Prosody can be defined as the rythmic, dynamic and melodic aspects of speech. Without prosody, speech would sound monotonous and communication could be obstructed. The aim of the present study was to examine prosodic aspects of nonword repetition by children with cochlear implants and children with language impairment. Previous studies of prosody in these groups have not in detail described what kinds of errors that occur and therefore this is interesting to investigate.

The present study is based on previously collected data of nonword repetition among a total of 41 children, all participating in previous studies. Of these children, 27 were children with language impairment aged between 4:6-7:6 years. Fourteen were children with CI aged between 3:0-13:4. The recorded data was transcribed and analyzed group wise and the mean value of the groups were calculated.

Children with CI showed prosodic problems in nonword repetition to a greater extent than children with language impairment did. Both children with language impairment and children with CI had difficulties with number of syllables, stress, tonal word accent and quantity of vowel. However, the children with CI generally made errors to a greater extent as well as more types of errors, compared to the children with language impairment. All children with CI made some type of prosodic error whilst 11 out of 27 of the language impaired children produced all the words prosodically correct. Children who were implanted at an older age showed greater difficulties with prosody than children who were implanted at a younger age.

The term elderspeak refers to the adjustments of communication towards elderly people which are similar to those made towards young children. The adjustments are made within several language domains, and are a part of the communicative environment of the elders. The subject is relatively uninvestigated, and few, if any, studies have been conducted on the subject in Sweden. Thus the aim of the present study was to investigate the possible occurrence of elderspeak, and to describe its characteristics.

The present study is based upon five participants working at different forms of geriatric institutions. Conversations between a caregiver and a resident and conversations between a caregiver and a colleague were recorded and broadly transcribed. The recordings were cut into separate files according to the purpose of respective analysis. The study was carried out with a data-driven perspective and previously established aspects of elderspeak and child directed speech was searched for.

The present study established that caregivers to a varying extent adjusted their communication within several language domains. The adjustments mainly took place within the prosodic domain but they also took place within the grammatical domain. Adjustments within the pragmatic domain were found to some extent, but no adjustments within the semantic domain were found. Tendencies to adjustments of the speech were present in the majority of the participants. The present study suggests the following additions to the aspects of the elderspeak phenomenon; frequent use of name, less hesitation phenomena and less frequent simultaneous speech. 

Projektet ”Språkpiller” har utformats genom ett samarbete mellan logopeder och biblioteken i Östergötland. Projektet syftar till att stimulera språket hos barn med språkstörning och fungerar i första hand som ett komplement till logopedisk behandling (Linköpings kommun, 2012).

Föreliggande studie syftar till att undersöka om bilderböcker skrivna på bosniska/kroatiska/serbiska (BKS) tränar samma grammatiska struktur som motsvarande bilderböcker på svenska gör. Syftet är även att granska huruvida böckerna i föreliggande studie går att rekommendera som träningsmaterial för barn med språkliga svårigheter.

En kontrastiv analys mellan BKS och svenska har genomförts av totalt tre bilderböcker. Böckerna i studien innehåller skillnader mellan BKS och svenska inom de flesta grammatiska kategorier och stämmer väl överrens med vad som beskrivits i litteraturen. Det föreliggande materialet antas därför kunna användas som träningsmaterial till vissa grammatiska strukturer.

I samhället kommer vi ofta i kontakt med tvåspråkighet, så även på logopedmottagningar runt om i landet. Det kan vara svårt att genomföra språkbedömningar på barn med flera modersmål eller annat modersmål än svenska. Syftet med uppsatsen var att översätta benämningstestet "Ordracet" till arabiska och sedan använda det för att testa aktivt ordförråd. Passivt ordförråd testades med Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III. Fonologiskt och semantiskt ordflöde testades med ordflödestestet FAS. Frågeställningarna var: Hur skiljer sig de två ordförråden hos simultant tvåspråkiga barn från ordförrådet hos enspråkiga barn? Hur skiljer sig det svenska ordförrådet från det arabiska ordförrådet inom gruppen tvåspråkiga barn? Hur ser sambandet mellan fonologiskt och semantiskt ordflöde och ordförråd ut? De tvåspråkiga barnen hade lägre resultat på arabiska än vad de enspråkiga barnen hade på svenska, både vad gäller förståelse och produktion. På svenska presterade de tvåspråkiga barnen praktiskt taget lika högt som de enspråkiga, de var alltså bättre på svenska än på arabiska. Det fanns en stor skillnad mellan grupperna på delen fonologi svenska, där de tvåspråkiga barnen fick signifikant högre resultat än de enspråkiga barnen.

A cochlear implant (CI) is a hearing device that makes it possible for individuals who are deaf or has a severe hearing impairment to receive auditory information and develop spoken language. The pragmatic ability may be affected. In short, pragmatics may be described as the study of language use in social contexts. Pragmatic ability can be seen as the result of the individual‟s behavior as well as the underlying causes.

The aim of the present study was to describe the pragmatic ability in children with CI. An approach inspired by Conversation Analysis (CA) was used in order to highlight the various phenomena that occurred in the interaction.

Seven children with CI participated in the study, five girls and two boys. Each conversation consisted of either a child with CI interacting with a peer, or a child with CI interacting with a parent or a teacher. A total of 14 conversations were analyzed and phenomena relevant to the study were examined. To gather further information regarding the children‟s communicative behavior, Children’s Communication Checklist was filled in by parents and teachers.

The children who participated in the study constitute a heterogeneous group and there was no clear pattern when it comes to hearing-impairment and pragmatic ability. The result showed that children with CI used both specific and non-specific requests for clarification. It seems as if intelligibility on the sentence level may reflect how efficient the interaction turns out, as the children with high intelligibility were the ones who managed to solve misunderstandings the best in the conversations. Furthermore, the result demonstrated that the adult participants used a higher rate of specific requests for clarification in contrast to children with CI.

The literature on spelling and spelling development suggests there is a strong relationship between spelling and phonology (Bruck & Treiman, 1990; Caravolas, Hulme & Snowling, 2001; Craig, 2006; Gindri, Keske-Soares & Mota, 2007). Spelling, however, is considerably less researched than reading (Caravolas, Humle & Snowling, 2001). Spelling difficulties are known to be more persistent in people with reading and writing disabilities, even when their reading has become acceptable (Høien & Lundberg, 1999) but more research is needed in this area. Assessment and detailed knowledge of the difficulties is of great importance in order to provide the appropriate help for children with reading and writing disabilities (Frisk, 2010; Magnusson, Nauclér, & Reuterskiöld, 2008). The purpose of the present study was to develop and try out a phonologically based spelling test for children, with focus on medial phonemes. The study contained 150 pupils in grade 1 and 2 as well as pupils in remedial teaching due to reading and spelling difficulties in the same grades. In addition to spelling, all pupils were tested for reading ability, phonological awareness, nonverbal intelligence and auditory discrimination. Misspellings were analysed with three quantitative and one qualitative classification methods. Results showed that the spelling test based on analyse of medial phonemes captured misspellings to the same extent as the other quantitative classification method.  Pupils in grade 2 received significant higher results in the spelling test than pupils in grade 1. The group of typically developed pupils had significantly better results than the pupils with reading and writing disabilities. Results also showed that real words were significantly easier to spell than non-words. Moreover, significant correlations between spelling and reading ability, and spelling and phonological awareness, were found. The strong correlation between spelling ability and phonological awareness, and the fact that children with reading and writing disabilities performed poorly on spelling of non-words, lead to the conclusion that spelling and phonology are closely related, which is supported by the literature (Bruck & Treiman, 1990; Caravolas, Hulme & Snowling, 2001; Craig, 2006; Gindri, Keske-Soares & Mota, 2007).

