This study examined keyword signing (KWS), a communication approach used with nonspeaking individuals. Acoustic measures and judgments of 20 adult listeners were used to evaluate KWS and Spoken-Only narratives. KWS narratives were produced with a slower articulation rate, because of increased pause and speech segment duration and increased pause…

Three vignettes about Hispanic boys referred for speech and language assessment were presented to 284 speech-language specialists. Decisions about the existence of a communication disorder, probable cause, and appropriate treatment were related to clinician specialty; experience; and knowledge of Spanish language, Hispanic culture, and…

Reviews communication disorders in school-age children and their effects on social interactions. Counselors need to develop skills for working with this population. Strategies for building self-esteem include: (1) identify strengths; (2) use support groups; (3) be positive; (4) set goals; and (5) solve problems. Describes specific activities. (EMK)

This article describes functional communication training (FCT) with students who have autism. FCT involves teaching alternative communication strategies to replace problem behaviors. The article reviews the conditions under which this intervention is successful and compares the method with other behavioral approaches. It concludes that functional…

Examined peer-related social interactions of preschool children with communication disorders. Found that subjects engaged in fewer positive social interactions and conversed with peers less often during nonplay activities than did normal peers, were less successful in their social bids, and appeared to be less directive with their peers. However,…

A study investigated voice onset time in voiced stop consonants under varying constraints. Under variation of rate, lexical stress location and location of key words beginning with voiced stops, the three adult stutterers realized voiced stops by voicing before release, whereas controls realized voiced stops by voicing following the release.…

Parents of 78 young people with Down syndrome, age 17 to 24 years, were asked whether their offspring had ever used private speech (talking out loud to themselves). Results confirm the universality of private speech and its developmental pattern. No association was found between private speech and behavior problems, communication difficulties or…

This introductory article offers principles for selecting a treatment method for children with communication disorders. These include soundness of the theoretical framework and research foundation; relationship of the theoretical framework to potential change in functional communication; evidence for positive treatment outcomes balanced against…

This article notes the dilemma faced by facilitated communication (FC) practitioners who must choose between denying their client effective and efficient communication or use an approach that has not held up under controlled scientific studies. It notes that FC descriptions that focus on social participation are more positive than those that focus…

Cooperative group treatment for aphasia based on cooperative learning principles is designed to improve communication skills during small, two-member group interactions. The treatment involves teamwork incorporating positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual accountability, and group processing. Group size, treatment…

We used functional communication training to teach Bob, a 10-year-old student with autism and severe language delays, to reject items by touching an icon. Our initial assessment revealed that Bob's behaviours serving a rejecting function consisted of pushing away, yelling, bear hugging-grabbing, and leaving. We used prompting, differential…

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to plague many countries across the globe, including the United States, Africa, China and India. Children and adults have been infected with HIV, and both populations can present with communication disorders that coexist with the presence of the virus. The purpose of this paper is to present an…

Tracheoesophageal (TE) speakers often have difficulty producing the voiced-voiceless distinction. Phonation offset (POff) as a TE speaker transitions from a vowel to a stop consonant may be altered, possibly contributing to listener misperceptions. The purposes of this study were to: (1) compare the duration of POff in TE versus laryngeal…

The growth of managed care and increasing demands by school systems resulted in of a number of new audiences looking for the evidence underlying the practice of speech-language pathology (SLP). Third-party payers, operating in an environment emphasizing ''return-on-investment,'' sought data linking expenditures on SLP services with tangible…

Evidence-based practice (EBP), a framework that originated in clinical medicine, offers a principled means of addressing longstanding questions about clinical practice in communication disorders. However, in several respects EBP represents a radical departure from traditional thinking in speech-language pathology and audiology. In this paper, I…