From Aphasia and Allied disorders to Autism Spectrum Disorders - A Mutualistic Symbiotic Relationship. (A Five Decade Long Journey in Neuro-Communication Disorders).

The study of aphasia and the range of allied disorders, that accompany it has provided a rich source of clinical information providing insights in to the complexities of the human brain and how it affects the functioning of the individual, as well as how it influences his experiencing of the world; subsequently verified by more rigorous scientific research. An attempt is made here to document similar clinical insights in to the experiences of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), now known to have atypical neuro development; on the basis of clinical observations and self-reports of these children, vetted by the author's long standing experience of working with those with neurogenic communication disorders, both adult and child. As with the aphasias, these clinical documentations and insights could lead to more carefully controlled research, paving the way for better understanding and interventional support for those with ASD.

Literacy Profile of Children with Language Impairment: Evidence from an Alphasyllabary.

Background: Most of the evidence explaining the language-literacy link is derived from children learning to read and write alphabetic orthography.

Aim: This study investigated the literacy deficits in children learning to read Kannada, a Dravidian language that employs an alphasyllabary.

Methods: A group of 15 children with language impairment (CwLI) was compared with two groups of control (age- and language-matched) participants on a range of literacy measures.

Expert Group Meeting on Aphasia: A Report.

A multidisciplinary team of experts took stock of the current state of affairs about many aspects of aphasia in India, including community burden, diagnostic assessment, therapy, rehabilitation, research, education, and advocacy. The broad spectrum of aphasiology was matched by the types of participants ranging from neurologists, speech-language pathologists, clinical psychologists, linguists, to experts in neuroimaging and computer sciences. Threadbare discussion in 16 sessions over 3 days leads to the identification of pressing problems and possible solutions.

Specific language impairment in a morphologically complex agglutinative Indian language-Kannada.

Specific Language Impairment (SLI) remains an underinvestigated disorder in morphologically complex agglutinative languages such as Kannada. Currently, only a few case reports are available on SLI in Dravidian languages. The morphological complexity inherent to Dravidian languages such as Kannada provides a potential avenue to verify one of the two prevailing accounts of SLI: the morphological richness theory and CGC (Computational Grammatical Complexity) hypothesis.

Oral motor deficits in speech-impaired children with autism.

Absence of communicative speech in autism has been presumed to reflect a fundamental deficit in the use of language, but at least in a subpopulation may instead stem from motor and oral motor issues. Clinical reports of disparity between receptive vs. expressive speech/language abilities reinforce this hypothesis.

Impact of early intervention on children with autism spectrum disorders as measured by inclusion and retention in mainstream schools.

Objectives: To follow up the school/educational status of children with a primary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), who had been enrolled in an Early Intervention (EI) program for 1-3 y, before the age of 6.

Methods: Data was collected through a questionnaire covering three specific areas-the families' success in following the recommendation given on completion of the EI program, issues in schooling and feedback on the EI program. The contact modes included email, post, telephonic interviews and face-to-face interviews.

Efficacy of communication DEALL--an indigenous early intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Objective: To establish the efficacy of Communication DEALL, an indigenous early intervention program; in the management of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Methods: ABA design of pre intervention assessment, intervention and post intervention assessment was utilized, across an 8 month period. The first set of measures covered the assessment of developmental skills in the eight areas of gross motor skills, fine motor skills, activities of daily life skills, receptive language, and expressive language, cognitive, social and emotional skills.

Four decades of speech-language pathology in India: changing perspectives and challenges of the future.

The paper traces the evolution and current status of speech-language pathology in India in its clinical and training aspects.