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Introduction Current literature reveals that up to 88% of individuals undergoing behavioral speech therapy (BST) for chronic refractory cough (CRC) demonstrate benefit at 4-8 weeks post-treatment. However, investigations of BST are confounded by overlapping use of neuromodulators, missing follow-up data, and an absence of long-term outcomes. This study investigated treatment outcomes beyond 6 months in individuals diagnosed with CRC, and whose treatment outcomes were clinically undocumented. Methods Participants with CRC 6 months or greater beyond treatment completion were recruited. Participants completed a post-treatment Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) and a telephone interview. Demographic data, cough characteristics, treatment adherence, BST outcomes, and pre- and post-treatment LCQ scores were evaluated. Results 80 individuals met inclusion criteria and 29 consented to participate. Of these, 27 were recommended BST. The majority were female (19/27) with average age of 58 years (SD = 12). Mean cough duration was 60 months (SD = 98) and mean post-BST duration was 20 months (SD = 9). A significant increase in pre- to post-treatment LCQ scores occurred [4.4 (SD = 4.2)] (p < 0.0001). Conclusion This study addressed long-term BST benefit for CRC and demonstrated a significant improvement in long-term post-treatment LCQ total scores more than a year after BST for CRC. More than half of participants indicated improvement or elimination of their cough. These findings further support the benefit of BST for CRC. Future research should consider patient perspectives about treatment outcomes given that 44% of participants reported no benefit from BST., Author(s): Miranda L. Wright [sup.1] [sup.2], Krishna M. Sundar [sup.3], Jennifer S. Herrick [sup.4], Julie M. Barkmeier-Kraemer [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.223827.e, 0000 0001 2193 0096, Division of Otolaryngology-Head [...]

INTRODUCTION Children with dysarthria are an underrepresented population in intervention research (Hodge & Welllman, 1999; Yorkston, Hakel, Beukelman, & Fager, 2007). Approximately 2.4 of 1000 children in the United States [...], Keywords: intelligibility, pediatric dysarthria, speech therapy, cerebral palsy Reduced speech function is a primary disability in children with cerebral palsy (CP) who have the motor speech disorder of dysarthria. Interventions for pediatric dysarthria with evidence of efficacy are greatly needed. The present exploratory study examined the effects of two intervention methods on three children with CP: (1) Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD), an intensive single-focus intervention protocol that increases sound pressure level (SPL), intelligibility, and vowel space in adults with dysarthria due to Parkinson Disease (PD) and has recent evidence suggesting effectiveness for children with CP, and (2) "Traditional" intervention, representing "treatment as usual," consisting of instruction on breath control, positioning, articulation, and other behaviors. Examination of caregiver questionnaires, articulation assessment, and blinded listener ratings revealed greater speech function and articulatory precision, as well as utterances more often preferred and perceived as "easier to understand" after intervention. LSVT LOUD resulted in increases in speech function and SPL. Traditional resulted in increased speech function without increasing SPL. Thus, both interventions show promise for yielding increased speech function in children with dysarthria, although success may vary across linguistic levels and children.

Purpose: Most clinicians would recommend speech and language therapy (SLT) for aphasic patients. The question of when and for how long SLT should be administered still remains controversial. The aim [...]

The Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), its Special Interest Division 2 (SID-2: Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders) and the Veterans [...]

A system for remotely detecting vocal fold pathologies using telephone-quality speech is presented. The system uses a linear classifier, processing measurements of pitch perturbation, amplitude perturbation and harmonic-to-noise ratio derived from digitized speech recordings. Voice recordings from the Disordered Voice Database Model 4337 system were used to develop and validate the system. Results show that while a sustained phonation, recorded in a controlled environment, can be classified as normal or pathologic with accuracy of 89.1%, telephone-quality speech can be classified as normal or pathologic with an accuracy of 74.2%, using the same scheme. Amplitude perturbation features prove most robust for telephone-quality speech. The pathologic recordings were then subcategorized into four groups, comprising normal, neuromuscular pathologic, physical pathologic and mixed (neuromuscular with physical) pathologic. A separate classifier was developed for classifying the normal group from each pathologic subcategory. Results show that neuromuscular disorders could be detected remotely with an accuracy of 87%, physical abnormalities with an accuracy of 78% and mixed pathology voice with an accuracy of 61%. This study highlights the real possibility for remote detection and diagnosis of voice pathology. Index Terms--Speech analysis, voice pathology, voiceXML.

Purpose: This letter is a response to P. Reitzes and G. Snyder&apos;s (2006) letter to the editor regarding "Intensive Stuttering Modification Therapy: A Multidimensional Assessment of Treatment Outcomes," by M. Blomgren, N. Roy, T. Callister, and R. Merrill (2005). The focus of this letter is on issues related to (a) intended and unintended outcomes of stuttering modification treatment, (b) the rationale underlying specific stuttering treatment outcomes measures, and (c) "truth in advertising" of stuttering treatment programs. A secondary purpose is to provide a primer on vocabulary use in treatment research. KEY WORDS: stuttering, efficacy, stuttering modification, outcomes, treatment, We welcome the opportunity to respond to Reitzes and Snyder's (2006) letter to the editor regarding "Intensive Stuttering Modification Therapy: A Multidimensional Assessment of Treatment Outcomes," our recently published article [...]