International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders最新文献

{"title":"Verbal and Behavioral Communication Strategies in Chinese Parent-Child Interactions: Distinctions Between Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development.","authors":"Jing Feng, Jaehoon Lee, Woonyoung Song, Shin Ying Chu, Siaw Chui Chai, Di Zhang, Wen Ying Liu, Farahiyah Wan Yunus, Ling-Yi Lin","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70257","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70257","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study examined the characteristics and differences in the verbal and behavioral strategies employed by Chinese-speaking parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and parents of typically developing (TD) children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ten-minute video recordings of parent-child interactions were analyzed, involving 34 children with ASD (Mage = 4.77 years, SD = 1.46; 29 boys) and 31 TD children (Mage = 4.84 years, SD = 1.43; 15 boys) alongside their parents. Verbal and behavioral samples were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using EUDICO Linguistic Annotator (ELAN) and Computerized Language Analysis (CLAN) software to evaluate grammatical, syntactic, pragmatic, semantic, and non-verbal functions. The Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to compare the interactive strategies between the two parental groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Parents in the ASD group demonstrated a significantly shorter mean length of utterance (MLU), greater reliance on gestures and labeling, and a higher frequency of behavioral directives compared to parents in the TD group (all ps < 0.01). In contrast, parents of TD children exhibited a significantly higher frequency of expansions, general responses, and questions, facilitating richer language input and reciprocal conversational engagement.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings suggest that parent-mediated interventions for Chinese-speaking children with ASD should prioritize balancing developmentally appropriate simplified input with responsive interaction strategies rather than merely increasing linguistic complexity to better support child-initiated communication and joint engagement.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>What is already known on this subject Previous research has established that parent-child interaction plays a central role in early language intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Parents tend to adapt their communication to children's reduced responsiveness by using shorter utterances and more directive strategies. Responsive parental behaviors, such as expansions and contingent responses, are consistently associated with better language outcomes. However, most evidence comes from Western language contexts, and parental communication strategies in Chinese-speaking families remain under explored. What this study adds to existing knowledge This study extends existing evidence by characterising the structure of parental communication strategies in Chinese-speaking parent-child interactions involving children with ASD. It demonstrates that, despite comparable amounts of overall linguistic input, parents of children with ASD show a systematic imbalance between adaptive scaffolding (shorter utterances, gestures and labeling) and responsive strategies (expansions, questions and imitations). The findings further identify a culturally specific pattern of increased gesture use in Chinese-speaking ASD famili","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70257"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147876169","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 Predominant Focus Is Still on Teaching Children to Make Requests: A Systematic Review of AAC for Autistic Adults and Children.","authors":"Selena Mifsud, Donna Thomas, Ruth Bowron, Rebecca Sutherland","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70251","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70251","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Autistic people with communication support needs can benefit from the use of augmentative and alternative communication. While research has considered the use of AAC to supplement communication and improve communication effectiveness, less is known about other potential outcomes across the lifespan such as wellbeing and social interaction.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>The aim of this systematic review was to synthesise current research regarding the use of AAC for autistic adults and children; exploring how AAC supports the individual's communication, adaptive functioning and quality of life.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search was conducted across six databases; PsychINFO, Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), and Google Scholar. Eligibility criteria included experimental design, peer-reviewed publications and papers published in English after 2013. Relevant papers were exported to Covidence; screening, full text review and data extraction were conducted in duplicate and quality appraisal was completed for all papers using the Scientific Merit Rating Scales (SMRS). Included studies were grouped by age, intervention types, AAC types and reported outcomes, and described qualitatively.</p><p><strong>Main contribution: </strong>The 69 included papers focused on a range of AAC types. The majority investigated speech-generating devices and low-tech picture exchange. Most used behavioural intervention techniques. Most papers focused only on children, with only three papers investigating outcomes of AAC use with adults. The results were largely descriptions of proximal outcomes, such as simple requests, with few considering generalisation of skills or distal outcomes such as quality of life. The quality of the papers was generally low, with limitations in study design and diagnostic ascertainment noted.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>AAC has the potential to be an important support for autistic people, however, evidence regarding the impact on the broad range of communication functions and quality of life is very limited. A greater focus on the impact of AAC on these areas is needed in both research and practice along with a stronger focus on adults and a greater range of AAC types.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>PROSPERO number: CRD42023473247 WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject The use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with autistic adults and children is an established practice. Previous research has shown some effectiveness related to the specific goals being studied but it has centred mostly on children, and most research has focused on making requests, rather than broad communication or life outcomes. