Implications For Speech-language Pathologists Research Articles

"Tan and Crunchy Is Where We Live": An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Caregivers' Perspectives of Pediatric Feeding Disorder in Children With Developmental Disability.

The purpose of this study was to examine caregivers' perceptions of feeding disorders in their young child who also had a co-occurring developmental disability (DD). Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, eight caregivers of children with DD and pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) were interviewed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for the lived experiences of caregivers. Thematic analysis, member checking, and an audit were completed by three researchers. Three themes emerged: Parenting Journey, Emotions and Repercussions, and Winging It. Results indicated caregivers struggled to find appropriate professional help, referenced lack of confidence in the professionals designated to help, and were often ambivalent in approach to the PFD. Indications were that parents were frequently retelling past experiences as they presented the narrative of the feeding disorder and, as such, created narratives that became part of their present and the future experiences when feeding their child. Implications for speech-language pathologists are considered. Particularly, interventions that go beyond the immediate environmental variables of the feeding or mealtime environment are considered, including the application of this analysis to necessary psychological flexibility for caregivers of children with PFD.

Australian pre-service primary teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and skills regarding stuttering

Purpose: Exploring Australian pre-service primary teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and classroom strategies regarding stuttering provides speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with information that can facilitate enhanced outcomes for school-aged children who stutter. Method: In this exploratory descriptive cross-sectional study, 51 final-year Bachelor of Education (Primary) students enrolled at an Australian university completed an online survey about stuttering. Result: Responses demonstrated positive and negative beliefs. Seventy-four per cent of pre-service teachers believed that stuttering has a psychological aetiology and that students who stutter are more likely to be shy or anxious. Participants agreed that their reactions and support offered would largely be based on their assumptions rather than knowledge. Conclusion: Pre-service primary teachers share similar misconceptions and unhelpful attitudes towards stuttering with previously evaluated populations. Implications for SLPs are discussed.

The Psychosocial Aspects of Feeding in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Beyond

Purpose Feeding challenges are common for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). While sufficient oral feeding is typically a goal during NICU admission, this can be a long and complicated process for both the infant and the family. Many of the stressors related to feeding persist long after hospital discharge, which results in the parents taking the primary role of navigating the infant's course to ensure continued feeding success. This is in addition to dealing with the psychological impact of having a child requiring increased medical attention and the need to continue to fulfill the demands at home. In this clinical focus article, we examine 3 main areas that impact psychosocial stress among parents with infants in the NICU and following discharge: parenting, feeding, and supports. Implications for speech-language pathologists working with these infants and their families are discussed. A case example is also included to describe the treatment course of an infant and her parents in the NICU and after graduation to demonstrate these points further. Conclusion Speech-language pathologists working with infants in the NICU and following hospital discharge must realize the family context and psychosocial considerations that impact feeding progression. Understanding these factors may improve parental engagement to more effectively tailor treatment approaches to meet the needs of the child and family.

The State of Dyslexia: Recent Legislation and Guidelines for Serving School-Age Children and Adolescents With Dyslexia.

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of recent dyslexia legislation and guidelines pertaining to services for students with dyslexia in public school settings and to describe possible implications for speech-language pathologists (SLPs). In recent years, there has been increased attention focused on effectively meeting the needs of students with dyslexia nationwide. The Decoding Dyslexia organization has chapters in all 50 states in the nation, and they have been instrumental in promoting public awareness of the importance of improving services for students with dyslexia. As a result, new legislation, policies and guidelines have been introduced and developed in many states. California is an example of 1 state that has recently passed legislation in this area and released guidelines that serve as recommendations related to this law. This article provides a broad overview of recent dyslexia legislation, with more specific information pertaining to recent legislation and guidelines in the state of California. Clinical implications for SLPs who serve this population in school settings are also discussed. The information discussed in this article may serve as a useful model for states that are in the process of developing or revising their own policies or guidelines for meeting the needs of students with dyslexia.

A Mixed Methods Study of Expository Paragraph Writing in English-Proficient, Hispanic, Middle School Students With Writing Weaknesses

Many Hispanic students present with difficulties in developing proficient writing skills. Perhaps these difficulties are associated with cultural and linguistic differences. This pilot investigation explored this concept through a mixed-methods approach. A qualitative analysis of written expository paragraphs was conducted to identify common writing patterns among the samples. Then, a single-case, multiple baselines design was employed to examine the effectiveness of an original writing intervention targeting expository writing skills in Hispanic students who are proficient in English. Results are presented with implications for speech-language pathologists for consideration in providing written language services to similar populations.

Narratives in Two Languages: Storytelling of Bilingual Cantonese-English Preschoolers.

