Studies that expressly define the roles of related service providers in inclusive schools are limited. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of related service providers, specifically occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech and language pathologists, who practice in an inclusive education setting. An objective was to examine their attitudes and beliefs toward inclusion. This study used role theory as the theoretical framework. Tenets of role theory were used to explain how related service providers have come to understand their roles and responsibilities in the inclusion setting. Purposeful and snowball sampling yielded 10 participants who participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using a multistep, phenomenological analysis method. The participants' descriptions of their involvement in inclusion revealed 7 themes: Expert/consultant, evaluator, direct service provider, mainstreaming, methods of collaboration, member of a multidisciplinary team, and documentation. Findings suggest a strong correlation between the perceived roles of the participants and the generic roles reported in the literature. Three themes emerged from their descriptions of their attitudes toward inclusion: general definition of inclusion, social/behavioral effects on inclusion, and barriers to inclusive education. The participants' views on the behavioral and social impact of inclusive education were mixed. Findings inform stakeholders about the day to day experiences of related service providers in an inclusion setting. This study represents a steppingstone toward increasing awareness of school-based professionals' contributions to the educational experience of special education students.

No description available.

<p> Listener vs. speaker-oriented speech: Studying the language of individuals with autism There are many mechanisms speakers utilize in conversation that aid a listener's understanding. However, there are also many characteristics of speech where it is unclear whether they serve listener or speaker-oriented functions. For example, speakers frequently produce disfluencies such as "um or "uh," which are helpful to listeners, indicating that the speaker is not finished speaking yet. We do not know, however, if these are used intentionally to aid listeners. In addition, the tendency to place animate items as sentential subjects may benefit either speaker or listener. Since individuals with autism engage in minimal listener-oriented behaviour, they are a useful group to differentiate these functions. Results showed that individuals with autism used fewer ums and uhs, and more silent pauses than controls, but used animacy similarly. This suggests that the use of ums and uhs is for the benefit of listeners, but the bias toward animate subjects is not.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Among Swedish speech and language pathologists there is a need for extended knowledge of existing treatment methods for aphasia. Currently, there is an ongoing process to develop clinical guidelines for aphasia rehabilitation. Therefore, a knowledge base is needed, including a description of existing treatment methods, their theoretical foundation and evidence base. The aim of the present study was to compose an evidence-based summation of treatment methods for auditory comprehension disorder in people with aphasia. A systematic literature search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Speechbite. Additionally, several studies were found by manual searches. Twenty-three articles were chosen and assessed. A total of 13 different treatment methods were described. Most of the included studies had a poor quality and few participants. The majority of the treatment methods were found to have an insufficient evidence base, with the exception of CIAT and Hand-action observation treatment. They were found to have moderate and limited evidence. Most of the included studies have shown a significant improvement of auditory comprehension following speech and language therapy. Although, for speech and language pathologists to be able to choose a specific treatment method based on evidence, larger studies with higher quality will be needed. / Bland svenska logopeder finns behov av utökad kunskap om vilka specifika metoder som finns för behandling av afasi. För närvarande pågår ett arbete med att ta fram kliniska riktlinjer för afasi. Syftet med studien var att ta fram ett evidensbaserat kunskapsunderlag med en beskrivning av olika metoder för behandling av hörförståelse hos personer med afasi. Resultatet av den aktuella studien ämnas användas till arbetet med de kliniska riktlinjerna. En systematisk litteratursökning genomfördes i databaserna PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, CINAHL samt Speechbite. Utöver detta handsöktes ytterligare artiklar. Sammanlagt 23 artiklar kvalitetsgranskades och evidensstyrkan för varje metod bedömdes enligt SBU:s beskrivning av GRADE-systemet. I kunskapsunderlaget presenteras sammanlagt 13 olika behandlingsmetoder för behandling av hörförståelse. De flesta av de ingående studierna hade en bristande studiekvalitet med lågt antal deltagare. Majoriteten av behandlingsmetoderna bedömdes ha otillräcklig evidens, med undantag för CIAT och Hand-action observation treatment som bedömdes ha måttlig respektive begränsad evidens. De ingående studierna har övervägande visat att logopedisk behandling ger ett signifikant förbättrat resultat på hörförståelse. Större behandlingsstudier med bättre kvalitet behövs dock för att kliniska logopeder ska kunna välja en behandlingsmetod framför en annan på en evidensbaserad grund.

