CASL
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/22
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Item The use of electropalatography (EPG) in the assessment and treatment of motor speech disorders in children with Down's syndrome: Evidence from two case studies(2009-04) Wood, Sara; Wishart, Jennifer; Hardcastle, William J.; Cleland, Joanne; Timmins, ClaireBackground: Many children experience significant difficulties in developing key aspects of speech. For some, these communication difficulties are compounded by co-occurring intellectual disabilities. Method: 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. Results: This visual supplementation of auditory feedback offers potential therapeutic benefits for children with intellectual disabilities, many of whom show relative strengths in visual vs. auditory and simultaneous vs. sequential processing. EPG also provides therapists with an objective measure of articulatory ability. Conclusions: Findings from these two case studies demonstrate the potential utility of EPG in both the assessment and treatment of speech motor disorders in DS.Item Phonetic and phonological errors in children with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome(2010) Cleland, Joanne; Gibbon, Fiona; Peppe, Sue JE; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, MarionThis study involved a qualitative analysis of speech errors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Participants were 69 children aged 5-13 years; 30 had high functioning autism and 39 had Asperger syndrome. On a standardized test of articulation, the minority (12%) of participants presented with standard scores below the normal range, indicating a speech delay/disorder. Although all the other children had standard scores within the normal range, a sizeable proportion (33% of those with normal standard scores) presented with a small number of errors. Overall 41% of the group produced at least some speech errors. The speech of children with ASD was characterized by mainly developmental phonological processes (gliding, cluster reduction and final consonant deletion most frequently), but non-developmental error types (such as phoneme specific nasal emission and initial consonant deletion) were found both in children identified as performing below the normal range in the standardized speech test and in those who performed within the normal range. Non-developmental distortions occurred relatively frequently in the children with ASD and previous studies of adolescents and adults with ASDs shows similar errors, suggesting that they do not resolve over time. Whether or not speech disorders are related specifically to ASD, their presence adds an additional communication and social barrier and should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible in individual children. 2009 The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited.