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.

10,216 PAPERS · PAGE 19 OF 205 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTSLPNarrative Review2017Outcome Measures for Clinical Trials in Down Syndrome.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesMany outcome measures for Down syndrome trials are only promising, and no language measure is fully validated. SLPs should not assume these scores detect change until Down syndrome-specific norms and testing are available.
• SLPCohort2017The Influence of Social Interaction and Physical Health on the Association Between Hearing and Depression With Age and Gender.Trends in hearingIn 134,357 UK adults aged 40 to 69, reported difficulty following conversations in background noise was linked to more depression, especially low mood and worry. The link remained after illness, unemployment and social isolation. It does not show hearing caused depression.
• SLPOther2017Listener estimates of talker age in a single-talker, 50-year longitudinal sample.Journal of communication disordersListeners judged a single talker's age from short speech excerpts. They thought he sounded older when he was younger and younger when he was older. Listeners who recognized him were more accurate for his later decades.
• SLPOther2017Wideband acoustic immittance for assessing middle ear functioning for preterm neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir KommunikasieafwykingsWideband acoustic immittance was measured in 75 preterm NICU ears with chirp and 82 with tone, but results were variable and 19.3% of samples from 961 Hz to 2016 Hz were corrected. It did not show the test can identify middle ear dysfunction.
• SLPSurvey2017Decision-Making in Audiology: Balancing Evidence-Based Practice and Patient-Centered Care.Trends in hearingAudiologists rated test results, experience, and client preferences as most important. In difficult hearing cases, many reported using client goals and colleagues. Peer-reviewed literature was less often mentioned. These are self-reports from 96 conference attendees.
• SLPOther2017The Influence of Maternal Pragmatics on the Language Skills of Children with Autism.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPMothers of children with autism had more conversation style problems in a parent interview than mothers of children with other language delays. In both groups, more problems went with lower child language scores, but in different language areas.
• SLPSurvey2017Decreasing Disparities in Child Development Assessment: Identifying and Discussing Possible Delays in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPOregon WIC staff often noticed or were asked about child development concerns, but most felt poorly connected to early intervention and pediatric providers. Staff wanted more training and resources, and some said this was outside WIC's role.
• SLPRCT2017Verbal, Visual, and Intermediary Support for Child Witnesses with Autism During Investigative Interviews.Journal of autism and developmental disordersFor children with autism, none of the interview supports increased correct details compared with best-practice police interviewing. For typically developing children, a registered intermediary and verbal labels increased details, but verbal labels also increased made-up details.
• OTSLPQualitative2017"Putting on My Best Normal": Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions.Journal of autism and developmental disordersMost participants described camouflaging their autism as effortful and exhausting. They masked stimming, copied others, and rehearsed conversations to fit in or connect, often delaying diagnosis and hiding support needs.
• SLPCase-Control2017Differential Fairness Decisions and Brain Responses After Expressed Emotions of Others in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Journal of autism and developmental disordersOverall unfairness did not differ between boys with ASD and typical boys, but written emotional reactions changed their choices. ASD boys were less unfair after happiness than typical boys. Brain findings were exploratory and not a treatment effect.
• SLPCohort2017Speech Recognition Outcomes After Cochlear Reimplantation Surgery.Trends in hearing44 of the 57 analysed reimplantation cases reached or exceeded their best previous speech recognition scores after surgery. Poorer outcomes were linked to complications, incomplete electrode placement, cognitive decline, or facial nerve stimulation.
• SLPCohort2017Psychosocial Development in 5-Year-Old Children With Hearing Loss Using Hearing Aids or Cochlear Implants.Trends in hearingFive-year-old children with hearing aids or cochlear implants were rated near typical peers on emotional and behavior problems, but their early social skills lagged. For similar hearing loss, hearing aid users showed more hyperactivity and conduct problems.
