{"title":"Predicting attitudes related to stuttering from an international database","authors":"Kenneth O. St. Louis","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106457","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106457","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>A vast number of studies over the past 50 years have explored public and professional attitudes toward stuttering, and many of them have identified variables that predict more—or less—positive attitudes. Part I of this study summarized 91 studies in terms of consistency of prediction of stuttering attitudes. Part II sought to compare a considerable number of potential predictors and to quantify their prediction strengths.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Thirty-seven predictors were analyzed in linear regression models using a retrospective analysis of a database consisting of 22,413 respondents from 44 countries who had filled out the <em>Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes–Stuttering</em> (<em>POSHA–S</em>) in 26 different languages. Dependent variables were two <em>POSHA–S</em> subscores, Beliefs about stuttering and Self Reactions to people who stutter, as well as the mean of these two subscores, the Overall Stuttering Score.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>All 37 predictors were statistically significant for most—but at least one—of the three scores. The strongest predictors related to regions of the world and related variables of countries and languages, with greater strength for Beliefs than for Self Reactions. Knowing persons who stutter, or knowing about stuttering, were moderate predictors of Self Reactions but weak predictors of Beliefs. Different populations, such as the public, students, or speech-language pathologists, moderately predicted attitudes on all three dependent variables while education level and self-ratings of ability to speak were weak predictors. Sex (gender), age, income, parental or marital status, and most of 12 life priorities (e.g., get things done; be safe and secure) had very weak and practically insignificant predictive potential.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The study confirmed previous research showing ambiguous results for such predictors as sex and age but consistent differences from various geographic regions. Beliefs and Self Reactions measure different constructs that are often predicted differently by variables.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"112 ","pages":"Article 106457"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overlapping hearing and communication profiles for the deletion and the RAI1 variant form of Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS)","authors":"Christine Brennan, Rachael R. Baiduc","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106455","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106455","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), a rare, genetically linked complex developmental disorder is associated with hearing loss and delays in speech-language development. Approximately 70 % of those with SMS have a genetic deletion within chromosome 17p11.2 and 10 % have a single gene mutation in the same area, known as the RAI1 variant form of SMS. Previous studies presented preliminary comparisons of the phenotype of those with deletion versus the mutation form of SMS, but none focused on hearing, speech-language, and communication profiles. The current study examined patient registry data and compared two groups of individuals with SMS to determine if genetic differences influence the communication phenotype and to determine the importance of the RAI1 gene in hearing, speech, and language abilities in children. Speech-language and hearing data from the international SMS Patient Registry for 33 subjects with SMS were analyzed: 23 with a genetic deletion (SMS (del)) and 10 with an RAI1 mutation (SMS (RAI1)). Hearing status, otopathology findings, early speech-language milestones, mode of communication, intelligibility, vocal quality, language abilities, and literacy skills were analyzed. There were small differences between the groups for hearing status, otopathological findings, mode of communication, voice quality, intelligibility, speech-language abilities, and literacy. Overlap in the speech-language phenotype between groups confirms previous hypotheses that suggest haploinsufficiency of the RAI1 gene is responsible for the SMS phenotype and that the RAI1 gene is critical for speech-language development. Future studies should include direct testing of receptive and expressive language abilities, including analyses of language samples, with larger groups of individuals to replicate and extend the current findings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106455"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142094865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antonia González-Cuenca, Marina González-Jerez, María José Linero, Rocío Lavigne
{"title":"Differences in the type of vocabulary understood by deaf and hearing students: Results to guide interventions","authors":"Antonia González-Cuenca, Marina González-Jerez, María José Linero, Rocío Lavigne","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106458","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106458","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>Vocabulary knowledge is an essential element in language development. There is evidence of significant differences in vocabulary knowledge between deaf children and hearing peers of the same age. These differences put deaf students at a disadvantage when compared to their hearing counterparts. The aim of this study was to investigate whether certain types of words characterise the lexical difficulties of deaf students. Our starting point is that this knowledge is needed to design interventions that are adapted to the particular needs of these students for their lexical development.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We evaluated the lexical comprehension of 90 Spanish students. The sample comprised 45 hearing students and 45 students with severe or profound hearing loss. Both groups were attending the later years of primary school (8 to –12-year-olds). They were tested using the Spanish Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III. The performance of both groups was statistically compared using percentiles and standard scores as well as a selected set of words from the test.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>No significant differences between hearing and deaf groups were found by age, sex, and sociocultural level. Significant differences were found between groups in their percentile and standard scores. There were no significant differences in performance between the two groups on only five of the 25 words with the highest error rate in the deaf group. The qualitative analysis of the remaining 20 words that were especially challenging for deaf students reveals results of interest which could help guide interventions.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The results indicate the need for lexical intervention for deaf students in the final years of primary school. The specialised support service for deaf learners should approach the intervention by targeting a specific type of vocabulary, making the semantic relationships between these words more transparent and promoting a deeper understanding of them.