International journal of language & communication disorders
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Int J Lang Commun Disord · Mar 2007
Clinical TrialBehavioural intervention effects in dysarthria following stroke: communication effectiveness, intelligibility and dysarthria impact.
Dysarthria is a common post-stroke presentation. Its management falls within the remit of the speech and language therapy profession. Little controlled evaluation of the effects of intervention for dysarthria in stroke has been reported. ⋯ The results demonstrate that some individuals with dysarthria have a capacity to respond positively to intervention, some months after stroke, and to maintain this improvement following 2 months of no intervention. Consideration is given to how the results of the present study may inform subsequent phases of dysarthria stroke research.
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Int J Lang Commun Disord · Mar 2007
Comparative Study Clinical TrialAddressing the needs of speakers with longstanding dysarthria: computerized and traditional therapy compared.
In clinical practice, it is common for speech and language therapists to discontinue dysarthria treatment when a plateau in spontaneous recovery is reached. However, there is some evidence from single-case research studies that people with chronic dysarthria can improve their speech with intervention several years after the onset of the disorder. If this is so, it can be argued that speech treatment should still be an option available to them. Motor learning principles suggest that in order to be effective, treatment needs to involve frequent, consistent practice with feedback. ⋯ The participants with longstanding dysarthria in this study made improvements to their speech with treatment using both traditional and computer-based techniques. Computers could provide a method of delivering an effective dysarthria treatment service without placing high demands on therapy resources.
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Int J Lang Commun Disord · Mar 2007
Evaluation of the clinical decisions made for 2-year-olds referred for speech and language therapy: a follow-up study.
Clinicians in the UK rely mainly on informal observations and structured and semi-structured tasks rather than standardized testing in their assessments of pre-school children referred with speech and language difficulties. The informal nature of the clinical decision-making process at this age is unsurprising given the dearth of research on early clinical referrals. Evidence of outcome for young children referred with speech and language problems typically begins in the early school years. ⋯ This study illustrates the potential of this kind of approach to inform the process of decision-making and reflective clinical practice with very young children. Limitations of the study and implications for future action research are discussed.