Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, Jul 1, 2003
A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, inclu... more A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, including the understanding of false beliefs. Previous studies have typically assessed the development of first-and second-order false belief concepts in ASD, with tasks primarily emphasizing physical causality and logical inferencing. The present study investigated how preadolescents and adolescents with ASD performed on false belief tasks that included social inferencing of psychological states as well as logical inferencing of physical states. Method: Two categories of tasks were administered: four traditional logical inferencing tasks and four social inferencing tasks specifically developed for this study. In addition, a prompt hierarchy was included to ascertain if performance on both task types improved. Participants were 45 children and adolescents primarily selected from three urban school districts: 15 adolescents with a previous diagnosis of ASD (ASD group); 15 typically developing utism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents an overlapping set of symptoms. The severity of these symptoms can range from less acute variants of autism, such as a pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; Serra, Loth, van Geert, Hurkens, & Minderaa, 2002), to the classic autism definition (Lord & Risi, 2000). Although individual differences are a hallmark of ASD, across the spectrum, there is consensus that a common feature is disruptions in the social perspective taking that is the core of verbal children matched for age, gender, and ethnicity (CA group); and 15 typically developing children matched for language age, gender, and ethnicity (LA group). Results: Three findings were pertinent. First, the CA group performed at higher levels than did the LA group and the ASD group on both task sets. Second, although the CA and the LA groups performed equally well on both the logical and the social inferencing tasks, the ASD group performed better on the social inferencing tasks. Finally, the prompt hierarchy significantly improved overall task performance for the ASD and LA groups. Clinical Implications: These findings indicate that task type, variations in vocabulary ability, and the provision of support influenced performance on the false belief tasks.
Much of what is known about prosody derives from clinical studies of adults with hemispheric lesi... more Much of what is known about prosody derives from clinical studies of adults with hemispheric lesions. Moreover, prosodic abnormalities tend to be interpreted with little attention to speech planning difficulties. This investigation describes a model of discourse and speech planning that utilizes an integrated methodology, incorporating neuroanatomical, discourse, and acoustic-physiological domains. Videotaped samples of naturalistic spoken discourse patterns and more constrained speaking tasks were acoustically analyzed to identify correlates of prosody. Participants were two men who had similar discrete infarcts to the left inferior precentral gyrus and two otherwise healthy, age-matched peers. Discourse samples were analyzed within three types of encoding units: clausal, intonational, and supraclausal. Results indicated that discourse planning styles were similar among all participants. Prosodic differences were more apparent within the more constrained speaking tasks. These results will be discussed with respect to units of encoding and the role of the precentral gyrus in speech planning.
Covert contrasts represent intermediate productions that allow us broader insight into how childr... more Covert contrasts represent intermediate productions that allow us broader insight into how children acquire a phonological system. However, little is known about the use of covert contrast in the development of speech sounds in children with cochlear implants (CIs). In particular, are these children using covert contrast in the same way that children with normal hearing (NH) do? Nine congenitally deafened children with CIs, ages 2;11 to 6;4 years (M = 4;9), who were implanted before age 3 were matched to typically developing children by articulation ability and gender. Their VCV productions from the OlimSpac were rated by 33 experienced listeners on an equal appearing interval scale to rate the phonetic accuracy of /t/ and its production as a substitution for /d/ and /ʧ/. Results indicated no differences in [t] production across groups. However, children with NH had a large, well-developed contrast between /t/ and /d/, but the later developing /tʃ/ showed little contrast with /t/. Children with CIs demonstrated the opposite trend. Their [t] for /d/ substitutions were more /t/-like, suggesting insufficient covert contrast for the voicing difference between these phones. However, they displayed a larger contrast for /t/ and /tʃ/ than the children with NH.
This study considers adults' perception of subtle differences in the error productions of /r/... more This study considers adults' perception of subtle differences in the error productions of /r/ and /l/ in young children. Given that these two phonemes share a common substitution [w], the potential covert contrast between these three sounds was investigated. The utility of two perceptual rating scales was compared: a linear visual analogue scale (VAS) and a triangular scale that considered the possibility of covert contrast among /r,l,w/. Adult listeners rated speech productions from children with cochlear implants (CIs) and speech age-matched children with normal hearing (NH) as they produced VCV or CV productions with /r,l,w/ in syllable-initial position. Mahalanobis distances of the listener ratings for each stimulus on each rating scale were calculated for analysis. Ultimately, there was no difference between the ratings of the two speaker populations. However, there was a significant difference in the amount of variability captured with each scale. The triangular scale reliably captured more variability in the productions than the linear VAS. The significant effect of scale type on the spread of listeners' responses provides support for the claim that the type of rating system used can capture different aspects of a listener's perceptions, thereby suggesting that the type of rating system used in a study may significantly influence that study's findings.
