American journal of speech-language pathology
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Am J Speech Lang Pathol · May 2007
Clinician-child interactions: adjustments in linguistic complexity.
This pilot study examined the extent and nature of associations in the linguistic complexity used by child and clinician within conversational interactions. ⋯ Within a conversational exchange, the clinician in this study made significant adjustments in her linguistic complexity that were due, at least in part, to the linguistic complexity used by the children with whom she was interacting. Associations were similar to adjustments reported in prior studies of parent and teacher interactions with children with differing language abilities. However, the extent to which these findings generalize to other clinicians needs to be examined. Results from the present study challenge clinicians to dedicate conscious thought toward how their linguistic input should be structured, taking into consideration both the goal of the interaction and each child's profile of linguistic strengths and weaknesses. Directions for future research are also provided.
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Am J Speech Lang Pathol · Feb 2006
An Internet-based telerehabilitation system for the assessment of motor speech disorders: a pilot study.
This pilot study explored the feasibility and effectiveness of an Internet-based telerehabilitation application for the assessment of motor speech disorders in adults with acquired neurological impairment. ⋯ The online assessment of motor speech disorders using an Internet-based telerehabilitation system is feasible. This study suggests that with additional refinement of the technology and assessment protocols, reliable assessment of motor speech disorders over the Internet is possible. Future research methods are outlined.
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Am J Speech Lang Pathol · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyThe relationship between standardized measures of language and measures of spontaneous speech in children with autism.
This study investigated the relationship between scores on standardized tests (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals [CELF], Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition [PPVT-III], and Expressive Vocabulary Test) and measures of spontaneous speech (mean length of utterance [MLU], Index of Productive Syntax, and number of different word roots [NDWR]) derived from natural language samples obtained from 44 children with autism between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. The children with autism were impaired across both groups of measures. The two groups of measures were significantly correlated, and specific relationships were found between lexical-semantic measures (NDWR, vocabulary tests, and the CELF lexical-semantic subtests) and grammatical measures (MLU, and CELF grammar subtests), suggesting that both standardized and spontaneous speech measures tap the same underlying linguistic abilities in children with autism. These findings have important implications for clinicians and researchers who depend on these types of language measures for diagnostic purposes, assessment, and investigations of language impairments in autism.