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106458"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142089053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Perceptions of and beliefs about stuttering in the Hispanic/Latino community","authors":"Angela M. Medina , Jean S. Mead , Stefanie Moore","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><p>The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate perceptions of people who stutter and beliefs about the causes and cures of stuttering within the Hispanic/Latino community.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Respondents who were 18 or older and of Hispanic/Latino origin were invited to respond to a 24-question online survey. Questions involved exploring familiarity with and beliefs regarding etiologies, treatment approaches, treatment providers, stereotypes, and perceptions of people who stutter. Data from 151 respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Results revealed that the most commonly held beliefs regarding the causes of stuttering were being “born with it”, an “emotional disturbance or trauma”, a “brain disorder”, and/ or a “sensory impairment”. The most frequently cited beliefs regarding treating stuttering were “therapy”, “rehabilitation”, and “tell them to slow down”. Over 75 % of respondents believed that “speech therapists” can cure or treat stuttering. Respondents' perceptions of people who stutter are that they are generally “nervous” and “shy”.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Common beliefs and perceptions relative to stuttering were identified in the Hispanic/Latino community. The beliefs one holds about the cause of stuttering as well as their negative perceptions of stutterers may contribute to the continued stigmatization of people who stutter. Implications are discussed regarding the need for culturally appropriate education for individuals who stutter, their families, and the general public.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106456"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141998415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dr. Hashemiah Almusawi, Dr. Bader Alqallaf, Dr. Amnah Hafsyan
{"title":"Narrative reconstruction in deaf and hearing children: A comparative study in the context of Arabic diglossia","authors":"Dr. Hashemiah Almusawi, Dr. Bader Alqallaf, Dr. Amnah Hafsyan","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106454","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106454","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study explores the narrative skills of deaf and hearing children within the context of Arabic diglossia, a linguistic environment characterised by significant differences between spoken dialects and formal written language. Using Stein and Glenn's (1979) and Bruner's (1991) frameworks, the research analyses the narrative constructions of 13 hearing and 13 deaf children in Kuwait. The findings reveal that hearing children, benefiting from consistent exposure to spoken and formal Arabic, produced more coherent and detailed narratives compared to deaf children. Hearing participants also demonstrated greater vocabulary diversity. Age-related improvements in narrative skills were more pronounced among hearing children, while the impact of sign language exposure on narrative abilities was significant among deaf children. The study underscores the critical role of early language exposure and educational support in fostering narrative development, particularly in a diglossic context. These findings highlight the need for specialised educational strategies to support the unique narrative development needs of deaf children.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106454"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141931513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using PAALSS for the manual analysis of language samples of individuals who use aided AAC in Spanish: A pilot study","authors":"Gloria Soto","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106453","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106453","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This pilot study describes the application of the Protocol for the Analysis of Aided Language Samples in Spanish (PAALSS), specifically designed for the manual analysis of language samples from individuals in the early stages of Spanish aided language development. Data were collected from 22 language samples from 16 individuals who use aided AAC and are at the earlier stages of Spanish language development. The primary objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of using PAALSS as an analytical tool to describe various aspects of the language samples, including lexical productivity, lexical diversity, morphology, grammatical complexity, and syntax. Results are presented according to four different groupings, based on the language samples’ grammatical complexity scores. The study provides preliminary evidence of the potential of PAALSS as a useful tool for the manual analysis of language samples from users of AAC in Spanish. However, future studies are needed to establish its formal psychometric and measurement properties.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106453"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141842295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jade T. Mitchell , Malcolm Edwards , Kimberly Walsh , Sarah Brown-Schmidt , Melissa C. Duff
{"title":"Comprehension of Miranda warnings in adults with chronic, moderate-severe traumatic brain injury","authors":"Jade T. Mitchell , Malcolm Edwards , Kimberly Walsh , Sarah Brown-Schmidt , Melissa C. Duff","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106452","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106452","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>To compare comprehension of Miranda rights in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) versus adults without TBI as measured by response accuracy on the Miranda Right Comprehension Instruments.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Data were collected virtually via teleconferencing from July 2022 to February 2023. Participants included 25 adults with moderate-severe TBI (12 females, 13 males) and 25 adults without TBI (12 females, 13 males), ages 20-55 years. In this observational study, both groups (with and without TBI) completed the Miranda Right Comprehension Instruments (MRCI), which includes four instruments including Comprehension of Miranda Rights, Comprehension of Miranda Rights-Recognition, Function of Rights in Interrogation, Comprehension of Miranda Vocabulary instruments. Response accuracy on the MRCI was compared across groups.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The TBI group was significantly less accurate when responding to questions on the MRCI compared to the NC group.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Individuals with chronic moderate-severe TBI underperform their non-injured peers on the Miranda Rights Comprehension Instruments, a tool used in legal settings when there is doubt about an individual's understanding of their Miranda rights. TBI is a risk factor for disruptions in comprehension of language in legal contexts that may, in part, contribute to the increased interaction with the criminal justice system and incarceration for individuals with TBI. Implications for policy, advocating, and intervention are discussed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106452"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021992424000480/pdfft?md5=5007918e91340b19a005e3b94bbe4e52&pid=1-s2.0-S0021992424000480-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141716501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aging affects Mandarin speakers’ understanding of focus sentences in quiet and noisy environments","authors":"Xinxian Zhao, Yang Li, Xiaohu Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106451","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106451","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>Older adults experiencing normal aging make up most patients seeking services at audiology clinics. While research acknowledges that the speech perception abilities of aging adults can be diminished in lower-level speech identification or discrimination, there is less concern about how aging affects higher-level speech understanding, particularly in tonal languages. This study aimed to explore the effects of aging on the comprehension of implied intentions conveyed through prosodic features in Mandarin focus sentences, both in quiet and noisy environments.