Tal är det akustiska resultatet av rörelser i talapparaten med avsikt att förmedla ett språkligt budskap (Kent, 2000). Oralmotorisk funktion är en grundläggande förutsättning för talkommunikation (Sjögreen & Lohmander, 2008). Om tal- eller oralmotoriska problem uppstår kan en tal- eller oralmotorisk diagnos ställs utifrån en utredning över dessa funktioner (McAllister, 2008). Nordiskt Orofacialt Test – Screening (NOT-S) är ett screeningmaterial som testar den oro-faciala funktionen (Bakke, Bergendal, McAllister, Sjögreen & Åsten, 2007). Materialet består av en intervju- och en undersökningsdel som är uppdelade i sex domäner vardera. En av domänerna i undersökningsdelen är tal och består av tre uppgifter A. Talar inte, B. Räkna högt till tio och C. Säg ”pataka pataka pataka”. Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka om den information som erhålls i prövning med taldelen i NOT-S överensstämmer med den information som en bedömning med ett fonologiskt test ger. I studien analyserades inspelningar av 61 ljudfiler där barn i åldern 6:0-8:0 år testas med taldelen i NOT-S och kortversionen av Stora fonemtestet. Resultatet av fonemtestet transkriberades fonetiskt och utifrån dessa beräknades Percentage of Phonemes Correct. Ett gränsvärde sattes upp för att avgöra vilka som befann sig inom normalvariationen. Dessa resultat jämfördes sedan med barnens resultat på taldelen i NOT-S. Det visade sig att åtta (13,1 %) barn hamnade under gränsvärdet för normalvariation på fonemtestet vilket står i kontrast till 22 (36 %) barn som bedömdes som avvikande på NOT-S taldel enligt de fastställda kriterierna för testet. De båda delarna i NOT-S taldel fångade tillsammans upp 100 % av de som identifierades som avvikande i fonemtestet. Därutöver fångade NOT-S upp 23 % (14 barn) som inte bedömdes som avvikande i fonemtestet. Vid beräkning av taldelen i NOT-S utan den diadochokinetiska uppgiften fångades 62,5 % upp av dem som identifierades av fonemtestet. Alla de barn som fick felfria resultat på fonemtestet fick även det på NOT-S taldel. Utifrån dessa resultat bedöms NOT-S taldel och kortversionen av Stora fonemtestet inte fullt ut ge samma information om barns talavvikelser. 

Different abilities are of importance to pragmatics, there among hearing. Hearing impairment can affect language development and also pragmatic ability. The aim of the present paper was to study the pragmatic ability in terms of request for clarification in children with Hearing Impairment (HI) in conversation with children with no known hearing impairment, henceforth normally hearing (NH). The present study also describes requests for clarification sequentially in detail, and also highlights points where there may be observable differences between children with and without hearing impairment. Eight conversational pairs consisting of one child with HI and one NH child were studied. Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC) was filled out by the parents and teachers of the children with HI in order to complement the description of the pragmatic ability in children with HI. Conversation Analysis was used in order to make the study of interaction as open-minded as possible. The conversation extracts were grouped according to task or non-task oriented interaction based on the activities that occurred.

The results of the present study showed that the children with HI and NH both used non-specific and specific requests for clarification, and that these types of requests were used in both task and non-task oriented interaction. Children with HI used the non-specific request "sorry?" to greater extent in the extracts than children with NH did. In general, no differences in occurrence of specific requests were seen between children with HI and children with NH. As regards to what happened before and after requests for clarifications, no distinct differences could be established between children with HI and children with NH. In conclusion, it is not certain if and how a hearing impairment have affected the pragmatic ability, although tendencies in the conversation extracts indicated that hearing impairment sometimes affected the interaction.

The capacity to process and to remember information is a basic condition for language ability and for coming reading ability. Reading ability is strongly connected to phonological awareness, receptive vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity. In what way hearing impairment in children affects development of cognitive skills and later on reading ability is an area that has attracted minor attention for research.

The aim with this study was to investigate changes in cognitive skills and reading ability in children with mild or moderate hearing impairment after one year of progress and furthermore if any connections between any increases of the abilities were to be found. Comparisons were made with results from age adequate normal hearing children. Moreover prosodic ability on word-level was tested this year. Eleven Swedish children aged 7:6-10:10 years participated in this study. To illustrate progress of the abilities mentioned the SIPS computer test battery and furthermore some manually given tests for reading and prosodic abilities were used.

The results show a developmental trend for the children with hearing impairment on tests of working memory and reading comprehension. The least degree of development was found in the area of phonological skills. The children with hearing impairment showed in general the same capacity as normal hearing children on tests for the different abilities. In the area of working memory the children with hearing impairment had significant lower results on half of the tests than age adequate normal hearing children. Several strong connections were present for children with hearing impairment this year than last year, in-between cognitive skills and reading ability. Correlation appeared between age for insertion of hearing aid and test for decoding ability. Results on tests for prosodic ability reached ceiling effect.

The oral sensory ability in children can be assessed through test of intraoral stereognosis and two-point discrimination. Currently, these two tests are not frequently used in clinical settings, and normative data are not always available. The aim of this study was to establish normative data for these two tests in children aged 5;6 to 7;0 years. Further, intention was to compare the results with respect to age and gender. In total 103 children participated, 49 boys and 54 girls. The participants were divided into three age-groups. The results regarding intraoral stereognosis showed significant differences between genders, where boys performed poorer than girls. Differences between two of the three age-groups could also be established. The results show that an improvement can be expected in children six years and older.

Regarding two-point discrimination 73 of the 103 children performed perfectly. The remaining children’s scores were also consistently high. No differences between gender and age were found.

There was no correlation between the test results of intraoral stereognosis and two-point discrimination. Therefore it would be necessary to perform both these tests in assessment, since they probably examine two separate aspects of the oral sensory ability.

