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Background: With respect to the clinical criteria for diagnosing childhood apraxia of speech (commonly defined as a disorder of speech motor planning and/or programming), research has made important progress in recent years. Three segmental and suprasegmental speech characteristics--error inconsistency, lengthened and disrupted coarticulation, and inappropriate prosody--have gained wide acceptance in the literature for purposes of participant selection. However, little research has sought to empirically test the diagnostic validity of these features. One major obstacle to such empirical study is the fact that none of these features is stated in operationalized terms. Purpose: This tutorial provides a structured overview of perceptual, acoustic, and articulatory measurement procedures that have been used or could be used to operationalize and assess these 3 core characteristics. Methodological details are reviewed for each procedure, along with a short overview of research results reported in the literature. Conclusion: The 3 types of measurement procedures should be seen as complementary. Some characteristics are better suited to be described at the perceptual level (especially phonemic errors and prosody), others at the acoustic level (especially phonetic distortions, coarticulation, and prosody), and still others at the kinematic level (especially coarticulation, stability, and gestural coordination). The type of data collected determines, to a large extent, the interpretation that can be given regarding the underlying deficit. Comprehensive studies are needed that include more than 1 diagnostic feature and more than 1 type of measurement procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The aim was to explore PA skills German-speaking preschool children with cochlea implants (CIs) and how these skills may be related to their speech and language skills. Methods Three monolingual German-speaking pre-school children aged 5;04–6;01 with bilateral CIs were tested. Their cognitive, speech and language skills were assessed. Six subtests of a standardized PA test battery were administered (i.e. rhyme identification, rhyme production; phoneme identification- input and -output; phoneme blending-input and -output). Results All three children showed distinctive PA profiles. One boy, who had no spoken language deficits, struggled to complete the rhyme tasks but performed well on three phoneme tasks. However, he showed a discrepancy between expressive and receptive phoneme blending skills, scoring poorly on the expressive subtest. The second boy, who displayed grammar comprehension and expressive vocabulary difficulties, showed a mixed profile, with a below average performance on rhyme production. The girl who had significant speech and language deficits scored below average on all six PA subtests. Conclusions PA profiles in children with CI vary considerably and PA testing should include a range of different PA tasks. The assumed link between spoken language deficits and PA difficulties shown in children with normal hearing could be confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous articles in this supplement described rationale for and development of the pause marker (PM), a diagnostic marker of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), and studies supporting its validity and reliability. The present article assesses the theoretical coherence of the PM with speech processing deficits in CAS. Purpose: Previous articles in this supplement described rationale for and development of the pause marker (PM), a diagnostic marker of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), and studies supporting its validity and reliability. The present article assesses the theoretical coherence of the PM with speech processing deficits in CAS. Results: Participants with CAS and AAS had significantly lower scores than typically speaking reference participants and speech delay controls on measures posited to assess representational and transcoding processes. Representational deficits differed between CAS and AAS groups, with support for both underspecified linguistic representations and memory/access deficits in CAS, but for only the latter in AAS. CAS-AAS similarities in the age-sex standardized percentages of occurrence of the most frequent type of inappropriate pauses (abrupt) and significant differences in the standardized occurrence of appropriate pauses were consistent with speech processing findings. Conclusions: Results support the hypotheses of core representational and transcoding speech processing deficits in CAS and theoretical coherence of the PM's pause-speech elements with these deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The goal of this article (PM I) is to describe the rationale for and development of the Pause Marker (PM), a single-sign diagnostic marker proposed to discriminate early or persistent childhood apraxia of speech from speech delay. Method: The authors describe and prioritize 7 criteria with which to evaluate the research and clinical utility of a diagnostic marker for childhood apraxia of speech, including evaluation of the present proposal. An overview is given of the Speech Disorders Classification System, including extensions completed in the same approximately 3-year period in which the PM was developed. Results: The finalized Speech Disorders Classification System includes a nosology and cross-classification procedures for childhood and persistent speech disorders and motor speech disorders (Shriberg, Strand, & Mabie, 2017). A PM is developed that provides procedural and scoring information, and citations to papers and technical reports that include audio exemplars of the PM and reference data used to standardize PM scores are provided. Conclusions: The PM described here is an acoustic-aided perceptual sign that quantifies one aspect of speech precision in the linguistic domain