Browsing by Person "McCann, Joanne"

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A new EPG protocol for assessing DDK accuracy scores in children : a Down's syndrome study
(2007-08) McCann, Joanne; Wrench, Alan A.; This research was supported by a grant form the
Recent research has suggested that eliciting diadochokinetic (DDK) rate and accuracy in young children is difficult [1], with analysis being timeconsuming.This paper details a new protocol for assessing DDK in young children or children with intellectual impairment (Down's syndrome) and a method for calculating accuracy scores automatically. Accuracy scores were calculated from auditory and electropalatographic analyses and found to correlate in some instances. The children with Down's syndrome presented with similar DDK rates to typically-developing children but reduced accuracy.
Articulation disorders in children with high functioning autism.
(2004) Gibbon, Fiona; McCann, Joanne; Peppe, Sue JE; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Assessing intonation and prosody in children with atypical language development: the PEPS-C test and the revised version
(2003) Pepp, Sue JE; McCann, Joanne
A procedure for assessing prosody and intonation in children (PEPS-C: Profiling Elements of Prosodic Systems-Children), suitable for use by clinicians with both children and adults, is described. The procedure includes testing of four communication areas in which intonation/prosody has a crucial role: interaction, affect, boundary (chunking) and focus. Each area has parallel tasks for assessing understanding and expression of the functions and ability to discriminate and articulate the prosodic forms involved. The original and revised forms of the test are compared, with some discussion of procedural considerations. Past and present uses of the test and future applications are considered.
Assessing prosodic and pragmatic ability in children with high-functioning autism
(2006) Peppé, Sue JE; McCann, Joanne; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Children with high-functioning autism are widely reported to show deficits in both prosodic and pragmatic ability. New procedures for assessing both of these are now available and have been used in a study of 31 children with high-functioning autism and 72 controls. Some of the findings from a review of the literature on prosodic skills in individuals with autism are presented, and it is shown how these skills are addressed in a new prosodic assessment procedure, PEPS-C. A case study of a child with high-functioning autism shows how his prosodic skills can be evaluated on the prosody assessment procedure, and how his skills compare with those of controls. He is also assessed for pragmatic ability. Results of both assessments are considered together to show how, in the case of this child, specific prosodic skill-levels can affect pragmatic ability.
Assessing prosodic and pragmatic ability in children with high-functioning autism.
(2006) Peppé, Sue JE; McCann, Joanne; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Children with high-functioning autism are widely reported to show deficits in both prosodic and pragmatic ability. New procedures for assessing both of these are now available and have been used in a study of 31 children with high-functioning autism and 72 controls. Some of the findings from a review of the literature on prosodic skills in individuals with autism are presented, and it is shown how these skills are addressed in a new prosodic assessment procedure, PEPS-C. A case study of a child with high-functioning autism shows how his prosodic skills can be evaluated on the prosody assessment procedure, and how his skills compare with those of controls. He is also assessed for pragmatic ability. Results of both assessments are considered together to show how, in the case of this child, specific prosodic skill-levels can affect pragmatic ability.
Prosodic ability in children with autism
(Royal Society of Speech Language Therapists, 2005) McCann, Joanne; Peppe, Sue JE; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Background - Quality of life (QOL) is suboptimal in end-stage renal disease. However, studies indicate that QOL is already impaired prior to the initiation of renal replacement therapy, implying that the initial decline originates in the chronic kidney disease (CKD) phase of the renal disease trajectory. Given the significance of QOL as a clinical outcome, there is a paucity of QOL research in CKD. Aims - To measure QOL at three distinct phases (based on creatinine clearance - Ccr) of the disease trajectory in CKD: normal renal function (NRF) with underlying renal disease, moderate CKD, and advanced CKD (Ccr >=75, 40-60, and <=30 ml/minute, respectively), and to establish if QOL is different between these groups. Methods - Data was collected from 25 patients from each of the Ccr bands (N=75). We measured self-reported QOL (Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life - SEIQOL), uraemic symptoms (Leicester Uraemic Symptom Scale - LUSS), and laboratory variables. Results - SEIQOL was significantly lower (p<0.001), and symptom number, frequency, and intrusiveness significantly higher (all p<0.001) in the advanced CKD group when compared to the NRF group. Although SEIQOL and symptom intrusiveness did not differ between the advanced and moderate CKD groups, SEIQOL was significantly lower (p<0.05) and symptom intrusiveness significantly higher (p<0.05) in the moderate CKD group when compared to the NRF group. Conclusion - QOL is already impaired in moderate CKD. The significant difference in QOL and symptom intrusiveness between the moderate CKD and NRF groups may denote a causal relationship between symptom intrusiveness and QOL early in CKD.