The aim of this study was to compare narratives generated by 4-year-old and 5-year-old children who were bilingual in English and Cantonese. The sample included 47 children (23 who were 4 years old and 24 who were 5 years old) living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who spoke both Cantonese and English. The participants spoke and heard predominantly Cantonese in the home. Participants generated a story in English and Cantonese by using a wordless picture book; language order was counterbalanced. Data were transcribed and coded for story grammar, morphosyntactic quality, mean length of utterance in words, and the number of different words. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed higher story grammar scores in English than in Cantonese, but no other significant main effects of language were observed. Analyses also revealed that older children had higher story grammar, mean length of utterance in words, and morphosyntactic quality scores than younger children in both languages. Hierarchical regressions indicated that Cantonese story grammar predicted English story grammar and Cantonese microstructure predicted English microstructure. However, no correlation was observed between Cantonese and English morphosyntactic quality. The results of this study have implications for speech-language pathologists who collect narratives in Cantonese and English from bilingual preschoolers. The results suggest that there is a possible transfer in narrative abilities between the two languages.

Communication changes experienced by adults with cerebral palsy as they age

Purpose: Adults with cerebral palsy (CP) experience multiple, functional changes as they age, including changes to communication modes and methods that enable development and maintenance of relationships, communicative participation and quality-of-life. Little is known about the nature of communication changes experienced by this group. The aim of this study was to better understand how adults with CP experience changes in their communication abilities as they age and the subsequent psychosocial impact.Method: Twenty adults with cerebral palsy aged 40–72 years with complex communication needs (CCN) participated in a series of in-depth interviews, framing their experiences of loss and grief throughout their lives. The impact of changing communication abilities emerged as an important area of focus. Data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory methodology.Result: Themes arising from the participants’ perceptions of their communication included experiencing communication change as a loss with subsequent impact on self-concept; and how communication is integral to the process of managing losses associated with older age.Conclusion: Implications for speech-language pathologists working with older people with cerebral palsy and CCN include the need to understand the psychosocial impact of communication changes on social interaction, relationships and communicative participation. It is important to promote positive and meaningful communication options that maintain a coherent sense of self in addition to promoting functional communication skills and communicative participation.

Effective Peer-Mediated Strategies for Improving the Conversational Skills of Adolescents With Autism

Deficits in social-communication skills can leave high school students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) socially marginalized where conversation is the primary medium for social interaction. Interventions are needed to improve conversational skills and facilitate interactions with peers while students with ASD are still in school, yet few research-based strategies exist for high school settings. In this article, we describe three peer-mediated conversational strategies documented to be effective through our research: strategies to (a) support overall conversational engagement, (b) increase initiations to start conversations, and (c) increase follow-up questions to sustain conversations. The peer-mediated strategies are combined with teaching students with ASD to use visual supports to strengthen intervention effectiveness. We highlight methods for peer training, outcomes of our research, and implications for speech-language pathologists (SLPs).

Changing Trends in International Adoption: Implications for Speech-Language Pathologists

The changing trends in international adoption show higher numbers of older children as well as children with special needs being adopted globally. This article reviews the latest literature regardi...

The World Report on Disability as a blueprint for international, national, and local aphasia services

This commentary aims to extend the debate of the lead article authors () by translating the nine recommendations of the World Report on Disability into a plan of action for the aphasia community. Solutions for the advancement of aphasia science and services are presented at international (macro), national (meso), and local (micro) levels. Implications for speech-language pathologists and aphasia service delivery are discussed. An overarching call to action is the need for speech-language pathologists to support a strong and vibrant aphasia community at all levels, so that the voices of people with aphasia can be heard.

Emergent Literacy in Children With Autism: An Exploration of Developmental and Contextual Dynamic Processes

This investigation describes emergent literacy skills, print motivation, and home literacy environments in a linguistically diverse group of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Emergent literacy skills were directly assessed in 41 children between the ages of 4 and 8 years. Parent report was solicited to provide additional information concerning the children's emergent literacy skills, as well as their print motivation and home literacy environments. The achievements of children with differential language abilities were compared, and associations among the children's language and emergent literacy abilities were explored. Narrowly, children with typical language achieved significantly higher scores on an emergent literacy composite than those with mild-to-moderate or severe language impairments; broadly, these scores were highly correlated (ρ = .56) with the children's language. Skill performance was varied but was characterized by relative strengths in discrete skills, such as letter name identification, and weaknesses in more holistic skills, such as print functions. Parents generally described the children as being motivated by print materials and the home environments as offering high levels of parent-child engagement in literacy activities. Profiles were associated with language and were illustrated by heterogeneity with potentially unequal achievements between code- and meaning-based skills. Implications for speech-language pathologists and other educators are provided.

Identifying and Addressing Reading Comprehension Within a Response to Intervention Framework

Many school districts are using a Response-to-Intervention (RTI) framework to address reading comprehension disabilities. Research has shown that this tiered system is effective at identifying and preventing word reading disabilities. However, reading comprehension is a much more complex skill. In this article, I will discuss challenges with addressing reading comprehension using a response-to-intervention framework and provide suggestions for altering the traditional framework. Clinical implications for speech-language pathologists will be highlighted throughout the discussion.