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Twenty-seven younger listeners (aged 17 to 26) and 27 older listeners (aged 58 to 77) participated in a focus comprehension task. Their task was to interpret SAVO (subject-adverbial-verb-object) sentences with five focus conditions (initial subject-focus, medial adverbial-focus, medial verb-focus, final object-focus, and neutral non-focus) across five background conditions: quiet, white noise (at 0 and −10-dB signal-to-noise ratios, SNRs), and competing speech (at 0 and −10-dB SNRs). Comprehension performances were analyzed based on accuracy rates, and underlying processing patterns were evaluated using confusion matrices.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Younger listeners consistently excelled across focus conditions in quiet settings, but their scores declined in white noise at the SNR of −10-dB. Older adults exhibited variability in scores across focus conditions but not in background conditions. They scored lower than their younger counterparts, with the highest scores observed in the comprehension of sentences featuring a medial adverbial-focus. Analysis of confusion matrices revealed that younger adults seldom mistook focus conditions, whereas older adults tended to comprehend the other focused items as medial adverbials.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Older listeners’ performance reflects their over-reliance on top-down language knowledge, while their bottom-up acoustic processing decreases when interpreting Mandarin focus sentences. These findings provide evidence of active cognitive processing in prosody comprehension among aging adults and offer insights for diagnosing and intervening with speech disorders in clinical settings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106451"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141694192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using semantic verbal fluency to estimate the relative and absolute vocabulary size of bilinguals: An exploratory study of children and adolescents","authors":"Daphnée Dubé , Elin Thordardottir","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106450","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106450","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>The full assessment of bilingual children often involves at least one language for which formal vocabulary tests are lacking and which the examiner does not speak. We examined, in a sample of children with typical development (TD), whether a semantic verbal fluency task, typically used in research as a measure of executive function, could be used in the place of a formal vocabulary test to estimate vocabulary knowledge when formal tests are not available.</p></div><div><h3>Method</h3><p>113 TD monolingual French speakers and TD bilinguals and with varying degrees of exposure to French, age 6 to 17 years, completed tests of vocabulary knowledge and semantic verbal fluency. A subset of 64 participants spoke French and English and were tested in both languages. Verbal fluency measures calculated using a traditional method which uses specific rules for superordinate categories and for animals of different sex and age and a simplified scoring method which simply counts all words produced, included the total number of words produced in each language, Total Vocabulary and Conceptual Vocabulary measures combining both languages, as well as analyses of lexical composition and word frequency within the study sample.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Linear regressions revealed that the number of words produced predicted vocabulary size in a language-specific way, with slightly stronger predictions made by the simplified scoring method. As expected, bilinguals produced more words and more unique words in their language of greater exposure, while different exposure groups were equivalent in measures combining both languages, including their Total vocabulary and Conceptual vocabulary. Producing unusual words (infrequently produced in the study sample) indicated higher vocabulary scores.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>This study supports the use of the verbal fluency task as a quick and simple tool to obtain a rough estimate of vocabulary size in TD monolinguals and bilinguals. This tool shows promise as well in clinical work with other populations, subject to further verification.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106450"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141691659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of speech-language pathologists in supporting theory of mind through literacy-based activities","authors":"Kristen Secora","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106449","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106449","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><p>This tutorial discusses the importance of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) supporting individuals with language disorders in their understanding of others’ cognitive and affective states (theory of mind, ToM), with a special consideration given to applying these suggestions with individuals who are neurodivergent.</p></div><div><h3>Method</h3><p>I motivate this tutorial by first reviewing the literature related to ToM and language abilities for various populations of individuals with language difficulties, highlighting the need for explicitly targeting the language-related skills that are thought to underlie ToM for individuals with language disorders. I next present concrete examples of how to support ToM through literacy-based activities. I follow this discussion with a short description of how these activities may be applied with individuals who are neurodivergent through concrete examples, such as how inclusion of neurodivergent characters in storybooks can aid in educating children about understanding others’ perspectives. It further emphasizes the importance of discussing various types of mental and emotional states for individuals who share as well as differ in their neurotypes.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Language skills are an integral part of ToM abilities. SLPs play an important role in supporting clients’ academic, literacy, and social outcomes and can support important perspective-taking skills through associated language/communication skills. The various skills that fall under the umbrella term ‘theory of mind’ can be appropriately incorporated into intervention and literacy-based tasks in a way that respects differences in neurotype while still building important language and communication skills for clients.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 106449"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141471831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}