ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Numerous studies have indicated deterioration of speech perception in noisy conditions among the elderly even those with normal hearing capabilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of age on the speech-in-noise identification by speech-in-noise (SIN) test, subjective ratings of hearing difficulties by speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale (SSQ) questionnaire and encoding of fundamental frequency (F0) by Speech auditory brainstem response (ABR) in the elderly and comparing the results with young people. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on 32 elderly people aged over 60 years old (17 male and 15 female) with the mean age of 68.9 (standard deviation=6.33) possessing normal peripheral hearing and 32 young subjects (16 male and 16 female) aged 18-25 years old. RESULTS: Findings showed that the score of SIN test is lower among the elderly people as compared with young people in signal-to-noise ratios of 0 and -10 based on Iranian version of SSQ questionnaire (p < 0.001). The range of F0 amplitude in the elderly people is also lower than young people (p < 0.001) in Speech ABR. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that speech processing in older people is deteriorated comparing with young people regardless of their normal peripheral auditory thresholds. This decrease will result in weaker perception and improper segregation of speech from other competing sources.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Humans , Male , Aging , Auditory Threshold , Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem , Hearing , Signal-To-Noise Ratio , Speech PerceptionABSTRACT
Objective: Speech and language disorders, when happening during childhood will ultimately lead to important negative outcomes in the life of the child. The farther we move from this critical period, that is, the first 3 years of life, the less will be the positive effects of environmental stimuli on the development of speech and language. Early detection of children at risk for or in the preliminary phases of developmental delays and provision of early intervention services for them is of utmost importance. The objective of this research was to compile and produce protocols for early intervention in childhood speech and language developmental disorders in Iranian children
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in two main phases: review phase and qualitative phase. In the review phase, all accessible search engines and databases, especially those for systematic reviews and guidelines were searched. In the qualitative study phase, several focus group discussions and rounds 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 of disorders: prelingual lingual hearing impairment, speech sound disorders, dysphagia, stuttering, and dysarthria
Conclusion: Most studies have confirmed the effectiveness and need for early interventions for children with speech and language impairment. However, most do not explain the details of these interventions. Before the present study, no systematic and evidence-based protocol existed for early intervention in childhood speech and language impairments, in Iran; and due to language differences, as well as possible differences in the speech and language developmental process of children of different communities, making direct use of non-Persian references was not possible and effective. Thus, there was a clear demand for the production of such a protocol
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Guideline Adherence , Early Intervention, Educational , Speech Disorders , ChildABSTRACT
Reading is a language skill based on visual modality which recently is addressed as a facilitator of expressive language in children with Down syndrome. The aim was designing a whole word reading protocol and examining its effects on the language skills of Persian - Speaking children with Down syndrome. A whole word reading protocol was developed and was examined through a single- subject study with time-series design. The protocol was made up of 50 pictures of nouns which were used through assessment and treatment. The vocabulary stimuli were selected from the receptive lexicon of each child. Three children with Down syndrome [trisomy 21] participated in the study [3 Females, mean age=6.1 years, mean IQ=44], and each participant received an individualized treatment up to 20 sessions. Visual graphs and C-statistic test were used for data analysis. As a result of the treatment, naming ability of treated words was increased statistically in all children [Z= 2.46>1.64; Z=1.75>1.6; and Z=2.37>1.64]. Whole word reading protocol seems to be effective in improving expressive vocabulary in children with Down syndrome
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Joint attention is one of the most important prerequisite of language and social development. There are two types of joint attention, Initiating joint attention and Responding to joint attention. This study examined the development of responding to joint attention in typically developing children in 8-30 month.
Methods: This study was cross-sectional. 61 children [40 female and 21 male] were examined in age 9, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30 month. Tasks of joint attention scale of Early Social Communication Scales [ESCS] were used to assess children. Colmogrov-Smirinov and Kruskal-Wallis were used for data analysis and mean scores were computed for all groups.
Results: Data analysis showed that there was significant difference between mean ranks of groups. Children scores had an increasing pattern across 9 to 30 month.
Discussion: Results of this study indicated that responding to joint attention is developing from 9 to 30 month by considering the individual differences between children in every group.
ABSTRACT
Semantic Feature Analysis was designed to improve lexical retrieval of aphasic patients via activation of semantic networks of the words. In this approach, the anomic patients are cured with semantic information to assist oral naming. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Semantic Feature Analysis treatment on anomia of two nonfluent aphasic patients. A single-subject study with ABA design was applied to two Persian-speaking patients with chronic nonfluent aphasia. Assessment, baseline, intervention and maintenance phases were carried out respectively during 6 weeks. A picture naming task which was made up of pictures with high nameagreement comprising 12 target, 18 non-treated control and 5 easy words was used for probes and intervention. Intervention was performed in 5 successive days, 60 minutes per session. Descriptive statistics, level, trend and slope analyses, C and d statistics were used for data analysis. Both participants revealed statistically significant improvements in naming target words. Some generalizations to control words was also occured. A minimal decrease in naming of target words was observed in maintenance phase but the naming ability was still above the baseline. The therapy maintenance effect size for both patients were obtained as medium. The findings of the current study seems to confirm Semantic Feature Analysis as an effective intervention for improving naming ability of Persian- speaking aphasic patients
ABSTRACT
The present study compares the effects of reading instruction and traditional methods on grammar quotient of 4 to 10 years old children with down syndrome having IQ scores of 40 to 60. In this quasi-experimental and interventional study, 20 children with down syndrome, average mean age of 63 months, and 40 to 60 IQ scores were selected from 96 children with down syndrome from rehabilitation clinics within Tehran and Karaj, using convenience sampling. Then, they were assigned into two groups in the presence of their parents, using balanced randomized method. The first group was educated by whole-word reading method and the second group by traditional methods. Both groups had three 15-minute sessions per week for a period of 6 months. Pre-test and post-test grammar quotient of both groups was assessed using the Test of Persian language development. The obtained data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, t-test, and paired t-test. Both groups were quite similar in age, IQ, and grammar quotient, prior to training. However, the first group showed significant development in grammar quotient, after training [p<0.001]. In comparison with traditional methods of language therapy that emphasize on weakness of children with down syndrome by employing auditory modality, teaching reading through whole-word method based on their strength "visual memory" has more influence on grammar quotient of them
ABSTRACT
Understanding and defining developmental norms of auditory comprehension is a necessity for detecting auditory-verbal comprehension impairments in children. We hereby investigated lexical auditory development of Persian [Farsi] speaking children. In this cross-sectional study, auditory comprehension of four 2-5 year old normal children of adult's child-directed utterance at available nurseries was observed by researchers primarily to gain a great number of comprehendible words for the children of same age. The words were classified into nouns, verbs and adjectives. Auditory-verbal comprehension task items were also considered in 2 sections of subordinates and superordinates auditory comprehension. Colored pictures were provided for each item. Thirty 2-5 year old normal children were randomly selected from nurseries all over Tehran. Children were tested by this task and subsequently, mean of their correct response were analyzed. The findings revealed that there is a high positive correlation between auditory-verbal comprehension and age [r=0.804, p=0.001]. Comparing children in 3 age groups of 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 year old, showed that subordinate and superordinate auditory comprehension of the former group is significantly lower [p<0.05] than the others. Intra-group comparisons revealed no significant difference between nouns, verbs and adjectives [p>0.05], while the difference between subordinate and superordinate auditory comprehension was significant in all age groups [p<0.05]. Auditory-verbal comprehension develop much faster at lower than older ages and there is no prominent difference between word linguistic classes including nouns, verbs and adjectives. Slower development of superordinate auditory comprehension implies semantic hierarchical evolution of words