Part 1 Defining normal ageing: biogerentology implications for the communication sciences, Wojtek... more Part 1 Defining normal ageing: biogerentology implications for the communication sciences, Wojtek J. Chodzko-Zajko, et al the normal ageing voice, Harry Hollien auditory perception by older adults, Karen S. Helfer language and ageing, Loraine K. Obler, et al psychological aspects of ageing, karen Hooker and Kim Shifren minority elders really ain't all alike, Jacquelyne Johnson Jackson and Donald E. Ensley. Part 2 Enhancement of communication skills: maintaining effective interaction skills, Lynne M. Webb, et al improvement of hearing function, Catherine V. Palmer promoting and preserving elders' communication skills, Ruth A. Huntley.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2003
Purpose: A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind developme... more Purpose: A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, including the understanding of false beliefs. Previous studies have typically assessed the development of first- and second-order false belief concepts in ASD, with tasks primarily emphasizing physical causality and logical inferencing. The present study investigated how preadolescents and adolescents with ASD performed on false belief tasks that included social inferencing of psychological states as well as logical inferencing of physical states. Method: Two categories of tasks were administered: four traditional logical inferencing tasks and four social inferencing tasks specifically developed for this study. In addition, a prompt hierarchy was included to ascertain if performance on both task types improved. Participants were 45 children and adolescents primarily selected from three urban school districts: 15 adolescents with a previous diagnosis of ASD (ASD group); 15 typically d...
As the courts become more reliant upon scientific relationships as evidence,' the need for phonet... more As the courts become more reliant upon scientific relationships as evidence,' the need for phoneticians and linguists to enter the field of expert testimony is increasing. Note that Higgins and Selavka2 cite a general need for members of the academic community to become involved in forensic work. Their reasoning is twofold: (1) academicians have easier access to instrumentation and external funding than do state-operated laboratories, and (2) university personnel are spending too little time in this area of applied research. Their postulates apply to our field as well. Here too is a void to be filled by qualified people.3 Yet, it may not be as easy as it seems to assume the mantle of expert when you number among the younger faculty. On the other hand, it is not impossible if you are aware of the obstacles that you may encounter and plan for them. First of all, you must have the interest and desire to get involved in the judicial system, that is, to put your talents to use in a practical, yet challenging way. For those of us with an adventuresome spirit, this step may be easy. However, I found that there were many surprises waiting for me when I first represented my field of phonetics as an expert witness. Hence, it is the purpose of this paper to highlight some of the problems the younger professional may encounter relative to his or her initial experiences with the court system. The comments to be found below will focus on three main areas: "breaking in" to the field, working with attorneys, and being objective, especially on the stand. Since my area of expertise is that of forensic phonetics and applied linguistics, the comments and experiences to follow will be focused in that area. Nevertheless, I believe the information can be readily applied to other situations and disciplines.
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2007
Purpose To evaluate the role of dialect on phonemic awareness and nonword spelling tasks. These t... more Purpose To evaluate the role of dialect on phonemic awareness and nonword spelling tasks. These tasks were selected for their reliance on phonological and orthographic processing, which may be influenced by dialect use. Method Eighty typically developing African American children in Grades 1 and 3 were first screened for dialect use and then completed a standardized test of phonological processing and a nonword spelling measure. The influence of dialect was analyzed in both experimental tasks, followed by a qualitative analysis of dialect use in nonword spellings. Results Dialect density measures based solely on the use of African American English (AAE) phonological features explained few differences in phonological processing scores. In contrast, correlations indicated that children with higher dialect densities produced more nonword spelling errors influenced by AAE, an effect most evident in Grade 3. Qualitative analyses revealed AAE phonological features occurring in many of the...
Page 121. 5 Language Variation and Struggling Readers: Finding Patterns in Diversity Elaine R. Si... more Page 121. 5 Language Variation and Struggling Readers: Finding Patterns in Diversity Elaine R. Silliman Ruth Huntley Bahr University of South Florida Louise C. Wilkinson Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Candida ...