of phrasing. This diagnostic marker can be used to discriminate early or persistent childhood apraxia of speech from speech delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Three previous articles provided rationale, methods, and several forms of validity support for a diagnostic marker of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), termed the pause marker (PM). Goals of the present article were to assess the validity and stability of the PM Index (PMI) to scale CAS severity. Method: PM scores and speech, prosody, and voice precision-stability data were obtained for participants with CAS in idiopathic, neurogenetic, and complex neurodevelopmental disorders; adult-onset apraxia of speech consequent to stroke and primary progressive apraxia; and idiopathic speech delay. Three studies were completed including criterion and concurrent validity studies of the PMI and a temporal stability study of the PMI using retrospective case studies. Results: PM scores were significantly correlated with other signs of CAS precision and stability. The best fit of the distribution of PM scores to index CAS severity was obtained by dividing scores into 4 ordinal severity classifications: mild, mild-moderate, moderate-severe, and severe. Severity findings for the 4 classifications and retrospective longitudinal findings from 8 participants with CAS supported the validity and stability of the PMI. Conclusion: Findings support research and clinical use of the PMI to scale the severity of CAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this 2nd article in this supplement is to report validity support findings for the Pause Marker (PM), a proposed single-sign diagnostic marker of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Method: PM scores and additional perceptual and acoustic measures were obtained from 296 participants in cohorts with idiopathic and neurogenetic CAS, adult-onset apraxia of speech and primary progressive apraxia of speech, and idiopathic speech delay. Results: Adjusted for questionable specificity disagreements with a pediatric Mayo Clinic diagnostic standard, the estimated sensitivity and specificity, respectively, of the PM were 86.8% and 100% for the CAS cohort, yielding positive and negative likelihood ratios of 56.45 (95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.15, 2763.31]) and 0.13 (95% CI [0.06, 0.30]). Specificity of the PM for 4 cohorts totaling 205 participants with speech delay was 98.5%. Conclusion: These findings are interpreted as providing support for the PM as a near-conclusive diagnostic marker of CAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of developmental problems in a child's acquisition of speech, language and/or communication is a core activity in child surveillance. These are common difficulties with up to 15% of toddlers being 'late talkers' and 7% of children entering school with persisting impairments of their language development. These delays can confer disadvantages in the long term, adversely affecting language, cognition, academic attainment, behaviour and mental health. All children presenting with significant speech and language delay should be investigated with a comprehensive hearing assessment and be considered for speech and language therapy assessment. Socioeconomic adversity correlates with delayed language development. Clinical assessment should confirm that the presentation is definitely not acquired (see part 2) and will also guide whether the difficulty is primary, in which there are often familial patterns, or secondary, from a very wide range of aetiologies. Symptoms may be salient, such as the regression of communication in <3-year-olds which 'flags up' autism spectrum disorder. Further investigation will be informed from this clinical assessment, for example, genetic investigation for sex aneuploidies in enduring primary difficulties. Management of the speech and language difficulty itself is the realm of the speech and language therapist, who has an ever-increasing evidence-based choice of interventions. This should take place within a multidisciplinary team, particularly for children with more severe conditions who may benefit from individualised parental and educational supports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of a precise molecular diagnosis for children with intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy has become widely accepted and genetic testing is an integral part of the diagnostic evaluation of these children. In contrast, children with an isolated speech or language disorder are not often genetically evaluated, despite recent evidence supporting a role for genetic factors in the aetiology of these disorders. Several chromosomal copy number variants and single gene disorders associated with abnormalities of speech and language have been identified. Individuals without a precise genetic diagnosis will not receive optimal management including interventions such as early testosterone replacement in Klinefelter syndrome, otorhinolaryngological and audiometric evaluation in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, cardiovascular surveillance in 7q11.23 duplications and early dietary management to prevent obesity in proximal 16p11.2 deletions. This review summarises the clinical features, aetiology and management options of known chromosomal and single gene disorders that are associated with speech and language pathology in the setting of normal or only mildly impaired cognitive function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the recommendation and evidence provided by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) regarding screening for speech and language disorders in children aged five years or younger. It mentions that USPSTF has found no evidence on the benefits of screening and the harms of screening in primary care settings. Also presented is a table representing clinical summary of the USPSTF recommendation.

