Recent shifts in the philosophy of aphasia rehabilitation have engendered research interests in the broad and long-term consequences of the condition. In response, this study aimed to describe and compare acute and long-term consequences of aphasia. Indepth interviews were conducted with fifteen adults at different stages of recovery poststroke. Topics probed included communication, family relationships, friendships, daily activities, independence, emotional status and self-image. Data was analysed thematically and meaningful units were coded and classified according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICIDH-2). Results revealed common themes across the broad psychosocial consequences for individuals with aphasia and a concerning lack of public awareness of the aphasic condition. Further, a pattern of declining participation across the continuum of recovery was apparent. Drawing on the data obtained, the importance of long-term service delivery that focuses on the psychosocial adjustment of the individual with aphasia and their environment is highlighted.

Inlcudes bibliographical references / Teachers form an important part of the multidisciplinary team as one of main communication intervention partners for children who stutter (CWS). Teachers' attitudes towards stuttering are therefore important as attitudes are likely to influence behaviour. Through determining their attitudes as well as examining the factors influencing their attitudes, speech - language therapists will be able to develop and implement professional development programmes specifically tailored for teachers, if needed. The primary aim of the study is to describe primary school teachers' attitudes toward stuttering related to their beliefs, reactions and classroom management strategies. Furthermore, it compares South African teachers' attitudes to the Public Opinion of Human Attributes – Stuttering (POSHA-S) database archive. As a secondary aim, the study explores the association between selected demographic factors and participants' attitudes toward stuttering. A quantitative, cross - sectional survey design was used. The POSHA-S was administered to a cluster randomised sample of 469 participant s in two education districts in the Western Cape. The results indicated an overall positive attitude toward stuttering. The attitudes of the South African sample were slightly more positive compared with the samples in current POSHA-S database. Analysis of the selected demographic factors revealed significant results for the teaching – related factors: quintile and years of teaching experience, and for personal factors: gender, first language, familiarity and age. The implications of these data for planning professional development programmes specifically tailored for the South African context are discussed.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical resources. / Feeding and/or swallowing difficulties (FSD) have been associated with some of the leading causes of infant and child mortality in South Africa. Preventable conditions such as lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and under-nutrition may be caused by FSD. FSD are frequently reported in paediatric populations and may occur with various medical co-morbidities. The nature of FSD is however under described and information specific to developing countries is scarce. Furthermore, limited information regarding the service delivery requirements of the paediatric population with FSD is available. To describe in a paediatric population: the nature and frequency of FSD, the nature of FSD in different medical conditions or participant characteristics, and the nature of the services and interventions received by infants and children with FSD. A descriptive, retrospective survey design was used to examine the medical records of 446 infantsand children aged less than 13 years who accessed services for FSD at a paediatric tertiary hospital from January 2007 to December 2009. Seventy percent of participants were under the age of 2 years at the time of first assessment. The nature of participants’ FSD, the medical conditions present, and services/interventions received were recorded. The data were described and associations were analysed statistically. Infants and children with FSD often presented with various medical co-morbidities affecting multiple organ systems with neurologic and gastro-intestinal tract conditions occurring most frequently. A third (34%) of the participants had confirmed aspiration on instrumental assessment. Participants with confirmed aspiration presented with statistically significantly more aspiration pneumonia (x2 = 26.4314, p <; .001) and unspecified LRTI (x2 = 21.2757, p <; .001) than those without aspiration. Participants required a range of services for FSD from Speech-Language Therapists (SLT) as well as medical intervention, and surgical procedures. Most participants (91%) received intervention for FSD for an average of 6 months with a mean of 6 SLT consultations. Forty-three percent of participants completed intervention while 20% continued to receive intervention. The present study profiled paediatric FSD in the Western Cape, South Africa. Infants and children with FSD presented with varied and multiple underlying medical conditions. The safety of swallowing was often (34%) compromised in this population which may have affected respiratory health negatively. Infants and children with FSD frequently presented with LRTI and growth faltering/under-nutrition, two of the leading causes of death in children under the age of 5 years. There is a need for dysphagia services at primary and district levels of health care in the Western Cape to detect and prevent paediatric FSD. While the management of FSD requires the collaboration of many health care professionals, the inclusion of SLTs and dieticians into primary and district level teams may assist with the identification of FSD for early intervention and may prevent FSD-related LRTI and undernutrition in infants and children with FSD

Purpose: The purpose of this document is threefold: (a) review the uses of the terms “vocal fatigue,” “vocal effort,” “vocal load,” and “vocal loading” (as found in the literature) in order to track the occurrence and the related evolution of research; (b) present a “linguistically modeled” definition of the same from the review of literature on the terms; and (c) propose conceptualized definitions of the concepts. Method: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scientific Electronic Library Online. Four terms (“vocal fatigue,” “vocal effort,” “vocal load,” and “vocal loading”), as well as possible variants, were included in the search, and their usages were compiled into conceptual definitions. Finally, a focus group of eight experts in the field (current authors) worked together to make conceptual connections and proposed consensus definitions. Results: The occurrence and frequency of “vocal load,” “vocal loading,” “vocal effort,” and “vocal fatigue” in the literature are presented, and summary definitions are developed. The results indicate that these terms appear to be often interchanged with blurred distinctions. Therefore, the focus group proposes the use of two new terms, “vocal demand” and “vocal demand response,” in place of the terms “vocal load” and “vocal loading.” We also propose standardized definitions for all four concepts. Conclusion: Through a comprehensive literature search, the terms “vocal fatigue,” “vocal effort,” “vocal load,” and “vocal loading” were explored, new terms were proposed, and standardized definitions were presented. Future work should refine these proposed definitions as research continues to address vocal health concerns.