Breathing, swallowing, chewing, facial expressions and articulation are aspects of orofacial function (Bakke, Bergendal, McAllister, Sjogreen, & Asten, 2007). Oral motor function is important for speech production as well as eating

(Lundeborg Hammarström, 2010). The Nordic Orofacial Test –Screening (NOT-S) is a screening instrument for orofacial dysfunction (Bakke et al., 2007). The purpose of this study was to collect data about how typically developed children aged 6:0-8:0 years perform on NOT-S, and also to examine if there were any age or gender differences in the results. A total of 80 children and their caretakers participated in the study. There were 30 children aged six and 50 aged seven. The children were tested in their schools and their parents were interviewed by telephone. The results showed that children aged 6:0- 8:0 years had a mean score of 1,44 ± 1,16 on NOT-S. For children at age six the mean score was 1,63 ± 1,16 and for the children at age seven, the mean score was 1,32 ± 1,15. No significant age or gender differences were found in the results except in the interview section, where a significant gender difference between children at age seven was measured. Boys had more orofacial problems than girls. Results may be used as norm data when using the NOT-S in clinical practice.

Speech production requires cooperation between cognitive, linguistic and motor processes. It also requires spatial and temporal control of muscles, as well as simultaneous and coordinated activity of respiration, phonation and articulation (Cheng, Murdoch, Goozée & Scott, 2007; Yorkston, Beukelman, Strand & Bell, 1999; Raphael, Borden & Harris, 2011). Voice Onset Time (VOT) reflects the timing between phonation and articulation (Hoit-Dalgaard, Murry & Kopp, 1983). VOT is the most reliable acoustic cue for distinguishing between voiceless or voiced plosives (Auzou et al. 2000). Studies of English-speaking children with phonological impairment have shown atypical VOT-patterns (Bond & Wilson, 1980). The aim of the present study was to investigate Voice Onset Time (VOT) among Swedish children with phonological impairment and to examine if their VOT-values differ from typically developed Swedish children. Participants were 38 children aged 4;2−11;6 distributed over eight age- groups and five developmental stages of phonology. Audio recordings of minimal pairs were made at preschools, schools or at speech pathology clinics. The results indicated that children with phonological impairment produced VOT with deviant values and with a great variability. A marked acoustic difference between voiceless and voiced stop consonants was present, but not in all cases. Since the VOT-values were distributed over the group of children with phonological impairment, no developmental trend toward adult-like values that could be related to increasing age was found for either the acquisition of producing VOT or the acquisition of producing voicing lead. No differences in VOT were seen between the children in different phonological developmental stages or ages. No correlation between the degree of deviance of VOT and the proportion of Procent Phonemes Correct (PPC), age or phonological processes were found. From the results the conclusion can be drawn that children with phonological impairment have deviant VOT-values that could be caused by lack of phonological knowledge, but in particular since the variability did not decrease with increased age, have difficulties with motor execution. 

In Sweden over 10.000 patients annually, mostly children, undergo tonsillar surgery. The most common surgical method is total removal of the tonsil, tonsillectomy (TE). During the last decade partial tonsil resection, tonsillotomy (TT), has been reintroduced and is associated with lower primary morbidity and less postoperative pain. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if and to what extent 4-5 year old children’s voice function are affected by tonsillar hypertrophy compared to controls and to study the effects of the two surgical techniques on vocal function. Sixty-seven children with tonsillar hypertrophy, where randomized either to TE or TT. A voice material consisting of words with only sonorants and three sustained vowels was recorded preoperatively and six months postoperatively. Eighty-two preschool children formed two control groups. The material was evaluated perceptually by three voice specialized speech and language pathologist and analyzed acoustically. Before surgery the children with tonsillar hypertrophy are rated to have higher prevalence of hoarseness, hyponasality and ‘compressed/throaty voice’ compared with the controls. The acoustic analysis show that the children with tonsillar hypertrophy have higher prevalence of perturbation (jitter (%), shimmer (%) and NHR) compared to the controls. Postoperatively there are no significant difference between the children with tonsillar hypertrophy and the control group perceptually. The acoustic analysis of the children with tonsillar hypertrophy still show more perturbation compared to the control group. The children operated with TE are rated to have less prevalence of roughness and hyponasality after surgery. The children in the TT-group have less prevalence of roughness, hyponasality and ‘compressed/throaty voice’. The acoustic analysis show no significant difference between the two postoperative groups.

MS, multipel skleros, är en neurologisk sjukdom som kan leda till kommunikationsrelaterade problem. Personer med MS kan därför tänkas vara i behov av olika former av kommunikationshjälpmedel. Samtalsmatta är ett visuellt och bildbaserat kommunikationshjälpmedel som avser att underlätta för personer att visa åsikter och göra val. Syftet med denna studie är att utreda samtalsmattans effekt på kommunikation med personer med MS. Frågeställningarna rör huruvida samtalseffektiviteten påverkas av samtalsmattan, vilka för- och nackdelar samtalsmattan kan ha jämfört med verbal kommunikation och hur deltagarna uppfattar användandet av samtalsmattan. För att utreda detta har en kvalitativ metod använts. Två personer med MS har deltagit i två samtal, ett med samtalsmatta och ett med endast verbal kommunikation. Samtalen har sedan utvärderats via bedömningsinstrumentet Effectiveness Framework of Functional Communication (EFFC) för att ge ett mått på samtalseffektivitet. Deltagarna har även genomgått en återkopplande intervju där de har fått beskriva sin upplevelse av de olika kommunikationsformerna. Resultatet för studien visade på högre samtalseffektivitet i de talade samtalen, vilket även var den kommunikationsform som deltagarna prefererade. I vidare analys framkom dock fördelar med samtalsmattan gällande att de samtalen blev mer strukturerade och centrerade till det aktuella samtalsämnet. I diskussionen berörs fördelar och nackdelar med strukturerade samtal. Struktur kan underlätta genom att ge en ram för samtalet, men kan samtidigt kännas begränsande för individen. Uppfattningen av samtal kan även påverkas av tidigare samtalsvanor och de förväntningar som samtalspartnern har på samtalet. Författarna drar slutsatsen att de som ämnar använda samtalsmatta kan nyttja de fördelar som en ökad struktur medför, men måste samtidigt vara medvetna om individens förväntningar och behov.

Interrater and intrarater reliability are of great importance in the selection of reference voice examples. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reliability of experienced speech and language pathologists’ evaluations of selected voice samples. The aim is to begin a collection of male and female reference voice examples which represent different voice quality parameters according to the Stockholm Voice Evaluation Approach (SVEA). The specific questions are: How well do speech and language pathologists agree when rating voices along different voice quality parameters? Are any of the voice quality parameters in the speech samples prominent enough to be qualified as reference voice examples? The authors selected 15 voice samples out of a database consisting of 65 voice samples. The voices were evaluated by seven experienced speech and language pathologists using the SVEA protocol. The results were statistically analyzed to study interrater reliability. In order to investigate intrarater reliability a second evaluation session was carried out in which the speech and language pathologists evaluated three voice samples randomly selected from the 15 samples used in the first evaluation session. The results showed a wide range in the raters’ evaluations, which had an impact on the correlations. However, a closer look at separate parameters indicated considerably higher similarity in the ratings. Based on these results three reference voice examples were selected. Even though high correlation values were found in several of the other twelve voice samples, the ratings in these were not high enough to qualify them as reference voice examples in this study. Nevertheless, these voices can still be used to exemplify various degrees of deviation. The conclusions are that there is a great variation regarding reliability between and within raters and also regarding how the different speech and language pathologists rate the voices. The authors also conclude that the search for clear reference voice examples is highly motivated and ought to be continued, preferably with the method used in this study. 

