Search

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between non-orthographic language abilities and reading in order to examine assumptions of the primary systems hypothesis and further our understanding of language processing poststroke. Method: Performance on non-orthographic semantic, phonologic, and syntactic tasks, as well as oral reading and reading comprehension tasks, was assessed in 43 individuals with aphasia. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these measures. In addition, analyses of variance examined differences within and between reading groups (within normal limits, phonological, deep, or global alexia). Results: Results showed that non-orthographic language abilities were significantly related to reading abilities. Semantics was most predictive of regular and irregular word reading, whereas phonology was most predictive of pseudohomophone and nonword reading. Written word and paragraph comprehension were primarily supported by semantics, whereas written sentence comprehension was related to semantic, phonologic, and syntactic performance. Finally, severity of alexia was found to reflect severity of semantic and phonologic impairment. Conclusions: Findings support the primary systems view of language by showing that non-orthographic language abilities and reading abilities are closely linked. This preliminary work requires replication and extension; however, current results highlight the importance of routine, integrated assessment and treatment of spoken and written language in aphasia.

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between non-orthographic language abilities and reading in order to examine assumptions of the primary systems hypothesis and further our understanding of language processing poststroke.Method: Performance on non-orthographic semantic, phonologic, and syntactic tasks, as well as oral reading and reading comprehension tasks, was assessed in 43 individuals with aphasia. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these measures. In addition, analyses of variance examined differences within and between reading groups (within normal limits, phonological, deep, or global alexia).Results: Results showed that non-orthographic language abilities were significantly related to reading abilities. Semantics was most predictive of regular and irregular word reading, whereas phonology was most predictive of pseudohomophone and nonword reading. Written word and paragraph comprehension were primarily supported by semantics, whereas written sentence comprehension was related to semantic, phonologic, and syntactic performance. Finally, severity of alexia was found to reflect severity of semantic and phonologic impairment.Conclusions: Findings support the primary systems view of language by showing that non-orthographic language abilities and reading abilities are closely linked. This preliminary work requires replication and extension; however, current results highlight the importance of routine, integrated assessment and treatment of spoken and written language in aphasia.Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha. 7403963, Aphasia, an acquired difficulty with language processing, results from damage to the language-dominant hemisphere of the brain, most commonly following left-hemisphere stroke. Although aphasia is not a uniform disorder, people [...]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct the initial psychometric analyses of the Communicative Participation Item Bank--a new self-report instrument designed to measure the extent to which communication disorders interfere with communicative participation. This item bank is intended for community-dwelling adults across a range of communication disorders. Method: A set of 141 candidate items was administered to 208 adults with spasmodic dysphonia. Participants rated the extent to which their condition interfered with participation in various speaking communication situations. Questionnaires were administered online or in a paper version per participant preference. Participants also completed the Voice Handicap Index (B. H. Jacobson et al., 1997) and a demographic questionnaire. Rasch analyses were conducted using Winsteps software (J. M. Linacre, 1991). Results: The results show that items functioned better when the 5-category response format was recoded to a 4-category format. After removing 8 items that did not fit the Rasch model, the remaining 133 items demonstrated strong evidence of sufficient unidimensionality, with the model accounting for 89.3% of variance. Item location values ranged from -2.73 to 2.20 logits. Conclusions: Preliminary Rasch analyses of the Communicative Participation Item Bank show strong psychometric properties. Further testing in populations with other communication disorders is needed.

Purpose: This study examined satisfaction with communicative participation as reported by adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Method: Eight community-dwelling adults with MS participated in semi-structured interviews. They were asked to discuss their satisfaction with their communication in a variety of situations. Interviews were analyzed using a constant comparative method of qualitative description. Results: Themes derived included: "Comfort," consisting of "Ease" and "Confidence"; "Success of the Outcome," including "Function is Achieved" and "A Connection is Made"; and "Personal Meaning of Participation," including "Personal Preferences, Comparison with the Past," and "Thinking about One's Own Communication." Conclusions: Participants described multiple facets of satisfaction with communicative participation. Some of the dimensions were similar to those in existing assessment instruments such as levels of ease or difficulty with performance. Participants did not talk about frequency of activities as a key part of their satisfaction. Implications for identifying intervention targets and treatment outcome measurements are provided. Learning outcomes: The reader should be able to: 1) define communicative participation and identify key elements of this construct; 2) identify the issues that were most relevant to satisfaction with communicative participation with participants with MS; and 3) identify reasons for greater emphasis on the subjective viewpoint of people with communication disorders in measurement of treatment outcomes.

