This brief communication is a response to the article "The prevalence of lisping in gay men" (Van Borsel, J., De Bruyn, E., Lefebvre, E., Sokoloff, A., De Ley, S., & Baudonck, N. 2009. "Journal of Communication Disorders, 42", 100-106). I argue aspects of that study's design, measurement, and interpretation limit the strength of its authors'…

Although emotions are often seen as key to maintaining rapport between speech-language pathologists and their clients, they are often neglected in the research and clinical literature. This neglect, it is argued here, comes in part from the inadequacies of prevailing conceptual frameworks used to govern practices. I aim to show how six such…

Although not the focus of her article, phonological development in young children with speech sound disorders of various types is highly germane to Stoel-Gammon's discussion (this issue) for at least two primary reasons. Most obvious is that typical processes and milestones of phonological development are the standards and benchmarks against which…

Van Borsel, Dor, and Rondal (2007) examined the speech of seven boys and two young male adults with fragile X syndrome and considered whether their speech was comparable to that reported in the developmental stuttering literature. They listed five criteria which led them to conclude that the speech patterns of speakers with fragile X syndrome…

When Candi Carter, a producer at "The Oprah Winfrey Show", learned that her son, Emerson, was born with chromosome 8p, which causes heart defects, mental retardation, severe speech delay, and other issues, she was immediately thrust into the world of special needs parenting. Like many in her position, she learned quickly that her child's…

In a recent article, Aichert and Ziegler (2004) explore whether apraxia of speech (AOS) can be explained by disruption of the phonetic plans for high frequency syllables. This approach is a hybrid one, combining the notion of a mental syllabary with an explanation that the impairment in AOS results from reduced access to supra-segmental phonetic…

This letter to the editor comments on a 1998 article by J. S. Yaruss which proposed that classification of stuttering be adopted to foster improvement in basic understanding. The article is critiqued as failing to recognize the two major components of a stuttering event and for the author's definitions of impairment and disability as applied to…

This response to Kamhi (EC 625 122) who suggested some children distinguish between speech therapy activities and meaningful communication, argues that, since discrepancies between a clinician's and a client's view of clinical interactions may complicate intervention, the clinician should make his viewpoint explicit. Three theories of intervention…

This rebuttal of a response to the author's original article on improved classification of stuttering in the context of disability, impairment, and handicap, stresses that the model originally proposed carefully distinguishes the two major aspects of stuttering and offers definitions of impairment, disability, and handicap consistent with the…

The primary objective of this position paper is to assess the theoretical and empirical support that exists for the Mayo Clinic view of motor speech disorders in general, and for oromotor, nonverbal tasks as a window to speech production processes in particular. Literature both in support of and against the Mayo clinic view and the associated use…

This paper contends that behavior observation data relating to speech-language pathology are reliable if they are not affected by differences among observers or other variations in the recording context. The theoretical bases of methods used to estimate reliability for observational data are reviewed, and suggestions are provided for improving the…

Discussion of speech sampling in the assessment of children with phonological disorders focuses on the use of nonlinear phonological analysis, a method whereby multiple aspects or levels of a child's phonological system are examined. Principles and suggestions offer general guidance for adequate sample elicitation. (Contains references.)…

Ethical considerations in relationships with people who have severe speech and communication problems must be based on acceptance that the individual has something of value to communicate even if the means for expressive communication are limited. There is an ethical imperative on the more competent communication partner to help the disabled…

This review of "Foundations of Stuttering" by Marcel Wingate stresses the book's focus on debunking prevailing myths about stuttering and presenting evidence that supports stuttering as a disorder of speech control. The book is recommended for professionals interested in the field, especially speech pathologists or others with a background in…

Highlights the importance of a combined approach to the assessment of dysarthria with reference to two case studies of individuals with dysarthric speech: a 32-year-old adult who suffered a severe closed head injury and a 9-year-old child who experienced a cerebrovascular accident involving the basilar artery. (Author/VWL)