Background and aims: Linguistic factors can decrease or increase the children's speech disfluencies. One of these factors is the type of linguistic tasks presented to the child. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two tasks of sentence imitation and sentence modeling on severity of speech disfluencies in preschool children with stuttering. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study performed on 58 children with stuttering (29 subjects with mild stuttering and 29 subjects with moderate stuttering) and on 58 children with fluent speech aged 4-6 years old. The severity of speech disfluencies was measured by two separate tasks (sentence imitation and sentence modeling), and the results of two tasks were compared. Results: The mean stuttering severity score in boys with moderate stuttering in two tasks of sentence imitation and sentence modeling was 23.79±1.26 & 29.00±1.87 respectively and significant difference was observed (P=0.004). The mean stuttering severity score in girls with moderate stuttering was 25.27±1.93 & 33.18±2.32 respectively and significant difference was observed (P=0.007). The score of speech disfluencies in both sexes of non-stutter children and mild stuttering had no significant difference between two tasks (P>0.05). Conclusion: In preschool children with mild stuttering and peer non-stutters, performing two tasks of sentence imitation and sentence modeling could not increase the severity of stuttering. In preschool children with moderate stuttering, doing the task of sentence modeling increased the stuttering severity score. It is suggested that speech therapists apply the findings of this study to develop linguistic tasks with various levels of difficulty for children with stuttering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: to study the use of repair strategies by children with typical and atypical speech development through an analysis guided by the syllable from a target with simple coda. Methods: speech data from 24 children with typical speech development and from 12 children with atypical speech development were analyzed. The children's ages were between 1:0 and 4:0 and between 4:1 and 7:0, respectively. The analyzed dependant variable included the following syllabic variants: syllable omission, coda omission, epenthesis, metathesis, and coalescence. The statistical analysis was accomplished through the use of the Statistical Program VARBRUL. Results: it was possible to verify the use of repair strategies such as coda omission, coalescence, epenthesis, and metathesis in the children with speech disorders. The group with typical speech development presented higher occurrence of syllable omission. The variable age was significant for coda omission. When observing the variable sex, the girls with atypical speech development seem to use repair strategies more frequently, while the boys omit coda more often. Both groups tend to preserve the word final position. The extrametrical positions were more favorable for coda omission in the group with atypical speech acquisition. The post-stressed position is more favorable for coda omission and the stressed position is favorable for syllable omission in the group with typical development. Conclusion: the groups used different repair strategies during the blocked syllable acquisition. The group with typical acquisition prefers to omit the syllable, while the group with phonological disorders used the other analyzed repair strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The test for evaluating phonological simplification processes (TEPROSIF, according to its initials in Spanish) is a tool which is used to identify dyslalias. Our objective was to establish, by using TEPROSIF, the association between dyslalias and malocclusion in children from 4 to 6 years of age. Methods: After we standardized the tool with a kappa of 0.9, we applied it to 116 children from 4 to 6 years of age. Patients were conducted to a central occlusion through deglutition. We observed type of bite, overbite, oclussion and terminal plane in order to relate them to the dyslalia presented. For statistical analysis, we used Χ² test (p < 0.05). Results: They were 55 (47.4 %) boys and 61 (52.6 %) girls, with a median age of 5 years ± 0.71. Phoneme substitution was the most common alteration. We found significant correlation between omission of the phonemes and terminal plane (p = 0.01), Baume type I arch (p = 0.00) and absence of teeth (p = 0.00), as well as between phoneme substitution and terminal plane (p = 0.03), bite type (p = 0.01) and absence of teeth (p = 0.00). Conclusions: Phoneme substitution is the most common alteration, followed by omission and distortion of phonemes in children between 4 and 6 years of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: to define the profile of patients diagnosed with Dyslexia in terms of gender, familial recurrence for communication disorders or difficulties at school, presence of oral language disorders and the presence of changes in the skills of phonological working memory, visual memory and phonological awareness in the first clinical assessment, through analysis of charts of individuals. Methods: we conducted a retrospective study cross-sectional study through analysis of charts of the last ten years, from 2001 to 2011, in which we investigated the clinical histories and interdisciplinary review of patients diagnosed with Dyslexia. Result: through a sample of 23 medical records, it was found that 82% of patients belong to male subjects; 60.9% had familial recurrence for the presence of relatives with communication disorders or learning difficulties; 47.8% of children diagnosed with dyslexia reported suffering from some type of change in oral language; 82.6% of surveyed possessed alteration of phonological working memory, phonological awareness 82.6% and 39.1% of visual memory. Conclusion: it was possible to verify that the profile of patients diagnosed with dyslexia, Clinical School at the home institution, is characterized, preferentially by male gender, the presence of familial recurrence for communication disorders or learning difficulties, and present a modification of phonological working memory and phonological awareness during the first clinical assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Any impairment in the hearing ability of a child with cleft lip and palate may cause difficulties in receptive and expressive language. Purpose Check the association between velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD), compensatory articulation (CA), and peripheral hearing loss in children with cleft palate surgery. Methods Retrospective study with 60 children (group 1: presence of VPD and CA; group 2: absence of VPD, presence of CA; group 3: presence of VDP, absence of CA; group 4: absence of VPD and CA), age 4 to 5 years old, with cleft palate surgery, through the analysis of the hearing, VP, and speech evaluations. Results Group 4 presented 80% normal hearing; group 1 had 60% hearing loss. The conductive hearing loss type was the most frequent. The glottal stop was the most frequent in group 1 and the middorsum palatal plosive in group 2. There was no significant association (p = 0.05) between hearing loss and the presence of compensatory articulations (groups 2 and 4), nor between hearing loss and the presence of VPD (groups 3 and 4; p = 0.12). Statistical significance (p = 0.025) was found when the group with VPD was associated with the group with CA, that is, group 1 with the control group (group 4). Conclusion Significant association between peripheral hearing loss, compensatory articulations, and VPD was verified for the children in group 1, which not only presented compensatory articulations but also VPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To develop and validate a simple screening tool which can be used in the Community to identity delay in language development among children of 0-3 years of age. Methods: The normal range for the 33-items of "Language Evaluation Scale Trivandrum for 0-3years-LEST(0-3)" were carefully selected from various existing language development charts and scales, by experts keeping in mind the face validity and content validity. The criterion validity was assessed using a community sample of 643 children of 0 to 3 years of age, including 340 (52.9%) boys. LEST (0-3) was validated against Receptive Expressive Energent Language Scale, for screening delay in language development among children of 0-3 years. Results: When one item delay was taken as 'LEST delay' (test positive), the sensitivity and specificity of LEST(0-3), was found to be 95.85% and 77.5%, respectively with a negative predictive value of 99.8% and LR (negative) of 0.05.When two item delay was taken as 'LEST delay' (test positive), the sensitivity and specificity of LEST(0-3), was found to be 66.7% and 94.8% respectively with a negative predictive value of 98.7% and LR (negative) of 0.35. The test-retest and inter-rater reliability were good and acceptable (Interclass correlation of 0.69 for test- retest and 0.94 for inter-rater). Conclusion: LEST (0-3) is a simple, reliable and valid screening tool for use in the community to identify children between 0-3 years with delay in language development, enabling early intervention practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) has a detrimental impact on speech and language development. The past two decades have seen the gradual introduction of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) programmes coupled with early intervention programmes. We review studies that have capitalised on the advent of newborn hearing screening to assess the impact of early identifi cation of PCHI on language outcomes in deaf children. The research supports the conclusion that, in children with PCHI, newborn hearing screening and early identifi cation lead to beneficial effects on language development, with the most consistent evidence provided for links between early identifi cation of PCHI and positive language outcomes. Future research needs to encompass a wider range of outcomes and to assess the impact of UNHS in adolescents and young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parent report instruments are frequently used for the identification of both 'at-risk' children and to support the diagnosis of communication delay. Whilst the evidence is strong for the accuracy of parent report of vocabulary between 2 and 3 years, there are fewer studies that have considered the ability of parents to report on early communication behaviours in 12-month-old infants. Aims: To investigate the validity of the underlying structure of the Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales-Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP) for each of the direct observation and parent reports of communication behaviour in infants at 12 months of age. Methods & Procedures: Participants were 1725 infants, already participating in a longitudinal study of language development, whose parents completed the Infant-Toddler Checklist from the CSBS-DP. Seven hundred and twenty-eight (728) of these infants also completed the Behaviour Sample from the CSBS-DP. The structure of the CSBS-DP was examined using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) of the Behaviour Sample and the Infant-Toddler Checklist. Correlations between the Infant-Toddler Checklist and the Behaviour Sample on the total, composite, and subscale scores were also calculated. Outcomes & Results: Confirmatory factor analysis of the CSBS-DP Behaviour Sample replicated previous work conducted during the development of the instrument, but on a larger and younger cohort of Australian infants. The data provided support for at least three factors, broadly representing Social, Speech, and Symbolic communication skills, with some evidence that the speech factor could be further split into sub-factors representing Sounds and Words. There was support for a three-factor structure for the Infant-Toddler Checklist. Moderate correlations were found between results from the Behaviour Sample and the Infant-Toddler Checklist. Conclusions & Implications: As measures of early communication skill for young infants, the CSBS-DP Behaviour Sample and the Infant-Toddler Checklist are valid clinical tools for measuring constructs broadly representing Social, Speech, and Symbolic communication skills. The Speech composite in particular emerged as a strong factor under the Behaviour Sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: The main purpose of the present study was to compare the consonant error patterns of Dutch prelingually deaf CI children with prelingually hearing-impaired hearing aid (HA) children. The authors hypothesized that subjects using conventional hearing aids would have poorer consonant production skills. Additionally, the impact of the age at implantation (CI) and the degree of hearing loss (HA) was determined. Methodology: This is a comparative study of 29 prelingually deaf CI children (m.a. 9;0 y) and 32 prelingually hearing-impaired HA children (m.a. 9;11 y) who received their first hearing aid before the age of 2 years. Nineteen CI children were implanted before the age of 5 years. Nine HA children had thresholds above 90dB (range: 91–105dB), 15 between 70 and 90dB (range: 72–90dB) and 8 below 70dB (range: 58–68dB). Speech samples of all the children were elicited by means of a picture naming test and were video-recorded for further phonetic and phonological analysis. Results: Considerably more phonetic and phonologic errors were observed in the HA children with thresholds above 70dB (range: 72–105dB). No notable