Thesis (M Speech Path)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Narrative skills have found to be a predictor of academic success with clear correlations to later reading and writing abilities in children. The quality of narratives and the language disorders displayed in specific clinical populations has also been correlated, making narratives a useful diagnostic tool. To be able to know what is atypical, one has to know what is normal. Normative based assessment materials are very limited in South Africa. Commercially available assessments are often inappropriate because of the complex nature of narratives and the influence of socio-economic, linguistic and cultural factors. There is therefore a need not only to develop appropriate assessment materials but also to obtain normative data for use in the South African context. The main research question this study attempted to answer is: What are the patterns of narrative development in normally developing children? A total of 62 typically developing children from schools in a middle class residential area was selected. Three different age groups were identified: Grade R (5 to 6 years), Grade 1 (6 to 7 years) and Grade 3 (8 years 6 months to 9 years 6 months) based on their different exposure to literate language. It was assumed that they would display distinct patterns of narrative development, with an increase in the complexity of narrative features with age. A wordless picture book, regarded as appropriate for the South African context, was developed and used to elicit a narrative from each participant. Narratives were analysed using a comprehensive narrative assessment protocol. Assessment areas included macrostructure, microstructure, use of literate language and the use of abstraction. Results were compared in terms of group differences and developmental trajectories. The assessment protocol showed similar story lengths in all age groups, suggesting that when the developed wordless picture book was used as elicitation stimulus, any significant differences between groups could be of diagnostic value. Results showed clear developmental trajectories in terms of macrostructural measures. The group differences between Grade R and Grade 1 in terms of microstructural measures were not significant. There was, however, a significant increase in terms of syntactic complexity and lexical diversity from Grade R to Grade 3. No significant development was observed in terms of the use of literate language features across the year groups and a group effect was offered as a possible explanation. In contrast to concrete statements, children as young as 5 years old used mainly abstractions in their generated narratives. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Narratiefvaardighede is nie net ‘n voorvereiste vir akademiese sukses nie, maar korreleer ook met lees- en skryfvaardighede in kinders. Weens die korrelasie tussen die kwaliteit van narratiewe en die taal van kinders met spesifieke taalgestremdhede, het narratiewe ook diagnostiese waarde. Om te weet wat atipies is, moet ‘n mens weet wat normaal is. Normatiewe evaluasiemateriaal is baie beperk in Suid-Afrika. Die evaluasies wat kommersieël beskikbaar is, is dikwels ontoepaslik weens die kompleksiteit van narratiewe en die invloed van sosioekonomiese, linguistiese en kulturele faktore. Dit is daarom belangrik om geskikte evaluasie materiaal te ontwikkel en normatiewe data te bepaal vir gebruik in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Met hierdie studie is daar gepoog om die volgende navorsingsvraag te beantwoord: Hoe ontwikkel narratiewe in normaal ontwikkelende kinders? ‘n Totaal van 62 tipies-ontwikkelende kinders is geselekteer uit hoofstroomskole in ‘n middelklas residensiële omgewing. Drie verskillende ouderdomsgroepe is geteiken op grond van hulle blootstelling aan geletterdheidstaal: Graad R (5 – 6 jaar), Graad 1 (6 – 7 jaar) en Graad 3 (8 jaar 6 maande – 9 jaar 6 maande). Daar is aangeneem dat die groepe baie spesifieke patrone in narratiefontwikkeling sou toon, met ‘n toename in die kompleksiteit van narratiewe met toename in ouderdom. ‘n Woordlose prenteboek, wat beskou is as toepaslik binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, is ontwikkel en gebruik om ‘n narratief van elke deelnemer te ontlok. Narratiewe is ontleed met behulp van ‘n omvattende evaluasieprotokol. Areas vir ontleding het makrostruktuur, mikrostruktuur, gebruik van geletterdheidstaal en die gebruik van abstraksie ingesluit. Resultate is vergelyk ten opsigte van groepsverskille en ontwikkelingspatrone. Die storielengte van die verkillende ouderdomsgroepe het ooreengestem en suggereer dat wanneer die woordlose prenteboek as ontlokkingstimulus gebruik word, enige beduidende verskille tussen groepe van diagnostiese waarde is. Die resultate het duidelike ontwikkelingspatrone getoon ten opsigte van makrostrukturele meetings. Groepsverskille tussen Graad R en Graad 1 was onbeduidend ten opsigte van mikrostrukturele metings. Daar was egter ‘n beduidende toename ten opsigte van sintaktiese kompleksiteit en leksikale diversiteit van Graad R tot Graad 3. Geen beduidende ontwikkeling is waargeneem ten opsigte van die gebruik van geletterdheidstaal oor die jaargroepe nie en ‘n groepseffek is as moontlike verduideliking gegee. Kinders so jonk as 5 jaar oud het hoofsaaklik abstrakte taal teenoor konkrete taal in hul narratiewe gebruik. Kliniese implikasies vir spraak- en taalterapeute is bespreek.

