Sequential memory in children with and without language impairment.

Serial recall was studied in children with language impairment and two groups of normally achieving controls: a group matched for age and a younger group matched for reading and memory capacity. Participants were presented lists of digits that were one item longer than their memory span, in conditions requiring either written or oral recall. Digit lists were presented either with or without a final nonword item, or "suffix," that was capable of interfering with memory for items at the end of the list. The main finding was that the list-final suffix effect was substantially larger than normal in children with language impairment, even though other aspects of their recall were normal. This deficiency in children with language impairment was evident only under a scoring system that credited recall of items in their correct serial positions, not under scoring systems that credited memory for the presence of items or their sequence. Results are interpreted according to the hypothesis that children with language impairment are more dependent upon relatively unanalyzed acoustic and phonetic representations of speech than are other children.

Ten-year study of a Wilson's disease dysarthric.

This case study presents a ten-year speech treatment history of a young adult Wilson's disease patient in whom a severe dysarthria persisted despite drug and dietry controls. The patient was initially classified as "100% disabled" and was compensated because of his severe communication disorder. As he progressed, he ultimately secured full-time employment (involving verbal communication) which affords him economic independence. One aspect of therapy that played a critical role in the transfer of intelligible speech to situations outside the clinical setting was the use of a protocol for systematic client self-evaluation and for systematic elicitation and use of listener feedback. Methods that may prove helpful in the study of intelligibility maintenance in other dysarthric clients are presented. This report suggests that in some instances long-term therapy for dysarthria is both beneficial and economically justifiable.