Integration of speech and gesture in aphasia

BACKGROUND: Information from speech and gesture is often integrated to comprehend a message. This integration process requires the appropriate allocation of cognitive resources to both the gesture and speech modalities. People with aphasia are likely to find integration of gesture and speech difficult. This is due to a reduction in cognitive resources, a difficulty with resource allocation or a combination of the two. Despite it being likely that people who have aphasia will have difficulty with integration, empirical evidence describing this difficulty is limited. Such a difficulty was found in a single case study by Cocks et al. in 2009, and is replicated here with a greater number of participants. AIMS: To determine whether individuals with aphasia have difficulties understanding messages in which they have to integrate speech and gesture. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Thirty-one participants with aphasia (PWA) and 30 control participants watched videos of an actor communicating a message in three different conditions: verbal only, gesture only, and verbal and gesture message combined. The message related to an action in which the name of the action (e.g., 'eat') was provided verbally and the manner of the action (e.g., hands in a position as though eating a burger) was provided gesturally. Participants then selected a picture that 'best matched' the message conveyed from a choice of four pictures which represented a gesture match only (G match), a verbal match only (V match), an integrated verbal-gesture match (Target) and an unrelated foil (UR). To determine the gain that participants obtained from integrating gesture and speech, a measure of multimodal gain (MMG) was calculated. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: The PWA were less able to integrate gesture and speech than the control participants and had significantly lower MMG scores. When the PWA had difficulty integrating, they more frequently selected the verbal match. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest that people with aphasia can have difficulty integrating speech and gesture in order to obtain meaning. Therefore, when encouraging communication partners to use gesture alongside language when communicating with people with aphasia, education regarding the types of gestures that would facilitate understanding is recommended

Attitudes to Makaton in the ages on integration and inclusion

The Makaton Vocabulary was developed in the 1970’s and became, and has remained, one of most pervasive and influential pedagogical approaches for children with severe learning difficulties. This article looks at attitudes towards Makaton and compares findings from two studies, carried out in a sample of special schools in the south west of England during 1986 and 1995. Overall, the results suggest that attitudes towards the use of Makaton signs have become more positive. Makaton signs are now regarded, overall, as supporting and facilitating language development, and earlier concerns about stigmatisation have declined. There is some evidence to suggest that this latter change is influenced by changes in attitudes to British Sign Language. The 1986 study predicted that new technology would have a significant impact on attitudes to language and communication systems such as Makaton, but this prediction was not supported in the 2005 study. The article highlights also how different attitudes towards Makaton can exist within the same school, and how this situation can have a significant impact on the educational experiences and opportunities of children with severe learning difficulties. The article concludes that the apparent educational movements of integration or inclusion produce different attitudes towards Makaton and how it is used. However, although Makaton signing has become seen as a tool to create educational inclusion, the extent to which the system itself has actually changed is a contentious issu

Social capital theory: a cross-cutting analytic for teacher/therapist work in integrating children's services?

Reviewing relevant policy, this article argues that the current 'integration interlude' is concerned with reformation of work relations to create new forms of 'social capital'. The conceptual framework of social capital has been used by government policy-makers and academic researchers to examine different types, configurations and qualities of relationships, including professional relations, and how these may function as resources. Focusing on the co-work of teachers and speech and language therapists, this analysis introduces social capital as a means of understanding the impact of integrating children's services on professional practitioner groups and across agencies. Social capital theory is compared to alternative theoretical perspectives such as systems and discourse theories and explored as an analytic offering a multi-level typology and conceptual framework for understanding the effects of policy and governance on interprofessional working and relationships. A previous application of social capital theory in a literature review is introduced and analysed, and instances of the additionality provided by a social capital analysis is offered. The article concludes that amongst the effects of current policy to re-design children's services are the reconstruction of professionals' knowledge/s and practices, so it is essential that such policy processes that have complex and far-reaching effects are transparent and coherent. It is also important that new social capital relations in children's services are produced by groups representative of all involved, importantly including those practitioner groups charged in policy to work differently together in future integrated services

Do Alternative Therapies Have a Role in Autism?

Interventions considered to be branches of Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) for autism are on the rise. Many new treatments have emerged & traditional beliefs of Ayurveda, Yoga, Behavioral therapy, Speech therapy and Homoeopathy have gained popularity and advocacy among parents. It is imperative that data supporting new treatments should be scrutinized for scientific study design, clinical safety, and scientific validity, before embarking on them as modes of therapy. Practitioners take care in explaining the rationale behind the various approaches that they practice, it is important to indicate possible limitations too during the initial clinical examination and interactive session. Clinicians must remember that parents may have different beliefs regarding the effectiveness of treatment since their information is derived more from the ‘hear-say’ route when they compare benefits/effects of CAM therapies on other children and often underestimate differential tolerance for treatment risks. It is thus significant that practitioners do not assume a "don't ask, don't tell" posture. The scientific validation and support for many interventions is incomplete and very different from the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement. In this article, we discuss the various modes of CAM and their utilities and limitations in relation to autism

Challenges in Teaching Pronunciation at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh

Teaching pronunciation is one the most challenging parts of ELT in Bangladesh. Very few research and least attention on pronunciation teaching has instigated those challenges more. Moreover, setting an ambitious target to achieve native like pronunciation and teaching without considering the Bangladeshi context are more specific reasons for creating those problems. Therefore, this paper concentrates on the discussion of the existing condition of teaching pronunciation in Bangladesh. Consequently, it starts with presenting existing circumstances of pronunciation teaching in Bangladesh, and showing what the achievable and realistic goal should be for this situation. Then, it talks about the challenges that the teachers face while teaching pronunciation in ELT classroom. This discussion provides deep insight into those challenges which are only applicable to Bangladeshi students. Finally, the paper suggests some contextual and practical solutions to those specific problems

Electronic books: Are they effective educational tools for students who are deaf or hard of hearing?

This literature review will examine the effectiveness of electronic book features on students’ reading development in the general education population and investigate whether or not these digital tools could be a useful tool and/or supplement in literacy for students who are deaf and hard of hearing