Introduction: Differentiating between normal language variation and abnormal language development can be difficult for clinicians working with young children who present with slow language development, so-called “late talkers”. Although the language difficulties of many late talkers resolve spontaneously, there is clearly a group of children whose problems persist, either for a long period or possibly permanently (after the age of five, often referred to as children with specific language impairment: SLI). There is a lack of research examining potential markers of language difficulties in young children which may enable the early detection of children at risk of SLI. The aim of this thesis was to determine the most suitable measure, or combination of measures, that can predict which late talkers at age 3;0 to 4;0 will be likely to have SLI at age 4;0 to 5;0. Methods Forty seven late talkers and 47 children with typical language development (TLD) aged from 3;0 to 4;0 were assessed on a number of language, IQ and marker tasks (baseline assessment). The children were recruited from 13 nurseries and one family centre in Aberdeen city. The children were reassessed one year later on a number of language, IQ and marker tasks (follow-up assessment). Results: Characteristics of the child or family examined were not associated with membership of the expressive language delay group at follow-up. Within the late talker group only, the Preschool Language Scale-3 Expressive Communication (PLS-3 EC) and Recalling Sentences scores at baseline were the best predictors of persistent expressive language delay at follow-up. Late talkers performance on the PLS-3 EC and Recalling Sentences tasks at age 3;0 to 4;0 has potential as predictors of persistent expressive language delay (children likely to have SLI) at age 4;0 to 5;0. Conclusions: A sizeable proportion of children identified as late talkers at age 3;0 to 4;0 have persistent language problems a year later at follow-up. The language measure PLS-3 EC has the potential to differentiate between late talkers who are going to have more persistent problems from those who recover. The marker task Recalling Sentences also has the potential to differentiate between late talkers who are going to have more persistent problems from those who recover. Given the simplicity of Recalling Sentences, this task has the potential to be a useful screening test in clinical practice although this needs to be evaluated in further research.

This thesis is concerned with the experience of aphasia in Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town characterised by poverty, violence, limited resources and a culture and language that differs from the setting of most speech and language services in South Africa. It is based on three years of intermittent fieldwork that entailed participant observation of the everyday life of five adults living with aphasia and interviews with participants, kin and healthcare workers in various settings. Grounded in sociocultural theory, this thesis has aimed to provide an ethnographic account of cultural frameworks of interpretation of communication impairment following stroke and of the daily reality of life for adults living with aphasia in this setting. An exploration of causal notions in this setting provided interesting commentary on social and cultural processes and how people, caught up in these processes, search for meaning and for cure. Participants entertained plural notions of causation of aphasia and explored numerous therapeutic avenues. The wide variation in causal notions included biomedical causes, social and behavioural determinants, and the influences of supernatural powers, such as witches and ancestors. Similarly participants experienced aphasia through multiple healing systems, including traditional, biomedical and religious therapy options. All however seemed to be ambiguous sources of help. Whilst encounters with the health system presented serious challenges to participants, traditional and religious avenues for help were obscured by a burgeoning and not always ethical open market offering miracle cures. An articulation of the circumstances of this group of adults provided further commentary on the influence of the social context on aphasia. In a context where sociopolitical processes have had a disintegrating effect on social cohesion, questions of support, care and security were of primary concern. Prejudices towards the elderly and women were more acutely felt and vulnerability, isolation, insecurity and fluidity of circumstance emerged as overarching themes. The central argument in this thesis is that the genesis of these experiences can be found in contextual factors in Khayelitsha, such as poverty, inequality, urbanisation and changing cultural paradigms. These emerging themes highlight the disjunctions between the medical alignment of the discipline of speech language therapy in South Africa and the capacity for socially-engaged practice. They also highlight the socio-cultural complexity of the experience of aphasia, specifically the influences of culture and poverty. There is thus theoretical and clinical relevance in using anthropological objectives to explore the world of the adult living with aphasia and the interface between context and service provision. Interventions and healthcare communications that will make a meaningful difference to adults with aphasia in a setting such as Khayelitsha are proposed.

