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Purpose: Children with specific language impairment (SLI) might present with speech sound disorder (SSD) and phonological awareness (PA) deficits which put them at risk of potential reading problems. This work aimed to organize an intervention program in Arabic for phonological training and to assess the effect of PA training versus the phonological therapy (PT) for children with SLI and SSD. Methods: The study was carried out on 60 children with comorbid SLI and SSD, aged 5–7 years. Children were equally divided into two groups; each group received language therapy combined with (PT or PA training). Measures of language development, phonological output, and PA were taken before therapy and at 4 month post-therapy for all children. Results: The two therapy groups made nearly the same amount of progress in the development of language and phonological production, with no significant differences regarding language age and percent of consonants correct (PCC). The PA training group progressed more on the PA skills than children who received PT over the same time. Conclusions: PA training could facilitate the development of phonological skills by targeting the child's awareness of phonemes and improving the production of sound patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: Even though evidence for the use of linguistic–phonological intervention approaches in children with a cleft (lip and) palate (CP±L) is still limited, these approaches are being used by speech–language pathologists (SLPs) to treat active or compensatory cleft speech disorders in clinical practice. It is, however, unknown to what extent linguistic–phonological intervention is acceptable to SLPs. The aim of this study is to investigate the retrospective acceptability of linguistic–phonological intervention in children with a CP±L from the perspective of SLPs using the theoretical framework of acceptability (TFA). Methods & Procedures: A total of 18 female community SLPs, aged between 23 and 63 years, were included in the study. An independent interviewer conducted semi‐structured interviews. Data were analysed using a deductive coding approach. Statements of the SLPs were related to the seven constructs of the TFA: affective attitude, burden, ethicality, intervention coherence, opportunity costs, perceived effectiveness and self‐efficacy. Outcomes & Results: The affective attitude and perceived effectiveness of linguistic–phonological intervention differed among the SLPs: some therapists had positive attitudes towards these approaches, while others did not. Positive attitudes were related to the successful use of linguistic–phonological intervention in the past. The construct 'ethicality' revealed that negative attitudes towards these approaches were attributed to the limited available scientific evidence or negative experiences while using these approaches. In contrast, SLPs who had positive attitudes considered these interventions as 'important' and 'valuable'. Some SLPs had negative reflections on linguistic–phonological intervention as these approaches were considered demanding in terms of time needed to gain knowledge on using them in children with a CP±L (constructs 'burden' and 'opportunity costs'). Additionally, some SLPs doubted their self‐efficacy to use these approaches in clinical practice. Conclusions & Implications: The acceptability of linguistic–phonological intervention differed between the SLPs in this sample and was most likely related to their previous experiences with these linguistic–phonological approaches. It is important to increase not only the amount of scientific evidence for linguistic–phonological approaches but also the supply of evidence‐based workshops and training courses on this topic. These initiatives should distribute scientific information that is translated into guidelines that are immediately applicable in clinical practice. This may potentially reduce the time‐related burden that some SLPs currently experience to gain expertise in this matter. In future research, it is necessary to investigate if there exist differences in acceptability between the different types of linguistic–phonological therapy. What This Paper Adds: What is already known on this subject: Linguistic–phonological speech intervention approaches are often used by SLPs to treat active or compensatory cleft speech disorders in clinical practice. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study investigated whether linguistic–phonological intervention cleft speech intervention is acceptable to SLPs. Some therapists had positive attitudes towards these approaches, while others did not. Positive attitudes were related to the successful use of these approaches in the past. If SLPs indicated having negative attitudes, these negative feelings were attributed to the limited available scientific evidence or negative experiences while using these approaches. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work: Even though linguistic–phonological speech intervention approaches are being used in clinical practice, these approaches are not always considered acceptable by SLPs. Acceptability could be enhanced by increasing the amount of scientific evidence for linguistic–phonological approaches, but also by increasing the supply of workshops and training courses on this topic. These initiatives should distribute hands‐on information that is immediately applicable in clinical practice. This may potentially reduce the time‐related burden that some SLPs currently experience to gain expertise in this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Major neurocognitive disorder (MND) alters cognition, memory and language, and consequently affects communication. Speech–language therapy (SLT) may alleviate communication difficulties. Aims: This pilot study explored the effects of intensive SLT