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study explores the literature about autism and AAC and seeks to specifically examine the range of outc","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70251"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13130861/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147786936","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":"Exploring How Social Communication Ability Is Affected by Disability, Context and Experience for Adolescents Transitioning to Adulthood.","authors":"Gerard H Poll, Samrawit Getachew, William J Boone, Janis Petru","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70261","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70261","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Effective social communication is adapted to the context, the setting and the people involved. It is less clear how measures of adolescent social communication ability reflect these aspects of context. Social communication ability emerges from children's early experiences in varied contexts. Evidence is mixed on whether prior experience in the workplace, post-secondary education or independent living, is associated with social communication ability for those settings.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>The purpose of the study was to empirically evaluate the associations between measures of adolescents' social communication ability, the context of assessment, and the examinee's prior experience in the context.</p><p><strong>Methods and procedures: </strong>One-hundred fifty 14-21-year-old adolescents, 59 with developmental disabilities, participated in a cross-sectional study. Researchers administered instruments to measure social communication for four post-school settings. They also collected reports of prior experience in those settings. Rasch analysis was used to derive both item difficulty and social communication ability measures. Researchers evaluated the association between experience in a context and social communication ability for that context using regression models.</p><p><strong>Outcomes and results: </strong>Social communication measures were highly correlated across contexts. Social communication ability was associated with experience in post-secondary education, as was experience living independently for participants reporting disabilities.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>The results support conceiving of social communication as the ability to adapt one's communication to a context, an ability that is not bound to any one context. The varied findings on the association between prior experience in a context and social communication in that context can be interpreted as reflecting how difficult it is to learn the cues of that setting and generalize that learning to new situations, leading to potential differences in the amount and quality of experience required to successfully communicate in a context.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>What is already known on this subject For adolescents with communication disorders, developing social communication skills is important to their outcomes in adulthood. According to developmental models, social communication emerges from children's experiences in varied contexts. Different contexts elicit different language, but child measures of social communication ability from different contexts are correlated. What this study adds to existing knowledge Adolescent social communication ability measures for four post-school contexts were highly correlated. Experience in the post-secondary education context was associated with greater social communication ability for all adolescents, but only adolescents with developmental disabilities benefite","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13148118/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147845110","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":"Investigation of Swallowing Performance and Family Impact in Children With Speech and Language Delay.","authors":"Fahri Koca, Serkan Bengisu, Numan Demir","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70247","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70247","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aims to examine the relationship between delayed speech, feeding, and swallowing performance in children with speech and language delay (SLD) by comparing their feeding and swallowing performance with typically developing children, and to assess the impact of swallowing performance on families.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 60 children aged 24-60 months whose mother language was Turkish and their families participated in the study. Participants were divided into two groups: 40 children diagnosed with SLD and 20 typically developing children. Swallowing performance were assessed using the Pediatric Eating Assessment Tool (PEDI EAT-10), the Oral Speech Mechanism Screening Examination-Third Edition (OSMSE-3), and the Karaduman Chewing Performance Scale (KCPS). Nutritional status was assessed using the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), while family impact was measured using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Feeding/Swallowing Impact Survey (FS-IS).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results showed significant differences between the two groups in PEDI-EAT-10, OSMSE-3, and KCPS scores. The SLD group demonstrated significantly higher PEDI-EAT-10 scores (1.60 ± 4.21) compared with the typically developing control (TDC) group (0.00 ± 0.00; p = 0.011). Similarly, KCPS scores were significantly elevated in the SLD group (0.60 ± 0.59) relative to the TDC group (0.05 ± 0.22; p = 0.001). In contrast, the total OSMSE-3 score was significantly lower in the SLD group (40.40 ± 7.49) than in the TDC group (48.80 ± 2.07; p < 0.001), indicating poorer oral sensorimotor function among children with SLD. However, no significant difference was found in FOIS scores (p = 0.058). Regarding family impact, significant differences were observed in PedsQL and FS-IS scores (p = 0.001; p = 0.044).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In conclusion, the swallowing performance and oral motor function of children with SLD were found to be significantly different from children without SLD. This suggests a possible association between motor planning deficits and the co-occurrence of speech and language disorders and swallowing dysfunction. In addition, families of children with SLD reported lower quality of life and greater concerns about feeding and swallowing. These findings underscore the importance of addressing both SLD and swallowing disorder concurrently in clinical practice.