Este estudo buscou compreender o contexto cultural que envolve as práticas das mães residentes na comunidade pesqueira de Zimbros em Bombinhas, Santa Catarina e foi construído a partir do diálogo entre Fonoaudiologia, Saúde Pública e as Ciências Sociais. O caminho metodológico contou com contribuições da Etnografia, utilizando-se na pesquisa a observação participante realizada na sala de espera da Unidade de Saúde do bairro. A partir da análise dos textos dos diários de campo, observei a importância de construir-se uma escuta em relação à população e explorar mais o espaço da Unidade de Saúde como um espaço comunicativo para que a população possa ressignificar as suas práticas. As práticas das mães refletem a maneira como a comunidade entende as questões de linguagem. Neste local há um silêncio em relação às questões de linguagem que estão atreladas ao desejo da criança de falar, a espera do tempo certo para falar, sendo mais evidentes para as mães as questões atreladas ao uso de chupeta, à amamentação e/ou alimentação. A função das mães circula entre atender os desejos do filho ou repassar normas de conduta. Portanto, a Fonoaudiologia deve aprofundar as questões relacionadas à linguagem e cultura; construir formas alternativas de abordar a população, buscando situações dialógicas e que possam auxiliar outros profissionais a valorizarem as falas das mães. / This study has sought to understand the cultural context which involves the practice of the mothers living in the fishing community of Zimbros in Bombinhas, Santa Catarina State, and was developed from the dialog among Speech Therapy, Public Health, and Social Sciences. The methodological path featured the contributions from Etnography, by using, in the research, the participant observation carried out in the waiting room of the neighborhood’s Health Department. From the analyses of the field diary texts, I have noticed the importance of developing a hearing related to the population and futher exploring the Health Department space as a communicative space so that the population may give a new meaning to their practices. The mothers’ practices reflect the way in which the community understands the language issues. In this place, there is a silence with reference to the language issues which are linked to the child’s desire to speak, the right waiting period to speak, where the issues which are more evident to the mothers included the use of pacifiers, breastfeeding and/our feeding. The mothers’ roles range from meeting the child’s wishes to passing on behavior rules. Therefore, Speech Therapy must further study the issues related to language and culture, develop alternative ways of approaching the population, seeking dialogical situations that may help other professionals to value the mothers' speeches.

O Distúrbio Específico de Linguagem é uma desordem de comunicação, que tem início na infância e caracteriza-se pelo atraso na aquisição e desenvolvimento da linguagem. O objetivo desta Tese é caracterizar o desempenho gramatical de crianças normais e com Distúrbio Específico de Linguagem a partir de uma amostra de fala espontânea. Participaram desse estudo 70 crianças, com idade entre 3.1 e 6.11 anos, residentes no município de São Paulo. Os participantes foram divididos em dois grupos: GC (grupo controle) composto por 35 crianças com desenvolvimento normal de linguagem e GP (grupo pesquisa) composto por 35 crianças com diagnóstico de Distúrbio Específico de Linguagem. Esta Tese foi dividida em três estudos. Os resultados do Estudo 1 indicaram que os grupos se diferenciaram quanto aos morfemas gramaticais e quanto a extensão média do enunciado em morfemas e em palavras. No Estudo 2, os resultados indicaram que os grupos se diferenciaram em todas as faixas etárias quando analisamos os substantivos. Verificou-se diferença nas demais classes de palavras na faixa etária de 5-6 anos. No Estudo 3 verificamos que os grupos apresentam diferenças significativas quando analisamos a morfologia verbal. Concluímos que os sujeitos do GP apresentaram desempenho muito inferior aos sujeitos do GC, principalmente na faixa etária de 5-6 anos, caracterizando um déficit gramatical importante. / Specific Language Impairment is a communication disorder that begins in early childhood and is characterized by the delay in both language acquisition and development. The aim of this Thesis was to characterize the grammatical performance of children with and without Specific Language Impairment based on a spontaneous speech sample. Seventy children, with ages ranging from 3.1 to 6.11 years and residing in the city of São Paulo, participated in this study. The participants were split into two groups: CG (control group) comprised 35 children with normal language development and RG (research group) comprised 35 children with Specific Language Impairment. This Thesis was divided into three studies. The results of Study 1 showed differences between the two groups regarding grammatical morphemes and mean length of utterance in morphemes and words. In Study 2, the results showed that the groups differed, in all ages, when analyzed by the perspective of the noun. For the remaining word classes, results were different between the groups only at 5-6 years. In Study 3 significant differences between the two groups were observed when the verbal morphology was analyzed. The conclusion is that subjects of the RG had worse performance than subjects of the CG, especially at 5-6 years of age, characterizing an important grammatical deficit for children with Specific Language Impairment.

