Field Of Communication Disorders Research Articles

Clinical Observations of Hearing, Speech, Language and Swallowing Abilities in Locked-in Syndrome: A Case-based Study

Background: Locked-in Syndrome (LIS) is a rare neurological condition characterized by quadriplegia, mutism, and lower cranial nerve paralysis with intact eye movements and consciousness and communication through eye blink only. The irretrievable LIS condition differs from a coma, persistent vegetative state, and akinetic mutism with preserved volitional vertical eye movements and blinking involving a lack of conscious interaction with the environment. Reports and evidence on assessment and rehabilitation with LIS are scanty. Thus, this case study aims to highlight some of the challenges faced by speech-language pathologists in the assessment and management of LIS in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation center. This study also emphasizes the assessment protocol adapted to diagnose and strategies planned for intervention. 
 Case Description: A 58 years old male followed by an ischemic brain stroke diagnosed with LIS with a tracheostomy came to the department. Detailed history noted history revealed a brainstem stroke with pons involvement and a tracheostomy with percutaneous endoscopic gastrotomy and immobile vocal folds with limited epiglottic movements with impaired swallowing ability and severe aspiration. The clinical assessment was challenging and difficult to select appropriate assessment strategies for the condition. Detailed Speech, Swallow, and Language evaluations were carried out. The detailed evaluation reported the client with anarthria with tracheostomy secondary to locked-in syndrome.
 Conclusion: The present case report summarizes the need and findings of various evaluation procedures in the field of communication disorders. The role of an SLP is essential and a proper diagnostic protocol need to be considered along with spectacular observation while assessing LIS.

Counseling in Speech-Language Pathology: Perspectives and experiences of Speech-Language Pathologists in India

BackgroundCounseling is important in service delivery in the field of Speech-Language Pathology. The skills required for counseling can be utilised during the assessment and management of all communication disorders. To develop, validate and administer a questionnaire assessing current perspectives and experiences of working speech-language pathologists practising in India towards counseling. MethodsThe questionnaire consisted of 36 questions towards counseling which were completed by 116 speech-language pathologists. Statistical analysis was carried out using Jamovi 2.0.0.0 to determine descriptive statistics and the internal consistency of the questionnaire using Cronbach's Alpha. ResultsThe participants perceived the importance of counseling and were comfortable with providing counseling. The most common source of knowledge on counseling was reported to be discussions with colleagues and friends. The participants considered all the suggested aspects of counseling to be extremely important. The most common area difficult to counsel was reported to be reading and writing disorders. ConclusionsThe questionnaire helped in providing insight into the current perspectives and experiences towards counseling in the field of communication disorders in India.

Applications and Performances of Artificial Intelligence in Assessment and Diagnosis of Communication Disorders: A Systematic Review of the Literatures

Objectives: A systematic review of the literature was undertaken (1) to investigate research trends on how artificial intelligence is being used for assessment and diagnosis in the field of communication disorders and (2) to suggest consideration and a directions for the effective use of artificial intelligence in clinical settings. Methods: A total of 328 articles published in foreign journals between January 2016 and August 2021 were searched using 6 databases and a manual search, and 18 articles were finally selected according to PICO strategy (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) inclusion and exclusion criteria. Four authors determined the report selection and data extraction. They also independently analyzed the quality of the selected papers using QUADAS-II (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-II). Results: Firstly, the selected studies had a generally low risk of bias. Secondly, the major subjects of studies were children with communication disorders. Thirdly, most of the studies included in the analysis were experimental studies to verify the effectiveness of using artificial intelligence. Lastly, the extracted features for assessment and diagnosis were biased against acoustic features at the levels of phoneme and word in speaking tasks. The performance of artificial intelligence in the selected studies differed according to the research purpose and evaluation metrics. Conclusion: This study suggests that in order for artificial intelligence to be used in the assessment and diagnosis system, it is essential to acquire clinically reliable and high-quality big data on the characteristics of speech and language of people with communication disorders.

