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Results 1 - 10 of 21
Credit(s): PDHs: 4.0, ASHA CEUs*: 0.4
Summary: This SIG 19 activity bundles four articles providing perspectives on a broad variety of topics in speech-language pathology. First, Bunta and Gósy discuss how speech-language pathologists and audiologists could utilize acoustic analyses in their clinical practice. They provide specific examples ranging from aphasia to speech sound disorders and various linguistic contexts to demonstrate the utility of these tools. The authors suggest acoustic analyses can be a valued supplement in clinical evaluations. Next, Diekhoff and Lulich examine speech-language pathology students’ conceptualization and description of American rhotic Sounds. They discuss the differences in descriptions of rhotic sounds by students who had experience with those sounds compared to those who did not have experience with those sounds. The role of direct instruction regarding rhotic shapes is highlighted. Then, Gurevich and Kim discuss quantifying allophonic coverage in commonly used reading passages. In summary, they suggest a need for new speech materials that could provide allophonic coverage. Finally, Jung, Jing, and Grigos investigate the accuracy and consistency of students’ perceptions/ratings of speech errors in children. They report that student clinicians’ ratings matched with expert speech-language pathologists’ ratings with training. The importance and need for listening training in speech-language pathology programs are also discussed.
Credit(s): PDHs: 6.0, ASHA CEUs*: 0.6
Summary: This collection of articles presents clinicians with evidence on a variety of topics in dysphagia that can be utilized in practice immediately. Alaina Martens and Emily Zimmerman offer insight regarding changes to feeding patterns in infants diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia after prolonged oxygen therapy in the newborn intensive care unit. Paula Leslie and colleagues provide a framework of health and illness and how food and drink are much more. They stress the importance of clinician appreciation as a cultural guest in our patients’ lives. Bonnie Martin-Harris and colleagues stress the importance of instrumentation with a thorough review of available practice guidelines and appropriateness criteria issued to date, revealing a deficit of up-to-date, comprehensive, evidence-based information on the diagnosis and evaluation of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Specifically, a lack of quality guidance on the ordering, performance, and reporting of the modified barium swallow study has hindered efforts to improve standardization and ensure quality continuity of care. Naomi Gurevich and colleagues stress the need to clarify guidelines and increase interprofessional education between both professions to improve patient care. George Barnes and Nancy Toms highlight speech-language pathologists’ need for a solid foundation of knowledge when it comes to patients with highly complex disease processes and care plans. Deirdre Muldoon and colleagues conduct a review of published literature regarding management of feeding difficulties at the oral phase of feeding in children with autism spectrum disorder and/or developmental disability. Finally, Paul M. Evitts and colleagues reveal a potential way to track aspiration in healthy adults using an app.
Credit(s): PDHs: 3.0, ASHA CEUs*: 0.3
Summary: This quartet of SIG 13 articles provides information regarding managing and treating dysphagia in the adult population. Caileen Harvey, Rachel Flemming, Julia Davis, and Victoria Reynolds investigate International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative implementation issues by surveying health care professionals in health care facilities in rural Upstate New York. Ankita M. Bhutada, William A. Broughton, Brenda L. Beverly, Dahye Choi, Sandip Barui, and Kendrea L. (Focht) Garand aim to identify the prevalence of dysphagia and reflux reported symptoms in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and determine associations between symptoms and demographic and clinical variables. Stevie Marvin summarizes published research on screening, evaluating, and treating post-extubation dysphagia in the intensive care unit. Rebekah Guastella, Stefania Oppedisano, Luis F. Riquelme, and Ashwini M. Namasivayam-MacDonald study bolus location at swallow onset, stage transition, pharyngeal transition duration, pharyngeal response duration, and pharyngeal phase duration between cued and uncued swallowing conditions in patients with dementia.
Credit(s): PDHs: 3.5, ASHA CEUs*: 0.35
Summary: This SIG 5 activity includes three articles from a forum aimed at sharing research conducted in clinical settings around the world. Two research articles analyzed surgical and parent-led therapy approaches for improved speech and resonance outcomes. A third tutorial described characteristics needed in an evaluation to analyze clinically obtained data for research purposes. The first research article is based in Brazil. It demonstrates positive long-term outcomes in children with hypernasality/velopharyngeal dysfunction using the Sommerlad procedure of palatal re-repair to treat residual velopharyngeal insufficiency. The reported scores were in the categories of: “hypernasality, global impression of velopharyngeal function, and/or active speech symptoms.” Overall, this study shows significant improvement in a large percentage of children, with less effect on older individuals ages 17–22 years. The second research article includes parents from a previously published twocenter study in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The aim was to analyze parents’ experiences with parent-led articulation therapy (PLAT) following in-depth training. After a detailed outline is provided regarding inclusion and teaching of the participants, four main themes are identified. These include growth of parents, undertaking PLAT, changes in children, and the future. Ultimately, the majority of parents are in favor of a parent-led therapy approach with the caveat that in-depth training and direct supervision from a speech-language pathologist is needed. The third article, a tutorial, addresses the research–clinical practice gap. A description is provided of a perceptual speech assessment protocol for cleft palate speech, to enable clinical data to be used for research purposes. The article provides detail related to determining the most appropriate standardized assessment tools as well as the best ways to collect and analyze this data. Further details related to implementation within the clinical setting are outlined. The data is easily accessible through networking between cleft teams and Sweden’s national cleft lip and palate registry, making retrospective research attainable in a clinical setting.