• SLPCase-Control2017Slowed articulation rate is a sensitive diagnostic marker for identifying non-fluent primary progressive aphasia.AphasiologyThe rate measures did not clearly beat clinician fluency ratings in the main accuracy comparison, but slow articulation rate was the best marker and helped identify non-fluent PPA when false alarms were low.
• OTSLPCohort2017Evaluating the quality of peer interactions in children and adolescents with autism with the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS).Molecular autismTeacher reports of withdrawn or disconnected play lined up with parent reports of friendship quality. More severe repetitive behaviors and lower verbal ability were linked to less peer connection. It did not match parent reports for all kinds of play behavior.
• PTOTSLPOther2017General Pediatrician-Staffed Behavioral/Developmental Access Clinic Decreases Time to Evaluation of Early Childhood Developmental Disorders.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPA general pediatrician access clinic saw children under 5 sooner for developmental evaluation: 159 days instead of 327 for already scheduled patients, and 11 days for new callers.
• SLPOther2017The Benefit of a Visually Guided Beamformer in a Dynamic Speech Task.Trends in hearingWhen talkers moved, the eye-steered beamformer was worse than the natural listening condition and the hybrid was no better. With a fixed talker, the hybrid helped, and the beamformer helped mainly straight ahead.
• SLPRCT2017Facilitating pragmatic skills through role-play in learners with language learning disability.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir KommunikasieafwykingsEight children with language learning disability showed increases on pragmatic assessments after group therapy with introduction, narrative, discussion, role-play and reflection, but a later phase without role-play produced a larger task-score gain. Only eight children were studied.
• SLPOther2017Bilateral Versus Unilateral Cochlear Implantation in Adult Listeners: Speech-On-Speech Masking and Multitalker Localization.Trends in hearingA second cochlear implant improved speech understanding when both distractors came from one side, by 7.5 dB on average. When distractors were on both sides, the 3 dB average benefit was not significant. Localization error improved by 27 degrees.
• SLPOther2017The Benefits of Bimodal Aiding on Extended Dimensions of Speech Perception: Intelligibility, Listening Effort, and Sound Quality.Trends in hearingAdding a hearing aid to a cochlear implant improved speech understanding in quiet and noise, reduced listening effort at the most favorable tested level, and made sound fuller and less tinny in 15 adult bimodal users.
• SLPCohort2017Predictors of Hearing-Aid Outcomes.Trends in hearingCochlear hair-cell loss was not linked to hearing-aid outcomes. Better detection of frequency changes and younger age were associated with better speech-in-noise with hearing aids; unaided quiet speech scores were the best simple clinical guide.
• SLPPilot2017Optimizing Respiratory-Swallowing Coordination in Patients With Oropharyngeal Head and Neck Cancer.Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groups30 patients with head and neck cancer dysphagia trained to time swallows during mid-to-low lung volume breathing. After training, all showed the breathing-swallow pattern, and airway protection scores improved. Quality of life scores rose, but not by the 10-point clinically meaningful change.
• SLPOther2017Introducing the Australian Hearing Hub.Trends in hearingThis article introduces the Australian Hearing Hub and previews a special issue. It describes partnerships and goals, but reports no methods, results, or patient outcomes that could change therapy practice.
• SLPPilot2017An Online Telepractice Model for the Prevention of Voice Disorders in Vocally Healthy Student Teachers Evaluated by a Smartphone Application.Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groupsIn 21 vocally healthy student teachers, preliminary app-recorded voice measures changed after a voice prevention model delivered in person or online. The main outcome, whether voice problems appeared during student teaching, is not reported yet.
• SLPOther2017A Data-Driven Synthesis of Research Evidence for Domains of Hearing Loss, as Reported by Adults With Hearing Loss and Their Communication Partners.Trends in hearingAdults with hearing loss reported listening in noise, telephone calls, social withdrawal, fatigue, and stigma. Their spouses reported fatigue, frustration, and roles like answering the phone. These domains can guide communication assessment, not prove a treatment works.
