Similar improvements between speech language therapy delivered online and in-person
(Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care) A recent Baycrest study found that patients who accessed speech language therapy over the Internet saw large improvements to their communication abilities that were similar to those of patients doing in-person therapy. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - July 20, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Getting and giving support for cleft lip and palate
Jack Dolan came into the world with a laugh. His mother, Erin, was mid-chuckle during labor when he was born — “a really joyful entrance,” she says. Looking down at her new son, she and her husband, Jimmy, breathed sighs of relief. “We took one look at him and thought, ‘He’s beautiful,’” she remembers. “We knew then that everything was going to be okay.”
It was a happy celebration after a pregnancy sometimes marked by stress and anxiety. During ultrasonography, Erin and Jimmy had learned that Jack would be born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Erin, a nurse practitioner, had noticed that the techn...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - July 13, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Cleft and Craniofacial Center cleft lip and palate Dr. John Mulliken Olivia Oppel Source Type: news
Aphasia recovery via speech therapy related to structural plasticity of the ventral stream
(Medical University of South Carolina) Strengthening the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) via speech therapy is associated with significant semantic error reductions in aphasic stroke patients, report Medical University of South Carolina investigators in an article published online June 19, 2017 by Annals of Neurology. These findings suggest that speech recovery is related to the structural plasticity of the residual language network, that semantic skills are integrated by the ILF and that strengthening the ILF is possible with therapy. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - July 10, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Expert insight on cleft lip and palate
Learning that your baby has a cleft lip or palate can be upsetting, but these birth defects are quite common. They occur early in pregnancy when tissue from each side of the head grows together to form the face. If these tissues don’t completely join, the result is a cleft, or gap, on one or both sides of the upper lip. A cleft palate occurs when the tissue that forms the roof of the mouth doesn’t fully come together, leaving an opening between the mouth and nose.
It’s not clear what causes a cleft lip or palate, but a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors appears to be involved. “Although some form...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - July 6, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Ask the Expert Diseases & Conditions Cleft and Craniofacial Center cleft lip Cleft lip and Palate Program cleft palate Dr. Ingrid Ganske Source Type: news
Social communication assessment during post-traumatic amnesia and the post-acute period after traumatic brain injury - Steel J, Ferguson A, Spencer E, Togher L.
BACKGROUND: Social communication impairment is a persisting and debilitating consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, there has been little empirical speech-language pathology (SLP) study focusing on the early stage of recovery after TBI, incl... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - July 3, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Economics of Injury and Safety, PTSD, Injury Outcomes Source Type: news
Figshare Partners With ASHA to Enhance Discoverability and Reuse of Their Research Outputs
Figshare, an online digital repository for academic research, today announced a new partnership with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to showcase supplementary research outputs within the communication sciences and disorders discipline.
As a professional society representing 191,500 members and affiliates who are audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists, ASHA is committed to the publication of research, and has been for more than 80 years.
Research outputs published across ASHA’s peer-reviewed scholarly journals will be aggregated under one portal. Th...
Source: News from STM - June 23, 2017 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: STM Publishing News Tags: Featured World Source Type: news
Understanding Aphasia After Brain Injury
June is National Aphasia Awareness Month, and I wanted to share some of what I have learned on my journey through aphasia after brain injury.
According to Wikipedia, the term aphasia implies that one or more communication modalities in the brain have been damaged—and are therefore functioning incorrectly. The difficulties for people with aphasia can range from occasional trouble finding words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write; their intelligence, however, is unaffected.
Since no two brain injuries are ever the same, the way aphasia affects one person can vary greatly from the next person. In my own expe...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - June 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Confronting Autism Early Is The Key To Effective Therapy
This study, which we called “Grandma Knows Best,” showed that frequent interaction with a grandparent, primarily the grandmother—who isn’t as reluctant to share her concerns—dramatically accelerated the age of diagnoses, by four to five months. This is very significant; an “earlier” autism diagnosis normally refers to a few weeks rather than several months. These results suggest that close family and friends should feel comfortable saying something—and parents should be receptive to hearing it—because doing so may lead to earlier detection and treatment.
Help Yourself, Help Your Child
If you have a child...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - June 19, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Clear spoken language model promotes language learning in children with cochlear implants
(University of Helsinki) According to recent doctoral study from University of Helsinki, slow, prosodically emphasized and stressed spoken language help children with cochlear implants in language learning. Also the involvement of parents in speech therapy is important. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - June 14, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Living with Rett syndrome, living with hope
For the first year of her life, Ava Gryniewicz seemed to be developing like any other happy baby. She had learned a few words, including “mama” and “dada,” and was picking up Cheerios with pincer fingers.
But by the time she was 14 months old, everything had changed. Ava started to lose these skills and wasn’t reaching other milestones. At the recommendation of her daycare center, she started early intervention.
“She wasn’t keeping up and her daycare providers were concerned that standard daycare might be too much for her,” says her mom, Joanne. That’s when Joanne and her husband Jack decided to have Ava ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - June 1, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Ellen Greenlaw Tags: Our Patients’ Stories Alycia Berg Augmentative communication Dr. Jonathan Picker rett syndrome Rett Syndrome Program Suzanne Rose Source Type: news
Communication Not at Root of Tantrums in Autism
Study shows outbursts occur just as frequently among children without speech, language troubles (Source: WebMD Health)
Source: WebMD Health - May 31, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Communication Problems Not At Root of Tantrums in Kids with Autism
Study shows outbursts occur just as frequently among children without speech, language troubles Source: HealthDay Related MedlinePlus Pages: Autism Spectrum Disorder (Source: MedlinePlus Health News)
Source: MedlinePlus Health News - May 31, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Is Health Insurance A Right Or A Privilege?
Now more than ever, health insurance is a staple story in the 24-hour news cycle. Opinions vary widely on the issue, as do politician’s thoughts on the matter. Debates rage, tensions grow, and deeper divides are formed as our government wrestles with this colossal dispute. Nestled at the heart of it all though is a basic question:
Is health insurance a right or a privilege in the United States?
I’m alive today because my school district, where I’ve now taught for 20 years, offers the ‘Cadillac of insurance plans.’ On April 26, 2006, I checked into the hospital for a scheduled C-section. Due to...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - May 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Learning to Talk Like a Woman (or Man)
A growing number of speech language therapists cater to transgender clients seeking to retrain their voices. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - April 25, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS Tags: Transgender and Transsexuals New York University Voice and Speech Women and Girls Testosterone Language and Languages Source Type: news
Thousands Face Lead Hazards as Trump Eyes Budget Cuts Thousands Face Lead Hazards as Trump Eyes Budget Cuts
Laicie Manzella lived in a rundown house on Buffalo ’ s east side when three of her children tested with dangerously high levels of lead in their blood. Her oldest son suffered nosebleeds, body rashes and a developmental disorder requiring speech therapy.Reuters Health Information (Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines)
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines - April 24, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pediatrics News Source Type: news