emphasizing memory, language, and discourse impairment and complementary communication strategies, called Aid for Communication—For Persons Who Live with MND (AID‐COMp). Methods & Procedures: We employed a mixed design using quantitative and qualitative methods with four dyads, including a person living with MND (PwMND) and a family carer. The design included a control period, and we tested participants before (T1) and after 2 months without therapy (T2). AID‐COMp was then provided intensively three times per week for 10 sessions and participants were tested again (T3). Participants were also involved in an individual qualitative interview after therapy ended, probing their experience and possible effects on their lives. AID‐COMp included: (1) spaced retrieval to teach the use of a memory book; (2) semantic and phonological therapy for lexical access; (3) discourse treatment based on the analysis of the macrostructure and microstructure of stories in pictures and texts; and (4) PACE therapy for generalization. Carers were not included in treatment, did not attend sessions and were only involved in the evaluations. Measures included language, communication, cognitive and well‐being tests. Paired t‐tests (one‐tailed) compared scores for the control period, that is, T1 versus T2. We compared scores after therapy (T3) with those at T2. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed qualitatively. Outcomes & Results: For the control period, only text comprehension scores significantly decreased in PwMND. After therapy, improvements occurred on the Boston Naming Test (BNT), the Mini‐Mental State Exam (MMSE) and the well‐being measure for the PwMND. Carer scores were unchanged after therapy except for their perception of the PwMND's communication which improved. Qualitative findings comprised three themes: (1) understanding therapy; (2) recovering abilities and relationships; and (3) naming further needs. Conclusions & Implications: We hypothesize that AID‐COMp addressed the underlying impairments associated with MND and provided various tools to PwMND for composing effectively with them. Indeed, AID‐COMp appears to provoke some degree of improvement of language skills, cognition and emotional well‐being. These improvements may lead to more confidence in conversation and the recovery of relationships between the PwMND and their entourage. It is also possible that improvements acted positively on one another. These preliminary findings warrant further controlled studies with more participants, including a qualitative exploration of participant experiences. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: MND affects cognition and communication, which are crucial to a good relationship between a carer and a person with MND. Interventions involving only PwMND have been shown to be effective, but do not address all the communication impairments in the mild stage of MND. These interventions may require many therapy sessions. Generally, SLT interventions do not examine the potential effects of an intervention on carers. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: AID‐COMp, an intensive intervention of 10 sessions over 1 month, was provided to people living with MND in the community. It included training the person with MND in using a memory notebook combined with semantic and phonological therapy, a new discourse therapy and PACE therapy, addressing several communication deficits. After a control period of 2 months without intervention and a 1‐month intensive intervention, the results showed significant improvement in naming, cognition and communication, and PwMND well‐being. Moreover, the carers witnessed the impacts of therapy in their everyday life interactions with the PwMND. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work: AID‐COMp can provide communication support for PwMND that has further benefits reported by both PwMND and carers. We described AID‐COMp in detail to inspire clinicians in providing SLT for unserved PwMND. Future research studies should use controlled designs, more participants and a qualitative component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Different treatment approaches have been introduced for children with Speech Sound Disorders (SSD). Minimal pair intervention, Metaphon therapy, and parents and children together approach as linguistically-based approaches are routinely utilized in this population and both of them shared minimal pairs as a common component. The purpose of the current study was to develop and investigate the validity of the material for this treatment approach for Persian-speaking children. Methods: To develop the minimal pairs’ package, 10 phonological processes were selected based on the literature. Several minimal pairs were generated for each phonological process and their content validity was determined by the content validity ratio. In the next step, the appropriate pictures were selected. In the final step, the package was administrated to 45 monolingual Persian-speaking children. Results: Based on the experts’ opinions, 293 minimal pairs out of 303 pairs, obtained appropriate content validity values (content validity ratio >0.62) and 10 minimal pairs were excluded at this step. Finally, 256 minimal pairs remained after the administration of the package on the subjects. Discussion: Based on the results of the current project, it seems that the Persian photo minimal pairs’ package is a valid material for use in related speech treatment in children with SSD.

Phonological disorders have a high percentage of Speech Sound Disorders. They often occur with DLD, developmental dysphasia. They are a predictor of learning disabilities. Early screening of phonological disorders based on speech intelligibility, identification of physiological, developmentally younger, and pathological phonological processes allows diagnosis and use of appropriate therapy.

