speech-language pathology

Research for speech-language pathology

Papers a speech-language pathologist can act on — aphasia, dysphagia, developmental language, fluency, voice and augmentative communication — read in full and summarised plainly.

23 papers

• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · QualitativeExploring the Laryngectomy Pathway Experience-a Mixed-Method, Patient Journey Mapping Study of Two US Health Centres.Twelve laryngectomy patients in one US health system saw a median of 13 different professions in their first year. Care was rated mostly positive, but patients flagged gaps in pre-surgery preparation, phone communication, and paying for voice supplies — issues SLPs can address directly.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · RCTInvestigating the Effects of Adding Explicit Teaching and/or Signing to Story-Based Vocabulary Intervention for School-Aged Children With (Developmental) Language Disorder.Adding explicit teaching or signing to story-based vocabulary lessons helped school-aged children with DLD learn more verbs and adjectives than stories alone. Combining both added no extra benefit and may have slightly hindered learning.
• Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026 · CohortAddressing Common Problems in Autism Research: Cohort Development and Sample Description for a Participatory, Real-World, Longitudinal Study of Outcomes in Autistic Adults.Three ways of recruiting autistic adults (health systems, disability services, community) produced very different groups in age, support needs, health, and independence. Free, accessible outcome measures for autistic adults are now available for clinicians to use.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · OtherNetwork Models for Assessing the Co-occurrence Between Stuttering and ADHD.Attention, fluency, and phonological memory connect differently in adults who stutter versus those with ADHD or no condition. In stuttering, attention and phonological memory are not linked the same way, but fluency and phonological memory are more tightly connected. The formal test was not significant.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · OtherPhonological Awareness and Nonword Repetition in Children With and Without Speech Sound Disorders: A Comparative Analysis.Children with speech sound disorders scored lower than typically developing peers on phonological awareness and nonword repetition, even after accounting for language ability. Their speech difficulties appear to extend beyond motor production into how they process and hold sounds in memory.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · Meta-AnalysisEffectiveness of Caregiver-Mediated Spoken Language Interventions for Children Under Five at Risk of Developmental Language Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Coaching parents to build language into daily play and conversation gives under-fives at risk of DLD a small but real boost in overall language scores, with stronger gains in understanding than in speaking. Some of the benefit fades by six months.
• Aphasiology · 2026 · Case ReportNew patterns of pathological language mixing in bilingual aphasia.In one woman with severe Broca's aphasia in both Spanish and English, Spanish words intruded more into her English grammar (articles, prepositions) than into her content words — the opposite of what most studies report. This is one person, not a pattern.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · CohortReliability and Concurrent Validity of the Likert-Type Stuttering Severity Scale and the Visual Analog Scale in Turkish-Speaking Adults Who Stutter.Trained speech-therapy students rated stuttering severity on a brief numerical scale and a 100-mm line, and both closely matched clinician SSI-4 scores. These quick tools could supplement detailed assessments in screening or research settings where time is limited.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · Systematic ReviewThe Family History of Developmental Stuttering: A Scoping Review.A scoping review found that published family history rates for stuttering range from 20.0% to 90.9% because studies count relatives differently. Family history remains a useful risk factor to ask about, but no single published rate should be treated as the definitive figure.
• The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2026 · OtherClinical characteristics and outcomes of referrals for speech and language delay to the Speech Therapy and Audiology department at a district hospital in Gauteng, South Africa.Of 150 children referred for speech and language delay at a South African district hospital, 49.2% never returned for follow-up. Autism was the most common specialist diagnosis (52%). Bilingualism and maternal pregnancy complications showed no link to greater delay.
• Trends in hearing · 2026 · OtherHearing Loss Is Reflected in Conversational Pupil Responses.Pupil size during conversation tracks hearing loss and background noise. People with hearing loss show greater pupil drift over a conversation and different pupil responses around turn-taking, meaning quiet conversation is already effortful for them beyond what a hearing test captures.