Graduate Student Scholarship and Student Research Grant recipients, along with National Student Speech Language Hearing Association representatives, enjoy the 2019 ASHFoundation Founders Breakfast in Orlando.

No description available.

This study aims to describe the communication environment in Grade R classes in a rural district setting in the Western Cape in terms of language-learning environment; language-learning opportunities and language-learning interactions in order to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. In addition to this, the study aims to explore the relationship between communication environments and school performance in a rural district in the Western Cape as well teacher and classroom variables. In order to do this, an observational tool, the Communication Supporting Classrooms Observational Tool, was used which allowed researchers to document what was happening in the classroom over the prescribed observation period (Dockrell, Bakopoulou, Law, & Spencer, 2010). Before this, the pilot phase of the study allowed researchers to train assistants to use the tool using video recordings as well as to ascertain the tool's applicability to South African classrooms with different languages of learning and teaching. A sample size of 60 classrooms was used in the main phase, consisting of 30 lower performing schools and 30 higher performing schools. The study included all regular learners and regular classroom teachers in the chosen Grade R classrooms in a rural/remote district. Overall, the outcomes of the pilot study were two-fold: (1) The researchers determined that the tool could be used reliably in classrooms where Afrikaans and isiXhosa were the language of instruction due to high inter-rater reliability measured by ICC; and (2) With sufficient training and practical examples, raters can be trained to use the tool effectively. In addition to these outcomes, the results of the pilot study allowed researchers to make useful choices for the main study. The study indicated that the tool was applicable in classrooms where Afrikaans and isiXhosa were the medium of instruction which allowed researchers to include these classrooms in the sample for the main study.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / The purpose of this study will be to compare the language and non-language abilities of speech detectives and normal speakers on tbe California Mental Maturity Teat and the Iowa Basic Skills Test.

Central auditory processing performance of male and female stutterers and nonstutterers was compared on a battery of central auditory tests. Thirty stutterers (15 male and 15 female) with a mean age of 23.10 years (17.2-31 years) comprised the experimental group, and 30 nonstutterers (15 male and 15 female) with a mean age of 22.2 years(17-32 years) comprised the control group. The test battery included dichotic (DCV test, ssw test, eST) and monotic (SSI-ICM test, ARLT) tests. Stutterers performed significantly poorer than nonstutterers on various parameters of individual tests. The stutterers' performance on the test battery was varied : 8(26.6%) stutterers passed all tests in the battery; 7(23.3%) failed dichotic tests only; 15(50%) failed dichotic and monotic tests of which 2(6.6%) failed monotic tests. Pass/fail rates indicated that although 15 (50%) nonstutterers failed the battery 22(73.2%) stutterers failed. This result confirmed that stutterers performed significantly differently from nonstutterers on the test battery( X?= 19.87 , df=l; p<0.05). Male/famale comparisons for nonstutterers indicated no significant differences (p>0.05) on individual tests except on the ARLT where males obtained longer latencies than females. Pass /fail rates on the test battery confirmed no statistically significant (X~= 0.133 , df=l; p> 0.05) performance differences between male and female nonstutterers. For stutterers, although male performance was poorer than female performance on various parameters of individual tests ,the performance differences were not significant (p>0.05). However, pass/fail performance on the test battery indicated that significantly more males (13) than females (9) failed the test battery ( X2 = 8.66 df=l, p<0.05). The results are discussed in terms of the literature and theoretical and clinical implications are presented and discussed. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1992.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if patient characteristics or clinical variables could predict who benefits from individual auditory training. Method: A retrospective series of analyses were performed using a data set from a large, multisite, randomized controlled clinical trial that compared the treatment effects of at-home auditory training programs in bilateral hearing aid users. The treatment arms were (a) use of the 20-day computerized Listening and Communication Enhancement program, (b) use of the 10-day digital versatile disc Listening and Communication Enhancement program, (c) use of a placebo “books-on-tape” training, and (d) educational counseling (active control). Multiple linear regression models using data from 263 participants were conducted to determine if patient and clinical variables predicted short-term improvement on word-recognition-in-noise abilities, self-reported hearing handicap, and self-reported hearing problems. Results: Baseline performance significantly predicted performance on each variable, explaining 11%–17% of the variance in improvement. The treatment arm failed to emerge as a significant predictor with other clinical variables explaining less than 9% of the variance. Conclusion: These results suggest that hearing aid users who have poorer aided word-recognition-in-noise scores and greater residual activity limitations and participation restrictions will show the largest improvement in these areas.