Central auditory functions in primary school children with and without phonological awareness problems

AbstractObjectiveThe primary objective of this study was to assess central auditory functions in a group of primary school children with dyslexia mainly phonological awareness problems and to compare their performance with children with good phonological awareness ability.DesignA group of 52 students with phonological awareness problems (according to their performance in phonological awareness subtest of Arabic Reading Test (ART)) and 31 age- and sex matched students without phonological awareness problems participated in the study. All children were free from any neurological problems, had normal distant visual acuity, normal peripheral hearing sensitivity in both ears and IQ equal or above 90. The children from both groups were subjected to central auditory tests (CAT). Comparison between both groups in their performance in CAT was done and the correlations between CAT and items of phonological awareness subtest were examined.ResultsThe students with phonological awareness problems as a group performed significantly poorer than controls on all central auditory tests. Also, there was a significant correlation between the speech perception in noise test (SPIN) and phonological awareness in the left ear mainly for (Recognition of the middle sound of the word, Deletion of the middle sound of the word and Addition of a sound to the word).ConclusionsThe group of children with phonological awareness problem showed clinically significant diminished performance compared to the group without phonological awareness problem, reflecting difficulties in the processing of auditory information

STUDI PELAKSANAAN BINA KOMUNIKASI PERSEPSI BUNYI DAN IRAMA DI SDLB-B

ABSTRACTLanguage had function as media to hold contact / relation, to express feeling, necessity and willing, to manage and master behavior to other people, to give information and get knowledge. If the speech ability was low it would couse very complex problem. The impact of lost sound stimulation accepted by hearing impairment children made to speech organ of hearing impairment children become rigid so that it required BKPBI program which could make the children more sensitive accepting sound stimulation through vibration accepeted through the skin. Te steps in learning BKPBI were as the following: (1) sound detection step, (2) sound discrimination step, (3) sound identification step, (4) comprehension step.The purpose of this research was to draw learning BKPBI done in SLB-B Karya Mulia II Surabaya. This research used qualitative approach with descriptive kind of research. The data collection method used referred to document, interview, questionnaire, observation and documentation. The data analysis used reduction data, display data, verification and conclusions.Learning BKPBI was learning done so that it could enhance the hearing impairment children’s awareness toward sound so that they understood that the sound and language as a part of their life and could maximize the hearing function of hearing impairment children.Keywords: hearing impairment children, BKPBI

Can a teacher improve speech clarity in children presenting with speech sound disorders using targeted interventions?

This action research was influenced by a past pupil who presented with a range of complex needs, including unclear speech which hampered his ability to communicate effectively. Although I tried to address this need, my lack of knowledge inhibited the effectiveness of strategies put in place, and I felt as though my practice was insufficient to meet the needs of all the children in my class. This study, which was carried out with four 2nd class children in a suburban DEIS 1 Junior School in Dublin, examines whether I as a primary school teacher can effectively implement a programme which improves speech clarity for children who present with speech difficulties. Using a mixed methods approach, and following the ethical standards laid down by Maynooth College, formal and informal pre- and post- interviews and discussions took place with the four children and their parents. Nineteen questionnaires were distributed to school staff, and two speech practitioners were also interviewed. A reflective journal was maintained. I designed and implemented an 11-week intervention focussed on improving a specific target sound (TS). The intervention took place in a learning support classroom three times weekly for each group, withdrawing them from their mainstream classroom. Evidence-based methodologies were put in place to address speech perception, phonological awareness, sound production and minimal pairs. For this study, the TS for group 1 was /r/ while /sh/ was the TS for Group 2. Although the improvement of the children’s speech clarity was not strikingly noticeable, unexpected positive developments were evident in regard to speech perception, phonological awareness and spelling. All children were more conscious of correct pronunciation of their TS and established self-awareness of their own sound production; however this did not transfer to their social engagement with their peers. School staff expressed concern about the rising number of children presenting with speech difficulties, and the impact of this in the classroom. This was echoed by the speech practitioners. The collected data contrasted the importance of informed intervention in addressing speech needs and potential difficulty in accessing these services. The lack of improvement in the children’s speech clarity and information gathered from interviews highlights the need for professional intervention for children presenting with SSD. While phonological awareness strategies can be implemented to improve children’s self-awareness of sound production, this research has found that this is a difficulty for teachers who are not sufficiently trained to assess, diagnose or treat. This study detailed the benefits of collaboration between various professionals in order to provide the highest standard of services. This research also exposed the challenges in accessing speech services which emphasises the need for improvements in how the system operates, with recommendations for improved on-site services for speech and language

Phonological and articulation treatment approaches in Portuguese children with speech and language impairments: a randomized controlled intervention study