A American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ASHA define a linguagem como um sistema complexo e dinâmico de símbolos convencionais, utilizados de várias maneiras durante a comunicação. Alterações nas regiões cerebrais responsáveis pela fala e linguagem, podem trazer como consequência a afasia, que é definida como a perda ou debilidade da função de linguagem causada por um prejuízo do cérebro. Indivíduos afásicos podem necessitar de recursos da Comunicação Suplementar e/ou Alternativa para complementar ou substituir a transmissão de uma mensagem, que não pode ser transmitida de maneira eficiente pela comunicação verbal. Segundo von Tetzchner e Jensen, a Comunicação Suplementar e/ou Alternativa envolve o uso de modos não verbais de comunicação, para suplementar ou substituir a linguagem oral, que pode estar ausente ou comprometida. Desta forma, o presente estudo teve o objetivo de descrever o uso da Comunicação Suplementar e/ou Alternativa em dois casos de afasia pós Acidente Vascular Encefálico. Para tanto, foi realizada intervenção fonoaudiológica com dois participantes afásicos, utilizando os recursos da Comunicação Suplementar e/ou Alternativa. A intervenção fonoaudiológica foi dividida em quatro etapas, que abrangeu desde a visualização e confecção das fichas para o álbum de comunicação até a utilização efetiva deste recurso. Em todas as etapas, foi utilizado o sistema pictográfico sistema pictográfico de comunicação, por se tratar de um sistema que possui maior iconicidade. Por meio da reaplicação de testes, foi possível constatar melhora nas capacidades de compreensão oral, escrita, leitura e denominação dos dois participantes. Com este estudo pôde-se concluir que a intervenção fonoaudiológica com o uso da Comunicação Suplementar e/ou Alternativa nos dois casos de afasia pós Acidente Vascular Encefálico, trouxe benefícios para a comunicação funcional dos participantes, sendo que estes recursos tiveram função facilitadora, tornando a comunicação mais eficiente e trazendo benefícios no processo de reabilitação, promovendo evolução das habilidades de leitura e nomeação. / The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association defines language as a complex and dynamic system of conventional symbols, used in various ways during the communication. Changes in brain regions responsible for speech and language, can bring the aphasia, which is defined as the as the loss or impairment of language function caused by brain disease. Aphasic individuals may require supplementary resources of communication and/or alternative to supplement or replace the transmission of a message, which cannot be transmitted through verbal communication. According to von Tetzchner and Jensen, the Augmentative and Alternative Communication implicate the use of alternative modes of nonverbal communication, to supplement or replace the oral language which may absent or impaired. Thus, this study aimed to describe the use of the Augmentative and Alternative Communication in two cases of aphasia after stroke. The speech therapy was divided in four stages that approached since the display of forms of communication for the album until the effective use this resource. In all stages, was used the pictographic system Picture Communication Symbols, because it is a system that has greater iconicity. By reapplication of tests, was possible to show improvement in oral ability, writing, reading and denomination the two participants. To this end, the speech therapy was performed with two aphasic participants, using the Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This study allows conclude that the speech therapy using the Augmentative and Alternative Communication in two case of aphasia after stroke, brought benefits to functional communication the participants, and these resources had a augmentative role making communication more efficient and brought benefits in the rehabilitation process, promoting development of skills in reading e naming.