Undergraduate Elementary Education Majors' Knowledge of Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Abstract This study describes survey results measuring the knowledge undergraduate elementary education major students have about augmentative and alternative communication. Those students with experience and course knowledge surrounding AAC were more knowledgeable. Implications for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) will be addressed, including how SLPs can provide classroom teachers with classroom support for general education teachers.

Language Acquisition Challenges for Preschoolers Residing in Low-SES Households: Implications for Speech-language Pathologists and Developmental Researchers

Young children who reside in low-socioeconomic households are at considerable risk for delays in their rate of language acquisition. Large numbers of these children, whose cultural and linguistic systems differ from mainstream culture and the versions of American English associated with prestige, evidence not just language variations when contrasted with their middle-SES peers, but lifelong disparities in their neurocognitive and language outcomes. Identification and assessment issues with this unique, underserved, population may be especially challenging for speech-language pathologists.

Persuasive Writing in Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Purpose: Persuasive writing is a demanding task that requires the use of complex language to analyze, discuss, and resolve controversies in a way that is clear, convincing, and considerate of diverse points of view. This investigation examined selected aspects of later language development in the context of persuasive writing. The purpose of the study was to obtain current information that could be used to design collaborative instruction involving speech-language pathologists and classroom teachers. In schools today, these professionals often work closely together to facilitate students’ language development, including their ability to write persuasively. Method: Persuasive writing was investigated in typically developing children, adolescents, and adults ( N =180) whose mean ages were 11, 17, and 24 years, respectively. Each participant wrote an essay on the controversial topic of animals being trained to perform in circuses. Following this, the essays were examined in detail, focusing on selected aspects of syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic development. Results: Performance improved in each of these domains during the years between childhood and adulthood. Age-related changes included gradual increases in essay length; mean length of utterance; relative clause production; and the use of literate words, including adverbial conjuncts (e.g., typically, however, finally ), abstract nouns (e.g., longevity, respect, kindness ), and metalinguistic and metacognitive verbs (e.g., reflect, argue, disagree ). In addition, older writers produced a greater number of different reasons in their essays and were more likely to acknowledge diverse points of view as compared to younger writers, thereby evidencing greater flexibility of thought. Clinical Implications: The study offers useful implications for speech-language pathologists and classroom teachers working together to improve students’ persuasive writing skills. Suggestions are offered for ways to accomplish this by focusing on key aspects of later language development in the areas of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

Speech-Language Pathologists’ Roles in the Delivery of Positive Behavior Support for Individuals With Developmental Disabilities

Positive behavior support interventions such as functional communication training (FCT) and visual schedules are increasingly being used with individuals with autism and other severe developmental disabilities who engage in problem behavior and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The increasing use of these communication interventions has implications for speech-language pathologists who provide support to these individuals. The purpose of this tutorial is to summarize the research regarding the use of FCT/AAC interventions and visual schedules, and to provide suggestions for the roles that speech-language pathologists can play with regard to assessment, intervention design, and implementation in school and home settings.

Intervention ABCs for Children with Asperger Syndrome

The number of children identified with Asperger syndrome (AS) is rapidly rising throughout the world. The purpose of this article is to promote understanding of the characteristics and behaviors associated with AS and to introduce a range of school-based interventions. First, a description of the indicators of AS is provided, followed by an overview of screening and diagnostic procedures. Next, the Application ABCs section covers knowledge-based interventions addressing deficits in Academics, Behavior, and Communication. Implications for speech language pathologists and related professionals working with youngsters with this autistic spectrum disorder are addressed.

Testing-Based Education Reforms and Implications for Speech-language Pathologists

Testing-Based Education Reforms and Implications for Speech-language Pathologists

Pediatric HIV/AIDS: Issues and Strategies for Intervention

Pediatric HIV/AIDS: Issues and Strategies for Intervention

Related Services Research for Students With Low-Incidence Disabilities: Implications for Speech-Language Pathologists in Inclusive Classrooms.

When speech-language pathologists provide educationally related services for students with lowincidence disabilities who are placed in inclusive classrooms, they are asked to work with a variety of other adults. The ways in which these adults make decisions about individualizing a student's educational program, determine related services, and coordinate their activities have an impact on educational outcomes for students as well as on interprofessional interactions. This article summarizes a team process for making related services decisions called VISTA (Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach) and a series of nine research studies pertaining to the use and impact of VISTA. It also addresses related topics, such as team size, consumer perspectives, and paraprofessional supports. Five major implications from these studies are offered concerning (a) developing a disposition of being an ongoing learner, (b) developing a shared framework among team members,