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>What is already known on this subject Speech and language delay (SLD) is among the most common developmental disorders in early childhood and often co-occurs with feeding and swallowing difficulties. Both speech and swallowing rely on shared neuromuscular and motor planning processes, suggesting a potential link between the two. Previous studies indicate that early feeding/swallowing challenges may serve as risk indicators for later language impairments. However, existing research has ","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70247"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13077260/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147678142","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":"Working With School-Aged Children With Neurodisability and Oropharyngeal Dysphagia Who Require Mealtime Assistance: A Survey of Speech and Language Therapists' Clinical Practice.","authors":"Sally Morgan, Kathleen Mulligan, Kelly A Weir, Katerina Hilari","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70254","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70254","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>School-aged children with neurodisability and oropharyngeal dysphagia who need mealtime assistance have an increased risk of premature death. Speech & Language Therapists (SLTs) provide assessment and recommendations to optimise mealtime nutrition and hydration, but little is known about current clinical practice including mealtime recommendation provision and carer adherence support strategies. Before developing any intervention, the context needs to be known.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>This survey aimed to explore the practice of UK SLTs working with school-aged children with neurodisability and oropharyngeal dysphagia that require mealtime assistance. This included describing workforce and service delivery; assessment practices; mealtime recommendations targeted for example, carer use certain pace, specific utensil; current approaches used to provide mealtime recommendations including the people worked with, delivery modality and adherence support techniques.</p><p><strong>Methods and procedures: </strong>An online ethically approved survey was developed using research literature, with SLT stakeholder consultation and piloted prior to dissemination. The survey comprised 36 questions focusing on demographic and caseload information, typical assessment and intervention practice. Questions were multiple choice and free text responses with an upload option for intervention implementation documents. The survey was disseminated using professional networks and social media (summer 2021). Descriptive statistics were used with qualitative analysis for free text and submitted documents.</p><p><strong>Outcomes and results: </strong>SLT participants consented and completed demographic and assessment practice questions (n = 139) with 102 continuing to the final question. Participants worked across all UK regions, with different employers (NHS, education, independent) and in acute, school and community settings and frequently shared care. Some SLTs had no access to instrumental assessment; videofluoroscopy (n = 5, 4%) or FEES (n = 88, 63%), and there was limited published assessment use. Participants (n = 122) commonly used 17 different mealtime recommendations, most frequently targeting carers to change pace, environment, food consistency (n = 120-121, 98%-99%, sometimes-often). Qualitative analysis identified two practice styles: 'collaborative creation' or 'informative prescription'. 37 SLTs provided 59 intervention documents, (n = 39, 66%) were accessible information mealtime mats. There were 28 unique mat templates with 19 different names. Formats and recommendation target frequency differed for example, drink texture (n = 27, 96%), pace (n = 14, 50%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>This work provides contextual information on UK SLT practice with school-aged children with neurodisability and oropharyngeal dysphagia who require mealtime assistance. Further work is required to support research into","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70254"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13129504/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147786853","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":"Predictors of Speech-Language Therapy Service Access Among Parents in Aotearoa New Zealand.","authors":"Christine Sim, Bianca N Jackson, Suzanne Carolyn Purdy","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70263","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Effective support for children's speech, language, and communication development is essential to prevent long-term negative outcomes. Parental behaviours play a critical role in whether children are referred to and receive speech-language therapy.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>This study aimed to identify predictors of parents receiving Speech-language Therapy using longitudinal data from Growing Up in New Zealand.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Data were drawn from the Growing Up in New Zealand study, which is representative of the national child population. The analysis focused on children with reported speech concerns by age 54 months (N = 771). The primary outcome was whether speech-language therapy had been received for speech concerns by that age.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Logistic regression showed children had significantly higher odds of receiving speech-language therapy if their mothers experienced low socioeconomic deprivation during pregnancy (OR = 2.31, p < 0.01) and if family doctors were perceived as highly helpful when the child was nine months old (OR = 3.77, p < 0.05). In contrast, children whose mothers identified Māori as their prioritised ethnicity were significantly less likely to receive speech-language therapy than those identifying as European/Pākehā (OR = 0.40, p < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Findings highlight persistent ethnic and social inequities in access to speech-language therapy in New Zealand. Parental information-seeking may play a role but requires further research. These results support the need for targeted policies and early engagement strategies to ensure equitable receipt of speech-language therapy for children with speech, language, and communication needs.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>What is already known on this subject Less than half of children with speech concerns receive speech-language therapy. Socio-economic and ethnic disparities are known to contribute to this gap. However, the specific factors influencing access to speech-language therapy, and the role of healthcare providers in supporting service uptake, are not well understood. What this study adds to the existing knowledge This study identifies key factors associated with non-receipt of speech-language therapy, including socio-economic deprivation, ethnicity, and perceived helpfulness of support. It underscores the important role of healthcare providers in early identification and in improving access to speech-language therapy services for children in at-risk groups. What are the actual clinical implications of this work? The findings highlight the need for targeted strategies to overcome barriers to speech-language therapy access. Strengthening collaboration between healthcare providers, such as general practitioners and early childhood professionals, may improve early intervention