Assessment and diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder: The experiences of speech and language therapists

© The Author(s) 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).Background: For many years research and practice have noted the impact of the heterogeneous nature of Developmental Language Disorder (also known as language impairment or specific language impairment) on diagnosis and assessment. Recent research suggests the disorder is not restricted to the language domain and against this background, the challenge for the practitioner is to provide accurate assessment and effective therapy. The language practitioner aims to support the child and their carers to achieve the best outcomes. However, little is known about the experiences of the language practitioner in the assessment process, in contrast to other childhood disorders, yet their expertise is central in the assessment and diagnosis of children with language disorder. Aims: This study aimed to provide a detailed qualitative description of the experiences of speech and language therapists involved in the assessment and diagnosis of children with Developmental Language Disorder. Methods & Procedures: The qualitative study included three focus groups to provide a credible and rich description of the experiences of speech and language therapists involved in the assessment of Developmental Language Disorder. The speech and language therapists who participated in the study were recruited from three NHS Trusts across the UK and all were directly involved in the assessment and diagnosis procedures. The lengths of practitioner experience ranged from 2 years to 38 years. The data was analysed using a thematic analysis in accordance with the principles set out by Braun & Clarke (2006). Outcomes & Results: The data showed a number of key themes concerning the experiences of speech and language therapists in assessing children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). These themes ranged from the participants’ experiences of the barriers to early referral, challenges for assessment and the concerns over continued future support. Conclusions & Implications: This study provides first-hand evidence from speech and language therapists in the assessment of children with Developmental Language Disorder, drawing together experiences from language practitioners from different regions. The findings provide insight to the barriers to referral, the potential variations in the assessment process, the role of practitioner expertise and the challenges faced them. The importance of early intervention, useful assessment tools and future support were expressed. Taken together, the results relate to some issues to be addressed on a practical level and a continuing need for initiatives to raise awareness of DLD in the public domain.Peer reviewe

Bogoliubov transformations and exact isolated solutions for simple non-adiabatic Hamiltonians

We present a new method for finding isolated exact solutions of a class of non-adiabatic Hamiltonians of relevance to quantum optics and allied areas. Central to our approach is the use of Bogoliubov transformations of the bosonic fields in the models. We demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of this method by applying it to the Rabi Hamiltonian.Comment: LaTeX, 16 pages, 1 figure. Minor additions and journal re

The H2+_2^+ molecular ion: a solution

Combining the WKB expansion at large distances and Perturbation Theory at small distances it is constructed a compact uniform approximation for eigenfunctions. For lowest states 1s\si_{g} and 2p\si_{u} this approximation provides the relative accuracy $\lesssim 10^{-5}$ (5 s.d.) for any real $x$ in eigenfunctions and for total energy $E(R)$ it gives 10-11 s.d. for internuclear distances $R \in [0,50]$. Corrections to proposed approximations are evaluated. Separation constants and the oscillator strength for the transition 1s\si_{g} \rar 2p\si_{u} are calculated and compared with existing data.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, 6 tables, typos are corrected and small additions are inserted, to be published at JPB (fast track comm

Reduction of laser intensity scintillations in turbulent atmospheres using time averaging of a partially coherent beam

We demonstrate experimentally and numerically that the application of a partially coherent beam (PCB) in combination with time averaging leads to a significant reduction in the scintillation index. We use a simplified experimental approach in which the atmospheric turbulence is simulated by a phase diffuser. The role of the speckle size, the amplitude of the phase modulation, and the strength of the atmospheric turbulence are examined. We obtain good agreement between our numerical simulations and our experimental results. This study provides a useful foundation for future applications of PCB-based methods of scintillation reduction in physical atmospheres.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figure

Associated reading skills in children with a history of Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

A large cohort of 200 eleven-year-old children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) were assessed on basic reading accuracy and on reading comprehension as well as language tasks. Reading skills were examined descriptively and in relation to early language and literacy factors. Using stepwise regression analyses in which age and nonverbal IQ were controlled for, it was found that a single word reading measure taken at 7 years was unsurprisingly a strong predictor of the two different types of reading ability. However, even with this measure included, a receptive syntax task (TROG) entered when reading accuracy score was the DV. Furthermore, a test of expressive syntax/narrative and a receptive syntax task completed at 7 years entered into the model for word reading accuracy. When early reading accuracy was excluded from the analyses, early phonological skills also entered as a predictor of both reading accuracy and comprehension at 11 years. The group of children with a history of SLI were then divided into those with no literacy difficulties at 11 and those with some persisting literacy impairment. Using stepwise logistic regression, and again controlling for IQ and age, 7 years receptive syntax score (but not tests of phonology, expressive vocabulary or expressive syntax/narrative) entered as a positive predictor of membership of the ‘no literacy problems’ group regardless of whether early reading accuracy was controlled for in step one. The findings are discussed in relation to the overlap of SLI and dyslexia and the long term sequelae of language impairment

Nonlinear Schr\"odinger Equation with Spatio-Temporal Perturbations

We investigate the dynamics of solitons of the cubic Nonlinear Schr\"odinger Equation (NLSE) with the following perturbations: non-parametric spatio-temporal driving of the form $f(x,t) = a \exp[i K(t) x]$, damping, and a linear term which serves to stabilize the driven soliton. Using the time evolution of norm, momentum and energy, or, alternatively, a Lagrangian approach, we develop a Collective-Coordinate-Theory which yields a set of ODEs for our four collective coordinates. These ODEs are solved analytically and numerically for the case of a constant, spatially periodic force $f(x)$. The soliton position exhibits oscillations around a mean trajectory with constant velocity. This means that the soliton performs, on the average, a unidirectional motion although the spatial average of the force vanishes. The amplitude of the oscillations is much smaller than the period of $f(x)$. In order to find out for which regions the above solutions are stable, we calculate the time evolution of the soliton momentum $P(t)$ and soliton velocity $V(t)$: This is a parameter representation of a curve $P(V)$ which is visited by the soliton while time evolves. Our conjecture is that the soliton becomes unstable, if this curve has a branch with negative slope. This conjecture is fully confirmed by our simulations for the perturbed NLSE. Moreover, this curve also yields a good estimate for the soliton lifetime: the soliton lives longer, the shorter the branch with negative slope is.Comment: 21 figure

Early predictors of language and social communication impairments at ages 9-11 years: A follow-up study of early-referred children

Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate hypotheses that early sociocognition will predict later social communication and early phonology will predict later morphosyntax in clinically referred preschoolers. Method: Participants were 108 children ages 9–11 years who had been referred to clinical services with concerns about language at age 2½–3½ years. Predictors at Time 1 (T1) were measures of sociocognition, word/nonword repetition, and receptive language. Outcome measures at Time 3 (T3) included a social communication questionnaire completed by parents and tests of nonword repetition, morphosyntax, and receptive language. Results: Group- and case-level analyses revealed early sociocognition to be the strongest predictor of social communication problems, which by T3 affected almost one third of the sample. At the group level, early phonology, which was a significant problem for the majority of children at T1, was a weak predictor of morphosyntax at T3. However, at the case level the majority of children with poor morphosyntax and nonword repetition at outcome had had very low repetition scores at T1. Conclusions: In early language referrals, it is important to identify and address sociocognitive problems, a considerable risk for later social communication and autism spectrum disorders. The majority of early-referred children had phonological problems, often severe, but these require further investigation to determine their longer term significance for language

Instability of the Two-Dimensional Metallic Phase to Parallel Magnetic Field

We report on magnetotransport studies of the unusual two-dimensional metallic phase in high mobility Si-MOS structures. We have observed that the magnetic field applied in the 2D plane suppresses the metallic state, causing the resistivity to increase dramatically by more than 30 times. Over the total existence range of the metallic state, we have found three distinct types of the magnetoresistance, related to the corresponding quantum corrections to the conductivity. Our data suggest that the unusual metallic state is a consequence of both spin- and Coulomb-interaction effects.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 4 ps fig

Michaelis-Menten dynamics in protein subnetworks

To understand the behaviour of complex systems it is often necessary to use models that describe the dynamics of subnetworks. It has previously been established using projection methods that such subnetwork dynamics generically involves memory of the past, and that the memory functions can be calculated explicitly for biochemical reaction networks made up of unary and binary reactions. However, many established network models involve also Michaelis-Menten kinetics, to describe e.g. enzymatic reactions. We show that the projection approach to subnetwork dynamics can be extended to such networks, thus significantly broadening its range of applicability. To derive the extension we construct a larger network that represents enzymes and enzyme complexes explicitly, obtain the projected equations, and finally take the limit of fast enzyme reactions that gives back Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The crucial point is that this limit can be taken in closed form. The outcome is a simple procedure that allows one to obtain a description of subnetwork dynamics, including memory functions, starting directly from any given network of unary, binary and Michaelis-Menten reactions. Numerical tests show that this closed form enzyme elimination gives a much more accurate description of the subnetwork dynamics than the simpler method that represents enzymes explicitly, and is also more efficient computationally

Phase Transitions in the Spin-Half J_1--J_2 Model

The coupled cluster method (CCM) is a well-known method of quantum many-body theory, and here we present an application of the CCM to the spin-half J_1--J_2 quantum spin model with nearest- and next-nearest-neighbour interactions on the linear chain and the square lattice. We present new results for ground-state expectation values of such quantities as the energy and the sublattice magnetisation. The presence of critical points in the solution of the CCM equations, which are associated with phase transitions in the real system, is investigated. Completely distinct from the investigation of the critical points, we also make a link between the expansion coefficients of the ground-state wave function in terms of an Ising basis and the CCM ket-state correlation coefficients. We are thus able to present evidence of the breakdown, at a given value of J_2/J_1, of the Marshall-Peierls sign rule which is known to be satisfied at the pure Heisenberg point (J_2 = 0) on any bipartite lattice. For the square lattice, our best estimates of the points at which the sign rule breaks down and at which the phase transition from the antiferromagnetic phase to the frustrated phase occurs are, respectively, given (to two decimal places) by J_2/J_1 = 0.26 and J_2/J_1 = 0.61.Comment: 28 pages, Latex, 2 postscript figure