CASL
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/22
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Item Communication development of a young child with Foetal Renoid syndrome: A seven-year follow-up study(African Online Scientific Information Systems Publishing, 2006-12-31) Kritzinger, Alta; Steenkamp, LizanneThe aim of the article is to describe the communication development of a child with Fetal Retinoid syndrome (FRS) from six months to seven years of age. Little is known about this rare acquired syndrome and its long-term implications, especially on a child's communication development. A descriptive, ex post facto research design was used to study the participant's communication development from 1996 when the family enrolled in an early communication intervention programme. Annual serial assessments of the participant and her family were conducted and the data were stored in a research database after each assessment. The results are described according to a 4-level assessment framework and indicated consistent, but moderate to minor delays in the participant's communication development with a mild hearing loss in the right ear, associated with ear anomalies. Although prenatal exposure to isotretinoin may have serious effects on the unborn fetus and even cause death, the participant did not display all the symptoms of FRS described in the literature. The favorable family circumstances, early commencement of intervention, and supporting early educational environments were protecting factors that could have contributed positively to the participant's communication development. The importance of knowledge accumulation about rare syndromes such as FRS in Communication Pathology and Audiology is discussed and guidelines for early identification, assessment and treatment applicable to the case are proposed as an intervention option.Item An EPG therapy protocol for remediation and assessment of articulation disorders.(ICSLP, 2002) Wrench, Alan A.; Gibbon, Fiona; McNeill, Alison M.; Wood, Sara; Hansen, John H.L.; Pellom, BryanThis paper describes technical and methodological advances in the development of a procedure for measuring changes in accuracy and stability of linguapalatal (tongue-palate) contact patterns during a course of visual feedback therapy using electropalatography (EPG). The procedure is exemplified by a case in which therapy was aimed at resolving a pattern of velar fronting whereby phonetic targets /k, g,Item Making sense in primary care: levelling the playing field for people with communication difficulties(Routledge, 2005-03) Law, James; Bunning, K.; Byng, S.; Farrelly, S.; Heyman, B.Primary care depends on the effective communication between service user and practitioner. This study proposes that people with communication difficulties serve as a litmus test for whether practitioners are truly sensitised to the impact of their own communication skills. It is based on interviews with service users and carers. Three key themes emerged, namely inclusion , the process of communication , and continuity . Inclusion is concerned with effective participation in society in general and access to health care in particular. The communication process describes the way in which health issues are raised and addressed. Continuity refers to the way in which time interacts with the relationship between user and provider. The paper concludes that effective communication is not simply a set of taught behaviours but reflects a set of values that create the conditions for improving both communication and clinical outcomesItem The Specificity of a Systematic Review Is the Key to Its Value: A Response to Johnston (2005)(2005-10-01) Law, James; Garret, Z.; Nye, ChadWe would like to thank the Editor for drawing to our attention Professor’s Johnston’s (2005) helpful commentary on our recent article in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research titled ‘‘The Efficacy of Treatment for Children With Developmental Speech and Language Delay/Disorder: A Meta-Analysis’’ (Law, Garrett, & Nye, 2004). Johnston’s comments are most welcome because we need clinicians and researchers to engage in the evidence-based practice debate and to reflect on the nature of evidence that they and others are likely to accept for informing both policy and practice. We would like to address the most salient concerns raised.Item Grading study quality in systematic reviews(National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, 2006) Law, James; Plunckett, C.Item Early Years Centres for pre-school children with primary language difficulties: what do they cost, and are they cost-effective?(Taylor & Francis (Informa Healthcare), 2006-01) Law, James; Dockrell, J. E.; Castelnuovo, E.; Williams, K.; Seeff, B.; Normand, CharlesBackground: High levels of early language difficulties raise practical issues about the efficient and effective means of meeting children’s needs. Persistent language difficulties place significant financial pressures on health and education services. This has led to large investment in intervention in the early years; yet, little is known about the actual and relative costs of early years provision. Aims: To profile the different costs incurred by two Early Years Centres (EYCs) partially funded by the charity I CAN and children receiving what might be termed ‘routine’ NHS speech therapy to provide an analysis of cost efficiency and equity. Methods & Procedures: Costings for service provision for 91 children (mean age 2;9) were collected. The activity of staff at each site and the cost of staff allocated to services were computed. Data on other resources were also collected. Outcomes & Results: The cost per child per session was on average £12. Despite the longer course of intervention in the first centre (10 compared with 6 weeks), the cost of the course per child was of the same order (£245 compared with £253). The annual cost of the early years provision per child was higher relative to the costs of the NHS provision, £645 compared with £181 in one EYC (A) and £462 compared with £173 in the other (B). When the cost of standard nursery provision was factored in, the difference in annual costs was rather less, with £5298 for the early years provision (EYC A) relative to £4276 in the comparison group. By contrast, the annual cost of early provision rises to £5926 relative to £8861 in the comparison group (EYC B).Item The use of non-nutritive sucking to promote functional sucking skills in premature infants: an exploratory trial.