Aphasia is a linguistic impairment which affects communication and may have an impact on a person’s narrative ability. The purpose of the present study was to analyse the narrative ability in aphasia by narrative interviews with people with aphasia and their partners. The interviews were scrutinised for strategies used in joint narration involving couples where one of the spouses has aphasia. The definition of strategies was methods to cope with communicative difficulties often due to aphasia. Strategies were also studied in an assessment of independent narration. The specific questions were: Which strategies do couples, consisting of one person with aphasia and their partner, use in joint narration? Which strategies does the person with aphasia use in independent narration? Are there any differences in the use of strategies in joint narration compared to independent narration? Five couples were recruited from conversational groups for people with aphasia in the south of Sweden. The couples were asked questions which were meant to encourage joint narration and the interviews were filmed. In addition to the interview, the narrative ability of the individuals with aphasia was assessed with the Swedish aphasia test A-ning. The interviews and the assessments were transcribed according to principles from conversation analysis. The result showed a variation regarding type of strategies occurring in the couples’ narrations and the frequency of these strategies. In joint narration, repetition was the strategy most commonly used by individuals with aphasia, followed by self-initiated self-repair, word search and gestures. The partners also used repetition to a high extent as well as appendor production. The conclusion of this study is that the narrative ability of the persons with aphasia in independent narration to some extent corresponded with their ability in joint narration. However, there were great differences between how the individuals with aphasia and their partners used strategies to cope with difficulties in joint narration.

Arbetsminnet består av flera komponenter, där den fonologiska loopens akustiska och artikulatoriska system samverkar då auditiv information tas emot och bearbetas. Testning av loopens funktion kan ske genom undersökning av arbetsminnesspannet vid nonordsrepetition. Förmågan att repetera nonord kan berätta något om både barns och vuxnas språkliga utveckling och förmåga. Motoriska begränsningar kan hindra hand- och artikulationsförmågan. Hypoteserna är att: Begränsningarna borde påverka prestationen vid arbetsminnesspanntestning, i form av en längre tidsåtgång vid återgivning av en nonordssekvens på grund av den handmotoriska begränsningen, samt hindrandet av det artikulatoriska undersystemet till den fonologiska loopen genom den finmotoriska begränsningen. Eftersom skillnader i minnesförmågor mellan könen inte tidigare redovisats i liknande sammanhang borde inga skillnader förekomma. Syftet med studien var undersöka hur motoriska begränsningar påverkar prestationen vid arbetsminnesspanntest i form av nonordsrepetition. För att kunna besvara det huvudsakliga syfte formulerades några frågeställningar: Hur påverkar motoriska begränsningar den högst uppnådda svårighetsnivån? Hur påverkar motoriska begränsningar prestationen på arbetsminnesspanntest, mätt i tidsåtgången det tar att korrekt återge en nonordssekvens? Hur skiljer sig den högst uppnådda svårighetsnivån mellan könen vid olika motoriska begränsningar? För att besvara våra frågeställningar utformade vi fyra arbetsminnesspanntest som vardera innehöll 12 nonordssekvenser och en kommunikationskarta. Varje test utfördes på 32 studenter som samtliga utsattes för fyra olika betingelser, en betingelse per arbetsminnesspanntest. För att belysa de motoriska begränsningarnas påverkan på prestationen användes SPSS vid uträkningen av insamlade statistiska data. Ett statistiskt signifikant resultat visade en prestationsförsämring vid den finmotoriska artikulatoriska betingelsen i jämförelse med kontrollbetingelsen samt mellan den handmotoriska + finmotoriska artikulatoriska betingelsen i jämförelse med kontrollbetingelsen. Tidsåtgången för att korrekt återge en nonordssekvens skilde sig signifikant mellan de fyra betingelserna. Ett signifikant resultat påvisades vid parvis jämförelse mellan den finmotoriska artikulatoriska och den handmotoriska + finmotoriska artikulatoriska betingelsen.  Vid jämförelsen av arbetsminnesspannet mellan könen nådde männen genomgående ungefär en halv svårighetsnivå högre än kvinnorna.

The aim of this paper is to study the long-term effects of stuttering treatment according to the Lidcombe Program in Sweden and to answer questions whether underlying factors may have affected the treatment results. Participants were seven children, one girl and six boys aged 7:10-14:2, who all completed Stage 1 of the program approximately 2-7 years ago.The children were video recorded during a conversation with one of the authors and while reading aloud. Before the recording, their parents estimated the level of stuttering according to a Severity Range (SR) Scale. The evaluations were used as reference for determining whether the recordings were representative for the children´s current speech fluency. Proportions of stuttered syllables (%SS) were calculated from the video recorded material and compared with the proportions of stuttered syllables (%SS) at the time when the first stage of the program was initiated.The results showed that the Lidcombe Program had a significant (z=-2.37, p=0.02) long term effect on stuttering treatment for the participants in this study. The effect size was calculated to 1.05, which indicates a large effect. No correlation between underlying factors and treatment results could be established at group level. However, the results showed differences among the participants and underlying factors as age at stuttering onset and age when treatment was introduced may have affected the treatment results.This is one of the very first long term follow-ups on Swedish preschool children that have been treated according to the Lidcombe Program and the authors hope to see further research.

The aim was to develop a comprehensive screening instrument for evaluation of orofacial dysfunction that was easy to perform for different health professionals without special equipment. The Nordic Orofacial Test - Screening (NOT-S), consisting of a structured interview and clinical examination, was developed with a picture manual illustrating the different tasks in the examination. It was first tested in a Swedish version, and later translated to other Nordic languages, and to English.

         The interview reflected six domains, (I) Sensory function, (II) Breathing, (III) Habits, (IV) Chewing and swallowing, (V) Drooling, and (VI) Dryness of the mouth, and the examination included six domains representing (1) The face at rest, and tasks regarding (2) Nose breathing, (3) Facial expression, (4) Masticatory muscle and jaw function, (5) Oral motor function, and (6) Speech. One or more “yes” for impairment in a domain resulted in one point (maximum NOT-S score 12 points).

         The mean NOT-S score (±SD) in 120 patients (3-86 yr), referred to five centers for specialized dental care or speech and language pathology in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, was 4.1±2.6, and 0.4±0.6 in 60 control subjects (3-78 yr). The screening was easy to administer and the time spent 5-13 min. The scores from the clinic-referred sample differed significantly from the controls, and the sensitivity of the screening was 0.96 and specificity 0.63. Repeated evaluations of videotapes of 20 patients by 3 examiners, speech-language pathologists and dentists, with at least two-week intervals, showed inter- and intraexaminer agreement on the points given in the domains at respectively 83% and 92-95% which increased after recalibration to 85% and 95-99%. Kappa values for interexaminer agreement on the NOT-S scores were 0.42-0.44 (i.e. fair), and the method error was 5.3%. To conclude, NOT-S gave a reliable and valid screening for orofacial dysfunction.