Prosody and Children with Autism
(NAS, 2005) McCann, Joanne; Peppe, Sue JE; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Prosody and its relationship to language in school-aged children with high-functioning autism
(2007-11) McCann, Joanne; Peppé, Sue JE; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Background: Disordered expressive prosody is a widely reported characteristic of individuals with autism. Despite this, it has received little attention in the literature and the few studies that have addressed it have not described its relationship to other aspects of communication. Aims: To determine the nature and relationship of expressive and receptive language, phonology, pragmatics, and non-verbal ability in school-aged children with high-functioning autism and to determine how prosody relates to these abilities and which aspects of prosody are most affected. Methods & Procedures: A total of 31 children with high-functioning autism and 72 typically developing children matched for verbal mental age completed a battery of speech, language, and non-verbal assessments and a procedure for assessing receptive and expressive prosody. Outcomes & Results: Language skills varied, but the majority of children with high-functioning autism had deficits in at least one aspect of language with expressive language most severely impaired. All of the children with high-functioning autism had difficulty with at least one aspect of prosody and prosodic ability correlated highly with expressive and receptive language. The children with high-functioning autism showed significantly poorer prosodic skills than the control group, even after adjusting for verbal mental age. Conclusions: Investigating prosody and its relationship to language in autism is clinically important because expressive prosodic disorders add an additional social and communication barrier for these children and problems are often life-long even when other areas of language improve. Furthermore, a receptive prosodic impairment may have implications not only for understanding the many functions of prosody but also for general language comprehension. 2007 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.
Prosody and its relationship to language in school-aged children with high-functioning autism.
(2005) McCann, Joanne; Pepp, Sue JE; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Disordered expressive prosody is a widely reported characteristic of the speech of individuals with autism. Despite this, it has received little attention in the research literature and the few studies that have addressed it have not described its relationship to other aspects of communication. This study investigated the prosody and language skills of 31 children with high functioning autism. The children completed a battery of speech, language and nonverbal assessments and a procedure for assessing receptive and expressive prosody.Language skills varied, but the majority of children had deficits in at least one aspect of language with expressive language most severely impaired. All of the children had difficulty with at least one aspect of prosody and prosodic ability correlated highly with expressive and receptive language.
Prosody in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Critical Review
(Taylor and Francis, 2003) McCann, Joanne; Pepp, Sue JE
Background: Many individuals with autism spectrum disorders present with unusual or odd-sounding prosody. Despite this widely noted observation,prosodic ability in autism spectrum disorders is often perceived as an underresearched area. Aims: This review seeks to establish whether there is a prosodic disorder in autism, what generalizations can be made about its various manifestations and whether these manifestations vary according to the diagnosis. A literature review was carried out to establish what areas of prosody in autism spectrum disorders have been researched to date, what the findings have been and to determine what areas are yet to be researched. Main contribution: It is shown that prosody in autism spectrum disorders is an under-researched area and that where research has been undertaken, findings often conflict. The findings of these conflicting studies are compared and recommendations are made for areas of future research. Conclusions: Research in this area has covered mostly prosodic expression, although some more recent studies cover comprehension, processing and the relationship of receptive prosodic ability to theory of mind. Findings conflict and methodology varies greatly.
Receptive and expressive prosodic ability in children with high-functioning autism
(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2007) Peppé, Sue JE; McCann, Joanne; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Purpose: This study aimed to identify the nature and extent of receptive and expressive prosodic deficits in children with high-functioning autism (HFA). Method: Thirty-one children with HFA, 72 typically developing controls matched on verbal mental age, and 33 adults with normal speech completed the prosody assessment procedure, Profiling Elements of Prosodic Systems in Children. Results: Children with HFA performed significantly less well than controls on 11 of 12 prosody tasks (p < .005). Receptive prosodic skills showed a strong correlation (p < .01) with verbal mental age in both groups, and to a lesser extent with expressive prosodic skills. Receptive prosodic scores also correlated with expressive prosody scores, particularly in grammatical prosodic functions. Prosodic development in the HFA group appeared to be delayed in many aspects of prosody and deviant in some. Adults showed near-ceiling scores in all tasks. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that receptive and expressive prosodic skills are closely associated in HFA. Receptive prosodic skills would be an appropriate focus for clinical intervention, and further investigation of prosody and the relationship between prosody and social skills is warranted.
Receptive and expressive prosodic ability in children with high-functioning autism.
