Exploring Online Communication in Self-Identified Autistic Adolescents.

Purpose: Social media sites provide autistic youth a familiar space to interact that is devoid of many of the challenges that accompany face-to-face interactions. As such, it is important to determine whether the linguistic profiles observed during online interactions are consistent with face-to-face interactions. This preliminary study took a step in this direction by examining gender differences observed in autistic adolescents in an online forum to determine whether they are consistent with the emerging body of research investigating linguistic gender differences in autistic adolescents.

Nonstandardized Assessment of Cognitive-Communication Abilities Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to describe and synthesize existing research on nonstandardized assessment of cognitive-communication abilities in children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in order to improve the detection, diagnosis, and tracking of injury sequelae and guide appropriate service provision. Materials and Method A search of peer-reviewed journal databases revealed 504 unique articles published between January 2000 and August 2019. For full inclusion, articles had to report on empirical studies examining variables related to the nonstandardized assessment of cognitive-communication skills following TBI in children.

Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill: Adaptation for Brazilian Portuguese.

Purpose: To describe the adaptation of verbal tasks (words) in the Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skills - DEMSS (Strand et al., 2013; Strand & McCauley, 2019) for subsequent inclusion in an analogous instrument in Brazilian Portuguese (BP).

Methods: The adaptation process consisted of six steps.

Emergent Literacy in Spanish-Speaking Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Preliminary Findings of Delays in Comprehension- and Code-Related Skills.

Purpose This exploratory study describes the emergent literacy skills of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) who speak Spanish, a language with a simple phonological structure and transparent orthography. We examine differences between children with DLD and their typically developing (TD) peers on a battery of emergent literacy measures. Method Participants included 15 monolingual Spanish-speaking children with DLD (who did not present with cognitive difficulties) and 15 TD controls matched for age, gender, and socioeconomic status, ranging in age from 3;10 to 6;6 (years;months; = 4;11).

Adolescent Summaries of Narrative and Expository Discourse: Differences and Predictors.

Purpose: Summarizing expository passages is a critical academic skill that is understudied in language research. The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of verbal summaries produced by adolescents for 3 different discourse types and to determine whether a composite measure of cognitive skill or a test of expressive syntax predicted their performance.

Method: Fifty adolescents listened to, and then verbally summarized, 1 narrative and 2 expository lectures (compare-contrast and cause-effect).

Elements of Phonological Interventions for Children With Speech Sound Disorders: The Development of a Taxonomy.

Purpose: Our aim was to develop a taxonomy of elements comprising phonological interventions for children with speech sound disorders.

Method: We conducted a content analysis of 15 empirically supported phonological interventions to identify and describe intervention elements. Measures of element concentration, flexibility, and distinctiveness were used to compare and contrast interventions.

Exploring Summarization Differences for Two Types of Expository Discourse in Adolescents With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Purpose: Annually, nearly 700,000 U.S. children and adolescents experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

A Tutorial on Expository Discourse: Structure, Development, and Disorders in Children and Adolescents.

Purpose: With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, expository texts gain prominence at all grade levels and for all disciplines. Although the linguistic and cognitive complexities of exposition pose challenges for all children, they may create additional challenges for children and adolescents with language difficulties. Therefore, this tutorial provides background information for clinicians regarding the structure, development, and specific difficulties associated with exposition across the 4 modalities of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The Effect of Loudness Variation on Velopharyngeal Function in Children with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDS) often require surgical intervention to treat velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD). Although some studies have documented improved velopharyngeal (VP) closure under increased speaking effort, currently no studies have examined the effect of similar behavioral speech modifications on VP closure in children with 22qDS.

A motor speech assessment for children with severe speech disorders: reliability and validity evidence.

Purpose: In this article, the authors report reliability and validity evidence for the Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skill (DEMSS), a new test that uses dynamic assessment to aid in the differential diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS).

Method: Participants were 81 children between 36 and 79 months of age who were referred to the Mayo Clinic for diagnosis of speech sound disorders. Children were given the DEMSS and a standard speech and language test battery as part of routine evaluations.

Evidence-based systematic review: effects of nonspeech oral motor exercises on speech.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the current evidence for the use of oral motor exercises (OMEs) on speech (i.e., speech physiology, speech production, and functional speech outcomes) as a means of supporting further research and clinicians' use of evidence-based practice.

Treatment of childhood apraxia of speech: clinical decision making in the use of nonspeech oral motor exercises.

In this article, the authors provide background concerning the nature of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and conventional speech-based treatments for it. In addition they discuss a clinical decision-making process within which to consider the appropriateness of nonspeech oral motor exercises (NSOMEs). This process requires clinicians to ask questions of themselves as they interpret clinical observations and consider alternative treatment approaches (including both NSOMEs and speech-oriented treatments).

A review of standardized tests of nonverbal oral and speech motor performance in children.

Purpose: To review the content and psychometric characteristics of 6 published tests currently available to aid in the study, diagnosis, and treatment of motor speech disorders in children.

Method: We compared the content of the 6 tests and critically evaluated the degree to which important psychometric characteristics support the tests' use for their defined purposes.

Results: The tests varied considerably in content and methods of test interpretation.