Multilingual Aspects of Speech Sound Disorders in Children, 2012
Page 288. 29 Translation to Practice: Metalinguistic Considerations for Cuban Spanish-English Bil... more Page 288. 29 Translation to Practice: Metalinguistic Considerations for Cuban Spanish-English Bilingual Children Ruth Huntley Bahr and Felix Matias Languages mentioned: American English, Cuban Spanish The Link between ...
Purpose Morphology, which is a bridge between phonology and orthography, plays an important role ... more Purpose Morphology, which is a bridge between phonology and orthography, plays an important role in the development of word-specific spellings. This study, which employed longitudinal sampling of typically developing students in Grades 3, 4, and 5, explored how the misspellings of words with derivational suffixes shed light on the interplay of phonological, orthographic, and morphological (POM) linguistic features as students learn to integrate POM features appropriately to generate correct spellings. Method Sixty typically developing Grade 3 students were tested using the Spelling subtest from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (Wechsler, 2001) and were divided into superior, average, and poor spellers. Students' spelling skill was then assessed using the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition annually for another 2 years. Misspelled derivations from these three testing sessions were analyzed for linguistic feature errors and error complexity/s...
VC syllables and produced under two experimental conditions: after the insufflation of air and wi... more VC syllables and produced under two experimental conditions: after the insufflation of air and without air insufflation. The purpose was to determine if the voiced-voiceless pressure difference associated with the production of cognate pairs would occur in the absence of an insufltated air flow source. The results revealed that peak intraoral air pressure magnitudes were significantly greater following the instaqtation of air than without it. Moreover, the voiceless consonants were generally produced with greater peak air pressures than the voiced consonants under both experimental conditions, although not all contrasts were significantly different. Finally, peak air pressure magnitudes were significantly more variable in the air insufflation condition. The finding that the esophageal speakers exhibited a pressure difference relative to voicing in the absence of an insufflated air flow source provides support to the concept that intraoral air pressure may be an important variable in regulating and controlling consonant production.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the attendance and success rates for seniors i... more Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the attendance and success rates for seniors in voice therapy, identify any contributing patient-related factors, and compare results to existing findings for younger patients. Method This retrospective study included information from the voice records of 50 seniors seen by the same speech-language pathologist in a private practice. Analysis of attendance and outcome data divided participants into 6 groups. Outcomes for Groups 1–3 (64% of patients) were considered successful (positive voice change), while outcomes for Groups 4–6 (36% of patients) were considered unsuccessful. These data were compared to similar data collected for younger adults in a previous study. Results The attendance and success rates for seniors in this study were higher than those previously reported for younger patients. Further consideration of patient factors revealed that reports of increased stress, Reflux Symptom Index scores > 13, and higher Voice Ha...
Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
Background Angelman syndrome is a rare disorder in which most individuals do not develop speech. ... more Background Angelman syndrome is a rare disorder in which most individuals do not develop speech. Testing of communication ability using traditional neuropsychological measures reveals a performance level at or near the floor of the instrument resulting in an inability to detect change when experimental therapeutics are applied. Methods Nine individuals, with molecularly confirmed AS, ranging in age from 34 to 126 months, and a single healthy control child (age 16 months) were audio and video-recorded while interacting with a licensed speechlanguage pathologist in an attempt to elicit vocalization and non-verbal communication. Thirty-minute audio recordings were transcribed and categorized per the Stark Assessment of Early Vocal Development-Revised and a phonetic inventory was created. Using video recordings, gestures were classified by function, either behavioral regulation or social interaction and further categorized as deictic or representational (i.e., behavioral regulation) and joint attention or shared engagement (i.e., social interaction). Results The range of vocalizations produced by the children with AS was characteristic of children between 0-6 months and none of the children with AS used advanced forms of vocalizations. The mean frequency of reflexive vocalizations, control of phonation and expansion far exceeded the number of uses of canonical syllables, consistant with the characteristics of children around 12 months of age. Most vocalizations were either laughter or isolated vowels, only three children with AS produced consonant-vowel combinations. Children with AS tended to use central and low vowels with few producing high vowels, suggesting the presence of childhood apraxia of speech. Conclusion Our results show the utilization of videorecorded behavioral observations provides a feasible and reliable alternative for quantification of communication ability in this patient population and may be employed during future clinical studies of potential therapeutics.
Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, Jul 1, 2003
A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, inclu... more A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, including the understanding of false beliefs. Previous studies have typically assessed the development of first-and second-order false belief concepts in ASD, with tasks primarily emphasizing physical causality and logical inferencing. The present study investigated how preadolescents and adolescents with ASD performed on false belief tasks that included social inferencing of psychological states as well as logical inferencing of physical states. Method: Two categories of tasks were administered: four traditional logical inferencing tasks and four social inferencing tasks specifically developed for this study. In addition, a prompt hierarchy was included to ascertain if performance on both task types improved. Participants were 45 children and adolescents primarily selected from three urban school districts: 15 adolescents with a previous diagnosis of ASD (ASD group); 15 typically developing utism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents an overlapping set of symptoms. The severity of these symptoms can range from less acute variants of autism, such as a pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; Serra, Loth, van Geert, Hurkens, & Minderaa, 2002), to the classic autism definition (Lord & Risi, 2000). Although individual differences are a hallmark of ASD, across the spectrum, there is consensus that a common feature is disruptions in the social perspective taking that is the core of verbal children matched for age, gender, and ethnicity (CA group); and 15 typically developing children matched for language age, gender, and ethnicity (LA group). Results: Three findings were pertinent. First, the CA group performed at higher levels than did the LA group and the ASD group on both task sets. Second, although the CA and the LA groups performed equally well on both the logical and the social inferencing tasks, the ASD group performed better on the social inferencing tasks. Finally, the prompt hierarchy significantly improved overall task performance for the ASD and LA groups. Clinical Implications: These findings indicate that task type, variations in vocabulary ability, and the provision of support influenced performance on the false belief tasks.
Much of what is known about prosody derives from clinical studies of adults with hemispheric lesi... more Much of what is known about prosody derives from clinical studies of adults with hemispheric lesions. Moreover, prosodic abnormalities tend to be interpreted with little attention to speech planning difficulties. This investigation describes a model of discourse and speech planning that utilizes an integrated methodology, incorporating neuroanatomical, discourse, and acoustic-physiological domains. Videotaped samples of naturalistic spoken discourse patterns and more constrained speaking tasks were acoustically analyzed to identify correlates of prosody. Participants were two men who had similar discrete infarcts to the left inferior precentral gyrus and two otherwise healthy, age-matched peers. Discourse samples were analyzed within three types of encoding units: clausal, intonational, and supraclausal. Results indicated that discourse planning styles were similar among all participants. Prosodic differences were more apparent within the more constrained speaking tasks. These results will be discussed with respect to units of encoding and the role of the precentral gyrus in speech planning.
Covert contrasts represent intermediate productions that allow us broader insight into how childr... more Covert contrasts represent intermediate productions that allow us broader insight into how children acquire a phonological system. However, little is known about the use of covert contrast in the development of speech sounds in children with cochlear implants (CIs). In particular, are these children using covert contrast in the same way that children with normal hearing (NH) do? Nine congenitally deafened children with CIs, ages 2;11 to 6;4 years (M = 4;9), who were implanted before age 3 were matched to typically developing children by articulation ability and gender. Their VCV productions from the OlimSpac were rated by 33 experienced listeners on an equal appearing interval scale to rate the phonetic accuracy of /t/ and its production as a substitution for /d/ and /ʧ/. Results indicated no differences in [t] production across groups. However, children with NH had a large, well-developed contrast between /t/ and /d/, but the later developing /tʃ/ showed little contrast with /t/. Children with CIs demonstrated the opposite trend. Their [t] for /d/ substitutions were more /t/-like, suggesting insufficient covert contrast for the voicing difference between these phones. However, they displayed a larger contrast for /t/ and /tʃ/ than the children with NH.
This study considers adults' perception of subtle differences in the error productions of /r/... more This study considers adults' perception of subtle differences in the error productions of /r/ and /l/ in young children. Given that these two phonemes share a common substitution [w], the potential covert contrast between these three sounds was investigated. The utility of two perceptual rating scales was compared: a linear visual analogue scale (VAS) and a triangular scale that considered the possibility of covert contrast among /r,l,w/. Adult listeners rated speech productions from children with cochlear implants (CIs) and speech age-matched children with normal hearing (NH) as they produced VCV or CV productions with /r,l,w/ in syllable-initial position. Mahalanobis distances of the listener ratings for each stimulus on each rating scale were calculated for analysis. Ultimately, there was no difference between the ratings of the two speaker populations. However, there was a significant difference in the amount of variability captured with each scale. The triangular scale reliably captured more variability in the productions than the linear VAS. The significant effect of scale type on the spread of listeners' responses provides support for the claim that the type of rating system used can capture different aspects of a listener's perceptions, thereby suggesting that the type of rating system used in a study may significantly influence that study's findings.