• SLPCohort2017The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): design and methodologies to identify and validate stratification biomarkers for autism spectrum disorders.Molecular autismPeople with ASD and controls from childhood through adulthood have been recruited into a longitudinal autism research project that tracks brain, cognitive, genetic and symptom profiles. No result changes therapy choices yet.
• SLPCase Series2017Rapid recovery from aphasia after infarction of Wernicke's area.AphasiologyTwo people with aphasia after Wernicke's area strokes gained language ability quickly at first, then more slowly over 3 months. Speech rate and complexity rose, errors fell. By 3 months they still had conduction aphasia deficits.
• SLPCohort2017Connected speech in transient aphasias after left hemisphere resective surgery.AphasiologyWithin 2-3 days after left hemisphere resection, all 10 connected speech measures worsened in the 29 patients with aphasia; by 1 month most improved, but phonological errors and lexical access remained above pre-surgery levels.
• SLPOther2017The curious case of processing unaccusative verbs in aphasia.AphasiologyIn sentences where the verb has only one noun, people with Broca's aphasia showed delayed activation of that noun as age-matched controls did. The study measured reaction times to pictures, not final comprehension.
• SLPOther2017Evaluation of a Method for Determining Binaural Sensitivity to Temporal Fine Structure (TFS-AF Test) for Older Listeners With Normal and Impaired Low-Frequency Hearing.Trends in hearingThe test produced a graded binaural hearing sensitivity score for older listeners with normal or mild low-frequency hearing loss, and repeated runs did not improve scores. The hearing-impaired and normal-hearing older groups did not differ clearly.
• OTSLPCohort2017The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP): clinical characterisation.Molecular autismAutism symptoms looked more severe in males than females on clinician and parent interview measures, but parent questionnaires showed no sex difference and adult females reported higher symptoms. Adults had lower parent-reported symptoms than children.
• SLPNarrative Review2017Soft Tissue Conduction: Review, Mechanisms, and Implications.Trends in hearingThere is no clinical finding to act on.
• SLPCohort2017Use of clinical chromosomal microarray in Chinese patients with autism spectrum disorder-implications of a copy number variation involving DPP10.Molecular autismA DPP10 duplication was found in 1 of 258 Chinese patients with autism and 6 of 653 typical controls, so it was not more common in autism. Clinical genetic testing found a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in 9 of 258 patients.
• SLPRCT2017Evaluation of a Frequency-Lowering Algorithm for Adults With High-Frequency Hearing Loss.Trends in hearingIn 10 adults with high-frequency hearing loss, a frequency-lowering hearing aid setting did not improve overall consonant identification, speech in noise, or everyday hearing ratings. It did improve detection of word-final s and z sounds.
• SLPCohort2017A Multi-Method Investigation of Pragmatic Development in Individuals With Down Syndrome.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesChildren with Down syndrome had pragmatic language weaknesses on parent report and a standardized task. Boys did not differ from younger controls in total observed conversation violations, but girls with Down syndrome did.
• SLPNarrative Review2017Designing Clinical Trials for Assessing the Effectiveness of Interventions for Tinnitus.Trends in hearingTinnitus trials use many different outcome measures, and many did not clearly state what was measured. This review proposes standard outcome reporting so trials can be compared; it does not test a treatment.
• SLPSystematic Review2017Bio-collections in autism research.Molecular autismLarge autism research collections have supported genetic studies of autism, including studies of language and communication differences. They are research resources, not clinical tests or treatments.
• SLPOther2017The Effects of Musical Training on Speech Detection in the Presence of Informational and Energetic Masking.Trends in hearingMusicians detected target words better than nonmusicians when target and two talkers came from the same spot. They showed no clear advantage when pitch cues were removed or when sound came from separate speakers. Training length did not predict performance.
• SLPOther2017Loud Music Exposure and Cochlear Synaptopathy in Young Adults: Isolated Auditory Brainstem Response Effects but No Perceptual Consequences.Trends in hearingYoung adults with frequent loud-music exposure had normal hearing and no group differences on speech, temporal, or spectral tests. A brainstem measure differed. This does not show that loud music causes perceptual hearing loss.
