Effects of Professional Vocal Hygiene Education on Vocal Hygiene Knowledge of Actors

Background: Voice production is a complex mechanism, and the primary tool of the population of professional voice users requires special care. Hence, one area of learning provided by speech and language pathologists to this population is vocal hygiene. The current study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of vocal hygiene education on actors' knowledge. Method: In this semi-experimental study of one-group clinical trials, 50 actors (29 males and 21 females aged 18-50 years) were selected based on available sampling. Participants were asked to complete the "assessment of actors' vocal knowledge" questionnaire. During 4 sessions lasting 60 minutes each, the participating actors were trained on the vocal hygiene package. One week after the last training session, participants were again asked to complete the questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 21, and indicators of descriptive statistics were analyzed. Results: The mean score of voice abuse and non-abusive behaviors, which was 23.34 before training with the vocal hygiene package increased to 28.56 after education, a statistically significant change (p <0.001). The level of knowledge of participants on the mechanism of phonation increased after education from an average score of 10.12 to an average score of 11.21 (p <0.001). The mean score of knowledge of larynx pathology after education rose from 16.58 to 21.44, a significant change (p <0.001). Conclusion: The provided vocal hygiene educational package increased the actors' knowledge of the mechanism of phonation, voice abuse and non-abusive behaviors, and the functional and structural disorders of the voice

Investigation of Speech Impairments in A Child with HIV: The Study of Phonological Processes: Case Report

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a viral disease with immunodeficiency in human. So, it can involve different areas such as language, speech, motor and memory. The present research, as a case report, introducing the characteristics of phonological processes of a child who had Aids and lived in a nursery through referring and professional assessing in a speech therapy clinic. The child was a 4 year old boy who was in HIV base on blood test. Speech skills was assessed based on DEAP and language assessment was analyzed according to TOLD-P3. He talked with single word. He used two words sentences rarely. According to language assessment (TOLD-P3), semantic, syntax and phonology features were tested. So he was in emerging language stage. Also his expressive language was lower than his perceive language. In addition, based on DEAP-P test, phonological process of substitution type has been recognized most. Also, the most of the substitution phonological process which accrued have been velar fronting. This study showed that the most phonological process in a child with HIV was the process of substitution. It may be a risk factor for decreasing speech intelligibility. With regard to the results of the present research that showed that the subject had the disorder and there are limited researches in this area, it needs more surveys to help therapists to make a priority in therapeutic stages

Evaluation of Effects of Gradual Increase Length and Complexity of Utterance (GILCU) Treatment Method on the Reduction of Dysfluency in School-Aged Children with Stuttering

Objectives: The Gradual Increase Length and Complexity of Utterance (GILCU) therapy&nbsp;method is a form of operant conditioning. This is a precise and controlled treatment that is done in 54 steps in 3 speech situations consisting of monologue, reading, and conversation. This&nbsp;study aimed at examining the effects of GILCU treatment method on the reduction of speech&nbsp;dysfluency of school-aged children with stuttering. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 32 children with stuttering (6-11 years old) who&nbsp;were referred to speech therapy clinics were selected using convenience sampling. Then, they&nbsp;were assigned into two groups. The first group was treated by GILCU therapy method by&nbsp;the researcher, and the second group was treated by traditional methods by another speech&nbsp;therapist. Both groups had fourteen 45-minute sessions that were conducted one to two times&nbsp;per week. Pre-test and post-test of both groups were assessed using the SSI-3 scores. The&nbsp;obtained data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, t-test, and covariance test. Results: Both groups had statistically significant difference (P0.005) with respect to parameters of SSI-3 scores. Discussion: These results suggest that a non-programming treatment for stuttering may be&nbsp;effective with school-aged children who stutter

