The questions posed in this study were: l) Is there a significant difference in the prevalence of behavioral problems between speech and/or language impaired children and normal children as reported by parents and teachers? and 2) Is there a significant difference in the types of behavioral problems between speech and/or language impaired children and normal children, as reported by parents and teachers?

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if performance on a language comprehension task, varying in number of syntactical units (i.e., grammatical complexity) was affected by altered rates of speech. A total of twenty-four language disordered children, aged 7 years, 8 months, through 9 years, 8 months, who were enrolled in language/learning disorders classrooms in the Portland Public Schools served as subjects. The Assessment of Children’s Language Comprehension (Foster et al., 1972) test was administered to each subject via audio-tape at one expanded (100 wpm), one normal (150 wpm), and two compressed rates (200, 250 wpm) of speech. The results of this investigation showed significant differences between performances at varying rates of speech. The normal speaking rate produced significantly better comprehension scores than the other rates. The fast speaking rate (200 wpm) produced the next best scores, while the slow speaking rate (100 wpm) produced significantly lower scores. The results also indicated a normal speaking rate appears to be the best overall rate to use among language disordered subjects, regardless of grammatical complexity.

The purpose of this study was to determine if single-word elicitation procedures used in the assessment of phonological processes would have highly similar results to those obtained through connected speech. Connected speech sampling provides a medium for natural production with coarticulatory influence, but can be time-consuming and impractical for clinicians maintaining heavy caseloads or working with highly unintelligible children. Elicitation through single words requires less time than a connected-speech sample and may be more effective with highly unintelligible children because the context is known, but it lacks the influence of surrounding words. Given the inherent differences between these two methods of elicitation, knowledge of the relative effectiveness of single-word and connected-speech sampling may become an issue for clinicians operating under severe time constraints and requiring an efficient and effective means of assessing phonological processes.

Highly unintelligible children may mistakenly be assumed to have difficulty only with the misarticulation of consonants. Expressive language concerns may be ignored while the primary focus of intervention becomes the correction of misarticulated speech. Questions have arisen regarding the possibility of both speech and expressive language difficulties contributing to unintelligibility. Shriberg and Kwiatkowski (1982) developed an ordinal means of rating severity of involvement. One of the constructs of the severity scale was intelligibility. The metric percentage consonants correct (PCC) was developed to identify severity of involvement of disorders of phonology.

Research into the eventual suppression of phonological processes among children has centered on the influence of phonetic context and semantic-syntactic factors. Researchers have described various factors that would account for the variability found in normal and speech-delayed children's use of phonological processes. Researchers have found associations between phonological process use and language form and content, although there is a paucity of information pertaining the effect of language use on phonological performances. This study examined the phonological process use within two pragmatic functions-assertiveand responsive utterances-used by 15 normally developing and 15 speech-delayed 3-year-olds. These groups were matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, all passed a hearing screening at 25 dB and scored at least 85 on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development or the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. A 10-minute parent/child speech sample of each 3-year-old was orthographically and phonetically transcribed. Each first occurrence utterance was coded as either assertive or responsive, depending on the particular. pragmatic function it served. Percentage of phonological process use was determined for both groups within each pragmatic category, after analysis in the Pepper Program. Data were analyzed for significant differences between the two groups in the percentage of phonological processes used within the assertive and responsive categories. Results indicated that the speech-delayed group used more processes in both categories, although pragmatic function of the utterances did not have a significant effect on percentage of phonological processes used by either group. It was noted that children in the speech-delayed group were only mildly delayed, thus making them fairly intelligible to their listeners. Both groups were more assertive than responsive and used longer utterances during assertive speech acts; however, neither factor appeared to have any bearing on their phonological performances. It was concluded that the two groups appeared to show no significant difference in their phonological performances when comparing one pragmatic category to the other. Results indicated that the assertive speech acts examined held no motivation factors that influence the phonological performance of normal or mildly speech-delayed 3-year-old when compared to responsive speech acts.

