Journal of Communication Disorders最新文献

{"title":"Pragmatic language abilities in children with cochlear implants: a comparison of developmental outcomes with typically hearing peers","authors":"Debora Auricchio,&nbsp;Alessandra Murri,&nbsp;Alessandra Pantaleo,&nbsp;Luigi Curatoli,&nbsp;Vito Pontillo,&nbsp;Nicola Quaranta","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106592","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106592","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pragmatic skills, essential for effective social interactions, depend on both cognitive development and auditory input. Hearing loss can delay the development of these abilities, leading to potential social and communication challenges. This study examines pragmatic skills of deaf or hard of hearing children who have received a cochlear implant (CI) compared to those of their typical hearing (TH) peers. 48 children were assessed, 24 with CI and 24 with TH. Pragmatic skills were assessed using the standardized Italian \"Assessment of Pragmatic Skills in Language MEDEA (APL Medea)\" battery, which includes five tasks: Metaphor Comprehension, Implicit Meaning, Comics, Situations, and the Colour Game (a perspective-taking task). The study also investigated the impact of the age at cochlear implantation on pragmatic development. The results showed that CI children scored significantly lower than TH peers on verbal (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) and figurative (<em>p</em> = 0.02) metaphor comprehension. No significant differences were found between the groups in the Comics (<em>p</em> = 0.181), Situations (<em>p</em> = 0.117), and the Colour Game (<em>p</em> = 0.187) subtests. Age of CI activation did not significantly correlate with pragmatic skills, although a positive correlation was observed between chronological age and mean subtest scores in the CI group. In conclusion, although children with CI generally perform well in language comprehension, they show difficulties in some of the specific pragmatic skills assessed. Early and targeted interventions are crucial to address improvement in pragmatic language abilities deficit.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106592"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145507731","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":"Exploring perception of coarticulatory cues in childhood apraxia of speech and residual speech sound disorders: A pilot study","authors":"Molly Beiting ,&nbsp;Navin Viswanathan ,&nbsp;Nicole Caballero ,&nbsp;Elaine Hitchcock ,&nbsp;Tara McAllister ,&nbsp;Jonathan L. Preston","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106583","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106583","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) exhibit speech <em>production</em> deficits beyond segmental errors, including atypical coarticulation. Broadly, children with speech sound disorders (SSD) also exhibit weaknesses in speech <em>perception</em>, which may directly relate to specific production difficulties. This study examined differences in categorical perception among children with CAS, residual SSD affecting /ɹ/ (rSSD), and typical speech (TD). We hypothesized that children with CAS would demonstrate weaker performance on a task requiring perception of coarticulatory cues—a defining weakness in their speech production—but perform similarly to rSSD peers on a segmental task.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study was designed as an exploratory pilot project, embedded in the baseline assessment of a series of speech treatment studies. Participants included 96 children (ages 8;0–15;11), 44 CAS, 39 rSSD, and 13 TD. In the segmental perception task, participants judged stimuli from a 5-step /al/ - /aɹ/ continuum. In the second task, /al/ and /aɹ/ endpoints were prefixed to a 5-step /ga/-/da/ continuum, creating /al/ (/alga/ - /alda/) and /aɹ/ (/aɹga/ - /aɹda/) conditions. Compensation for coarticulation was assessed at an ambiguous step, where listeners were expected to perceive /g/ after /al/ or /d/ after /aɹ/.</div></div><div><h3>Results &amp; Conclusions</h3><div>Compensation for coarticulation was significantly weaker among children with CAS, who also demonstrated less reliable perception of /ga/ - /da/ endpoints and segmental perception weaknesses on the /al/ - /aɹ/ task not seen in rSSD or TD. Findings contribute an initial characterization of perceptual compensation for coarticulation in children with CAS. Results highlight performance differences based on underlying SSD subtype and may be clinically useful for future development of diagnostic tools that bypass verbal output limitations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106583"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145356434","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":"An interpretative phenomenological analysis of voluntary stuttering experiences of adults who stutter","authors":"Megan M. Young ,&nbsp;Courtney T. Byrd ,&nbsp;Enjoli M. Richardson","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106580","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106580","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>Voluntary stuttering has been an aspect of stuttering treatment for decades. However, relatively few studies have explored the utility of this strategy through the perspectives of adults who stutter. The purpose of this study was to analyze and interpret how adults who stutter perceive the utility of this technique based on their experiences, as shared through semi-structured interviews.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In total, 12 adults who stutter participated in the study. All participants had experience using voluntary stuttering that matched their true stuttering within and beyond the clinic. They answered interview questions relating to their exposure to voluntary stuttering, their use of the technique, its perceived outcomes, and the role of the speech-language pathologist. Interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to generate superordinate themes and subthemes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The researchers developed five superordinate themes corresponding to participants’ experiential claims, each with two to three subthemes: (1) desensitization (anxiety and avoidance reduction and systematic approach), (2) mindfulness (awareness of stuttering and challenging cognitive distortions), (3) self-empowerment (agency and self-acceptance), (4) implementation (individualization, discomfort, and impact on stuttering), and (5) support (therapeutic alliance and goal setting).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Voluntary stuttering that emulates the speaker’s true stuttering may reduce fear and avoidance, increase agency, promote mindfulness, and facilitate acceptance of stuttering for adults who stutter. Voluntary stuttering should be individualized based on the person’s emotional reactivity to stuttering.