Background: There is increasing interest in the incorporation of animal-assisted services (AAS) in therapy for adults with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. AAS have the potential to enhance speech and language therapy engagement and outcomes. However, a greater understanding of the nature and potential benefits of these interventions…

Background: A growing body of research indicates that music-based interventions show promising results for adults with a wide range of speech, language and communication disorders. Aims: The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize the evidence on how speech-language therapists (SLTs) use music and music-related elements in therapeutic…

Background: Adults with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) frequently experience cognitive, emotional, physical and communication deficits that require long-term rehabilitation and community support. Although access to rehabilitation services is linked to positive outcomes, there can be barriers to accessing community rehabilitation related to system…

A mindfulness meditation exercise was incorporated into a stuttering treatment program for an adult male who stutters. Speech disfluencies were analyzed before and after mindfulness meditation and implementation of fluency shaping techniques. Findings suggested that including a mindfulness meditation exercise into a treatment program may be…

School-leaving for pupils with long-term speech, language, swallowing or communication difficulties requires careful management. Speech and language therapists (SLTs) support communication, secure assistive technology and manage swallowing difficulties post-school. UK SLTs are employed by health services, with child SLT teams based in schools.…

Children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy (CP) present with decreased vowel space area and reduced word intelligibility. Although a robust relationship exists between vowel space and word intelligibility, little is known about the intelligibility of vowels in this population. This exploratory study investigated the intelligibility of American…

This article analysed the acoustic structure of voiced stop ++ vowel sequences in a group of persons who stutter (PWS). This phonetic unit was chosen because successful production is highly dependent on the differential tweaking of right-to-left anticipatory coarticulation as a function of stop place. Thus, essential elements of both speech motor…

Small talk has received only limited attention related to its role in general clinical contexts. Interaction in the speech-language pathologist clinic provides a forum for exploring the role of small talk. Although its value is recognized in some speech-language pathologist contexts, little systematic analysis has been undertaken. This paper…

Purpose: In this study, the author examined the following questions: What proportion of adult persons who stutter (PWS) choose fluency and what proportion choose to be free from a need to be fluent in managing their stuttering? What demographic and stuttering-related variables influence their choice, and how consistent are they in their choice?…

Little evidence-based research has been published within the field of communication disorders on the role of dogs as catalysts for human communication. This single participant study, a point of entry into this realm of research, explores the effects of a therapy dog on the communication skills of a patient with aphasia receiving intensive speech…

Background: Dysarthria is a common post-stroke presentation. Its management falls within the remit of the speech and language therapy profession. Little controlled evaluation of the effects of intervention for dysarthria in stroke has been reported. Aims: The study aimed to determine the effects of a period of behavioural communication…

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with adults with cognitive-linguistic impairments, including aphasia, have long needed an assessment tool that predicts ability to function in the real world. In this article, it is argued that virtual reality (VR)-supported approaches can address this need. Using models of disability such as the…

A qualitative study of group therapy for aphasia was undertaken in order to discover interaction patterns and discourse management strategies that help define "social" or "conversation" group therapy for aphasia. Specifically, an analysis of the discourse of clients and therapists was conducted to identify patterns across therapists and settings.…

This volume examines the ramifications of individual differences in therapy outcomes for a wide variety of communication disorders. In an era where evidence-based practice is the clinical profession's watchword, each chapter attacks this highly relevant issue from a somewhat different perspective. In some areas of communication disorders,…

This study examined effects of group communication treatment on the linguistic and communicative performance of 24 adults with chronic aphasia. Participants received five hours of group communication treatment weekly provided by a speech-language pathologist. Participants had significantly higher scores on communicative and linguistic measures…