A Survey on Cognitive Functions of Students With Stuttering

Objective Stuttering is one of the most common speech disorders that generate many complications in children and adults. This disorder involves behavioral, cognitive and emotional interactions. So, the purpose of the current study is to investigate the cognitive functions of students with stuttering. Materials & Methods A descriptive study, comprising of 30 students (8 females and 22 males) from different educational levels (preschool, elementary and junior high school), was conducted. Study subjects were selected by an available sampling method from the students referred to speech therapy clinics and psychological counseling and rehabilitation centers in Tehran city. The subjects were assessed by using Tehran-Stanford-Binet intelligence scale. This tool consists of verbal and non-verbal domains; each of the fields has five subscales of fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing and working memory. It also has the ability to deliver 8 IQs, including IQs of fluid reasoning, knowledge IQ, quantitative reasoning IQ, visual-spatial processing IQ, working memory IQ, verbal IQ, nonverbal IQ, and general IQ in the age range of 2 to 85 years. Credit coefficients exceed 90% among the ten subscales of this intelligence test. The duration of the test for each person varied from quarter of an hour to one and a half hours. Average scores of the experiment were acquired, and data analysis was performed with SPSS software version 19. Student’s t-test was conducted to compare, review and analyze the theoretical averages obtained from standardization processes of the test. Results The results of the study indicated that the general IQ and verbal IQ of the students with stuttering was above the average (expected level) (P<0.001) and their nonverbal IQ was average (P<0.202). The fluid reasoning IQ (P<0.001), quantitative reasoning IQ (P<0.020), knowledge IQ (P<0.037), and visual-spatial processing IQ (P<0.001) of the students were above average while the working memory IQ was average. Notably, there was no significant difference at the α=0.01 level between theoretical meanings and the experimental mean of working memory IQ and non-verbal IQ in stuttering students; these two IQs in these students were moderate in society. Children with stuttering showed a weaker performance in some aspects of working memory compared to normal children of their age. In describing the working memory of children with stuttering, we can mention the role of phonological input and output reservoirs. Children with stuttering are more likely to have phonological input reservoirs, which is very important in the speech and working memory process. Therefore, the ability of this reservoir leads to strong repetition of words, and it seems that although these children have difficulty expressing words and speech, their memory function is increased from moderate to expected level because of the frequency of words in their phonological input reservoir. Conclusion Findings from this study showed that working memory IQ of students with stuttering is weaker than the IQs of intelligence (four constituent agents); in spite of speech disorder, general IQ and IQs of fluid reasoning, quantitative reasoning, knowledge and visual-spatial processing of these students with stuttering are above average, and they have a good background for teaching and learning

Effect of auditory temporal training program on speech fluency of children with developmental stuttering

&nbsp; Objectives to investigate the effect of auditory temporal processing training on the alleviation of stuttering severity in children who stutter (CWS) diagnosed with auditory temporal processing (ATP) disorders. Materials &amp; Methods Thirty-one (31) CWS diagnosed with ATP disorders participated in this study (intervention group: 17 participants between 7 to 12 years old; control group: 14 participants between 8 to 12 years old). The ATP test and SSI-3 were examined before, after 12 sessions (about 540 minutes) training, and three months following the conclusion of the intervention. Result According to the results, ATP improved significantly in the intervention group after auditory temporal training and the differences between the intervention and control group were significant (p&lt;0.05). The improvement of ATP skills remained stable in the post-training evaluation after three months (p&gt;0.05). Although the SSI-3 score was further improved in the intervention group, but there was no significant difference between two groups (p=0.984). Conclusions The findings revealed that ATP training acted as a complementary therapy alleviating stuttering severity of CWS with ATP disorders to some extent

Research Paper: Comparison the Quality of Life Among Adults With and Without Stuttering: An Emphasis on the Severity of Stuttering

Objective Stuttering can negatively impact the quality of life and cause psychosocial problems for individuals who stutter. The Overall Assessment of the Speaker&rsquo;s Experience of Stuttering for Adults (OASES-A) is a comprehensive psychological test containing four components in which the fourth one focuses on the quality of life. The main purpose of this study is to examine the quality of life in individuals with and without stuttering, as well as the relationship (correlation) between stuttering severity and each component of OASES-A test in people who stutter. Materials & Methods Fifty-six adults with stuttering and 56 adults without stuttering participated in this cross-sectional study, and they were matched on age, sex, educational level, and vocation. The stratified random sampling method was used for the survey. The Stuttering Severity Instrument was used to evaluate the severity of stuttering through the oral reading of a 200-word (448-syllabic) text. Similarly, the quality of life was determined by the overall assessment of the speaker&rsquo;s experience of stuttering. Afterward, independent t-test, Chi-square test, correlation test, Levene&rsquo;s test, and Spearman&rsquo;s correlation coefficient were employed to analyze the relationship between quality of life and the components of the OASES test. The data analysis was performed with SPPS version 16. Results Our results showed that the mean quality of life score of people who stutter was higher than that of non-stuttering people, and this difference was statistically significant (P0.68), gender (P>0.9), education level (P>0.65), and vocation (occupation) (P>0.92).&nbsp; Conclusion Based on the OASES-A characteristics, people who stutter had a lower level of quality of life. It was also found that the quality of life of people with mild and moderate stages of stuttering was better than the people at severe and very severe stages. In addition, age, gender, education, and vocation were found to affect the quality of life. Therefore, it is important to make positive changes in the psychological aspect of the assessment and treatment processes of adults with stuttering. In addition, attitude should be considered for better interactions in daily communications and to improve the quality of life

Comparative study of 0.2% and 0.12% digluconate chlorhexidine mouth rinses on the level of dental staining and gingival indices

Background: Chlorhexidine (CHX) as a gold standard chemical agent appears to be the most effective antimicrobial agent for reduction of both plaque and gingivitis. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two concentrations of digluconate chlorhexidine (CHX) solutions (0.12% and 0.20%) on gingival indices and the level of dental staining during 14 days. Materials and Methods: in this double-blind controlled clinical trial study 60 patients with moderate to severe gingivitis aged 17-56 years were randomly selected and divided to three groups: Group I (placebo) Group II (0.12% CHX), and Group III (0.2% CHX). Patients rinsed their mouthwashes twice a day after brushing. Before the examination and after 14 days plaque index, gingival index, bleeding index, and stain index were evaluated. The data were analyzed by "Mann-Whitney" test and P value was 0.05. Results: the results showed that plaque index and gingival index significantly reduced in Groups II and III in comparison with the placebo group (P < 0.0001). However, the two concentrations did not differ significantly from each other (P = 0.552). Same results were observed in term of gingival bleeding index with this different that 0.2% CHX was significantly more efficient than 0.12% CHX (P < 0.0001). CHX mouthrinse, both concentrations, significantly increased the dental staining level (intensity and area) in comparison with the placebo group. Remarkable difference also was seen between 2 CHX concentrations so that the 0.2% CHX caused much more staining on the teeth than 0.12% CHX. Conclusion: based on the results of this study we can conclude that the lower concentrations of CHX should be prescribed, decreasing side effects, since higher concentrations do not seem to be more effective in controlling dental plaque and gingivitis

Evaluation of the Relationship between Cystatin C Level in Whole Saliva and Chronic Periodontitis

Introduction: Chronic periodontitis is an infectious disease resulting in inflammation in tooth supporting tissues, advanced attachment loss and bone loss. Destructive process is a result of imbalance between analyzing enzymes such as MMPs and their inhibitors. This imbalance can also occur with other enzymes such as lysosomal cysteine proteinase, Katpsyn and their inhibitor such as cystatin. Cystatin C is a protein which controls activity of extracellular cysteine proteinase in inflammatory conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective role of salivary cystatin C in periodental disease. Materials & Methods: Twenty six patients with chronic periodontitis examined by a periodontist and also with a minimum pocket depth of six mm and more in at least eight locations in the mouth were selected. To collect Total non-irritating saliva samples, the spit method was used. Salivary levels of cystatin C was evaluated by ELISA method. Data were analysed by SPSS version 11.5 software.Results: The level of cystatin C in periodontally diseased subjects was higher than that of the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.24). In the female group with control of age variant, the level of cystatin C was significantly higher in patients with periodontitis (P=0.036), whereas in male group, the difference was not significant (P=0.086). It seems that the lower periodontal destruction in female group is as a result of higher level of cystatin C.Conclusion: The level of cystatin C in whole saliva could be used as a marker in chronic periodontitis

Research Paper: Production of A Protocol on Early Intervention for Speech and Language Delays in Early Childhood: An Novice Experience in Iran

Objective Speech and language disorders, when happening during childhood will ultimately lead to important&nbsp;negative outcomes in the life of the child. The farther we move from this critical period, that is,&nbsp;the first 3 years of life, the less will be the positive effects of environmental stimuli on the development&nbsp;of speech and language. Early detection of children at risk for or in the preliminary phases of developmental&nbsp;delays and provision of early intervention services for them is of utmost importance. The objective&nbsp;of this research was to compile and produce protocols for early intervention in childhood speech&nbsp;and language developmental disorders in Iranian children. Materials & Methods This study was conducted in two main phases: review phase and qualitative phase.&nbsp;In the review phase, all accessible search engines and databases, especially those for systematic reviews&nbsp;and guidelines were searched. In the qualitative study phase, several focus group discussions and rounds&nbsp;of Delphi were carried out with 20 experts in 7 subgroups, who were selected purposively. Results The result of this study is presented as 7 intervention packages, including the following domains&nbsp;of disorders: prelingual lingual speech and language hearing impairment, speech sound, dysphagia, stuttering,&nbsp;and dysarthria&nbsp; Conclusion Most studies have confirmed the effectiveness and need for early interventions for children&nbsp;with speech and language impairment. However, most do not explain the details of these interventions.&nbsp;Before the present study, no systematic and evidence-based protocol existed for early intervention in&nbsp;childhood speech and language impairments, in Iran; and due to language differences, as well as possible&nbsp;differences in the speech and language developmental process of children of different communities,&nbsp;making direct use of non-Persian references was not possible and effective. Thus, there was a clear&nbsp;demand for the production of such a protocol