Jishi the Speechie

04/06/2023

Brain pathway may point to cause of a severe child speech impediment An international study led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has identified a potential cause of the most severe child speech impediment – apraxia. One in 1000 children has apraxia, but understating t

03/06/2023

Super easy to understand and follow!!

Language matters! Your choice of words has the power to make an Autistic person feel like their neurodivergence makes them perfect the way they are – or that they're damaged and need fixing.

A group of researchers from Australia have just released a paper in the journal, Trends in Neuroscience which includes a guide of neuro-affirming terminology.

Read this SBS article to learn about it in layman's terms: https://tinyurl.com/mcb42bn4

Or take a deeper dive into the research journal: https://tinyurl.com/2s4ch9dt

Image description: A table has a title reading: How to talk about Autism. Beneath a column with a tick titled Pathologising Language has beneath it:
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Person-first language (Person with Autism), Autism symptoms and impairments, At risk of autism, Co-morbidity, Functioning (e.g. high/low functioning) and severity (e.g. mild/moderate/severe) labels, Cure, treatment or intervention, Restricted interests or obsessions, Normal person. Next to it is a column with a cross titled Neuro-affirming Language. Beaneath it reads Autism, autistic, Identity-first language [autistic (person)], Specific autistic experiences and characteristics, May be autistic; increased likelihood of being autistic, Co-occurring, Specific support needs, Specific support or service, Specialised, focused or intense interests and Allistic or non-autistic. Beneath it reads Source: Trends in Neurosciences, September 2022

03/06/2023

Research Tuesday!
https://on.asha.org/3Bxz7e5
Minimal, Maximal, or Multiple: Which Contrastive Intervention Approach to Use With Children With Speech Sound Disorders? A tutorial in by Dr. Holly L. Storkel.

This tutorial contrasts a familiar and frequently used speech sound disorder (SSD) intervention approach, conventional minimal pair, with 2 newer but less familiar and less frequently used variants that may be more effective: (a) maximal opposition and (b) multiple oppositions. Dr. Storkel describes each contrastive approach, focusing on the evidence base and the critical elements that define the approach and make it unique. Hypothetical cases illustrate how to tailor the approaches to child needs and SLP expertise. Supplemental materials enhance the reader's skill.

After completing this article, the reader will be able to identify which children with SSD are appropriate for conventional minimal pair, maximal opposition, or multiple oppositions approaches -- and will be able to plan intervention for each approach.

This seminal article provides evidence that using the conventional minimal pair approach should be restricted to children with a small number of errors (i.e., older children or children with mild SSD). There is an opportunity for SLPs to use newer, more efficacious approaches with younger children and children with more severe SSDs. The maximal opposition approach is well suited to children with multiple errors across multiple sound classes. The multiple oppositions approach specifically targets global phoneme collapses that impact intelligibility.

02/06/2023

Such a great explanation!! Speech Pathology Australia can always help!