Studies have shown that patients receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit (ICU), who are entirely dependent on the nursing staff, often experience frustration due to a temporary loss of the voice source. Limited communication is an important factor contributing to patient discomfort. Nursing staff also report communication as frustrating and difficult.

The aim of the present study is to introduce a neck-type electrolarynx as a communication aid in an ICU, to study the nursing staff experiences of communication with tracheotomized patients receiving mechanical ventilation, and to examine the patient´s experiences regarding communicative abilities. Communication between a ventilator treated, tracheotomized patient and members of the nursing staff was recorded and analyzed according to principles of Conversation Analysis (CA).

The results show that several members of the nursing staff experience difficulties communicating with tracheotomized patients receiving mechanical ventilation. A majority believe that the conditions for communication could be improved. The results of CA also indicate that an electrolarynx may be an effective and appropriate communication aid for ventilator treated, tracheostomized patients. Further research is needed to broaden the knowledge of the electrolarynx as a communication aid for these patients.

Keywords: communication, mechanical ventilation, electrolarynx, patient experience, nursing staff experience, Conversation Analysis (CA).

Oflyt i tal är något som förekommer hos alla talande människor och likadant är det med gester. Det är dock inte självklart hur de är relaterar till varandra. Det finns få studier inom området och ännu färre med svensktalande försökspersoner. Denna studies syfte är att se hur gester påverkar talflytet hos personer med svenska som modersmål och om det finns någon skillnad rörande detta mellan olika kontexter.

Studien genomfördes med åtta försökspersoner i åldrarna 20–30 år som har svenska som modersmål. Alla försökspersoner fick individuellt svara på fyra frågor varav två med spatialt innehåll och två med abstrakt innehåll. Under första halvan av testningen fick försökspersonerna använda gester och resterande tid fick de sitta på sina händer för att inte kunna använda gester.

Resultatet visade att ikoniska gester användes oftare vid spatialt innehåll och metaforiska gester användes mer frekvent vid abstrakt innehåll, vilket var en signifikant skillnad. Ytterligare en signifikant skillnad noterades mellan spatialt och abstrakt innehåll vid mätning av tallängd. Detta oberoende av fri respektive begränsad användning av gester.

De få studier som gjorts på området ger ingen tydlig bild av hur tal och gester är relaterade till varandra. Denna studie understryker komplexiteten inom området tal och gester.

On children born with a complete cleft lip and palate (CLP) the repair of the alveolar ridge doesn´t take place before the children are about ten years old. This results in that they have a residual cleft in the alveolar ridge during their early childhood. This residual cleft, and the oronasal fistulas that may appear after the repair of the hard palate, can result in a negative influence on the speech of the children. Thereby it may be necessary with cover for examplewith a palatal plate or an obturator. At the Department of Orthodontics, at Linköping University Hospital, Sweden, some of the children with CLP undergo treatment with sustained palatal fistula obturation in order to cover fistulas or residual clefts. The aim of this study was to evaluate which effect this treatment has on the speech of the children. Outcome measures used were speech and caregivers opinion of the treatment. Potential relevant background factors as fistula size and timing of the treatment were investigated. This study included medical records, recordings of the speech of the children and dental study models of the maxilla from eleven children which had received treatment with sustained palatal fistula obturation. The parents of the children answered a parental report. In the perceptual evaluations of the speech recordings the results indicated that the articulation was improved after treatment in 81.8 % of the children and that the most common types of articulation errors before and after the orthodontic treatment were weak pressure consonants and retraction of dental plosives. It also appeared to be a connection between the age at which the children first had their obturator and how the speech was influenced. Regarding the parents ten of a total of eleven parents reported an improvement of their children´s speech- and/or eating ability and all of the parents would choose to let their children undergo the treatment again if they had the opportunity to choose. Conclusions drawn from this study is that treatment with sustained palatal fistula obturation is an applicable method for children with fistulas/residual clefts since most treated children´s speech benefitted from it.

För att kunna läsa och skriva behöver barn både kunna diskriminera mellan olika fonem och sätta ihop dessa till en helhet i enlighet med målspråkets regler. Då olika språk har olika språktypologier var det ena syftet att jämföra hur fonologisk produktion och skrivning av svenska språket kunde skilja sig hos barn i årskurs två med arabiska och somaliska som modersmål med en svensk kontrollgrupp som hade svenska som modersmål. Det andra syftet var att undersöka samband kunde finnas mellan fonologi och rättskrivning. Ett expressivt fonologiskt test samt ett rättskrivningstest bestående av nonsensord användes. Resultatet visade att de flerspråkiga grupperna skilde sig från den svenska gruppen beträffande rättskrivning. Jämförelsen mellan resultatet av det expressiva fonologiska testet och resultatet av rättskrivningstestet visade inget samband. Däremot indikerade typen av rättskrivningsfel att de skulle kunna ha fonologiska orsaker.

A historical study of intervention for aphasia may provide information on how speech and language pathologists work with people with aphasia. Aphasia is seen as an umbrella term for symptoms of language disorders caused by aquired brain injury. The overall aim of the present study was to describe and analyze the development of intervention for aphasia during the periods 1990-1999 and 2000-2010.

The study was conducted by analysis of 83 medical records from two hospitals in Sweden during a period of 20 years. These decades were compared to each other and yo current litteraturein search for differences and trends in aphasia intervention.

The Results of the present study revealed that intervention mainly focused on recovering the linguistic ability in both the 1990s and 2000s. Intervention and literature focusing on communication seem to increase during the 2000s. In the 2000s, speech and language pathologists begin to report on working with cognitive abilities. The results of the present study cannot be generalized but may give an insight in aphasia intervention from a historical perspective in Sweden.

Objective. To screen orofacial function in people with various ectodermal dysplasia (ED) syndromes and compare with a healthy reference sample. Material and methods. The ED group comprised 46 individuals (30 M and 16 F; mean age 14.5 years, range 3-55). Thirty-two had hypohidrotic ED, while 14 had other ED syndromes. The reference sample comprised 52 healthy individuals (22 M and 30 F; mean age 24.9 years, range 3-55). Orofacial function was screened using the Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S) protocol containing 12 orofacial function domains (maximum score 12 points). Results. The total NOT-S score was higher in the ED group than in the healthy group (mean 3.5 vs. 0.4; pandlt;0.001). The dysfunctions most frequently recorded in the subjects with ED occurred in the domains chewing and swallowing (82.6%), dryness of the mouth (45.7%), and speech (43.5%). Those with other ED syndromes scored non-significantly higher than those with hypohidrotic ED (mean 4.6 vs. 3.0; pandgt;0.05). Conclusions. Individuals with ED scored higher than a healthy reference sample in all NOT-S domains, especially in the chewing and swallowing, dryness of the mouth, and speech domains. Orofacial function areas and treatment and training outcomes need to be more closely evaluated and monitored.