한국형 감정 음성 데이터베이스 구축을 위한 타당도 연구

In this study, we reported the validation results of the Korean Affective Voice Database (KAV DB), an affective voice database available for scientific and clinical use, comprising a total of 113 validated affective voice stimuli. The KAV DB includes audio-recordings of two actors (one male and one female), each uttering 10 semantically neutral sentences with the intention to convey six different affective states (happiness, anger, fear, sadness, surprise, and neutral). The database was organized into three separate voice stimulus sets in order to validate the KAV DB. Participants rated the stimuli on six rating scales corresponding to the six targeted affective states by using a 100 horizontal visual analog scale. The KAV DB showed high internal consistency for voice stimuli (Cronbach’s <italic>α</italic>=.847). The database had high sensitivity (mean=82.8%) and specificity (mean=83.8%). The KAV DB is expected to be useful for both academic research and clinical purposes in the field of communication disorders. The KAV DB is available for download at <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://kav-db.notion.site/KAV-DB-7539a36abe2e414ebf4a50d80436b41a">https://kav-db.notion.site/KAV-DB-7539a36abe2e414ebf4a50d80436b41a</ext-link>.

Auditory Evoked Potentials in Communication Disorders: An Overview of Past, Present, and Future.

This article provides a brief overview of auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and their application in the areas of research and clinics within the field of communication disorders. The article begins with providing a historical perspective within the context of the key scientific developments that led to the emergence of numerous types of AEPs. Furthermore, the article discusses the different AEP techniques in the light of their feasibility in clinics. As AEPs, because of their versatility, find their use across disciplines, this article also discusses some of the research questions that are currently being addressed using AEP techniques in the field of communication disorders and beyond. At the end, this article summarizes the shortcomings of the existing AEP techniques and provides a general perspective toward the future directions. The article is aimed at a broad readership including (but not limited to) students, clinicians, and researchers. Overall, this article may act as a brief primer for the new AEP users, and as an overview of the progress in the field of AEPs along with future directions, for those who already use AEPs on a routine basis.

Opportunities for social robots in the stuttering clinic: A review and proposed scenarios

AbstractThe inclusion of technologies such as telepractice, and virtual reality in the field of communication disorders has transformed the approach to providing healthcare. This research article proposes the employment of similar advanced technology – social robots, by providing a context and scenarios for potential implementation of social robots as supplements to stuttering intervention. The use of social robots has shown potential benefits for all the age group in the field of healthcare. However, such robots have not yet been leveraged to aid people with stuttering. We offer eight scenarios involving social robots that can be adapted for stuttering intervention with children and adults. The scenarios in this article were designed by human–robot interaction (HRI) and stuttering researchers and revised according to feedback from speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The scenarios specify extensive details that are amenable to clinical research. A general overview of stuttering, technologies used in stuttering therapy, and social robots in health care is provided as context for treatment scenarios supported by social robots. We propose that existing stuttering interventions can be enhanced by placing state-of-the-art social robots as tools in the hands of practitioners, caregivers, and clinical scientists.

Sociocultural nature of writing in children with autism

Background: In the field of communication disorders, practitioners work regularly with school-age children with autism. Routinely, socialization issues impact literacy in this population and consequently become areas of clinical concern. This study addressed common themes from an inquiry into the socialization processes of school-age children with autism as they engaged in writing events as a sociocultural tool in clinical contexts. Method: A qualitative methodology was employed to investigate how three students with autism used writing as a sociocultural tool, and what opportunities the writing activities created for socialization over the course of one semester in a group intervention setting. Results: Three general patterns emerged that highlight the strategies employed by participants which demonstrated their use of writing for socialization, and the sociocultural opportunities the writing process provided. Discussion/conclusion: This study demonstrated that the context of the writing events, where the sociocultural nature of writing was appreciated and valued, created unique opportunities for the participants to engage, socialize, and essentially create a local peer culture.

The Effects of Reading Fluency Intervention via Tele-practice Parent Coaching on Parent’s Intervention Strategies and the Reading Fluency Skills of Children with Cochlear Implants

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of tele-practice parent coaching on parents’ intervention strategies and the reading fluency skills of children with cochlear implants (CIs).Methods: Five dyads of mother and child with CIs participated in this study. Five Korean second graders with cochlear implants participated in reading fluency tasks individually. All of them had reading fluency difficulties. We examined the efficacy of tele-practice parent coaching program for children with CIs by employing a pretest-posttest-maintenance design.Results: The parents demonstrated increases in their use of each reading intervention strategies after parent-coaching instruction. Post and maintenance of intervention strategies use in the home was sustained; indicating that parent coaching routines are effective to achieve maximal outcomes. All children demonstrated gains in their use of reading fluency skills.Conclusion: The results show that the parent coaching delivered through tele-practice had positive effects on parents’ learning behaviors and the reading fluency of children with CIs. This study provides useful information for developing parent coaching programs in terms of the reading fluency skills of children with CIs. Thus, the implementation of developing parent programs in the field of communication disorders is suggested.