• Trends in hearing · 2026 · OtherThe Effect of Head Movements on Front-Back Discrimination and Sound Externalization With Hearing Aids.Hearing aids make it harder to tell if a sound is in front or behind you and to feel it as 'out there' rather than inside your head. Moving your head while listening helps a lot but does not fully fix either problem.
• Trends in hearing · 2026 · OtherHow Temporal Overlap in Task Processing and Acoustic Load Affect Listening Effort in Adults.In 25 normal-hearing young adults, splitting attention between listening and a visual task raised listening effort more than background speech noise did, even though word understanding stayed around 90%. Mild room echo in quiet actually lowered effort compared to a dead-silent room.
• Molecular autism · 2026 · OtherSocial enhancement of associative learning in neurotypical, speaking autistic, and minimally speaking autistic preschoolers.Minimally speaking autistic preschoolers showed no evidence of learning the association, while neurotypical and speaking autistic peers did, with a social boost. A child who doesn't learn from social cues may need a different approach, not more of the same.
• Trends in hearing · 2026 · OtherListening Effort in Complex Audiovisual Scenes Under Varying Simulated Room Acoustic Conditions.Reverberation in a virtual office reduced memory for spoken stories and increased listening effort compared to anechoic conditions, but reducing the reverberation time from 1.0 s to 0.5 s made no measurable difference. Within a realistic office range, the specific level may not matter.
• Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026 · Systematic ReviewInclusion of Participants With Limited English Proficiency in Autism Research.A systematic review of 1,007 autism studies found that only 19% included participants with limited English proficiency, and just 18% of randomized trials did — meaning most intervention evidence may not apply to your LEP patients.
• Child: care, health and development · 2026 · PilotThe Right to Food for Children With Cerebral Palsy in South Africa: Examining Nutritional Access and Structural Barriers.In 9 South African families with children with CP, caregivers reported that store-bought foods often didn't match their child's swallowing needs, and the disability grant fell short. Feeding plans should start from what the family can actually buy and prepare.
• CoDAS · 2026 · Case ReportRapid syllable transition treatment (ReST) in children with speech motor delay: case studies.Four Brazilian children with speech motor delay all showed gains in phoneme accuracy and stress after ReST therapy via telepractice. With no control group and only four participants, this is preliminary evidence, not proof the method works.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · QualitativeBuilding Knowledge and Confidence: Student Speech Pathologists' Perspectives on Learning About Cognitive-Communication Disorders and the Potential of Implementing Convers-ABI-lity on Placement.Ten speech pathology students found the convers-ABI-lity programme practical and easy to use, but could not say how to apply its modules in a session. They need worked examples, supervisor observation, and a rationale for each step before delivering it to a client.
• Trends in hearing · 2026 · CohortListening-Related Fatigue in Adolescents With Prelingual Deafness and Device Experience.Adolescents with hearing loss and long-term device use had average fatigue scores in the normal range, but a meaningful subset scored above the clinical threshold. Perceived communication difficulty and anxiety/depression—not hearing level or device type—drove the differences.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · SurveySpeech and Language Therapists' Views Regarding Their Scope of Practice in Written Language.A survey of 511 UK speech therapists found most believe they have a role in written language, but child-focused therapists are significantly less confident and less involved than adult-focused ones. 89% want a formal position statement to clarify the profession's role.
• CoDAS · 2026 · OtherCross-cultural adaptation of the Escala De Fatigabilidad Vocal en Docentes (EFV-D) to brazilian portuguese.A Spanish vocal-fatigue questionnaire for teachers has been translated and culturally adapted into Brazilian Portuguese. The testing to confirm the scale actually works has not yet been done, so it is not ready for clinical use.
• International journal of language & communication disorders · 2026 · SurveyUptake and Evaluation of a Crosslinguistic Nonword Repetition Test in Clinical and Research Contexts.A survey of 109 users of the Crosslinguistic Nonword Repetition Test found 92% considered it useful, mostly for screening multilingual children for DLD. It still lacks norms and practical guidance, so treat it as one part of a battery, not a standalone diagnosis.