A new phonological test, LINUS, for Swedish-speaking children between the ages of three and seven, has been developed at the speech and language pathology department at Linköping University. The aim of the present study was to create a reference manual for the long version of the new test. The participants in the present study were children between the ages of five to seven in a medium-sized municipality in the Northern part of Kalmar County, Sweden. In total, 124 native Swedish-speaking children (58 girls and 66 boys) with typical language development participated. The children were divided into two age groups, 5;0-5;11;31 and 6;0-6;11;31 years. The collected data was analysed with respect to acquisition of phonemes and word structure processes. Percentage of correctly produced words (PWC), consonants (PCC) and vowels (PVC) were calculated.All phonemes, except /s/, were established in both age groups. The phoneme /s/ was found to be either substituted or distorted. Among the 5-year old children /s/ was established for 84%, substitutions of /s/ were found in 7% and distortions were found in 23%. Among the 6-year old children /s/ was established for 88%. Substitutions of /s/ were found in 3% and distortions in 16% of the 6-year old children. The phoneme /r/ proved to be a borderline case for acquisition in the younger age group (91%). The most common word structure process in both groups was assimilation. A significant difference between the two age groups was found for assimilation (p=0,022), with lower occurrence in the older group. Two-consonant clusters (CC) and three-consonant clusters (CCC) were not frequently reduced, although it was found that CC-clusters were reduced more frequently than CCC-clusters. Both the age groups had high percentages of correctly produced words, consonants and vowels. The analysis revealed the following results: PWC for 5-years olds was 93% and 6-years olds 97%. PCC for 5-year olds was 98% and for 6-year olds 99%. PVC for both age groups was 100%. An age difference was shown for PWC, but not for the other measures. No gender differences were found.

Communicative recycling, to repeat utterances uttered by oneself or others, is a common phenomenon in all societies and languages. The talk of persons with autism often features recycling. The aim of this study was to identify different forms of recycling in communication involving a boy with autism and to describe its functions. Communication between the boy with autism, who used Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to communicate, and his parents and teachers was videotaped. The conversations took place in familiar settings, in the boy’s home and at his pre-school. The theoretical approach in the present study was Conversation Analysis (CA). The results provide further support for other studies in that recycling is an important interactional resource for children with limited linguistic capacities. The boy recycled the conversational frames taught in PECS and accommodated these to fit the context. The use of frames also enabled him to communicate with sentences. The transcribed examples exhibited diect as well as delayed recycling of other persons utterances made by the boy. The communicative recycling found in this study fulfilled all parts of the five-folded definition of functions presented by Tannen (1987): facilitating production and comprehension, creating a sense of connection, being a communicative resource enabling interaction and creating coherence as interpersonal involvement. The communicative recycling enabled the boy and his conversational partners to share communicative conventions. The use of recycling in conversations by people with autism may be a step towards a more generative use of language.

Bakgrund: Efter insättning av ventilationsrör genom trumhinnan, som behandling av otosalpingit (vätska i mellanörat), är komplikationer i form av rörotiter vanliga. Huruvida de förekommer oftare vid rörsättning före 1 års ålder, jämfört med efter, är omdebatterat. Otosalpingit är vanligt hos barn med gomspalt och kan påverka språkutvecklingen. Genom rörsättning före 1 års ålder kan detta förebyggas. Dock finns skilda åsikter om sambandet mellan otosalpingit och påverkan på språkutvecklingen.

Syfte: Att undersöka om det föreligger någon skillnad mellan rörsättning före och efter 1 års ålder hos barn med gomspalt beträffande:

-          förekomst av postoperativa rörotiter

-          någon form av språklig avvikelse vid 3 års ålder

Metod: Journalstudier av 132 barn, varav 128 ingick i frågeställningen om postoperativa rörotiter och 107 i frågeställningen om språkavvikelse.

Resultat: Ingen signifikant skillnad i förekomst av postoperativa rörotiter mellan barn som fått rör före respektive efter 1 års ålder kunde påvisas; ej heller gällande språkavvikelse vid 3 år.

Slutsats: Rörsättning före respektive efter 1 års ålder tycks inte påverka förekomst av postoperativa rörotiter, eller förekomst av språkavvikelse vid 3 års ålder.

Nyckelord: Läpp-, käk-, gomspalt, otosalpingit, rörbehandling, ventilationsrör, tidig och sen rörsättning, postoperativa rörotiter, språkavvikelse.

Formal literacy education in Sweden begins in first grade. How reading and writing education is conducted may differ between classes. Trageton (2005) has developed a literacy learning method in which the computer plays a significant role.

The aim of this study was to examine and evaluate how a number of literacy and language abilities are affected by computer based literacy learning developed by Trageton, compared to traditional literacy learning.

In the present study, 26 students in first grade from a school in Östergötland participated. The computer based group consisted of 13 students who attended a class in which computer based literacy learning was used. The control group consisted of 13 students who attended a class in which traditional literacy learning was used. A number of literacy and language tests were administrated in both fall and spring time.

The results showed that more participants in the computer based group, than in the control group, qualified for reading tests at all levels. The results in the writing test showed that the control group performed better in handwriting while the computer based group performed better in written narratives on the computer.

The results of the present study indicate that both literacy learning methods have an effect on reading and writing skills in students in first grade. The results also indicate that each of the learning methods improve various reading and writing skills.

Prosodi varierar mellan olika språk och innefattar det talade språkets rytm, melodi och dynamik. Flerspråkighet blir allt vanligare i det svenska samhället, vilket gör det viktigt att studera flerspråkighet ur ett logopediskt perspektiv. ITAP är ett icke-språkligt prosodiskt test som prövar perceptions- och produktionsförmåga av intonation och rytm. Testet har hittills testats på en grupp enspråkiga svensktalande barn med typisk språkutveckling.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att testa produktion och perception av intonation och rytm hos flerspråkiga barn, med hjälp av ITAP, samt att jämföra resultaten med en enspråkig svensktalande grupp.

I studien deltog totalt tio barn. Fem barn med svenska och somaliska som språk, samt fem barn med svenska och arabiska som språk. Deltagarna var mellan 4;7 och 9;1 år gamla.

Resultaten visar att det inte finns några signifikanta skillnader i den totala prestationen mellan den arabiska och den somaliska språkgruppen. Det framkom inte heller några signifikanta skillnader mellan de båda flerspråkiga grupperna jämfört med den svenska kontrollgruppen. Signifikanta skillnader framkom vid jämförelse av perception och produktion inom de båda flerspråkiga grupperna.

Studien ger ökad kunskap om prosodisk förmåga hos flerspråkiga barn i Sverige, samt om ITAP:s kliniska användbarhet.