A Study on the Current Status and Needs of Counseling Curriculum in Communication Disorders in Korea

Objectives: Counseling is an essential component of the treatment of communication disorders. Clinicians and students in the field have reported a necessity for the incorporation of counseling courses into speech-language pathology practice. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the current status of a counseling curriculum in the field of communication sciences and disorders, and to present the professors’ and speech-language pathologists’(SLP) perceptions of the counseling curriculum.Methods: A web-based questionnaire regarding the current status and need for the counseling curriculum was developed and distributed to professors in undergraduate and graduate programs and to SLPs in clinical settings. Responses from a total of 66 professors and 121 SLPs were collected and were used for the analysis.Results: Overall, 66.7% of undergraduate programs and 26.9% of graduate programs offer a counseling course within the department. Also, 100% and 85.1% of professors in undergraduate and graduate programs reported the need for counseling education and training in the field of communication disorders respectively. A strong majority of SLPs (95.7%) also felt counseling courses are needed. By clinical areas, SLPs working in language development disorders reported the highest need (25.4%) for counseling courses, followed by neurological disorders and fluency disorders.Conclusion: The results show that the need for counseling programs was high among professors and clinicians. Thus, the implementation of a systematic and adequate counseling curriculum in the field of communication disorders is suggested.

The Role of Gesture in Communication and Cognition: Implications for Understanding and Treating Neurogenic Communication Disorders.

When people talk, they gesture. Gesture is a fundamental component of language that contributes meaningful and unique information to a spoken message and reflects the speaker’s underlying knowledge and experiences. Theoretical perspectives of speech and gesture propose that they share a common conceptual origin and have a tightly integrated relationship, overlapping in time, meaning, and function to enrich the communicative context. We review a robust literature from the field of psychology documenting the benefits of gesture for communication for both speakers and listeners, as well as its important cognitive functions for organizing spoken language, and facilitating problem-solving, learning, and memory. Despite this evidence, gesture has been relatively understudied in populations with neurogenic communication disorders. While few studies have examined the rehabilitative potential of gesture in these populations, others have ignored gesture entirely or even discouraged its use. We review the literature characterizing gesture production and its role in intervention for people with aphasia, as well as describe the much sparser literature on gesture in cognitive communication disorders including right hemisphere damage, traumatic brain injury, and Alzheimer’s disease. The neuroanatomical and behavioral profiles of these patient populations provide a unique opportunity to test theories of the relationship of speech and gesture and advance our understanding of their neural correlates. This review highlights several gaps in the field of communication disorders which may serve as a bridge for applying the psychological literature of gesture to the study of language disorders. Such future work would benefit from considering theoretical perspectives of gesture and using more rigorous and quantitative empirical methods in its approaches. We discuss implications for leveraging gesture to explore its untapped potential in understanding and rehabilitating neurogenic communication disorders.

Using Bayesian methods to test mediators of intervention outcomes in single-case experimental designs

Single-Case Experimental Designs (SCEDs) have lately been recognized as a valuable alternative to large-group studies. SCEDs form a great tool for the evaluation of treatment effectiveness in heterogeneous and low-incidence conditions, which are common in the field of communication disorders. Mediation analysis is indispensable in treatment research because it informs researchers about the mechanism through which the intervention leads to changes (e.g., communication skills) in the outcome of interest (e.g., developmental outcomes). Despite the increasing popularity of both SCEDs and mediation analysis, there are currently no methods for estimating mediated effects for a single individual. This paper describes how Bayesian piecewise regression analysis can be used for mediation analysis in SCEDs. A Playskin LiftTM dataset from one infant born preterm who is at risk for cognitive developmental delays is used to illustrate two approaches to mediation analysis in SCEDs: Bayesian computation of the mediated effect and Bayesian informative hypothesis testing. Annotated R code is provided so researchers can easily fit the proposed models to their own SCED data set. Advantages and limitations of the method are discussed.