differences could be found between deaf CI children and HA children with thresholds below 70dB. Even children implanted after the age of 5 years showed significantly fewer phonetic and phonological errors than HA children. Conclusion: The consonant production of implanted children is more adequate than the consonant production of HA children with a hearing loss of 70dB or more. In addition, the results also indicate that even after the age of 5 years, implantation can still have an advantageous effect on a child''s consonant production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The specific mechanisms that underlie childhood stuttering are not fully understood. The current study investigated these mechanisms by comparing the effect on fluency of priming different components of a short sentence. The main findings were that: (1) both children who stutter (CWS) (n =12, M age=6;3) and children who do not stutter (CWNS) (n =12, M age=6;6) were more fluent after function word (FW) priming than content word (CW) priming, (2) this effect was significantly greater for CWS than for CWNS, and (3) after FW priming, CWS produced CWs with significantly longer duration than did CWNS. These findings are discussed in relation to two competing theories of stuttering: the covert repair hypothesis (CRH) [Kolk, H., & Postma, A. (1997). Stuttering as a covert repair phenomenon. In R. F. Curlee & G. M. Siegel (Eds.), Nature and treatments of stuttering: New directions (pp. 182–203). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon] and the developmentally focused model of Howell and Au-Yeung [Howell, P., & Au-Yeung, J. (2002). The EXPLAN theory of fluency control and the diagnosis of stuttering. In E. Fava (Ed.), Current issues in linguistic theory series: Pathology and therapy of speech disorders (pp. 75–94). Amsterdam: John Benjamins]. Learning outcomes: After reading this article, the reader will be able to: (1) understand which linguistic levels can be primed in children who stutter; (2) see why EXPLAN predicts asymmetrical effects on fluency when function or content words are primed; (3) appreciate the distinguishing characteristics of CRH and EXPLAN theories. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This single subject design study examined two models of intervention: Denver Model (which merges behavioral, developmental, and relationship-oriented intervention), and PROMPT (a neuro-developmental approach for speech production disorders). Ten young, nonverbal children with autism were matched in pairs and randomized to treatment. They received 12 1-h weekly sessions of therapy and daily 1-h home intervention delivered by parents. Fidelity criteria were maintained throughout. Eight of the ten children used five or more novel, functional words spontaneously and spoke multiple times per hour by the conclusion of treatment. There were no differences in acquired language skills by intervention group. Initial characteristics of the best responders were mild to moderate symptoms of autism, better motor imitation skills, and emerging joint attention skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a number of clinical options available for speech-language pathologists to choose from to analyze a child's phonological system, select treatment targets, and design intervention. Frequently, each of these areas of clinical options is viewed independently of one another or approached within an eclectic framework. In this article, an integrated and systemic approach is presented which assumes that a dynamic interaction exists among assessment, target selection, and intervention. Systemic Phonological Assessment of Child Speech, the distance metric approach to target selection, and the multiple oppositions treatment approach are described, with examples provided for each component. Finally, a case study is presented that examines the systemic approach of multiple oppositions relative to the approach of minimal pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents observations about how physicians can investigate and manage children who have speech or language delays. Prevalence of language development disorders in children aged 3 to 16 years; Consideration of the current literature on speech and language development in children; How linguists divide language into the study domains of phonology, grammar, semantics, and pragmatics; Use of a neuropsycholinguistic model to measure the complex interactions of the brain; Availability of screening and treatment facilities for children with speech or language delay.