Purpose: To assess the adequacy of self-report instruments in speech-language pathology for measuring a construct called communicative participation. Method: Six instruments were evaluated relative to (a) the construct measured, (b) the relevance of individual items to communicative participation, and (c) their psychometric properties. Results: No instrument exclusively measured communicative participation. Twenty-six percent (n = 34) of all items (N = 132) across the reviewed instruments were consistent with communicative participation. The majority (76%) of the 34 items were associated with general communication, while the remaining 24% of the items were associated with communication at work, during leisure, or for establishing relationships. Instruments varied relative to psychometric properties. Conclusions: No existing self-report instruments in speech-language pathology were found to be solely dedicated to measuring communicative participation. Developing an instrument for measuring communicative participation is essential for meeting the requirements of our scope of practice.

Purpose: To examine the prevalence and characteristics of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries reporting a communication disability and the relationship between that disability and dissatisfaction with medical care. Method: A total of 12,769 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey respondents age 65 and older in 2001 were categorized by level of communication disability. Sampling weights were used to make inferences about the entire Medicare population. Results: Over 16 million beneficiaries reported a communication disability. Hearing problems were most commonly reported (41.99%). The association between dissatisfaction and communication disability was statistically significant (p [less than or equal to 0.05) for 8 of 10 items. Conclusions: Prevalence of dissatisfaction among those with a communication disability varied, ranging from 3.43% to 19.34%. Respondents with a communication disability reported much more dissatisfaction when compared with those respondents without a communication disability.

This study investigated the metamemory monitoring abilities of 18 adult survivors of at least moderate traumatic brain injury. Participants also made judgments-of-learning (JOL) predictions of their recall ability immediately or after a list-learning task or after a slight delay. Survivors were as accurate as controls in delayed JOL predictions but overestimated when making immediate JOL predictions. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

The definition of dysarthria and its incidence as a symptom in several disabling conditions are addressed. Information is also provided on the effects of dysarthria on daily life activities; the role of the speech-language pathologist; and evidence of the benefits of treatment. A case study is provided. (CR)

The study attempted to (1) identify word sequences that occur frequently among 10 linguistically intact augmented communicators, (2) determine the communality with which the various augmented communicators use specific word sequences, and (3) evaluate the usefulness of word sequences in providing keystroke savings for uses of augmentative and alternative communication devices. (Author/DB)

The study compared the relative benefits of word lists that were individualized for adolescent and adult subjects (N=10) using augmented communication to word lists selected from standard vocabulary sources. Findings indicated that individualized lists could represent a larger portion of the total communication sample in a relatively short list. (Author/DB)