Conceptualizing Participation and Communication Disorder in Dementia Research

PurposeThe overarching aim of this article is to explore the relating concepts of participation and communication in dementia care research and to propose future avenues of research within the field of communication disorders. Individuals with dementia comprise speech-language pathologists' largest clinical population. In the context of a growing international movement toward ending discrimination and increasing social participation of persons with dementia, understanding how communication disability and participation interact warrants attention in this field. Previous literature has yet to explore links between communication disability and social citizenship in dementia care.MethodThis is a viewpoint article. A search was performed on three literature databases, followed by a snowball technique, in order to identify relevant literature on social citizenship.ResultsIntegrating a social citizenship–based understanding of participation in dementia would provide a framework for communication disorders researchers to examine systematic communicatively disabling conditions in communities and societies.ConclusionsIt is highlighted that a deeper understanding is needed of how stigmatization of both communication disability and dementia might interact to prevent the active participation of individuals with dementia.

Service and Learning at a Residential Parenting Program for Incarcerated Mothers: Speech-Language Pathology Student Outcomes and Maternal Perspectives.

Purpose This article reports preliminary outcomes from a service-learning (SL) experience for graduate students in the Speech-Language Pathology program with incarcerated mothers who reside with their infants at a residential parenting program. We present an ecological model to serve as a framework for interpreting the impact of the experience on student learning and maternal perceptions. Method Graduate speech-language pathology students (total n = 30) participated in an SL project, called the Partnership for Healthy Parenting. With faculty guidance, students implemented parent education and child development workshops designed to foster secure attachment relationships, enhance the quality of mother-child interactions, and promote communication and language development. Students completed self-report scales measuring civic attitudes and self-efficacy before participating; they also provided written reflections about their experience that were analyzed qualitatively. Mothers completed voluntary feedback surveys after each workshop. Results Student reflections revealed a variety of perceived positive learning outcomes related to personal attitudes and beliefs about their role as a clinician, family-centered practices in early intervention, and knowledge about the population of interest. Feedback surveys administered to mothers who attended the workshops indicated satisfaction relating to the value of the services provided. Conclusions SL programs may benefit students, faculty, communities, higher education institutions, and the relationships among all these stakeholders. Results, limitations, and implications for strengthening university-community collaborations in the field of communication disorders are discussed.

Aplicabilidade dos estudos de carga de doença nos distúrbios fonoaudiológicos

RESUMO: A metodologia de mensuração da carga de doença, composta pelo cálculo de indicadores específicos, propõe mensurar os efeitos de agravos (ou de doenças) sobre o bem estar físico, emocional e social, seja a partir dos efeitos da morte prematura e da morbidade, bem como de comorbidades sobre as condições de saúde da população. O estudo teve como objetivo verificar a possibilidade de aplicação dos conceitos de carga de doença no estudo das metodologias e melhor caracterização do cenário de agravos fonoaudiológicos. O estudo envolveu revisão integrativa da literatura nas bases Scielo, Lilacs e Pubmed, com apresentação de conceitos e uma análise crítica dos indicadores de carga de doença e suas potenciais aplicações no campo da fonoaudiologia. Os achados indicam que existe uma carência de estudos utilizando os conceitos relacionados à carga de doença aplicados à comunicação humana e seus distúrbios, bem como às implicações destas na vida do sujeito a partir da metodologia proposta pela Organização Mundial da Saúde. Há oportunidades de aplicação da metodologia foco da pesquisa, tanto para que forneça o impacto dos agravos no indivíduo, como para a avaliação da qualidade de vida e para a mensuração da efetividade das intervenções no campo dos distúrbios fonoaudiológicos.

Academic Training in Initial Counseling of Parents of Preschoolers who Stutter: A Simulated Caregiver Model

No other therapeutic approach to stuttering in general has achieved the consensus of support given to parental involvement in the clinical management of early childhood stuttering. In most cases, this involvement begins with and is based on information received during the initial evaluation. This extremely important initial step in the therapeutic process often can prove difficult for beginning clinicians, especially given the current landscape of graduate clinical training opportunities. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a framework for the use of simulated caregivers in the process of enhancing the parent counseling skills during an initial evaluation of graduate students in communication sciences and disorders. Though the field of communication disorders has come late to the idea of using simulated patients, there is a rich and varied literature on this teaching tool in other healthcare fields (e.g., nursing, medicine, psychology). What follows is a review of: (1) the factors affecting graduate training in fluency, (2) the need for better training in parent counseling during the preliminary stages of working with preschool children who stammer (CWS), and (3) a possible framework for this incorporating this training in a tightly-controlled clinical opportunity.