Several studies have investigated the use of different types of requests for clarification in a referential communication task. The purpose of this study was to examine whether communication strategies differs between children with developmental disabilities and mental age matched peers in a referential communication task, and how the children react to a communication breakdown. We tested vocabulary to see if vocabulary correlates with different types of requests for clarification. Our study included two groups. One group consisted of people with development disabilities with chronological mean age of 14:9 years. The other group consisted of mental age matched children with no development disabilities. The mental mean age of both groups was 8:6 years. The children’s communicative strategies were assessed in a referential communication task. The vocabulary was examined with the vocabulary subtest of WISC-IV. Our results indicate that children with mental disabilities differ from mental age matched peers in the use of types of requests for clarification in this study. Different types of requests correlates with each other in both groups. This indicates that the persons in the groups use different strategies in solving the task. The vocabulary was not different between the groups.

Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) is characterized by paradoxical vocal cord movement during inspiration or expiration, and generally affects adolescents and predominantly women. Previous studies have shown a large inconsistency concerning terminology, definitions, etiology, assessment, differential diagnosis, co-morbidity and treatment. The purpose of this study was to map knowledge on and management of VCD in Sweden. The study was conducted as a written survey addressed to speech-language pathologists and physicians, and attained an answer percentage of 79 percent. The results showed that several professions were involved in the management of these patients, but no clear pattern of referral could be observed. The majority of the respondents considered intense physical exertion and psychological stress as triggering factors for VCD. Despite this, referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist seldom occurred. Asthma was the most frequent diagnosis regarding co-morbidity, and also the most frequent misdiagnosis. Respiratory exercises, relaxation and information about the diagnosis generally form the basis of VCD treatment. Physicians rated their knowledge on VCD greater compared to the speech-language pathologists. Several of the respondents stated that an increase in knowledge and awareness among nursing staff had contributed to an increase of patients with suspected or confirmed VCD. This study showed that there was no consensus regarding assessment, co-morbidity, misdiagnosis and treatment of VCD among speech-language pathologists and physicians in Sweden.

Cochleaimplantat (CI) har använts i cirka 25 år för att återskapa hörsel hos barn och vuxna med medfödd eller förvärvad hörselskada/dövhet. Det finns fortfarande ett stort behov av kunskap om barn med CI och deras anhöriga. Syftet med studien var att undersöka upplevelser av förväntningar, förändringar samt livskvalitet hos vårdnadshavare till barn med CI sedan barnets CI-operation. Studien riktade sig till vårdnadshavare som hade barn med CI och var knutna till föräldraföreningen Barnplantorna vilket var 245 familjer. Antal inkomna enkäter var 153 stycken varav tre uteslöts. Undersökningsmaterialet utgjordes av en enkät vilken konstruerades avförfattarna. Studiens upplägg var både kvalitativ och kvantitativ. Resultaten visade att många domäner/aspekter inom livskvalitet förbättrades efter barnets operation. Vårdnadshavarna upplevde sig i genomsnitt gladare, tryggare, mindre oroliga, kände mindre sorg och isolering från sin omgivning, kunde delta i fler aktiviteter samt upplevde en förbättrad kommunikation. Bakgrundsfaktorer som påverkade livskvaliteten var främst kommunikationsform men även till viss del antal CI, ålder vid upptäckt av hörselskada samt ålder vid första CI. Majoriteten vårdnadshavare upplevde att deras förväntningar inför CI-operationen infriats. Slutsatser som drogs var att livskvaliteten hade förbättrats inom flera områden efter barnets CI-operation.Kommunikationsform var den faktor som hade störst betydelse för vårdnadshavarna på så vis att de vårdnadshavare vars barn kommunicerade med tal upplevde fler positiva aspekter av livskvalitet. Vårdnadshavarnas förväntningar på CI hade till stor del infriats och överträffats. CI innebar för en majoritet av vårdnadshavarna positiva förändringar inom områden som tillexempel kommunikation och socialt liv.

Different languages have different orthographic depth. The Swedish language is more shallow (regular) compared to the English language which is more orthographically deep (irregular). Swedish students start studying the foreign language English from primary school. Several researchers have found cross-linguistic transfers between an ability in the native language and the same ability in the foreign language. The present study aimed to investigate how pupils in fourth grade with reading difficulties and typical readers decode (word reading) in Swedish and English. 48 pupils were included in the study, divided into two groups: 19 pupils with reading difficulties and 29 typical readers. All of the students had Swedish as their native language and the students with reading difficulties had special education for their reading problems. The pupils conducted six tests of decoding, two of the tests were in English and had a Swedish counterpart. The pupils also conducted a test of phonological awareness and filled out a questionnaire about reading. The results showed that students with reading difficulties performed significantly poorer on all of the tests than the typical readers. The questionnaire about reading showed a difference between the groups and the questionnaire also showed that pupils with reading difficulties had insight in their reading problems. The pupils with reading difficulties who had decoding problems on word reading in Swedish also had decoding problems on word reading in the foreign language and those students who performed well on Swedish decoding also performed well on English decoding. Overall this means that there are some signs of cross-linguistic transfers.

Inom svensk logopedi används idag olika former av röstbehandling och en av dessa är resonansrörsmetoden, som är en relativt outforskad behandlingsmetod. Föreliggande studie syftar till att utifrån patienternas självskattning utvärdera två typer av röstbehandling; traditionell svensk röstbehandling och resonansrörsmetoden.

Patienterna som ingick i studien var diagnostiserade med en funktionell eller funktionellt organisk röststörning och var över 18 år. Innan behandlingen påbörjades slumpades patienterna till endera behandlingsmetod, eller till en grupp som randomiserades efter åtta veckors väntetid. Totala antalet patienter var 19; elva i gruppen som har fått traditionell röstbehandling och åtta i gruppen som har genomgått resonansrörsmetoden. Nio av de 19 patienterna, har även genomgått ett uppföljningsbesök fyra månader efter avslutad behandling. Endast tre patienter ingick i den sent randomiserade gruppen. Utvärderingen av behandlingarna har skett genom användning av självskattningsinstrumenten RHI (Rösthandikappindex) och Swe-VAPP (Swedish Voice Activity and Participation Profile) som patienterna fyllt i före påbörjad behandling och efter avslutad behandling, samt vid uppföljningsbesöket (fyra månader efter avslutad behandling). Den sent randomiserade gruppen fyllde även i de båda självskattningsinstrumenten åtta veckor innan påbörjad behandling.

Hela gruppen patienter förbättrades signifikant gällande totalpoäng på RHI och Swe-VAPP, samt uppdelat på de två behandlingsmetoderna. Det framkom vissa skillnader mellan patienternas självskattningar inom subkategorierna på de båda instrumenten, dock påvisar resultaten att ingen av behandlingarna hade bättre effekt än den andra. Patienterna i de båda behandlingsgrupperna upplevde en signifikant förbättring efter behandling, samt att förbättringen kvarstod fyra månader efter avslutad behandling, vilket indikerade på att behandlingarna gett effekt över tid.