Background In Portugal, the routine clinical practice of speech and language therapists (SLTs) in treating children with all types of speech sound disorder (SSD) continues to be articulation therapy (AT). There is limited use of phonological therapy (PT) or phonological awareness training in Portugal. Additionally, at an international level there is a focus on collecting information on and differentiating between the effectiveness of PT and AT for children with different types of phonologically based SSD, as well as on the role of phonological awareness in remediating SSD. It is important to collect more evidence for the most effective and efficient type of intervention approach for different SSDs and for these data to be collected from diverse linguistic and cultural perspectives. Aims To evaluate the effectiveness of a PT and AT approach for treatment of 14 Portuguese children, aged 4.0–6.7 years, with a phonologically based SSD. Methods & Procedures The children were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment approaches (seven children in each group). All children were treated by the same SLT, blind to the aims of the study, over three blocks of a total of 25 weekly sessions of intervention. Outcome measures of phonological ability (percentage of consonants correct (PCC), percentage occurrence of different phonological processes and phonetic inventory) were taken before and after intervention. A qualitative assessment of intervention effectiveness from the perspective of the parents of participants was included. Outcomes & Results Both treatments were effective in improving the participants’ speech, with the children receiving PT showing a more significant improvement in PCC score than those receiving the AT. Children in the PT group also showed greater generalization to untreated words than those receiving AT. Parents reported both intervention approaches to be as effective in improving their children's speech. Conclusions & Implications The PT (combination of expressive phonological tasks, phonological awareness, listening and discrimination activities) proved to be an effective integrated method of improving phonological SSD in children. These findings provide some evidence for Portuguese SLTs to employ PT with children with phonologically based SSD

Exploring the Overlap Between Dyslexia and Speech Sound Production Deficits

Purpose Children with dyslexia have speech production deficits in a variety of spoken language contexts. In this article, we discuss the nature of speech production errors in children with dyslexia, including those who have a history of speech sound disorder and those who do not, to familiarize speech-language pathologists with speech production-specific risk factors that may help predict or identify dyslexia in young children. Method In this tutorial, we discuss the role of a phonological deficit in children with dyslexia and how this may manifest as speech production errors, sometimes in conjunction with a speech sound disorder but sometimes not. We also briefly review other factors outside the realm of phonology that may alert the speech-language pathologist to possible dyslexia. Results Speech-language pathologists possess unique knowledge that directly contributes to the identification and remediation of children with dyslexia. We present several clinical recommendations related to speech production deficits in children with dyslexia. We also review what is known about how and when children with speech sound disorder are most at risk for dyslexia. Conclusion Speech-language pathologists have a unique opportunity to assist in the identification of young children who are at risk for dyslexia

Teachers\u27 understandings of phonological awareness

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate teachers\u27 perceptions, knowledge, and teaching practices of phonological awareness. Sixty-four kindergarten and first grade teachers in a rural East Tennessee school district volunteered to participate in the study. The survey instrument was a mailed questionnaire in the form of a two-part written interview. The written interview contained six demographic and general information questions and eight open-ended questions designed to reveal teachers\u27 understandings of phonological awareness and their instructional approaches within the classroom context. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. This study found that most teachers perceive phonological awareness and its constituent skills to involve letter-sound relationships rather than the segmental aspects of oral language. Generally, teachers did not believe phonological awareness to be an essential component of reading instruction; however, approximately one-third of the teachers perceived phonological awareness to be causally related to reading. The conclusions of this study were that most teachers have limited knowledge concerning the meaning of phonological awareness, how it relates to reading acquisition, and of the ways to instruct it in the classroom context. All but a few of the teachers are conducting phonics lessons rather than instructing children to identify and manipulate various segments of speech. It is also evident that many of the teachers in the present study have actively sought information regarding phonological awareness through professional development programs, the Internet, and collaborating with colleagues; thus, it appears that their limited knowledge of phonological awareness is not attributable to their disinterest, but to inadequate sources, which often fail either to clearly differentiate between phonological awareness instruction and phonics instruction, or to deal adequately with the complexity of the construct

On Experiencing Meaning: Irreducible Cognitive Phenomenology and Sinewave Speech

Upon first hearing sinewaves, all that can be discerned are beeps and whistles. But after hearing the original speech, the beeps and whistles sound like speech. The difference between these two episodes undoubtedly involves an alteration in phenomenal character. O’Callaghan (2011) argues that this alteration is non-sensory, but he leaves open the possibility of attributing it to some other source, e.g. cognition. I discuss whether the alteration in phenomenal character involved in sinewave speech provides evidence for cognitive phenomenology. I defend both the existence of cognitive phenomenology and the phenomenal contrast method, as each concerns the case presented here

Speech and language difficulties in children with and without a family history of dyslexia

Comorbidity between SLI and dyslexia is well documented. Researchers have variously argued that dyslexia is a separate disorder from SLI, or that children with dyslexia show a subset of the difficulties shown in SLI. This study examines these hypotheses by assessing whether family history of dyslexia and speech and language difficulties are separable risk factors for literacy difficulties. Forty-six children with a family risk of dyslexia (FRD) and 36 children receiving speech therapy (SLT) were compared to 128 typically developing children. A substantial number (41.3%) of the children with FRD had received SLT. The nature of their difficulties did not differ in severity or form from those shown by the other children in SLT. However, both SLT and FRD were independent risk factors in predicting reading difficulties both concurrently and 6 months later. It is argued that the results are best explained in terms of Pennington's (2006) multiple deficits model

Smoothie or Fruit Salad? Learners’ Descriptions of Accents as Windows to Concept Formation

This paper explores the linguistically naive descriptions which one set of EFL learners provided when identifying and describing accents. First and second-year English majors at a French university were asked to do two tasks. First, they listened to two extracts to determine whether the speaker’s accent sounded more British or American, and to explain which features helped them to decide. Later they answered two questions: a) What do you do when you want to sound more like an American? and b) more like a British person? The analysis of their answers highlights learners’ underlying representations of accents as well as concept formation in relation to English pronunciation. I argue that this cognitive aspect of L2 learning should be addressed explicitly in instruction