This paper reports the reliability, validity and accuracy of the General Language Screen (GLS) as the first stage in its development as a potential screening instrument for the identification of speech and language disorder (SLD) in the primary care setting. Data reported were obtained during the Cambridge Language and Speech Project (CLASP) a longitudinal epidemiological study of primary SLD. The GLS was originally used in initial CLASP sample ascertainment when children were aged 36 months. This report utilises speech and language data collected at subsequent stages of this study (37-months, 45-months and 8-years) to determine the reliability, validity and accuracy of the GLS. The GLS demonstrated sufficient levels of reliability (internal consistency α=0.74) and validity (criterion validity r=-0.55). Adequate construct validity was demonstrated by a factor analysis in which two language related factors were identified. These data therefore justified exploration of the accuracy of the GLS as a screening instrument. Analysis of accuracy in this context is complicated by lack of a generally accepted method of defining SLD case status. This report utilises data on language function at different stages of development to provide measures of GLS accuracy over time. Concurrent accuracy, measured against parental report of language function at 37-months, was good (ROC area under the curve=0.93). Predictive accuracy measured against direct assessment of speech and language at 45-months and 8-years was, as expected, somewhat less (ROC=0.77 and 0.68 respectively). The implications for the use of the GLS as a screening instrument are discussed. The data indicate that the GLS would function most usefully as the first stage of a two-stage screen for SLD in the primary care setting. Recommendations are made as to the nature of the second stage of such a screen and plans for future research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations of FOXP2 in 7q31 cause a rare disorder involving speech apraxia, accompanied by expressive and receptive language impairments. A recent report described a child with speech and language deficits, and a genomic rearrangement affecting chromosomes 7 and 11. One breakpoint mapped to 7q31 and, although outside its coding region, was hypothesised to disrupt FOXP2 expression. We identified an element 2 kb downstream of this breakpoint with epigenetic characteristics of an enhancer. We show that this element drives reporter gene expression in human cell-lines. Thus, displacement of this element by translocation may disturb gene expression, contributing to the observed language phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosis of speech disorder in children acquiring two languages is problematic. There are few norms for bilingual language acquisition, and speech–language pathologists are unlikely to speak both languages of the bilingual populations they serve. Further, knowledge concerning the phonological structure of many languages is limited. This article describes the development of a phonological assessment for bilingual children. The assessment was administered to normally developing bilingual children as well as children suspected of speech disorder. The children with speech disorder were referred to the Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust Speech and Language Therapy Department for assessment of their speech. All of the children spoke either Mirpuri, Punjabi or Urdu at home but were exposed to English at nursery or school. The phonological development of bilingual children in each language is described. The normally developing children showed phonological error patterns in English that would be considered atypical of normal monolingual development in English. The error patterns of two children with speech disorder are also described. The error patterns are consistent with research evidence concerning subgroups of speech disorder in monolingual and bilingual children. The findings provide further support for the hypothesis that symptoms (surface error patterns) of speech disorder are language independent, (i.e., that a single deficit underlies the speech disorder across both languages). The clinical implications for assessment and treatment of speech disorder in chil-dren exposed to more than one language are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with the evaluation and management of the child with speech delay. Disorders that may cause a delay in speech development; Epidemiology of speech delay; Etiology; Clinical evaluation and management.

Describes the speech-language pattern of a child afflicted with Moya Moya disease. Causes and effects of the disease; Findings of its angiograms; Condition of the carotid artery; Types of collateral circulation; Comparison between rete mirabile and cerebral circulation.

Analyzes the results of an experiment that evaluated fluent asthmatic children who developed stuttering following administration of theophylline. Percentage of adults and children suffering from developmental stutterers (DS); Causes of acquired stuttering (AS); Case studies of children with stuttered dysfluencies.

We investigated the feasibility of assessing childhood speech disorders via an Internet-based telehealth system (eREHAB). The equipment provided videoconferencing through a 128 kbit/s Internet link, and enabled the transfer of pre-recorded video and audio data from the participant to the online clinician. Six children (mean age = 5.3 years) with a speech disorder were studied. Assessments of single-word articulation, intelligibility in conversation, and oro-motor structure and function were conducted for each participant, with simultaneous scoring by a face to face and an online clinician. There were high levels of agreement between the two scoring environments for single-word articulation (92%), speech intelligibility (100%) and oro-motor tasks (91%). High levels of inter- and intra-rater agreement were achieved for the online ratings for most measures. The results suggest that an Internet-based assessment protocol has potential for assessing paediatric speech disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses a systemic review of literature on screening children in Great Britain for speech and language delay. Evidence to warrant the introduction of universal screening for speech and language delays in children up to seven years of age; Identification of gaps in the available literature; Priority areas in need of further investigation; Evidence-based recommendations for the future provision of services.