• SLPOther2017Listening Into 2030 Workshop: An Experiment in Envisioning the Future of Hearing and Communication Science.Trends in hearingNo clinical finding is available. The paper reports workshop ideas about future hearing and communication, not patient outcomes or tested interventions.
• SLPRCT2017Typical versus delayed speech onset influences verbal reporting of autistic interests.Molecular autismAutistic adults with delayed speech onset described interests using more perceptual words, while those with typical speech onset used more thematic words. The interests themselves and their reported functions were largely similar across groups.
• SLPQualitative2017Targeted areas for improving health literacy after traumatic brain injury.Brain injuryCaregivers of people hospitalized with traumatic brain injury reported confusion about the injury, care and discharge instructions, and feeling unprepared for caregiving. They wanted direct communication and clearer written instructions.
• SLPOther2017Identification of autism-related MECP2 mutations by whole-exome sequencing and functional validation.Molecular autismThree MECP2 mutations were found among 120 Chinese children with autism. When overexpressed in lab neurons, P152L and P376S did not alter dendrite growth, and P376S appeared to increase axon length. This is a genetic finding, not evidence for a therapy.
• SLPOther2017Effectiveness of Two-Talker Maskers That Differ in Talker Congruity and Perceptual Similarity to the Target Speech.Trends in hearingListening to English sentences was hardest when one background talker also spoke English. Adding a Dutch or reversed-English talker helped little. Recognition improved much more when both background talkers were unlike the target.
• SLPNarrative Review2017Use of Research Interfaces for Psychophysical Studies With Cochlear-Implant Users.Trends in hearingThis is a safety and methods guide for researchers using cochlear-implant research interfaces. It does not test a treatment or report patient outcomes, so it cannot change what therapists do with patients.
• SLPOther2017Encoding a Melody Using Only Temporal Information for Cochlear-Implant and Normal-Hearing Listeners.Trends in hearingAmong nine cochlear-implant users, a familiar song was not reliably judged as more or less out of tune when its melody was carried only by the rate of loudness fluctuations in electrical stimulation. Ten normal-hearing listeners also struggled. Pure tones worked.
• SLPOther2017Word Recognition and Learning: Effects of Hearing Loss and Amplification Feature.Trends in hearingChildren with hearing loss gained benefit from wideband amplification on word recognition, real and nonsense word tasks, and word learning. Adults gained only on word learning. Digital noise reduction did not add benefit, and it did not worsen performance.
• SLPRCT2017Balanced bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation enhances working memory in adults with high-functioning autism: a sham-controlled crossover study.Molecular autismOverall working memory improved in 12 adults with high-functioning autism after 40-minute balanced bifrontal tDCS versus sham. Both left and right anodal montages helped. This was a pilot, so do not change practice.
• OTSLPRCT2017The Effectiveness of a Vocational Enablement Protocol for Employees With Hearing Difficulties: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Trends in hearingThe vocational enablement package did not reduce employees' need for recovery compared with usual care after 12 months. Self-acceptance improved by 0.24 points on a 1 to 5 scale, a small change; distress and self-efficacy did not differ.
• SLPCohort2017Role of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in Reducing the Age at Hearing Aid Fitting in Children With Hearing Loss Identified by Newborn Hearing Screening.Trends in hearingMedian age at hearing-aid fitting was lower after speech-sound brain response testing was added to the hearing pathway: 5 months versus 19 months in mild-to-moderate loss, and 3.9 versus 9.2 months overall. The study did not report speech or language outcomes.
• OTSLPRCT2017Teen online problem solving for teens with traumatic brain injury: Rationale, methods, and preliminary feasibility of a teen only intervention.Rehabilitation psychologyTeens and parents rated the overall online problem-solving program similarly, but parents in the teen-only group reported less benefit on several items. Teens completed a similar number of sessions with limited parent involvement as in the family version.