(QMU Speech Science Research Centre, 2006) Peppé, Sue JE; McCann, Joanne; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Abstract This study aimed to identify the nature and extent of receptive and expressive prosodic deficits in children with high-functioning autism. In a data-based group study, 31 children with high-functioning autism (HFA, excluding Asperger's syndrome) and 72 typically developing controls matched on verbal mental age completed a prosody assessment procedure (PEPS-C). Children with HFA performed significantly less well than controls on eleven out of twelve prosody tasks (p < .005). Receptive prosodic skills showed strong correlation (p < .01) with verbal mental age in both groups, as did, to a lesser extent, expressive prosodic skills. Receptive prosodic scores also correlated with expressive prosody scores, particularly in grammatical prosodic functions(turnend and prosodic phrasing/ chunking). Prosodic development in the HFA group appeared to be delayed in many aspects of prosody and deviant in some (e.g. accent tended to be placed early in focus tasks and Same items were often perceived as Different in auditory discrimination tasks). The study demonstrates that receptive prosodic deficit, expressive prosodic skills, and language development are closely associated in the condition of autism. Receptive prosodic skills would be an appropriate focus for clinical intervention, and further investigation of atypical expressive prosody and the relationship between prosody and social skills is warranted.
The Prosody-Language Relationship in Children with High-Functioning Autism
(Blackwell, 2008) McCann, Joanne; Peppé, Sue JE; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Cebula, K.; Gomez, J C; McGregor, E.; Nunez, M.
The prosody-language relationship in children with high-functioning autism
(2006) McCann, Joanne; Peppé, Sue JE; Gibbon, Fiona; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, Marion
Abstract In Kanner's original description of autism he noted disordered prosody as a common feature. Despite this, the area has received very little attention in the literature and those studies that have addressed prosody in autism have not addressed its relationship to other aspects of communication. This chapter will give an overview of research in this area to date and summarise the findings of a study designed to investigate the prosody and language skills of 31 children with high functioning autism. Two case studies of children with autism will be used to illustrate the relationship between language and prosody and to emphasise the prosodic impairment present in many children with autism.
The relationship between speech, oromotor, language and cognitive abilities in children with Down's syndrome.
(Queen Margaret University, 2008) McCann, Joanne; Wood, Sara; Hardcastle, William J.; Wishart, Jennifer; Timmins, Claire
Background: Children and young people with Down's syndrome (DS) present with deficits in expressive speech and language, accompanied by strengths in vocabulary comprehension compared to nonverbal mental age. Speech intelligibility is particularly impaired, but whether speech is delayed or disordered is a controversial topic. Most studies suggest a delay, but no studies explore the relationship between cognitive or language skills and intelligibility. This study sought to determine whether severity of speech disorder correlates with language and cognitive level and to describe the types of errors, developmental or non-developmental, that occur in the speech of children and adolescents with DS. Methods & Procedures: 15 children and adolescents with DS (aged 10 to 18) were recruited. Participants completed a battery of standardised speech, language and cognitive assessments. The phonology assessment was subject to process analyses. Results from each test were correlated to determine relationships. Outcome & Results: People with DS present with deficits in receptive and expressive language that is not wholly accounted for by their cognitive delay. Receptive vocabulary is a strength in comparison to language skills, but it was unclear whether it is more advanced compared to non-verbal cognitive skills. The majority of speech errors were developmental in nature but all of the children with DS showed at least one atypical or non-developmental speech error.Conclusions: Children with DS present with speech disorders characterised by (often unusual) atypical errors alongside many developmental errors. Lack of correlation between speech and cognition or language suggests that the speech disorder in Down's syndrome is not simply due to cognitive delay.
Using Electropalatography (EPG) in the assessment and treatment of developmental motor speech disorders: Linking basic and applied research
(Queen Margaret University, 2008) Wood, Sara; Wishart, Jennifer; Hardcastle, William J.; McCann, Joanne; Timmins, Claire
Many children experience significant difficulties in developing key aspects of speech. For some, these communication difficulties are compounded by co-occurring intellectual disabilities. This paper presents two case studies from a larger on-going longitudinal study of the effectiveness of using electropalatography (EPG) to address the intelligibility problems experienced by many children and young people with Down's syndrome (DS). EPG, an innovative computer-based tool for assessing and treating speech motor difficulties, enables the speaker to see- the placement of his or her tongue during speech and to attempt to correct any lingual palatal errors. This visual supplementation of auditory feedback offers potential therapeutic benefits for children with intellectual disabilities, many of whom show relative strengths in visual versus auditory and simultaneous versus sequential processing (e.g. [1]). EPG also provides therapists with an objective measure of articulatory ability. Findings from these two case studies demonstrate the potential utility of EPG in both the assessment and treatment of speech motor disorders in DS.
Variability in fricative production of young people with Down's syndrome : an EPG analysis
(2007-08) Timmins, Claire; Hardcastle, William J.; Wood, Sara; McCann, Joanne; Wishart, Jennifer; Acknowledgements: MRC grant no. G0401388
Speech production in Down's syndrome is highly variable, with particular problems arising from complex articulations such as fricatives. In this paper, EPG analysis is used to study the variation in the production of the fricatives /s/ and /sh/ in 6 young people with Down's syndrome. The variability of these productions is compared with information from the Robbins and Klee Oral/Speech Motor Control Protocol.