and service uptake among underserved populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70263"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148007137","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":"Defining Communicative Participation for Children and Young People: Views of Young People, Parents, and Speech and Language Therapists.","authors":"Sarah Spencer, Kulwinder Bola, Louisa Reeves, Wendy Best, Helen Stringer, Lindsay Pennington","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70266","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70266","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Communicating effectively in everyday life is a key outcome for children with speech, language and communication difficulties. However, we lack a clear way to describe children's everyday communication functioning-their communicative participation. Communicative participation is defined for adults, as 'taking part in life situations where knowledge, information, ideas, or feelings are exchanged', and included how communicative participation is achieved, with whom and for what purposes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Aim: &lt;/strong&gt;This study aimed to consider communicative participation for children and young people, by using an existing definition regarding adults' communicative participation to elicit meaning from children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, and that of their parents and clinicians.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods and procedures: &lt;/strong&gt;Three focus groups with young people with speech, language, and communication needs (n = 6, ages 14-16 year old), parent carers (n = 5), and speech and language therapists (n = 19) and two semi-structured interviews, one with a parent of a young child with complex communication needs and one with a parent and their daughter with developmental language disorder, were conducted online, audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participants were shown an existing definition of communicative participation (originally intended to be applied to adults) and discussed the appropriateness of each section of the definition for children and young people. Transcripts were analysed following the Framework Analysis Approach.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Participants broadly agreed with the existing definition but highlighted the changing nature of communicative participation throughout childhood. They thought that a definition of communicative participation should include interaction for joy, where closeness rather than meaning is shared, and reference to play and education as key communicative participation situations. Participants highlighted the importance of skilled partners in meaning making for children with developmental communication difficulties, and the fundamental role of technology in communicative participation. They also discussed the impacts of successful communicative participation on children's social and emotional development, seeing communicative participation as a driver to protect mental health and wellbeing, build independence, develop trusting relationships and stay safe.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions and implications: &lt;/strong&gt;Communicative participation develops across childhood and differs to that in adulthood in some important respects. The broad boundaries of the construct provided in this study can inform further development of the construct with potential impact for developing assessments and interventions related to communicative participation for children.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What this study adds: &lt;/strong&gt;What is already known on this subject Communic","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70266"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148007173","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":"'Better Conversations With Developmental Language Disorder': Designing a Novel Intervention for School-Aged Children and Their Main Carers.","authors":"Lucy Hughes, Liz Croot, Caroline Newton, Wendy Best","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70234","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70234","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience difficulties with receptive and expressive language, which can affect their participation in everyday interactions with others. This, in turn, can impact their ongoing language development and ability to form and maintain friendships. This paper describes the development of a complex intervention, 'Better Conversations with Developmental Language Disorder' (BCDLD), designed with and for school-aged children with DLD and their main carers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Medical Research Council guidelines for developing complex interventions were used to inform the design and early-stage evaluation of BCDLD, including consultation with key interest holders at each stage of the project; appraisal of relevant literature and articulation of programme theory.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A review of the evidence for communication partner training revealed a gap in the research and clinical practice for school-aged children with DLD. Research with other clinical groups suggests potential for enhancing everyday interactions through work with conversation partners. Theory underpinning the proposed intervention, which was identified from the review, included social interactionist and constructivist accounts of child language acquisition, behaviour change theory and applied conversation analysis. Children and parents with experience of living with DLD identified barriers to their everyday conversation to inform intervention content and delivery. Speech and Language Therapists gave feedback on the draft intervention protocol and advised on how BCDLD could be implemented in clinical practice.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This paper reports the development of a theoretically-informed, conversation-based intervention for children with DLD and their conversation partners, which aims to improve the content and flow of their everyday interactions, whilst supporting children's language development. Synthesising knowledge from the literature, input from children living with DLD, parents and professionals in the field enabled the design and early-stage evaluation of BCDLD.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>What is already known about this subject There is a gap in the literature and clinical practice for a conversation-based intervention, designed for school-aged children with DLD and their parents or carers. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This project followed Medical Research Council guidelines for early development of a novel intervention, 'Better Conversations with Developmental Language Disorder'. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The programme is ready to progress to the next stage of development, including manualisation and training, leading to feasibility studies within NHS and education settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70234"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13081513/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147692786","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":"Evaluation of the SWAN Game-Based Approach to Re-Building Numeracy Skills in Aphasia: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings.","authors":"Caroline Newton, Vanessa Meitanis, Carolyn Bruce, Chris Donlan","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70256","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70256","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Numeracy difficulties are common in individuals with post-stroke aphasia, yet assessments and therapies addressing these are limited. This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of SWAN, a game-based digital intervention targeting foundational number language skills: counting and transcoding.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>(1) To explore rates of recruitment, retention and adherence to SWAN; (2) To assess whether SWAN improves numeracy skills.</p><p><strong>Methods & procedures: </strong>Eighteen individuals with aphasia were given SWAN to play at home for 15 minutes per day over three weeks. Outcome measures included assessments of transcoding, counting, calculation and functional numeracy. Linear mixed-effects models evaluated intervention effects, with the Smallest Detectable Change (SDC) calculated to identify individuals who responded to the intervention.</p><p><strong>Outcomes & results: </strong>SWAN was feasible to deliver remotely, with high adherence. Significant group-level improvements were observed for transcoding, counting and calculation, although counting was the only outcome where no improvement was observed at baseline. Twelve participants demonstrated meaningful gains in at least one outcome measure, exceeding their individual SDC. Functional numeracy did not improve, though participants reported increased confidence in skills.</p><p><strong>Conclusions & implications: </strong>The findings suggest that SWAN is effective in motivating users and providing intensive practice for number sequences. However, further research is required which explores individual response to intervention in order to determine those most likely to benefit.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>What is already known on this subject Numeracy deficits are prevalent in aphasia, impacting daily living and independence. Limited previous research involving tailored intervention delivered individually suggests these difficulties may be responsive to intervention. However, intervention to address them clinically appears rare. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of a game-based intervention to improve foundational numeracy skills in aphasia, including counting, transcoding and simple arithmetic (addition and subtraction). However, further exploration of SWAN's effectiveness at individual level is required to determine those most likely to benefit from the intervention. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The findings highlight the importance of considering numeracy in aphasia assessment and intervention. Digital therapies like SWAN can offer accessible and engaging solutions for addressing this largely unmet need.</p>","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70256"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13111786/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147786821","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":"'They Absolutely Love It, or They're Terrified of It'. The Self-Perceived Competence of Australian Speech-Language Pathologists in Augmentative and Alternative Communication.","authors":"Clancy Conlon, Robyn Preston, Barbra Zupan","doi":"10.1111/1460-6984.70262","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1460-6984.70262","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) requires speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to have unique skills that may not be easily transferred from other practice areas. The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) also created a distinctive work context for Australian SLPs within the disability sector.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the self-perceived competence of Australian SLPs in AAC.</p><p><strong>Method and procedures: </strong>This study followed a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach. First, 203 SLPs completed a quantitative online survey. Next, 16 SLPs of those surveyed, participated in a one-on-one, semi-structured interview over Zoom.</p><p><strong>Outcome and results: </strong>Competency ratings were higher for those SLPs who received pre-professional training in AAC, worked in a metropolitan area, had spent more time in the workforce and had a higher proportion of AAC users on their caseload. Competency ratings also differed by service delivery task; delivering therapy received the highest rating, while conducting assessments received the lowest. When asked about barriers and facilitators to clinical competence in AAC, four themes were identified (1) access to training and information, (2) AAC is a quickly evolving and changing field, (3) the impact of workplace context and (4) the attitudes of key stakeholders regarding AAC.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>SLPs in Australia report mixed levels of competence in AAC and experience many barriers to further developing their competence. Considerations should be made for how to reduce these barriers at a national level to ensure AAC users are accessing high quality supports.</p><p><strong>What this paper adds: </strong>What is already known on the subject Previous literature has highlighted that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) internationally have varied levels of self-perceived competence in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Most of this research has been conducted in the United States and has been quantitative. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This mixed methods study highlights that the self-perceived competence of Australian SLPs is impacted by university training, geographical location, time in the workforce, caseload and service delivery task. SLPs also feel that workplace context, attitudes of key stakeholders, technological advances and access to post-professional training impacts their ability to further develop competence in AAC. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study highlights the critical role of key stakeholders such as university staff, funding bodies and employers in the development of clinical competence in AAC for SLPs.</p>","PeriodicalId":49182,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders","volume":"61 3","pages":"e70262"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13162197/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147876210","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}