This study examined the effectiveness of the Otago screening protocol in identifying school-aged children with severe speech and language impairments. In order to do so, the results of the Otago screening protocol were compared with those of comprehensive language assessment as determined by best practice protocol (Gillon & Schwarz, 1998, Kennedy, 2002). Following the completion of the screening and the comprehensive assessments, an evaluation of the true positives and false positives was calculated, and an analysis of the false negative outcomes made. Findings indicated that fourteen of the twenty participants were true positives, three were true negatives, three were false positives, and none were false negatives. The Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value of the screening protocol was 100%. Test Sensitivity and Specificity were very high at 82% and 100%. Inter-rater reliability was very high, generally ranging from 92-100%. Adding a standardised measure of phonological awareness would improve efficiency of the screening protocol. Consideration of alternative screening tools, such as the GAPS test (Gardner et al, 2006) and the CELF-4 screening test (Semel, Secord & Wiig, 2004), should be made. Additional factors which could influence a screening protocol are discussed. The Otago screening protocol is a valid procedure to detect severe speech and language impairments in school-aged students referred to Special Education.

This study examined the effectiveness of the Otago screening protocol in identifying school-aged children with severe speech and language impairments. In order to do so, the results of the Otago screening protocol were compared with those of comprehensive language assessment as determined by best practice protocol (Gillon & Schwarz, 1998, Kennedy, 2002). Following the completion of the screening and the comprehensive assessments, an evaluation of the true positives and false positives was calculated, and an analysis of the false negative outcomes made. Findings indicated that fourteen of the twenty participants were true positives, three were true negatives, three were false positives, and none were false negatives. The Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value of the screening protocol was 100%. Test Sensitivity and Specificity were very high at 82% and 100%. Inter-rater reliability was very high, generally ranging from 92-100%. Adding a standardised measure of phonological awareness would improve efficiency of the screening protocol. Consideration of alternative screening tools, such as the GAPS test (Gardner et al, 2006) and the CELF-4 screening test (Semel, Secord & Wiig, 2004), should be made. Additional factors which could influence a screening protocol are discussed. The Otago screening protocol is a valid procedure to detect severe speech and language impairments in school-aged students referred to Special Education.

Speech-language impairment is one of the most common clinical features in velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS). This report describes the speech and language development of four children with VCFS studied longitudinally from 6 to 30 months of age and compares their performance with three groups of children: (1) normally developing children, (2) children with cleft lip and palate, and (3) children with isolated cleft palate. The data show that young children with VCFS show a receptive-expressive language impairment from the onset of language. Further, speech and expressive language development were severely delayed beyond a level predicted by their other developmental or receptive language performance. The children with VCFS showed severe limitations in speech sound inventories and early vocabulary development that far exceeded those shown by the children with cleft lip and palate and children with isolated cleft palate. This study indicates that young children with VCFS emerge from a critical speech and language learning period with severe limitations in their communicative abilities. Further studies are required to describe the later course of these early speech and language impairments and to explore the relationship to learning disabilities described for older children with VCFS.

Studies of preschool children have shown early speech and language deficits in children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP). For some children, the deficits during kindergarten diminish as they begin school while some children continue to show delays. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between speech and language skills and early reading skills of phonological awareness, letter identification, and rapid naming in children with and without CLP. The subjects, four kindergarten children with and four without CLP, were administered a battery of speech, language, early reading skills, and nonverbal cognition measures. Two-way analysis of variance for groups and matched pairs and correlational analyses were performed. The results revealed that the cleft group performed poorer than the noncleft group on most of the speech, language, and early reading measures. Significant correlations were found between the speech and grammatical language measures and the early reading measures.

The effects of a multimodality treatment were investigated using a single subject experimental design across behaviors in two patients with different severity levels of Broca's aphasia. We hypothesized that Response Elaboration Training and an oral reading task would improve accuracy of sentence production, information content, and mean length of utterance. Results indicated that this treatment approach elicited significant improvement in the accuracy of sentence production and information content in the participant with very mild Broca's aphasia. Furthermore, the participant with severe Broca's aphasia demonstrated a very significant improvement in information content and mean length of utterance. The improvements support the idea that the same treatment may be used for individuals with various levels of ability as long as appropriate aspects of language are monitored for each client.

Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in a Midwest urban public school system have experienced barriers that prohibit the effective use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The result has left some students with speech language impairments (SLI) without the communication skills for meaningful relationships and success in and out of school. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to determine the perceived barriers of 8 local school SLPs regarding the successful implementation of AAC and their suggestions for addressing the problem. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with the SLPs. Data collection and analysis were grounded by Ely's conditions of change theory to better understand what conditions were not being met for implementing AAC. The findings suggested that SLPs and teachers lacked the needed knowledge, experience, and time to properly implement AAC. The participants also indicated the need for more participation and commitment from their colleagues, school leaders, and the students' family members, which would also require additional training and collaborative planning time. The recommendations are that school administrators provide additional training and time for SLPs, their colleagues, and students' family members to learn how to properly help students with SLI use AAC in the classroom. The results of this study could help students with SLI by increasing the use of AAC in the school setting, home, and community. This could increase learning opportunities, student achievement, and relationships for students using AAC.

Det här är en uppsats som undersöker hur man kan underlätta och anpassa för elever med språkstörning i ämnet slöjd. Skolor har börjat uppmärksamma språkstörning mer, men okunskapen är fortfarande stor. I mina undersökningar har jag tittat på vad slöjdlärare känner att de saknar för att kunna ge eleverna det stöd de behöver, vad föräldrar önskar att deras barn får för hjälp i slöjden, samt vad specialpedagoger och speciallärare rekommenderar att lärare kan göra i undervisningen med elever med språkstörning. Det har resulterat i att lärare har behov av mer kunskap, mer stöd och mer tid i sin interaktion med elever med språkstörning. Eftersom man kan säga att språkstörning ligger på ett brett spektrum eftersom det finns så många olika inriktningar behöver man kunna individanpassa till varje elev för det finns inte ett färdigt koncept som fungerar för alla även om man med visuellt stöd kan gagna de flesta elever. / This is an essay that investigates how to make the sloyd subject more managable for students with a developmental language disorder (communication disorder). Schools have started to observe developmental language disorders more, but the lack of knowledge is still substantial. In my research I have looked at what teachers feel that they lack in order to provide these students with the support they need, what type of assistance parents would like see, and recommendations from special needs teachers. This research concludes that teachers need more knowledge, support and additional time in their interaction with students with developmental language disorders. Because there is a broad spectrum of developmental language disorders, you need to make individual adjustments because there is not a ready made concept that will work for everyone even though visual support will assist all students, not just those with developmental language disorder.