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the auditory system functions of the olivocochlear efferents in children who have speech-sound problems. MATERIALS and METHODS: Twenty two children (n: 44 ears) who have problems in the production of speech sounds (Mean age±SD, 6.8±3.2) years participated the study. After obtaining approval of local ethical committee and informed consents, all participants underwent otoscopic examination, audiometry (between 1 kHz and 4 kHz), Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions with contralateral supression. All participants had a hearing threshold of 20 dB HL by audiometry test. RESULTS: There was statistically significant difference between TEOAE and TEOAE with contralateral supression test results (1 kHz and 4 kHz) of children with speech-sound problems (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: As a result, it was found that the decrease of the contralateral supression values of the children with speech-sound disorders. According to these findings, we thought that there was delayed auditory feedback in olivocochlear efferents system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Control of oral-nasal balance is difficult for profoundly deaf individuals. Especially hypernasality is a common speech problem of the deaf children. In the literature, a few studies investigated the effect of cochlear implantation on nasalance measures in profoundly deaf children. Yet, in Turkey there is not any study, as such. The aims of this study were to obtain nasalance scores in children with cochlear implants and determine the effect of cochlear implatation on nasalanece score. MATERIALS and METHODS: This study included 4-18 years old, 8 children with cochlear implants. At first step, a personel information form was used as a data tool. Next, audiologic assesment was performed. Finally, nasalance measurements were obtained. The results have been analysed by SPSS version 22. RESULTS: Nasalance scores compared with published normative data for pediatric individuals. Means nasalance scores for oral phonemes were significantly higher than the normative data. But means nasalance scores for nasal phonemes lower than the normative data. There was no significant correlation was found between nasalance scores and individual factors such as age, gender, the age starting use of the hearing aids and cochlear implatation, duration of cochlear implatation use and rehabilitation. RECOMMENDATION: As a conclusion, we recommended that nasometric assesment can be used for speech teraphy program of childeren with cochlear implatation. Further studies including larger groups are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No abstract available [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author describes the factors that she considers when selecting pediatric speech pathology assessment resources. The author argues that a good textbook will continuously help speech therapists in making informed decisions. She says that an assessment tool that uses normal distribution and standard scores can provide accurate diagnosis in pediatric patients. She also explains the relevance of well-developed standardized test and discourse-based sampling methods.

Hearing is primary way in which we acquire the speech sounds of all language; individuals with hearing impairments will have speech and language disorders. Not only sensory-neural hearing loss but conductive hearing loss may affect the speech &language abilities. Also auditory processing disorders (APD) significantly affect speech-language abilities of children especially in articulation and phonology. The collaboration of audiologist and speech language pathologist in clinical setting is very important and they have to study in close cooperation. According scope of practice of SLP's will be discussed regarding hearing loss. Firstly the role of SLP's will be discussed in term of assessment of speech and language abilities in children with hearing loss from conductive to sensory-neural hearing loss addition to APD. The assessment batteries will be shared regarding to pathologies. Not only language test, which include (receptive and expressive language) nor speech sound abilities but also information processing (cognitive-linguistic) assessment will be explained which is very important to develop spoken language. Secondly intervention modalities will be shared. Finally the importance of interdisciplinary approach between audiology and speech language pathology will be emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on the Physician's Developmental Quick Screen for Speech Disorders (PDQ), a screening used in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch to recognize speech and language disorders in children. Speech disorders assessed by the screening test; Results of the field testing of PDQ.

The article reports on the development and implementation of the Kelley-Guilmartin Speech Test for Deaf Children in public school classes for deaf children in the U.S. One of its objectives was to make it easy to administer the test in child guidance clinics and public school research. The procedure consists of showing the child pictures and reading materials with a minimum of verbal direction, while the child reads and talks into the microphone. The test is deemed applicable to children between the ages of eight and sixteen.

The article discusses the evaluation of public school speech correction programs, which is concerned with the problem of making progress reports to teachers and parents. It mentions the two problems of evaluation which deal with the contributions of the speech correction program to the total school population and to the children. It suggests the use of speech survey for developing special action programs, and ways to evaluate the diagnosis, lesson plan, and follow-up methods.