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106580"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145304203","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":"Exploring the morphological and morpho-syntactic abilities of adolescents with autism","authors":"Inbar Lotsky ,&nbsp;Nufar Sukenik ,&nbsp;Julia Reznick","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106560","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106560","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examined the morphological and morpho-syntactic abilities of Hebrew-speaking adolescents with and without ASD. The participants consisted of 59 adolescents, divided into two groups: 29 with ASD (5 girls, 24 boys, ages 14-18) and 30 typically developing (TD) peers (9 girls, 21 boys, ages 14-18). Assessments included measures of non-verbal intelligence, vocabulary, and the production of morphological and morpho-syntactic structures. Group comparisons and correlations between background variables and performance on morphological and morpho-syntactic tasks were conducted. Additionally, individual analyses were performed to identify language profiles within the ASD group.</div><div>The results revealed significant differences favoring TD adolescents in tasks related to past tense verb inflection, as well as mixed-tense verb inflection. Both groups found tasks involving regular components to be easier. In both groups, vocabulary was correlated with performance on various morphological and morpho-syntactic tasks. Alongside some similarities in the hierarchy of task difficulty across the two groups, notable differences in this hierarchy were also observed. Two distinct language profiles were identified among the adolescents with ASD.</div><div>The study underscores the importance of tailored language assessments and targeted interventions and recommends longitudinal studies to determine whether these challenges are the result of developmental delays or persistent deficits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106560"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145313873","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":"Stuttering narratives in Poland: A qualitative study exploring the consequences of stigmatization and ableism on adult life experiences","authors":"Katarzyna Węsierska ,&nbsp;Katarzyna Wyrwas ,&nbsp;Mikołaj Zarzycki","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106581","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106581","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>The main goal of this qualitative study was to explore how language and societal narratives shape the experiences of adults who stutter in Poland, specifically the impact of stigma and ableism on self-perception, relationships, and well-being.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using purposive sampling, 20 Polish-speaking adults who stutter, aged 19–58, were interviewed through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Four key themes were generated in Reflexive Thematic Analysis: <em>Social reactions to stuttering; Individual experiences of stuttering; Supportive and unsupportive interventions; Different paths: acceptance</em> versus <em>denial</em>. The results highlight the role of stigma, self-esteem, and language in shaping the experience of people who stutter.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The study emphasizes the need for inclusive environments, empathetic responses, and therapies that address emotional and social aspects beyond speech fluency. By highlighting the role of language in shaping these experiences, the study indicates the need for (societal) change to foster greater acceptance and inclusion. Promoting inclusive language can also help challenge ableism and reduce self-stigmatization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106581"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145356424","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":"Infant temperament predicts early communicative skills in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study","authors":"Denise Ollas-Skogster ,&nbsp;Pirkko Rautakoski ,&nbsp;Anna Kautto ,&nbsp;Hasse Karlsson ,&nbsp;Elina Mainela-Arnold ,&nbsp;Linnea Karlsson ,&nbsp;Saara Nolvi","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies have established that dimensions of temperament and language development are associated in childhood. Insofar, however, longitudinal studies from infancy into toddlerhood accounting for all temperament dimensions and covering preverbal communication in addition to emerging verbal skills are scarce. Existing findings are inconclusive.</div><div>The current study is an extension of our previous study (<em>N</em> = 91) on a large cohort sample (<em>N</em> = 1200 and 1039 depending on analysis). Temperament (positive emotionality, negative emotionality and emerging self-regulation) was assessed at 6 and 12 months of age and gesturing and receptive vocabulary at 14 months. As an extension to the previous study, expressive vocabulary and sentence complexity in toddlerhood, at 30 months, were also assessed. All assessments utilized parent reports. Associations were studied by multiple linear regression analysis.</div><div>The temperament traits of positive emotionality and self-regulation positively predicted all communicative skills except sentence complexity. Positive emotionality accounted for 10–11 % of the variance in gesturing, 4–5 % in receptive vocabulary and 1–3 % in expressive vocabulary. Self-regulation accounted for 4–6 % of the variance in gesturing, 2–3 % in receptive vocabulary and 0–1 % in expressive vocabulary.</div><div>Results aligned with the findings of our prior study but also highlighted weak longitudinal positive associations between positive emotionality and self-regulation and gesturing and vocabulary. However, associations were notably stronger with gesturing compared to verbal skills. Longitudinal weakening of associations suggests the role of infant temperament is replaced by other factors influencing language development moving into toddlerhood.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106564"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145088005","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":"Use of complex sentence types by Mandarin-speaking preschool children with typical development and developmental language disorder","authors":"Chia-Chun Hsu ,&nbsp;Shang-Yu Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106590","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106590","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyzed the complex sentences used by Mandarin-speaking preschool children with typical development (TD) and developmental language disorder (DLD) and explored the types of complex sentences that children with DLD have difficulty using in speech. The participants were 67 children (41 TD and 26 DLD) between the ages of 3 and 5 years. They were divided into six groups based on biological age and performance on the Revised Language Disorder Scale for Preschool Children: TD three-, four-, and five-year-olds, and DLD three-, four-, and