| 1. |
- Karjalainen, Suvi, et al.
(author)
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Teachers’ descriptions of classroom communication after an SLP-led in-service training
- 2022
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In: Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore teachers’ experience and understanding of classroom communication after participating in a speech-language pathologist (SLP) led in-service training on classroom communication.Method: This qualitative study used a focus group approach to explore how teachers describe their classroom communication. Twenty primary-school teachers participated. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the teachers’ responses about their classroom communication practices 6 months after in-service training.Results: Three core themes on teachers’ understanding of their communication in the classroom were identified in the analysis: (1) awareness of voice use; (2) the use of body communication; (3) setting the stage for learning. The teachers gave many examples of voice use reflecting an increased awareness of audibility and vocal health. They reported on moving around more and using more body communication to enhance their message. Further, they expressed an increased awareness about how body posture affects voice and communication. The third theme reflects how the teachers “sets the stage for learning” i.e. how they use the prerequisites in the physical environment for successful classroom communication, including the classroom’s sound environment as well as seating and furniture.Conclusions: The findings in this study indicate that teachers increased their awareness, implemented new practices in their classroom communication and reflected on prerequisites for classroom communication as a result of the in-service training. Teachers’ classroom communication developed when provided practical training and strategies to increase their awareness on communication. We conclude that this type of SLP-led training can be recommended as in-service training.
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| 2. |
- Yli-Hukka, Julia, et al.
(author)
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Dysphagia terminology for texture modified fluid and food: a national survey of speech-language pathologists’ practice
- 2022
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In: Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Texture modified consistencies (TMC) is a common compensatory strategy in dysphagia management. Lack of consensus regarding TMC terminology places a person at risk of poor oral intake, malnutrition, dehydration, and aspiration. Purpose: To investigate: (a) Swedish Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) dysphagia management with TMC, including terminology, inter-professional collaboration, and knowledge of standard TMC guides; and (b) the current TMC terminology/guides used within university hospitals, in Sweden. Method: Part One surveyed SLPs from 19/21 regions. Recruitment occurred via regional SLP/department managers, the national SLP association and email lists. Non-parametric statistics were employed. Part Two explored TMC guides within the seven university hospitals. Result: The initial survey identified 78 Swedish TMC terms. Overlap of both TMC terms and descriptions occurred. Different terms to describe same/similar textures were used by 70% of the SLPs. Knowledge of established guides was high (>90%), though TMC was often (60%) based on locally developed documents. Collaboration with other professions was reported by 97% of SLPs, however almost half perceived collaboration to be inadequate, citing difficulties with transfer of TMC recommendations. Variance in TMC terms/guides within/across the university hospitals occurred. Conclusion: Variable TMC terminology is used in Sweden, impacting optimal dysphagia management. Future research should focus upon implementation of standardised TMC terminology. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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| 3. |
- Baker, C. P., et al.
(author)
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Female adolescent singing voice characteristics : an exploratory study using LTAS and inverse filtering
- 2022
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In: Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022. ; , s. 1-13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and Aim: To date, little research is available that objectively quantifies female adolescent singing-voice characteristics in light of the physiological and functional developments that occur from puberty to adulthood. This exploratory study sought to augment the pool of data available that offers objective voice analysis of female singers in late adolescence. Methods: Using long-term average spectra (LTAS) and inverse filtering techniques, dynamic range and voice-source characteristics were determined in a cohort of vocally healthy cis-gender female adolescent singers (17 to 19 years) from high-school choirs in Aotearoa New Zealand. Non-parametric statistics were used to determine associations and significant differences. Results: Wide intersubject variation was seen between dynamic range, spectral measures of harmonic organisation (formant cluster prominence, FCP), noise components in the spectrum (high-frequency energy ratio, HFER), and the normalised amplitude quotient (NAQ) suggesting great variability in ability to control phonatory mechanisms such as subglottal pressure (Psub), glottal configuration and adduction, and vocal tract shaping. A strong association between the HFER and NAQ suggest that these non-invasive measures may offer complimentary insights into vocal function, specifically with regard to glottal adduction and turbulent noise in the voice signal. Conclusion: Knowledge of the range of variation within healthy adolescent singers is necessary for the development of effective and inclusive pedagogical practices, and for vocal-health professionals working with singers of this age. LTAS and inverse filtering are useful non-invasive tools for determining such characteristics.
