Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the stuttering generalization self-measure tool in adults who stutter.

PURPOSE: Our study aimed to translate the Stuttering Generalization Self-Measure (SGSM) into Persian and investigate its validity, reliability, and internal responsiveness in the Iranian population. METHOD: This study was conducted on 30 adults who stutter (AWS) and 30 adults who do not stutter (AWNS). The International Quality of Life Assessment protocol (IQOLA) was applied to translate SGSM into Persian. The face and content validity were determined. Also, the discriminant validity was evaluated by comparing the scores of two groups. In addition, the internal consistency test-retest, and inter-judge reliability were assessed with Cronbach's alpha and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Moreover, the mean standardized response (MSR) and the standardized effect size were measured to determine the internal responsiveness using pre- and post-treatment data. RESULTS: All the items were comprehensible and clear. The content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) for all nine questions were obtained higher than.62 and.9, respectively. The internal consistency value was high (Cronbach's alpha =.98). For the test-retest reliability, ICC values were excellent, ranging from.93 to.99. The discriminant validity results revealed a significant difference between AWS and AWNS (p < .001). Pre- and post-treatment results indicated high internal responsiveness to changes for percentage of syllable stuttered (SS%) (MSR = 1.09). CONCLUSION: The Persian version of SGSM (P-SGSM) benefits from the high values for validity and reliability. Furthermore, it distinguishes the AWS and AWNS and reflects the treatment changes significantly.

Lexical-semantic processing of action verbs and non-action nouns in Persian speakers: Behavioral evidence from the semantic similarity judgment task.

The processing of sensory-motor aspect of word's meaning, and its difference between nouns and verbs, is the main topic of neurolinguistic research. The present study aimed to examine the lexical-semantic processing of Persian non-action nouns and action verbs. The possible effects of semantic correlates on noun/verb dissociation were evaluated without morphological confound. A total of 62 neurologically intact Persian speakers responded to a computerized semantic similarity judgment task, including 34 triplets of non-action nouns and 34 triplets of action verbs by pressing a key. Response Time (RT) and percentage error were considered as indirect measures of lexical-semantic encoding efficiency. We also assessed the latency of hand movement execution with no linguistic demand. The results showed that action verbs elicited more errors and had slower RT compared with object nouns. Mixed ANOVA revealed that the observed noun/verb distinction was not affected by demographic factors. These results provided evidence that the lexical-semantic encoding of Persian action verbs, compared to non-action nouns, requires more support from cognitive sources during the processing of the motor - related semantic feature. The possible accounts for the different processing of action verbs in terms of semantic view are suggested.

The Incidence of Aphasia, Cognitive Deficits, Apraxia, Dysarthria, and Dysphagia in Acute Post Stroke Persian Speaking Adults.

Stroke is a major cause of serious disabilities in adults. While communication deficits post stroke are prevalent and disabling, early detection of them is important during acute phase. There is limited data published on the incidence of communication disorders in Persian speaking adults following post stroke to our knowledge. The present study aims to determine the incidence and associated factors of aphasia, cognitive deficits, motor speech disorders (apraxia and dysarthria) as well as dysphagia following acute post stroke in Persian speaking adults. 100 stroke patients were assessed using P-WAB, MMSE, Oral Apraxia test, Informal Dysarthria assessment, and MASA. The data was collected from 2 hospitals in Tehran using convenient sampling for the duration of 1 year. Based on our findings, the incidence of aphasia, cognitive deficits, oral apraxia, dysarthria, and dysphagia was in respectively 61.8%, 76%, 30%, 61%, and 39% of stroke patients during the acute phase. Patients with aphasia were significantly older (mean age, 59.29 vs. 64.95), and had fewer education years (9.21 vs. 5.45) compared to individuals without aphasia (p < .05). Co-occurrence of aphasia and dysarthria, dysphasia, cognitive deficits, and apraxia was in respectively 40%, 31%, 55%, and 25%. Due to the high incidence of neurogenic communication disorders and dysphagia during the acute post stroke, especially in the elderly and the less educated patients, prompt and rapid detection of these deficits and rehabilitation is essential to ameliorate patients' quality of life and social participation, and reduce the comorbidities risk.