Patient Reported Outcome Measures in Neurologic Communication Disorders: An Update

In her seminal book on outcome measurement in the field of communication disorders, Carol Frattali (1998) set the path for outcomes research and clinical application in the field of speech-language pathology. In particular, she defined the many possible outcomes that can be measured to examine the influence of an intervention and the ways in which these measures can inform public policy. Of these, patient or client centered measures, which index outcome based on the patient's and family's or caregiver's perspective, have received increasing attention in recent research and clinical practice. These measures examine a variety of patient reported outcomes (PRO) associated with health. PRO measures are being used more commonly in clinical practice and as end points in medical and rehabilitation outcomes research. This perspective reflects the shift in medicine and rehabilitation toward patient-centered care. In this article, we will examine the rationale for using PRO measures, the advantages and challenges for using these tools, and current use of PRO measures in neurological communication disorders.

Ease of articulation: A replication

Researchers, as well as the lay public and the popular press, have become increasingly concerned about the lack of reproducibility of research findings. Despite this concern, research has shown that replications of previously published work comprise a very small proportion of published studies. Moreover, there are fewer published direct replications of research studies by independent investigators, and this type of replication is much less likely to confirm the results of the original research than are replications by the original investigator or conceptual replications. A search of the communication disorders research literature reveals that direct replications by independent investigators are virtually non-existent. The purpose of this project was to describe the major issues related to research reproducibility and report the results of a direct replication of a study by Locke (1972) regarding ease of articulation.Two methods for rating ease of articulation were employed. We were able to reproduce the results of the original study for the first method, obtaining a moderate positive correlation between our rankings of phoneme difficulty and Locke's rankings. We obtained a very high positive correlation between our phoneme rankings and rankings obtained in the original study for the second method. Moreover, we found a higher correlation between difficulty rankings and order of speech sound acquisition for American English than was found in the original study. Direct replication is not necessary for all studies in communication disorders, but should be considered for high impact studies, treatment studies, and those that provide data to support models and theories.Learning outcomes: The reader will be able to: (1) describe the major concerns related to the replicability of research findings; (2) describe the status of research replications in communication disorders; (3) describe how ease of articulation may relate to the order of speech sound acquisition in children; (4) list some types/areas of research that might be candidates for replication in the field of communication disorders.

Library Instruction in Communication Disorders: Which Databases Should Be Prioritized?

The field of communication disorders encompasses the health science disciplines of both speech-language pathology and audiology. Pertinent literature for communication disorders can be found in a number of databases. Librarians providing information literacy instruction may not have the time to cover more than a few resources. This study develops a list of commonly recommended databases and a list of core journals in communication disorders and then looks at indexing of the journals to discover which databases should be prioritized in library sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial Counseling With Parents of Preschoolers who Stutter: Enhancing Graduate Students’ Skills Using Simulated Caregivers

No other therapeutic approach to stuttering in general has achieved the consensus of support given to parental involvement in the clinical management of early childhood stuttering. In most cases, this involvement begins with and is based on information received during the initial evaluation. This extremely important initial step in the therapeutic process often can prove difficult for beginning clinicians, especially because of the current landscape of graduate clinical training opportunities. In this manuscript, I will provide a framework for the use of simulated caregivers in the process of enhancing the parent counseling skills during an initial evaluation of graduate students in communication sciences and disorders. Though the field of communication disorders has come late to the idea of using simulated patients, there is a rich and varied literature on this teaching tool in other healthcare fields (e.g., nursing, medicine, psychology). What follows is a review of: (a) the factors affecting graduate training in fluency, (b) the need for better training in parent counseling during the preliminary stages of working with preschool CWS, and (c) a possible framework for this incorporating this training in a tightly-controlled clinical opportunity.

Review of Research Methods in Communication Disorders

Purpose: This article describes the various research methods that are implemented in the field of communication disorders. Research within this field is an expansive and continuously evolving phenomenon and is influenced by a variety of theoretical views from many disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, psychol- ogy, medicine, statistics, and philosophy. This review aims to summarize the many research methodologies that are available and the strategies of inquiry that can be used when deciding how to go about investigating one's topic of interest. Method: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods ap- proaches to data are described, and the various designs and strategies of inquiry that are most commonly used in the field of communication disorders are outlined. Refer- ences to particular publications are provided to allow the reader easy access to examples of research in the field that implements the discussed methodologies and strate- gies in an effective, efficient way. Conclusion: Review of the numerous methods of re- searching phenomena in our field of communication disorders informs readers of the options available in carrying out their research projects and enables one to make an informed decision regarding which methods and strategies are most suitable for one's particular research project.