Background: Engagement is recognized as an important factor in aphasia treatment response and outcomes, yet gaps remain in our understanding of engagement and practices that promote engagement from the client perspective. Aims: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how clients with aphasia experience engagement during their…

Introduction: Speech Language Therapy First Point of Contact Clinic (SLT-FPOCC) models can assist assessment of low-risk patient populations referred to ear, nose and throat (ENT) services. To further improve ENT waitlist management and compliance with best-practice care, consideration of other low-risk populations that could be safely managed…

Purposes: Investigating the contribution of each component of the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) to the aphasia quotient (AQ) helps better understand the mechanisms of change in the AQ. Previous studies on patients with English-speaking aphasia have shown that spontaneous speech contributes the most to the AQ. However, the same conclusion may not…

Background: Person-centred services are inherently related to patients/caregivers' needs. However, the extent to which dysphagia services within Singapore meet consumer needs is largely unknown. Involving patients/caregivers in service evaluation/redesign deepens the understanding of consumer needs. This process also increases the success of…

Aim: Evidence shows that 20%-30% of patients who aspirate do so silently. Research to date has not demonstrated clear evidence to indicate which patients are at higher risk of silent aspiration. Our aim was to use univariate logistic regression analysis of retrospective case review to determine potential patterns of silent aspiration. Materials…

Background: Goal setting is an essential step in the clinical reasoning process of speech and language therapists (SLTs) who provide care for children, adolescents and adults with communication disorders. In the light of person-centred care, shared or collaborative goal setting between the SLT and client is advised in (inter)national guidelines.…

Background: There is a growing body of evidence showing the value of community singing-based rehabilitation on psychosocial well-being and communication for people with post-stroke communication impairment (PSCI). However, there has been little consideration of the potential value an inpatient aphasia-friendly choir may have through the…

Background: This study aimed to assess anxiety, depression and quality of life (QoL) in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing laryngectomy using comprehensive self-reported questionnaires for a period of up to 5 years. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled 150 consecutive patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer…

Background: Based on stakeholder conversations, speech and language therapists have anecdotally observed cases of dysphagia with suspected laryngeal hypersensitivity. These presentations have been coined as 'muscle tension dysphagia' often with concurrent laryngeal sensitivity symptoms. However, the role of laryngeal hypersensitivity in dysphagia…

Background: While pragmatic deficits are well documented in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and right hemisphere damage (RHD), there is a paucity of research comparing the pragmatic deficits of these two groups. Do they experience similar cognitive dysfunction or is there a dissociation between the two patient groups? Aims: To investigate the…

Background: People who have communication difficulties may benefit from using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Understanding and measuring outcomes from the use of AAC is an important part of evaluating the impact of devices and services. Outcome measurement needs to reflect the changing nature of the impact of using AAC on an…

Background: Although existing studies have shown that both repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and music therapy have advantages in the treatment of non-fluent aphasia, the efficacy of the combination of these two methods remains to be investigated. Aims: To investigate the clinical efficacy of low-frequency rTMS combined with…

Background: Studies suggest swallow intervention programmes that incorporate visual biofeedback and motor programming principles can improve swallowing and quality of life for people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and dysphagia. Few studies have examined outcomes using instrumentation. Aims: Using fibreoptic endoscopic examination of…

Background: Discourse analysis has recently received much attention in the aphasia literature. Even if post-stroke language recovery occurs throughout the longitudinal continuum of recovery, very few studies have documented discourse changes from the hyperacute to the chronic phases of recovery. Aims: To document a multilevel analysis of discourse…

Background: As health systems face increasing demands, non-medical prescribing is a workforce redesign strategy adopted within some services. Despite successful implementation in other professional groups, non-medical prescribing within speech pathology (SP) has not yet been described. Aims: To provide a descriptive account of the development and…