Many children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders also present with speech and language disorders (Baker & Cantwell, 1982; Prizant et al., 1990). Children with attention deficits, in particular, have shown a much higher incidence of speech and language disorders than does the general population (Camarata et al., 1988; Cantwell & Baker, 1987) . Traditionally, school speech-language pathologists have been responsible for conducting mass screenings to determine which children should be further evaluated for speech and language disorders. An increasing number of school districts are relying on teacher referrals to determine which children require speech-language evaluations. It was hypothesized that if teachers were able to identify children with attention deficits, these children may be appropriate for referral to speech-language pathologists for speech and language evaluation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the School Situations Questionnaire-Revised {SSQ-R) {Barkley, 1991) in identifying children in the second grade, aged 7:0 to 8:11, who are speech and/or language disordered. This study sought to answer the following primary question: is there an association between the diagnosis of speech and/or language disorders {SLD), and detection by the SSQ-R as at risk for attention and behavior disorders {ABD)? The sample population consisted of 91 students from six second-grade classrooms who met the selection criteria. The SSQ-R, a rating scale designed for teachers to rate behavior related to attention and concentration, was used by classroom teachers to evaluate the subjects to determine if they were at risk for attention and behavior disorders. These results were tabulated along with the number of children diagnosed with speech and/or language disorders in this population. Chi Square analysis showed no significant association for the two measures. It was found that of the 11 SLO subjects, 3 of them, or 27%, were also ABO. Only 3 of the 17 ABO subjects (18%) were also SLO. The 18% of SLO subjects in the ABO population and the 27% of ABO subjects in the SLO group represent a higher percentage of ABD and SLO than is expected in the general population. The higher than average incidence of SLO in the ABO population warrants an awareness of this relationship and the realization that this will impact service delivery. The results of this study indicate that the SSQ-R is not an appropriate measure for teachers to use in determining which children in their classroom would benefit from an assessment for speech and/or language disorders. The high number (82%) of children identified by the SSQ-R as ABD who were not SLD would identify many children who did not require speech and language evaluation. Conversely, the high number (73%) of children not identified as ABD who were SLD by the SSQ-R would neglect many children who require speech/language intervention. The results of this study are not to discount previous research that has suggested an association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and speech and language disorders. It is likely that an association exists, but the present study was not able to demonstrate a significant correlation.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 243-263). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-70).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-178). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Auditory impairment in patients with craniofacial clefts has been well studied for decades. However, most previous research has only focused on middle ear disorders and related auditory consequences in this group. Studies of higher level auditory status and central auditory processing abilities of this group—particularly in children—have been unsystematic and have significant limitations, while the potentially negative impact of central auditory impairment on children should not be ignored. One important area which needs further research is the status of the central auditory nervous system (CANS) in children with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCLP). In order to objectively investigate possible central auditory impairment in children with NSCLP, the present research programme was initiated. Firstly, two major studies aimed to provide anatomical structural analysis and functional evaluation of the auditory structures of CANS in a group of infants with NSCLP, and compare the results to those of normal controls (Studies 1 and 2). Secondly, a pilot study (Study 3) was conducted to provide preliminary data and suggest methodology to support a major, future research programme to comprehensively investigate central auditory processing abilities in children with NSCLP. A multi-disciplinary approach that included brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) scanning, auditory evoked potentials (AEP) recording, and a central behavioural auditory test battery assessment protocol, was applied in the present research programme. Based on the results of the studies and data analysis, it was concluded that: (1) Structural abnormalities of CANS in infants with NSCLP may be primarily located in the left cerebral hemisphere and cortical abnormalities were more marked compared with those in other subcortical locations. The development and maturation of the auditory cortex in infants with NSCLP may be abnormal, compared with that in normal children; (2) Infants with NSCLP might have normal auditory sensory function at brain stem and subcortical levels, yet this group may have significant impaired auditory discriminatory function at cortical level; (3) Children with NSCLP may show normal auditory processing abilities in a quiet listening environment. However, they may be more vulnerable to background noise and have impaired auditory processing abilities in areas such as monaural low redundancy and temporal resolution ability. In summary, combining the results of MRI, AEP and behavioural measurements in the present research programme, it is suggested that children with NSCLP are at potential risk of both structural abnormalities and functional disorders of the CANS, particularly at auditory cortical level. In addition, this group might also be at risk of auditory processing impairments to some degree, particularly in noisy environments. The present research programme has made a contribution to our understanding of the central auditory status of children with NSCLP, which was not systematically investigated in previous studies, and provided information on which to base further research. The research findings should draw the attention of researchers and clinicians to improving auditory assessment and intervention for patients with craniofacial cleft disorders. Further efforts in this field in the long-term may help to develop a more sophisticated audiological evaluation and intervention approach for this population. / published_or_final_version / Speech and Hearing Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy