Paul Francis McCormack

Exploring the boundaries of SLI: findings from morphosyntactic and story grammar analyses

The nature of morphosyntactic and story‐grammar differences were examined between children with SLI and children with language impairments that fell outside the diagnostic category for SLI solely because of their low non‐verbal cognitive abilities (LNVA). Two oral narratives were elicited from 5‐year‐old children with language impairments and age‐matched children with normally developing language. Morphosyntactic difficulties were found to be similar for children with SLI and children with LNVA. The children with SLI produced more complex stories than the children with LNVA when a complex wordless picture book was used, but not for a single scene picture stimulus. These findings challenge notions about the unique nature of SLI and, understandings of differences and similarities with other language impairments.

A comparison of oral narratives in children with specific language and non-specific language impairment

This research investigated whether children with specific language impairment (SLI) and non-specific language impairment (NLI) could be differentiated by their oral narrative characteristics. Oral narrative samples were collected from 69 children and comparisons were made among four groups of participants. The two language impairment groups (SLI and NLI), aged 4;11–6;03, were matched for age and their linguistics skills. Their oral narratives were compared between these diagnostic groups and with age-matched and language-matched control groups. Measures of narrative structure, cohesion, and information did not significantly differentiate the SLI and NLI groups, suggesting that the influence of their similar linguistic skills on oral narrative measures was stronger than the influence of their differing non-verbal cognition. The SLI group produced significantly more complex and informative oral narratives than the language-matched group, while the NLI group differed from the language-matched group on fewer measures. Interactions among linguistic, cognitive, maturational, and task factors are discussed.

Have women's voices lowered across time? A cross sectional study of Australian women's voices*

Various aspects of our communication are well known to have changed over time (1-3). This article describes a cross-sectional study that examined the acoustic characteristics of two groups of Australian women aged 18-25 years from recordings made in 1945 and 1993 and investigated the possible changes in the voice across generations. Archival recordings from 1945 which had been used in a longitudinal study (4) were compared to recordings made in 1993. The results of this study show that women in 1993 have significantly deeper voices than women of the same age recorded in 1945. The possible factors influencing this change are discussed.

Assessing the language skills of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds: the expressive vocabulary performance of Singaporean English-Mandarin bilingual pre-schoolers.

Abstract Standardized language assessments such as the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Pre-school 2 United Kingdom (CELF Preschool 2 UK) are often used in speech-language pathology clinics to determine if a child is at risk of language difficulties. Many of these assessments are designed and standardized for use with monolingual Standard English-speaking children. It is thus recommended that these assessments should only be used with the populations they were designed for; if not test bias might result. However, such tests are still selected and used in the clinics of many multicultural and multilinguistic communities (e.g., Singapore). This research aimed to explore the performance of 79 Singaporean English-Mandarin pre-school children on the Expressive Vocabulary (EV) sub-test of the CELF Preschool 2 UK and to determine if their performance on the EV sub-test accurately reflected their language abilities by comparing their performance on a local screening language assessment tool, the Singapore English Action Picture Test (SEAPT). Results showed that local children performed poorly as compared to their UK counterparts. Two plausible reasons for the findings are: (1) the sub-test elicited only a single measure in English which ignored the language abilities of these bilingual children in their second language; and (2) the presence of culturally and linguistically biased test items.

A preliminary report on the English phonology of typically developing English–Mandarin bilingual preschool Singaporean children

BACKGROUND There are no published data on typical phonological development for Singaporean children. There is therefore the risk that childrens speech in Singapore may be misdiagnosed or that clinicians may set goals erroneously. AIMS This paper reports a preliminary study on the English phonology of typically developing 4;0-4;5-year-old Chinese Singaporean children who speak English and Mandarin. METHOD & PROCEDURES Seventy children were recruited throughout Singapore, and speech samples were collected in English using the Phonology Assessment of the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP). The participants were divided equally into two groups: English-dominant and Mandarin-dominant. Their speech samples were compared with British English targets (BT) and Singapore English targets (ST) in terms of phonological accuracy and types of phonological processes used. OUTCOMES & RESULTS The results showed that Singaporean childrens phonological accuracy scores increased significantly when scored against ST instead of BT. When scored against ST, English-dominant children were found to perform similarly to their DEAP counterparts. However, Mandarin-dominant children had significantly less accurate consonant production in English and exhibited more interference effects from Mandarin phonology than English-dominant children. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS In this preliminary study, the results highlight the importance of speech and language therapists using local dialect pronunciations to be the target of speech assessments so as to provide appropriate assessment and intervention. It is also essential to account for the language background and language dominance of the children. More local normative data are needed for the typical acquisition of Singapore English in children, especially for children whose dominant language is not English.

Integrating Student Assessment Practices: the significance of collaborative partnerships for curriculum and professional development in a university department

Abstract The purposes and practices of student assessment in all sectors of education are contested. So when the members of a university department decide to collaborate in order to integrate their assessment requirements, what they enter into is a program of personal and collective review that begins to unmask the moral and political dynamics of curriculum and professional development. This article describes such a collaborative project, its processes and its products, as well as the dynamics of collective review as they relate to facilitation, organisational change, and comfortable versus critical collaboration.

“More than blowing bubbles”: What parents want from therapists working with children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract Purpose: Providing therapy to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often requires therapists to work closely with both the child with ASD and their family. Although there is evidence outlining best practice for therapists when working with families of children with disabilities, few studies have examined the parental perspective. This study investigated the qualities parents seek in therapists who work with their children with ASD. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 parents of children with ASD. Thematic analysis was undertaken to analyse the data, with emergence of two core themes; Partnership and Effective Therapy. Result: The parents of children with ASD interviewed for this study valued both working in partnership with therapists and therapists delivering effective therapy. Parents ultimately wanted therapists to produce positive outcomes for their children and were willing to sacrifice other desired qualities, as long as the therapy program was effective. Conclusion: While parents of children with ASD identified a range of qualities that they want in therapists, a therapist being able to produce positive outcomes for their child was considered most important. The implications of these findings are discussed both in terms of clinical implications for therapists and directions for future research.

Word Production Inconsistency of Singaporean-English-Speaking Adolescents with Down Syndrome.

BACKGROUND The nature of speech disorders in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) remains controversial despite various explanations put forth in the literature to account for the observed speech profiles. A high level of word production inconsistency in children with DS has led researchers to query whether the inconsistency continues into adolescence, and if the inconsistency stems from inconsistent phonological disorder (IPD) or childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Of the studies that have been published, most suggest that the speech profile of individuals with DS is delayed, while a few recent studies suggest a combination of delayed and disordered patterns. However, no studies have explored the nature of word production inconsistency in this population, and the relationship between word production inconsistency, receptive vocabulary and severity of speech disorder. AIMS To investigate in a pilot study the extent of word production inconsistency in adolescents with DS and to examine the correlations between word production inconsistency, measures of receptive vocabulary, severity of speech disorder and oromotor skills in adolescents with DS. METHODS & PROCEDURES The participants were 32 native speakers of Singaporean-English adolescents, comprising 16 participants with DS and 16 typically developing (TD) participants. The participants completed a battery of standardized speech and language assessments, including The Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) assessment. Results from each test were correlated to determine relationships. Qualitative analyses were also carried out on all the data collected. OUTCOMES & RESULTS In this study, seven out of 16 participants with DS scored above 40% on word production inconsistency, a diagnostic criterion for IPD. In addition, all participants with DS performed poorly on the oromotor assessment of DEAP. The overall speech profile observed did not exactly correspond with the cluster symptoms observed in children with IPD or CAS. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS Word production inconsistency is a noticeable feature in the speech of individuals with DS. In addition, the speech profiles of individuals with DS consist of atypical and unusual errors alongside developmental errors. Significant correlations were found between the measures investigated, suggesting that speech disorder in DS is multifactorial. The results from this study will help to improve differential diagnosis of speech disorders and individualized treatment plans in the population with DS.