Keywords: multiple sclerosis, communication disorders, communicative participation The Communicative Participation Item Bank (CPIB) is a self-report instrument measuring interference in participation in everyday communication situations for community-dwelling adults across a range of communication disorders. Ten items from the CPIB were administered to 500 participants with multiple sclerosis (MS) over a 2-year period (baseline, plus 1 year, plus 2 years). Measures of symptoms (slurred speech, problems thinking, depression, fatigue, social support, and mobility) and demographic data (age, duration of MS, employment status) were also obtained as part of a larger longitudinal study. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify latent classes and their trajectories over time. Three latent classes (all with flat trajectories) were identified: high, mid, and low participation. Members of the high-participation class (77.9% of the sample) were characterized by low levels of slurred speech, depression, and fatigue. The high proportion in this group may reflect that those with more severe symptoms were more likely to withdraw from the study. Of particular interest to speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the mid-participation class (16.2% of the sample) characterized by low social support and the low-participation class (5.8%) whose members report both low social support and problems thinking Implications for assessment and intervention approaches are discussed., INTRODUCTION Communicative participation refers to taking part in the communication aspects of life roles including employment, household management, relationships, and community activities. Since the adoption of the World Health Organization [...]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct the initial psychometric analyses of the Communicative Participation Item Bank--a new self-report instrument designed to measure the extent to which communication disorders interfere with communicative participation. This item bank is intended for community-dwelling adults across a range of communication disorders. Method: A set of 141 candidate items was administered to 208 adults with spasmodic dysphonia. Participants rated the extent to which their condition interfered with participation in various speaking communication situations. Questionnaires were administered online or in a paper version per participant preference. Participants also completed the Voice Handicap Index (B. H. Jacobson et al., 1997) and a demographic questionnaire. Rasch analyses were conducted using Winsteps software (J. M. Linacre, 1991). Results: The results show that items functioned better when the 5-category response format was recoded to a 4-category format. After removing 8 items that did not fit the Rasch model, the remaining 133 items demonstrated strong evidence of sufficient unidimensionality, with the model accounting for 89.3% of variance. Item location values ranged from--2.73 to 2.20 logits. Conclusions: Preliminary Rasch analyses of the Communicative Participation Item Bank show strong psychometric properties. Further testing in populations with other communication disorders is needed. KEY WORDS: Rasch analyses, participation, spasmodic dysphonia, Participation in most life roles requires communicating with other people. Whether individuals are at work, taking care of their families and households, or relaxing with friends, communication is a key [...]

This systematic review of the literature addresses interventions for dysarthria that focus on the global aspects of speech. The review is part of the development of practice guidelines for the [...]

Summary: Objectives/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study is to examine the psychosocial consequences of BOTOX® (Allergan, Inc. Irvine, CA) treatment for spasmodic dysphonia (SD). This article also explores how patients [...]

This article is one in a series of articles sponsored by the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS) to address issues related to evidence-based practice guidelines in neurologic [...]

The purpose of this study was to examine the barriers and strategies that listeners endorsed as they attempted to understand dysarthric speech. Speech samples were collected from individuals with amyotrophic [...]

This systematic review of the literature addresses the use of speech supplementation techniques for speakers with dysarthria and is part of the development of practice guidelines for the Academy of [...]

The literature was reviewed to identify variables that contribute or serve as barriers to employment for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The underlying pathology and progression of MS was described along with the new trends in medical management that have changed the course of the disease. We concluded that employment is associated with perceived quality of life for people living with MS, that people with MS are disproportionately unemployed given their educational and vocational histories, and that health care and rehabilitation professionals may not adequately advocate for and support continuing employment for their clients with MS., Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system and is the most common cause of chronic neurological disability in young adults, affecting between 250,000 [...]

This systematic review of the literature addresses the medical management of spasmodic dysphonia (SD) and some related conditions. It was carried as part of the development of practice guidelines for [...]

The Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS), by way of the mission, purposes, and activities of its Ad Hoc Practice Guidelines Coordinating Committee and respective Writing Committees, has [...]

********** This work emerged from a larger effort by an Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences committee to establish Practice Guidelines for the management of speakers with dysarthria. A [...]

This systematic review of the literature addresses behavioral techniques for the management of respiratory/phonatory dysfunction in dysarthria. It was carried as part of the development of practice guidelines for the [...]

Although previous studies of the speech problems associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) report general prevalence information, they do not describe the full range of patient characteristics necessary for appropriate clinical [...]

Objective: A high prevalence of hearing loss in older adults contrasts with a small proportion of people who seek help. Emerging developments in hearing healthcare (HHC) could reduce costs but may not increase access. This study evaluated older adults' perceptions of current and future HHC services in Australia, England, US and Canada to explore potential levers and system improvements. Methods: Semi-structured focus groups (n = 47) were conducted, and data were analysed using a directed content analysis. Participants were adults 60 years and older with a) no hearing problems; b) hearing problems and hearing aid use; and c) hearing problems and no hearing aid use. Results: Perceived barriers, facilitators and preferences were largely consistent across countries, with stigma and trust in HHC being the barriers most often discussed. Conclusion: Although cost and access were consistently deemed important, there may be limited change in help-seeking and HHC uptake unless the key barriers of trust and stigma are addressed. When seeking to undertake transformative change to healthcare it is important to engage recipients of care to understand existing barriers and coproduce a user-centered solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]