Part 1 Defining normal ageing: biogerentology implications for the communication sciences, Wojtek... more Part 1 Defining normal ageing: biogerentology implications for the communication sciences, Wojtek J. Chodzko-Zajko, et al the normal ageing voice, Harry Hollien auditory perception by older adults, Karen S. Helfer language and ageing, Loraine K. Obler, et al psychological aspects of ageing, karen Hooker and Kim Shifren minority elders really ain't all alike, Jacquelyne Johnson Jackson and Donald E. Ensley. Part 2 Enhancement of communication skills: maintaining effective interaction skills, Lynne M. Webb, et al improvement of hearing function, Catherine V. Palmer promoting and preserving elders' communication skills, Ruth A. Huntley.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2003
Purpose: A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind developme... more Purpose: A hallmark of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is disruption in theory-of-mind development, including the understanding of false beliefs. Previous studies have typically assessed the development of first- and second-order false belief concepts in ASD, with tasks primarily emphasizing physical causality and logical inferencing. The present study investigated how preadolescents and adolescents with ASD performed on false belief tasks that included social inferencing of psychological states as well as logical inferencing of physical states. Method: Two categories of tasks were administered: four traditional logical inferencing tasks and four social inferencing tasks specifically developed for this study. In addition, a prompt hierarchy was included to ascertain if performance on both task types improved. Participants were 45 children and adolescents primarily selected from three urban school districts: 15 adolescents with a previous diagnosis of ASD (ASD group); 15 typically d...
As the courts become more reliant upon scientific relationships as evidence,' the need for phonet... more As the courts become more reliant upon scientific relationships as evidence,' the need for phoneticians and linguists to enter the field of expert testimony is increasing. Note that Higgins and Selavka2 cite a general need for members of the academic community to become involved in forensic work. Their reasoning is twofold: (1) academicians have easier access to instrumentation and external funding than do state-operated laboratories, and (2) university personnel are spending too little time in this area of applied research. Their postulates apply to our field as well. Here too is a void to be filled by qualified people.3 Yet, it may not be as easy as it seems to assume the mantle of expert when you number among the younger faculty. On the other hand, it is not impossible if you are aware of the obstacles that you may encounter and plan for them. First of all, you must have the interest and desire to get involved in the judicial system, that is, to put your talents to use in a practical, yet challenging way. For those of us with an adventuresome spirit, this step may be easy. However, I found that there were many surprises waiting for me when I first represented my field of phonetics as an expert witness. Hence, it is the purpose of this paper to highlight some of the problems the younger professional may encounter relative to his or her initial experiences with the court system. The comments to be found below will focus on three main areas: "breaking in" to the field, working with attorneys, and being objective, especially on the stand. Since my area of expertise is that of forensic phonetics and applied linguistics, the comments and experiences to follow will be focused in that area. Nevertheless, I believe the information can be readily applied to other situations and disciplines.
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2007
Purpose To evaluate the role of dialect on phonemic awareness and nonword spelling tasks. These t... more Purpose To evaluate the role of dialect on phonemic awareness and nonword spelling tasks. These tasks were selected for their reliance on phonological and orthographic processing, which may be influenced by dialect use. Method Eighty typically developing African American children in Grades 1 and 3 were first screened for dialect use and then completed a standardized test of phonological processing and a nonword spelling measure. The influence of dialect was analyzed in both experimental tasks, followed by a qualitative analysis of dialect use in nonword spellings. Results Dialect density measures based solely on the use of African American English (AAE) phonological features explained few differences in phonological processing scores. In contrast, correlations indicated that children with higher dialect densities produced more nonword spelling errors influenced by AAE, an effect most evident in Grade 3. Qualitative analyses revealed AAE phonological features occurring in many of the...
Page 121. 5 Language Variation and Struggling Readers: Finding Patterns in Diversity Elaine R. Si... more Page 121. 5 Language Variation and Struggling Readers: Finding Patterns in Diversity Elaine R. Silliman Ruth Huntley Bahr University of South Florida Louise C. Wilkinson Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Candida ...