Credit(s): PDHs: 4.0, ASHA CEUs*: 0.4
Summary: The first two articles in this SIG 19 activity provide information to better our assessment and treatment of individuals in the area of voice, while the latter two articles focus on treatment of individuals in the area of speech production. The authors for all four articles present a review of the literature as well as challenges and future directions. First, Van Hook and Duffy conducted a pilot study to trial the Gender Spectrum Voice Inventory. This article provides a review, discussion of validity, and speech-language pathologists’ perceptions of the inventory in an effort to address a gap in available clinical tools for transgender and nonbinary people. Next, Hammer reviews the relationship between air flow with sound pressure level during syllable production while holding fundamental frequency and subglottic air pressure constant. The results have clinical implications that stress the importance of an increase in air flow and focus on vocal fold contact. Then, Gritsyk et al. describe their study to determine which measures of somatosensory acuity best predicted change in production accuracy during vowel learning tasks while controlling auditory acuity. Results indicate only bite block adaptation with auditory masking was significantly associated with performance. Finally, Zajac et al. discuss their preliminary study that indicated cleft type contributes to production errors, specifically backing, in children with repaired cleft palate. Additionally, a history of otitis media affects the spectral contrast of alveolar consonants in children without clefts.
Credit(s): PDHs: 3.5, ASHA CEUs*: 0.35
Summary: This SIG 19 activity bundles four articles providing perspectives on a broad variety of topics in speech-language pathology. First, Holt provides an overview of current and historical discussions of gender and race, challenging the reader to accept that one’s perspective is indebted to a specific belief system. Readers are to evaluate how gender and race are used to categorize people and examine whether a member of a marginalized or minoritized group affects that person’s access to or use of intervention services. Next, Cox and Koenig define speech privacy and provide a brief history and applications in the health care setting. A general perspective is outlined, including threats to speech privacy, and speakers who use an electrolarynx are used as an example to highlight specific issues clinicians may encounter. Ramanarayanan et al. discuss the use of speech as a biomarker in therapy and research. In summary, robustness of analytics—specificity, diversity, and physiological interpretability—must be further developed. Finally, Weerathunge, Tomassi, and Stepp review a number of populations with voice disorders that have been studied using altered auditory feedback. Many have hyperactive auditory feedback responses and the differing underling reasons are reviewed. Therapy considerations are also described.
Credit(s): PDHs: 3.5, ASHA CEUs*: 0.35
Summary: This SIG 5 activity analyzes the relationship between the opioid crisis and cleft lip and palate care across the life span. Two main themes of prevention and treatment after exposure are explained. The articles outline alternatives to opioid use after cleft-related surgeries, impacts on infants and children who were exposed in utero, and velopharyngeal insufficiency treatment after substance abuse.
Credit(s): PDHs: 3.5, ASHA CEUs*: 0.35
Summary: This activity presents a variety of topics related to telepractice service provision. The first article offers a case study on the effects of a hybrid telepractice/onsite treatment program for a child who stutters. The following article discusses common technical issues encountered during telepractice and a process for managing them with English- and Spanish-speaking clients. The final article details the findings of a study on integrating technology through telepractice to support clients with dementia.
Credit(s): PDHs: 3.5, ASHA CEUs*: 0.35
Summary: This SIG 13 collection of astute articles provides information regarding managing and treating dysphagia in the hospital for both adult and pediatric patients. Nalia GurgelJuarez and colleagues explore the frequency of oral care based on staff adherence to oral care policies. Rebecca Smith et al. investigate the quality-of-life impacts of dysphagia and its interventions on mealtimes using the Swallowing Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Eating Assessment Tool. Jessica L. Rice and Maureen A. LeftonGreif review high-flow nasal cannula mechanisms of action, its use in specific populations and settings, and what is known about initiation of feeding during this therapy. Finally, Donna Edwards and colleagues explore the impact of COVID-19 on modifications in clinical practice related to pediatric feeding disorders and dysphagia via telehealth.
Credit(s): PDHs: 1.5, ASHA CEUs*: 0.15
Summary: This Perspectives activity highlights two articles with objective measures for both evaluation and treatment of velopharyngeal dysfunction. The first article discusses the palatal closure efficiency (PaCE) index. This is an aerodynamic tool used to estimate the velopharyngeal opening during certain speech contexts. This is done by measuring a percentage of change between nasal and oral cognates of an individual. The second article describes the nasometer in depth, highlighting its use as an evaluation and treatment tool for decreasing hypernasality. It goes into further detail on the differences between hypernasality and measured nasalance, highlighting both strengths and limitations of the nasalance score.
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