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Two 6-year-old male fraternal twins each received 8 weeks of morphosyntactic and phonological intervention in counterbalanced order. Progress occurred for most targets and measures, with each child making greater progress for either phonology or morphosyntax during the corresponding unitary-domain block. Gains were maintained during the subsequent alternate treatment block. Possible indirect changes in the non-treated domain were also observed in global measures. The data suggest that at least some school-aged children with concomitant difficulties in morphosyntax and phonology, perhaps those with significant constraints in each domain, can benefit from sequences of unitary-domain intervention. This study invites further research concerning many unresolved clinical issues for school-aged children with protracted development in both phonology and morphosyntax. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Jargon aphasia is one of the most intractable forms of aphasia with limited recommendation on amelioration of associated naming difficulties and neologisms. The few naming therapy studies that exist in jargon aphasia have utilized either semantic or phonological approaches, but the results have been equivocal. Moreover, the effect of therapy on the characteristics of neologisms is less explored. Aims This study investigates the effectiveness of a phonological naming therapy (i.e. phonological component analysis-PCA) on picture-naming abilities and on quantitative and qualitative changes in neologisms for an individual with jargon aphasia (FF). Methods & Procedures FF showed evidence of jargon aphasia with severe naming difficulties and produced a very high proportion of neologisms. A single-subject multiple probe design across behaviours was employed to evaluate the effects of PCA therapy on the accuracy for three sets of words. In therapy, a phonological components analysis chart was used to identify five phonological components (i.e. rhymes, first sound, first sound associate, final sound and number of syllables) for each target word. Generalization effects-change in per cent accuracy and error pattern-were examined comparing pre- and post-therapy responses on the Philadelphia Naming Test, and these responses were analysed to explore the characteristics of the neologisms. The quantitative change in neologisms was measured by change in the proportion of neologisms from pre- to post-therapy and the qualitative change was indexed by the phonological overlap between target and neologism. Outcomes & Results As a consequence of PCA therapy, FF showed a significant improvement in his ability to name the treated items. His performance in maintenance and follow-up phases remained comparable with his performance during the therapy phases. Generalization to other naming tasks did not show a change in accuracy, but distinct differences in error pattern (an increase in proportion of real word responses and a decrease in proportion of neologisms) were observed. Notably, the decrease in neologisms occurred with a corresponding trend for increase in the phonological similarity between the neologisms and the targets. Conclusions & Implications This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a phonological therapy for improving naming abilities and reducing the amount of neologisms in an individual with severe jargon aphasia. The positive outcome of this research is encouraging, as it provides evidence for effective therapies for jargon aphasia and also emphasizes that use of the quality and quantity of errors may provide a sensitive outcome measure to determine therapy effectiveness, in particular for client groups who are difficult to treat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study compared a semantic and a phonological/orthographic approach to the treatment of word-finding difficulties in a case-series of ten individuals with aphasia, using a cross-over design. The study aims to investigate whether one approach is generally more effective than the other or whether the effectiveness of the two treatments relates systematically to the nature of the underlying functional impairment within the framework of a modular single-word processing model. In both treatments, the main task was spoken naming of pictured objects with different types of cues. In the semantic approach, different aspects of the target semantic concept were used as a cue in picture naming, while in the word-form method, both phonological and orthographic information were provided as a cue. Treatment effects were assessed in terms of both short- and long-lasting effects on spoken picture naming accuracy in each participant after the end of each treatment phase. Here, both item-specific effects and a possible generalisation to untreated pictures were considered. In addition, the immediate effects of the phonological and the semantic prompts were analysed. With regard to the cue effects on immediate naming, the word-form specific cues proved stronger than the semantic cues. The semantic treatment phase on the other hand, produced more stable effects than the word-form specific phase in some participants. A direct relationship between specific treatment effects and underlying functional deficit pattern was not confirmed for all subjects, i.e. participants with post-semantic anomia benefited from the semantic approach and participants with semantic anomia benefited from the phonological/orthographic approach. In the discussion of the results different explanations are considered, including the importance of preserved functions which aphasic participants bring into the treatment, the possible acquisition of a conscious strategy, and the possible influence of order of treatment. The effects of the two treatments are interpreted with regard to their underlying functional mechanisms in a single-word processing model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous research indicates that the extent of progress made by children with phonological disorders depends upon the nature of the word pairs contrasted in therapy. For example, phonemes that differ maximally in terms of place, manner, voicing and sound class (e.g., fan - man) in comparison to therapy where the word pairs presented differ minimally (e.g., fan - van). To investigate the implications of target selection within a typical clinical context (as opposed to a rigorous research setting) eight speech-language pathologists implemented intervention with appropriate children from their caseloads. Nineteen children each received 6 hours of therapy over one school term. They were randomly allocated to two groups. One group (of nine children) received intervention based on a traditional minimal pair approach, targeting homonymy as well as distinctive feature contrast. The other group (ten children) received intervention targeting contrasts differing across a range of distinctive features. Children made considerable progress in therapy in terms of speech accuracy and number of error patterns suppressed. However, there was no difference between the progress of the two groups. Follow-up assessment of 14 of the 19 children indicated maintenance of progress by both groups. Reasons for the lack of difference between the groups in the current study are considered and clinical implications are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PACT (parents and children together) is a broad-based intervention approach for children with phonological impairment, which involves the participation of caregivers in therapy. Its components are: Parent Education; Metalinguistic Training; Phonetic Production Training; Multiple Exemplar Training (minimal pair therapy and auditory bombardment); and Homework. Accommodating to the gradual nature of phonological change in typical development, PACT therapy is delivered in planned therapy blocks and breaks from therapy attendance, during which parents continue aspects of the therapy. A review of literature relevant to the theoretical underpinning, development and evaluation of PACT is provided, and unique features of the approach are highlighted. The processes of speech assessment using parent-observed screening, independent and relational analyses, treatment planning and scheduling, and target selection and goal-setting are presented and discussed in the context of Jarrod, a 7 year old boy with a severe, inconsistent phonological impairment. Difficulties in applying the PACT approach with Jarrod are noted, principally that PACT is most suited to the three to six year age-group. Alternative intervention approaches are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]