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| 4. |
- Hallin, Anna Eva, et al.
(author)
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Factors affecting speech-language pathologists’ language assessment procedures and tools–challenges and future directions in Sweden
- 2022
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In: Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: National surveys of speech-language pathologists’ (SLP) practices play an important role in professional development, and previous research show that many challenges faced by the profession are similar across the globe. This study aims to describe Swedish SLP assessment practices, examine factors that may affect this practice, and discuss the results in the light of international studies. Methods: Data from 584 SLPs were collected through an online questionnaire with multiple choice and open-ended questions. A mixed-method design was deployed where a deductive qualitative analysis of free-text responses complemented quantitative data. Results: In line with previous results from English-speaking countries, both standardized discrete skill tests and contextualized assessments were used by the respondents but fewer used language sample analysis and dynamic assessment procedures, despite international recommendations. There were few differences based on experience, work setting, proportion of multilingual assessments and socio-economic status of the health catchment area. Main challenges reported were lack of time and difficulty prioritizing, and assessment and/or diagnosis of multilingual/L2 children, which is similar to challenges faced by SLPs in other countries. Swedish SLPs also reported lack of national clinical guidelines as a main challenge. Factors contributing to better assessments included experience, and the combination of many sources of information, including professional and interprofessional discussions. Conclusions: The accumulated evidence from this and previous studies show that to address challenges and build on strengths, changes on a systemic level are needed. This includes more time and resources for continuing education and implementation of recommended assessment methods, as well as professional and interprofessional collaborations.
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| 5. |
- Socher, Michaela, et al.
(author)
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The relationship between reasoning and language ability : comparing children with cochlear implants and children with typical hearing
- 2022
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In: Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022. ; 47:2, s. 73-83
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeLanguage has been suggested to play a facilitating role for analogical reasoning tasks, especially for those with high complexity. This study aims to evaluate if differences in analogical reasoning ability between children with cochlear implants (CI) and children with typical hearing (TH) might be explained by differences in language ability.MethodsThe analogical reasoning ability (verbal; non-verbal; complex non-verbal: high relational integration demand) of children with CI (N = 15, mean age = 6;7) was compared to two groups of children with TH: age and language matched (TH-A+L, N = 23, mean age = 6;5), and age matched (TH-A, N = 23, mean age = 6;5).ResultsChildren with CI were found to perform comparable to Group TH-A+L on non-verbal reasoning tasks but significantly more poorly on a verbal analogical reasoning task. Children with CI were found to perform significantly more poorly on both the non-verbal analogical reasoning task with high relational integration demand and on the verbal analogical reasoning task compared to Group TH-A. For the non-verbal analogical reasoning task with lower relational integration demand only a tendency for a difference between group CI and Group TH-A was found.ConclusionsThe results suggest that verbal strategies are influencing the performance on the non-verbal analogical reasoning tasks with a higher relational integration demand. The possible reasons for this are discussed. The verbal analogical reasoning task used in the current study partly measured lexical access. Differences between the children with CI and both groups of children with TH might therefore be explained by differences in expressive vocabulary skills.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Ketty, et al.
(author)
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Does the narrative ability during retelling differ in 5-year-olds born with and without unilateral cleft lip and palate?
- 2022
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In: Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022. ; 47:1, s. 18-24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: A previous study has indicated poorer narrative ability during retelling in 5-year-olds with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) as a group, compared to peers without UCLP. Aim: To investigate if there are any differences between 5-year-olds with and without UCLP in narrative ability during retelling. Methods: A total of 83 children participated, 51 with UCLP and 32 without. They had no known additional malformations or syndromes. The children were audio recorded while performing the Bus Story Test (BST). The recordings were orthographically transcribed. From the transcriptions the BST information score was calculated. The macrostructure of the narratives was assessed with the Narrative Scoring Scheme (NSS), and the microstructure with mean length of utterance in words, grammaticality, grammatical complexity and lexical diversity. Results for children with and without UCLP were compared. Results: The group with UCLP performed better than the group without UCLP in the NSS sub-category Conclusion. No other significant differences were seen between the groups. The UCLP group had a larger standard deviation for the information score than the group without UCLP. Conclusions: The group with UCLP displayed at least as good results as the group without UCLP, but the information score was more varied for the UCLP group than for the group without UCLP.
