five target words independently immediately following the intervention session. On average, participants spelling attempts improved following intervention sessions. One participant made expected positive changes in encoding abilities from baseline to intervention, while the other participants made inconsistent progress. From pretest to posttest, participants made clinically significant gains on standardized measures of phonological awareness, vocabulary, and language measures. Findings of the study suggest that students with developmental disabilities have the potential to learn early reading skills when given direct instruction and practice.

No description available.

No description available.

The research described in this thesis attempts to rationalise aspects of secondary care for premenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding, in particular investigation and assessment of a new method of endometrial ablation. The work was performed in a gynaecology unit with an established research record in endometrial ablative methods. The hospital is the main referral centre for women with menstrual disorders, enabling a centralised and stable population to be available. Chapter 1 outlines the past and present methods for the investigation and surgical treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding. Epidemiological factors for abnormal menstrual loss are discussed, as well as aetiology and the development of clinical evaluation. The equipment requirements for both transcervical resection of the endometrium (TCRE) and microwave endometrial ablation (MEA^TM) are described with a review of the literature to date on endometrial ablation. Chapter 2 presents a randomised comparative study of outpatient hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy with endometrial biopsy alone for abnormal uterine bleeding. Outpatient hysteroscopy was successfully performed in almost 85% of women randomised to this procedure compared to 92% successfully receiving an endometrial biopsy alone. Hysteroscopy was found to be acceptable and viewed as a reassuring investigation. However, there was no difference in clinical outcomes between the two groups. Chapter 3 describes the subjects and methods used in a prospective randomised trial comparing MEA^TM with TCRE. Operative details and outcomes at one year are presented. MEA^TM was found to be a significantly faster endometrial ablative method than TCRE. The postoperative stay was less with MEA^TM, though not significantly and analgesic requirements were low in both groups. Satisfaction and acceptability rates with treatment were equivalent.

Idiopathic endogenous posterior uveitis encompasses a spectrum of chronic intraocular inflammatory disorders which are thought to be autoimmune in nature. The animal model experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) is mediated by CD4+ T-lymphocytes, and has proved invaluable in the study of the underlying immunopathogenesis of uveitis and alternative immunosuppressive therapies, for example, oral tolerance induction. This thesis describes, in a model of retinal-extract induced EAU, the effects of intranasal administration of retinal antigens prior to induction of EAU with retinal extract. The thesis has demonstrated that immunisation with emulsified retinal extract and CFA (without pertussis) induces a dose-dependent intraocular inflammation, which at high doses leads ultimately to total loss of rod photoreceptor outer segments and retinal necrosis. A course of intranasal inoculations with retinal extract (tolerance induction), prior to immunisation with antigen suppresses the histological and clinical response of EAU. Animals which were tolerised with microgram quantities of antigen showed evidence of mild inflammation of the ciliary body and inner retinal vessels (vasculitis) but no evidence of direct photoreceptor damage when compared to controls. Intranasal inoculation with retinal extract suppressed S-Ag-induced EAU but not vice versa, despite the ability of S-Ag intranasal inoculations to suppress S-Ag induced disease. Tolerised animals demonstrated normal antibody responses to S-Ag, IRBP and retinal extract, and exhibited a significantly suppressed delayed hypersensitivity response to retinal extract but normal response to a non-specific antigen, PPD. Adoptive transfer of splenocytes from tolerised animals suppressed the induction of EAU in some naive recipients. These findings suggest that active suppressor mechanisms are involved in the induction of tolerance, which concurs with other findings of CD8+ T-lymphocyte mediated suppression in oral tolerance models. In order to study the future application of 'tolerance therapy', we attempted to suppress sensitised animals by intranasal tolerance which resulted in an incomplete suppression of EAU.

One approach to the clinical problem of defining the neural substrates of human depressive disorders is to model discrete aspects of affective psychopathology in animals. Two major methodological problems have hindered the development of valid animals models of depression. First, individual responses to the manipulations commonly used to model depression are highly variable. Second, reliable and valid measures of hedonic state remain elusive. This thesis describes experimental work which addresses these methodological concerns. Selective breeding based on individual responses to cholinergic challenge has resulted in a putative genetic model of depression, the <I>Flinders Sensitive Line hypercholinergic rat</I> (FSL). An examination of the affective status of the FSL described in this thesis confirms that selective breeding can generate interesting behavioural and neurochemical phenomena, but does not support the FSL's validity as a model of anhedonia. Problems of measurement of hedonic responsivity are considered both in the description of a novel dependent measure derived from an operant food reward paradigm; and also in an evaluation of the reliability and validity of standard measurement techniques employed with the '<I>chronic unpredictable mild stress model</I>' (CMS) of anhedonia. Initial validating studies suggest that the food reward paradigm may represent a useful method for assessment of affective state. Manipulation of environmental stimuli to induce CMS led to a partial replication of the target behavioural phenomena. However, the effects were not independent of metabolic consequences that seriously confound the interpretation of experiments employing this procedure. It is concluded that future advances in the development of valid models of depression will require a shift of emphasis towards combined manipulations of genetic predisposition and of specific critical environmental stimuli.