five-year-olds. Language samples were elicited through one-on-one interactions in four specified contexts: family conversation, school conversation, free play, and story retelling. A total of 100 valid utterances were selected for the annotation and analysis of 15 complex sentence types. The frequency of use and proportion of users for each sentence type were calculated. Significant differences in the frequency of use and proportion of users were subsequently compared between the TD and DLD groups for each age level. Differences were particularly observed for successive complex sentences and cause-effect complex sentences in the 3-year-old group and complement clauses in the 5-year-old group. These findings suggest that children with DLD experience greater difficulties acquiring and using these specific complex sentence structures in their spoken language than typically developing peers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106590"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145514728","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":"Learning from caregivers: Insights into pediatric speech and language services delivered via telepractice during COVID-19","authors":"Caitlin Fromm ,&nbsp;Meaghan McKenna","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106577","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106577","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article describes the development and administration of the <em>Caregiver Insights of Pediatric Speech and Language Services Delivered via Telepractice During COVID-19</em> survey. Caregivers of children who began receiving speech and/or language services delivered via telepractice during COVID-19 were recruited to participate in this study. Participants were invited to share their impressions of telepractice during COVID-19 and why they chose to continue or discontinue this service delivery model when a return to in-person therapy became possible. This survey was developed using procedures outlined by the commonly accepted stages of questionnaire development. This process establishes content validity through: (a) identification of the survey purpose, (b) creation of an item blueprint, (c) expert panel review, and (d) interviews with end-users (i.e., parents, caregivers). Dissemination of the survey occurred through social media and field-specific forums. Sixty caregivers participated. Findings from the 35 items were analyzed using descriptive statistics and consensual qualitative research. We found that caregivers' levels of satisfaction regarding telepractice services varied. When given the option to return to in person services post-pandemic, some participants continued telepractice due to convenience and the expertise of the therapist, while others discontinued due to their child’s lack of engagement. Caregivers identified successes as the presence and participation of a family member, comfortability in one’s own home, and accessibility; whereas barriers such as lack of session materials, technology, and difficulty understanding directions led some to return to in-person services. These findings identify advantages and disadvantages of this service delivery model when selecting the best therapy environment for a child, as well as training topics for ongoing advancements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106577"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145269145","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":"Atypical processing of changes in words and pseudowords in children with autism spectrum disorder","authors":"R Lindström ,&nbsp;S Kuuluvainen ,&nbsp;L Kimppa ,&nbsp;M Vainio ,&nbsp;Y Shtyrov ,&nbsp;T Lepistö-Paisley ,&nbsp;T Kujala","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106563","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106563","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The present study explored the neural basis of speech perception in school-aged children with ASD but without language impairments and typically developing control children.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Event related potentials reflecting stimulus encoding, discrimination, and orientation were recorded to five different speech sound changes (consonant or vowel identity, vowel duration, fundamental frequency, intensity) in carefully matched words and pseudowords. Perceptual discrimination of prosodic changes was assessed with a behavioral test.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Impaired speech sound encoding was found for both word and pseudoword stimuli in children with ASD. Reduced neural discrimination of vowel identity changes, consonant changes in pseudowords and vowel duration changes in both words and pseudowords were found in children with ASD. Also, reduced involuntary attention shifting to changes in vowel duration was found in children with ASD.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Results indicate altered speech-sound encoding and reduced cortical discrimination of and orienting to speech-sound changes in complex word-level speech stimuli in school-aged children with ASD but without language impairments.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>The results support the theories suggesting weaknesses in phonemic processing in ASD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106563"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145057225","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 feature underspecification in relative clauses: A comparative study on mandarin-speaking children with developmental language disorder and children with autism plus language impairment","authors":"Jiao DU ,&nbsp;Xiaowei HE ,&nbsp;Haopeng YU","doi":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.106574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examined how Mandarin-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Autism Plus Language Impairment (ALI) comprehend relative clauses (RCs), focusing on potential differences between subject and object RCs across these clinical populations. Both clinical groups demonstrated significant difficulties with RC comprehension, producing comparable error types: thematic role reversals, middle errors, and simple sentence errors. However, distinct performance patterns emerged: children with DLD showed better performance on subject RCs than object RCs, while children with ALI exhibited uniformly low performance across both RC types, suggesting potentially different underlying mechanisms. In line with the Edge Feature Underspecification Hypothesis, our findings suggest that the observed asymmetry in RC comprehension among children with DLD, as well as the error patterns across both clinical groups, may be explained by underspecified edge features.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49175,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Communication Disorders","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 106574"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145201590","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}