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| 7. |
- Brännström, K. Jonas, et al.
(author)
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Perceived listening effort in children with hearing loss : listening to a dysphonic voice in quiet and in noise
- 2022
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In: Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022. ; 47:1, s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: The present study investigates the effect of signal degradation on perceived listening effort in children with hearing loss listening in a simulated class-room context. It also examines the associations between perceived listening effort, passage comprehension performance and executive functioning. Methods: Twenty-four children (aged 06:03–13:00 years) with hearing impairment using cochlear implant (CI) and/or hearing aids (HA) participated. The children made ratings of perceived listening effort after completing an auditory passage comprehension task. All children performed the task in four different listening conditions: listening to a typical (i.e. normal) voice in quiet, to a dysphonic voice in quiet, to a typical voice in background noise and to a dysphonic voice in background noise. In addition, the children completed a task assessing executive function. Results: Both voice quality and background noise increased perceived listening effort in children with CI/HA, but no interaction with executive function was seen. Conclusion: Since increased listening effort seems to be a consequence of increased cognitive resource spending, it is likely that less resources will be available for these children not only to comprehend but also to learn in challenging listening environments such as classrooms.
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| 8. |
- Kalnak, Nelli, et al.
(author)
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Description and prediction of reading decoding skills in Swedish children with Developmental Language Disorder
- 2022
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In: Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022. ; 47:2, s. 84-91
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: Research is lacking in terms of reading decoding skills among clinical samples of Swedish-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Method: The present cross-sectional study included a sample of 61 children (8-12 years) with DLD attending school language units, years 1 to 5. Our purpose was to study reading decoding skills and predictors for decoding, such as a phonological processing skill (nonword repetition), working memory, and a family history of literacy problems. Results: The results on a combined measure of the word and nonword decoding indicated that only 18% of the children had age-adequate decoding skills. The proportion of age-adequate decoders did not change noticeably with the school year. The participants’ decoding skills showed larger deviations to test norm means with higher school years. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the best predictors of decoding skills were measures of working memory and nonword repetition, followed by school year. These factors significantly contributed to the variance in decoding among our sample of children with DLD. A family history of literacy problems made no contribution to the variance. Conclusions: The findings emphasize the necessity of assessing and following up on literacy development in children with DLD.
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| 9. |
- Kalnak, Nelli, et al.
(author)
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Past-tense inflection of non-verbs : a potential clinical marker of developmental language disorder in Swedish children
- 2022
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In: Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-5439 .- 1651-2022. ; 47:1, s. 10-17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: In this paper, we explore the performance of past-tense inflection of non-verbs (NVI) in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and in typically developing controls, to investigate its accuracy as a clinical marker for Swedish-speaking children with DLD. Further, we investigate the relationship between NVI, nonword-repetition, and family history. Methods: The sample consists of 36 children with DLD (mean age 9;5 years) and 60 controls (mean age 9;2 years). Results: The DLD group performed significantly lower than the controls on the NVI task, with a large effect size of the difference (d = 1.52). Analysis of the clinical accuracy of NVI resulted in 80.6% sensitivity and 76.6% specificity. NVI was significantly and moderately associated with nonword-repetition in the controls, but not in the DLD group. A positive family history, 80.6% in the DLD group and 6.9% in the controls, was associated with lower performance on NVI. When controlling for group (DLD and controls), a non-significant association between family history and performance on the NVI task was found. Conclusions: NVI is a potential clinical marker of DLD in Swedish school-aged children, but the current NVI task does not reach the level of being acceptable. Further development of the NVI task is warranted to improve its accuracy.
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| 10. |
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