(2006-11) Harding, C.; Law, James; Pring, T.Non-nutritive sucking appears to promote an infant's readiness to begin oral feeding. This small pilot study examined a non-nutritive sucking programme to facilitate the transition to full oral feeding in premature infants. The results suggest that the non-nutritive sucking programme implemented by a speech and language therapist positively benefited the feeding development of neonates. Issues raised by the pilot study should be investigated in a larger scale study.Item The role of outer hair cell function in the perception of synthetic versus natural speech(2007) Wolters, Maria; Campbell, Pauline; DePlacido, Christine; Liddell, Amy; Owens, DavidHearing loss as assessed by pure-tone audiometry (PTA) is significantly correlated with the intelligibility of synthetic speech. However, PTA is a subjective audiological measure that assesses the entire auditory pathway and does not discriminate between the different afferent and efferent contributions. In this paper, we focus on one particular aspect of hearing that has been shown to correlate with hearing loss: outer hair cell (OHC) function. One role of OHCs is to increase sensitivity and frequency selectivity. This function of OHCs can be assessed quickly and objectively through otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing, which is little known outside the field of audiology. We find that OHC function affects the perception of human speech, but not that of synthetic speech. This has important implications not just for audiological and electrophysiological research, but also for adapting speech synthesis to ageing ears.Item Measuring and understanding patterns of change in intervention studies with children: Implications for evidence-based practice(Taylor & Francis, 2007) Dockrell, J. E.; Law, JamesPurpose: Comparisons across studies of the effects of intervention are problematic. Such analyses raise both methodological and statistical challenges. A single data set was examined to investigate whether different established approaches to measuring change in children with specific language impairments alter the conclusions that can be drawn regarding the efficacy of an intervention. Methods: Measures of cognitive and language skills were collected at baseline and at six months following an intervention. Reliable and valid psychometric measures were used. Data from the intervention study were used to explore the patterns of results obtained using four different measures of change: change of diagnostic category, differential improvement across assessment measures, item specific changes and predictors of individual change. Results: Associations between different tests purporting to measure similar constructs were modest. The measures identified different children as impaired both at baseline and follow-up. No effect of intervention was evident when a categorical analysis of impairment was used. Both treatment and comparison children changed significantly across time on the majority of measures, providing evidence of development, but specific effects of the intensive intervention were evident using ANCOVAs. Item analysis indicated that one of the standardized language tests adopted in the evaluation was insensitive to change over a six month period. Change in individual children’s performance was predicted by language level on entry to the project. Conclusion: The implications of the results are discussed in terms of the range of analytic approaches available to intervention researchers and the need to consider combinations of methods when analysing outcome data.Item Behavioral stuttering treatments are effective but no one treatment approach is more effective over other treatment approaches(Taylor & Francis, 2007-01) Law, JamesData sources: Databases up to 2004, PsychINFO, ERIC, MEDLINE, CINHL, C2-SPECTR, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Dissertation abstracts. Search terms used stutt*, stam*, therap*, intervene*, fluen*, dysfl*, disfl. Study selection and assessment: Studies were included if (a) the participants were diagnosed as persons who stutter, (b) the treatment method was behavioral, (c) there were outcomes of speech behavior, and (d) the participants were randomly assigned to an experimental and control (or comparison condition) before the intervention. In terms of quality assessment, the following data were extracted from each included study: (a) intervention implemented as described; (b) who administered the outcomes measure; (c) participant recruitment procedure; (d) subject assignment procedure; (e) method of random assignment; and (f) blinding. Two reviewers independently coded each study using separate copies of the article. Disagreements were resolved through discussion between the two raters. If the disagreements persisted, the article was given to a third reviewer until the disagreement was resolved. Participants: Participants diagnosed as people who stutter (PWS), the treatment methods were behavioral, outcomes were measured in terms of speech and participants were randomly assigned to an experimental and control (comparison) condition. Studies with clutterers were excluded. Both children and adults were included. No pharmacological treatments were included. No restriction was imposed on intensity or duration of intervention. Only randomised controlled trials were included. Outcomes: Typically speech production specifically stuttered words or syllables per minute. Independent coding was completed for participant, outcome, treatment and design characteristics. Effect sizes were calculated by subtracting the post-test means of the intervention and control groups and dividing by the pooled standard deviation. Studies were weighted for sample size. The Q statistic was used to assess homogeneity. Sensitivity analyses were also carried out.