This study evaluated the ability to process auditory temporal-envelope cues in six children with dyslexia and two groups of six each normal control children and adults. Children with dyslexia showed poorer reception of voicing, manner, and place of articulation for unprocessed speech and poorer reception of voicing for "speech-envelope noise."…

This introductory article to a special issue on the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for persons with autism briefly reviews the history of AAC with this population, summarizes issues identified in the following articles, and notes questions that remain unanswered. (Contains references.) (DB)

This study investigated whether discourse context affected the intelligibility of synthesized sentences for young adult and older adult listeners. Findings indicated a significant facilitating effect of context wherein previous words and sentences are related to later sentences for both listener groups. Results have direct implications for…

Auditory processing disorders (APDs) have received considerable attention over the past few decades. Much of the attention has focused on the controversy surrounding the operational definition of APD, the heterogeneous nature of APD, and an appropriate test battery for APD assessment. Temporal processing deficits are one characteristic of APD and…

Background: Microswitches can be vital tools to help individuals with extensive multiple disabilities acquire control of environmental stimulation. This study was aimed at extending the evaluation of a computer system used as a microswitch for word utterances with three participants with multiple disabilities. Method: Sets of 7 or 12 word…

Evaluation of client progress is an important topic in communicative disorders research and clinical literature. Goal attainment scaling (GAS) is a technique for evaluating individual progress toward goals. Despite recognition of GAS as a clinical-outcome assessment technique in other clinical professions, the current debate on measuring client…

Purpose: The purposes of this investigation were to examine the construct dimensionality and range of ability effectively measured by 28 assessment items obtained from 3 different patient-reported scales of communicative functioning, and to provide a demonstration of how the Rasch approach to measurement may contribute to the definition of latent…

One-hundred and two graduate level, allied health students' preferences for social distance from persons with various conditions were surveyed. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that participants' preferred social distance from various conditions would reveal a significant interaction between perceived threat (i.e., threatening vs.…

The literature on selective mutism provides little information on the child's own perspective. Six adults who had been selectively mute were interviewed about their childhood and adolescence. Data analysis led to identification of five themes, each of which has potentially important implications for teachers. (1) Origins of selective mutism: all…

Previous research implies that stereotypic behavior tends to be maintained by the sensory consequences produced by engaging in the response. Few investigations, however, have focused on vocal stereotypy. The current study examined the noncommunicative vocalizations of 4 children with an autism spectrum disorder. First, functional analyses were…

The primary objective of this position paper is to assess the theoretical and empirical support that exists for the Mayo Clinic view of motor speech disorders in general, and for oromotor, nonverbal tasks as a window to speech production processes in particular. Literature both in support of and against the Mayo clinic view and the associated use…

The goal of this study was to classify children with speech sound disorders (SSD) empirically, using factor analytic techniques. Participants were 3-7-year olds enrolled in speech/language therapy (N=185). Factor analysis of an extensive battery of speech and language measures provided support for two distinct factors, representing the skill…

This monograph describes the National Speech and Hearing Survey (NSHS) database and examines the prevalence of articulation deviations, voice deviations, stuttering, dialects, hearing impairments, and multiple deviations. Literature on the coexistence of communication disorders is then reviewed, focusing on coexistence in articulation and language…

Abstracts of 13 papers given at a 1983 conference on autistic children are presented: "Autism--Is There a Neurological Basis?" (G. McKhann); "The Syndrome of Autism: A Medical Model" (E. Ritvo) (full paper); "Neuropsychological Testing of Peripheral and Central Communicative Disorders" (H. Mark); "A Psychiatrist Views the Neurological Basis of the…

The instructional guide, student manual, and reference materials were developed by the PDQ Project, Planning and Development of Quality Services in the Schools, an effort by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association to provide public school personnel working with communication disordered children with information and training related to…