Multilingual Aspects of Speech Sound Disorders in Children, 2012
Page 288. 29 Translation to Practice: Metalinguistic Considerations for Cuban Spanish-English Bil... more Page 288. 29 Translation to Practice: Metalinguistic Considerations for Cuban Spanish-English Bilingual Children Ruth Huntley Bahr and Felix Matias Languages mentioned: American English, Cuban Spanish The Link between ...
Purpose Morphology, which is a bridge between phonology and orthography, plays an important role ... more Purpose Morphology, which is a bridge between phonology and orthography, plays an important role in the development of word-specific spellings. This study, which employed longitudinal sampling of typically developing students in Grades 3, 4, and 5, explored how the misspellings of words with derivational suffixes shed light on the interplay of phonological, orthographic, and morphological (POM) linguistic features as students learn to integrate POM features appropriately to generate correct spellings. Method Sixty typically developing Grade 3 students were tested using the Spelling subtest from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (Wechsler, 2001) and were divided into superior, average, and poor spellers. Students' spelling skill was then assessed using the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition annually for another 2 years. Misspelled derivations from these three testing sessions were analyzed for linguistic feature errors and error complexity/s...
VC syllables and produced under two experimental conditions: after the insufflation of air and wi... more VC syllables and produced under two experimental conditions: after the insufflation of air and without air insufflation. The purpose was to determine if the voiced-voiceless pressure difference associated with the production of cognate pairs would occur in the absence of an insufltated air flow source. The results revealed that peak intraoral air pressure magnitudes were significantly greater following the instaqtation of air than without it. Moreover, the voiceless consonants were generally produced with greater peak air pressures than the voiced consonants under both experimental conditions, although not all contrasts were significantly different. Finally, peak air pressure magnitudes were significantly more variable in the air insufflation condition. The finding that the esophageal speakers exhibited a pressure difference relative to voicing in the absence of an insufflated air flow source provides support to the concept that intraoral air pressure may be an important variable in regulating and controlling consonant production.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the attendance and success rates for seniors i... more Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the attendance and success rates for seniors in voice therapy, identify any contributing patient-related factors, and compare results to existing findings for younger patients. Method This retrospective study included information from the voice records of 50 seniors seen by the same speech-language pathologist in a private practice. Analysis of attendance and outcome data divided participants into 6 groups. Outcomes for Groups 1–3 (64% of patients) were considered successful (positive voice change), while outcomes for Groups 4–6 (36% of patients) were considered unsuccessful. These data were compared to similar data collected for younger adults in a previous study. Results The attendance and success rates for seniors in this study were higher than those previously reported for younger patients. Further consideration of patient factors revealed that reports of increased stress, Reflux Symptom Index scores > 13, and higher Voice Ha...
Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
Background Angelman syndrome is a rare disorder in which most individuals do not develop speech. ... more Background Angelman syndrome is a rare disorder in which most individuals do not develop speech. Testing of communication ability using traditional neuropsychological measures reveals a performance level at or near the floor of the instrument resulting in an inability to detect change when experimental therapeutics are applied. Methods Nine individuals, with molecularly confirmed AS, ranging in age from 34 to 126 months, and a single healthy control child (age 16 months) were audio and video-recorded while interacting with a licensed speechlanguage pathologist in an attempt to elicit vocalization and non-verbal communication. Thirty-minute audio recordings were transcribed and categorized per the Stark Assessment of Early Vocal Development-Revised and a phonetic inventory was created. Using video recordings, gestures were classified by function, either behavioral regulation or social interaction and further categorized as deictic or representational (i.e., behavioral regulation) and joint attention or shared engagement (i.e., social interaction). Results The range of vocalizations produced by the children with AS was characteristic of children between 0-6 months and none of the children with AS used advanced forms of vocalizations. The mean frequency of reflexive vocalizations, control of phonation and expansion far exceeded the number of uses of canonical syllables, consistant with the characteristics of children around 12 months of age. Most vocalizations were either laughter or isolated vowels, only three children with AS produced consonant-vowel combinations. Children with AS tended to use central and low vowels with few producing high vowels, suggesting the presence of childhood apraxia of speech. Conclusion Our results show the utilization of videorecorded behavioral observations provides a feasible and reliable alternative for quantification of communication ability in this patient population and may be employed during future clinical studies of potential therapeutics.
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