I föreliggande studie undersöktes interaktionen mellan en person med afasi och hennes närstående. Syftet var att identifiera möjliga resurser som används av personen med afasi för att optimera delaktigheten i samtal, dels som aktiv lyssnare men också i situationer där missförstånd uppstår, samt se hur prosodi används som resurs i interaktionen. Datamaterialet som studerades var en två timmar lång videoinspelning i hemmet hos personen med afasi, där samtal med hennes man samt väninna förekom. Materialet analyserades enligt Conversation Analysis för att identifiera mönster i samtalen. Tre olika mönster identifierades och analyserades; återkopplingar för att visa aktivt lyssnarskap, och repetitioner som en begäran om bekräftelse av förståelse, samt begäran om förtydligande då något är otydligt eller felaktigt i föregående yttrande. Resultaten visade på kommunikativa resurser hos personen med afasi gällande att vara en aktiv lyssnare som stödjer talaren genom återkopplingssignaler, samt som en aktiv deltagare i samtalet genom att initiera reparationer för att samkonstruera förståelse.

 Conversation Analysis (CA) is a tool to facilitate analysis of everyday conversations. A small number of studies have used CA as an intervention for people with aphasia and have seen positive effects as an outcome of the intervention. The authors of the present study have not found any other studies where CA was used as an intervention in other target groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate if CA may be used in intervention with an adolescent who uses Bliss. The main participants in the present study, which the intervention was based upon, were a sixteen year old girl who communicates through Bliss, and her assistant. The participants were filmed in everyday situations. The video recordings were transcribed and primarily analysed according to CA principles by the authors. The authors of the present study observed both well functioning and not so well functioning communication patterns. The three interventions were based on video recordings, transcriptions and analyses. During the interventions, the authors of the study discussed patterns in communication with the participants. The participants were then given information about selected transcriptions, video recordings and analyses that the authors considered contained interesting patterns. Focus of each intervention was on turn-taking, repair, topic and non-verbal communication. The results of the intervention showed that certain communication patterns that the authors had previously regarded to be less functioning had subsequently improved in certain aspects. Comparisons made before and after the intervention showed that the girl had been given more emancipation to decide topic of conversation and take own initiative in the communication after the intervention. The results also showed that CA can be used to find new Bliss symbols that could be used in addition to the Swedish Bliss standard chart. In regard to turn-taking, repairs and non-verbal communication, similar patterns were observed prior to and after the intervention was carried out. 

The present study aims to investigate the phonological development of typically developing monolingual Swedish speaking children aged three to four years. The result could be used in the standardization of a new phonological test material for clinical speech and language pathology assessments. One-hundred and thirty four children aged three and four years (73 girls and 61 boys) were assessed with the new material. The children were tested in kindergartens in three communities in southeastern Sweden. Their assessments were audio recorded, transcribed phonetically and analyzed with Percentage Phonemes Correct (PPC) and Percentage of Words Correct (PWC). An analysis of speech error patterns of substitutions of phonemes, reduction of consonant clusters and word structural deviations was conducted. The data recorded from the children were divided and analyzed in four semi-annual intervals and two annual intervals.

The result shows a clear developmental trend with children in the older age group having a higher PPC and PWC than the younger children. Significant differences were found between the groups in annual intervals. Significant differences could only be demonstrated between the youngest age group and the other groups at semi-annual intervals. No significant gender differences were observed. Most of the errors of individual phonemes and consonant clusters among children in all age groups were distortions rather than substitutions, but the younger children simplified consonant clusters more often.

Studies indicate that between 6-9% of all children has some type of voice problems. Voice problems in children may have different etiology and can affect all ages. In Sweden, there is a lack of a standardized questionnaire addressed to children with voice problems and their legal guardians. The purpose of this study was to translate and validate the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (pVHI) in Swedish children aged 6 to 10 years. The study was carried out through an internet-based assessment form for children referred to speech and language pathologist/ phoniatrican due to voice disorders in Sweden and a matched control group of children without voice problems. The experimental group consisted of 13 children with voice problems and the control group of 29 children. The questionnaire was filled out by the guardian in cooperation with the child. It contained 23 claims separated into three domains: functional, physical and emotional. The results of each child’s assessment were the total pVHI, with a maximum of 92 points. A comparison between results presented in the original pVHI showed great similarities regarding mean values within the three domains the total pVHI and the experimental group’s estimation of over- all voice problems on a VAS- scale. The internal validity of the translation was high with a Cronbach´s alpha at .95- .96 within the different domains. Significant differences were found between the experimental group and the control group in each domain. There was also a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group regarding total pVHI. The results indicate that the translation of pVHI is easy to fill out and close to the original. Also, it discriminates between children with and without voice disorders indicating good sensitivity and specificity, which is central in a broader use.

A Cochlear implant (CI) is a technical device given to individuals with severe to profound hearing impairment/deafness. CI can provide children with increased possibilities to develop cognitive and linguistic abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of cognitive and linguistic abilities in children with CI. This study is part of a longitudinal study previously carried out in 2007 and 2008. The participants were seven children with CI between the ages of 8;8 and 14;5. Comparisons were made both between the performances of the children with CI 2007, 2008 and 2009 and between the performances of the children with CI and the reference group of children with normal hearing. The result demonstrated that the children with CI showed a positive development of visuo-spatial and complex working memory as well as the decoding part of reading. This pattern of development was not seen in tests of phonological representations, phonological working memory, receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension. The poor development of phonological representations may be related to the poor development of phonological working memory and receptive vocabulary. Despite difficulties with phonological processing a positive development of the decoding abilities was seen. This pattern of development was not seen in reading comprehension which could be due to higher demands on working memory and receptive vocabulary. A thorough assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each individual child should always be carried out.

Bland den äldre befolkningen är det relativt vanligt med någon form av sväljsvårigheter, dysfagi. Tidigare studier har visat att mellan 30 och 70 procent av boende inom äldreomsorgen har sväljbesvär. I dagsläget har de flesta äldreboenden i Östergötland inte tillgång till logoped. I föreliggande studie användes metoden Single Subject Experimental Design med upplägget ABB. Flera måltidsobservationer utfördes på de två deltagarna. I dessa observationer studerades tecken på s såsom hostningar, rosslingar, upprepade sväljningar och trögutlöst sväljreflex. Pulsoximeter användes för att öka säkerheten i mätningarna. I interventionsfaserna hölls två föreläsningar om dysfagi för personalen på det berörda äldreboendet. Syftet var att undersöka huruvida dessa föreläsningar förbättrade deltagarnas sväljförmåga. Dysfagi fanns hos båda deltagarna, dock med olika slags symtom. Personalen på boendet konsistensanpassade viss mat som primärt sväljfrämjande åtgärd redan innan studiens början. När detta utfördes hade det en positiv effekt hos båda deltagarna i form av färre tecken på dysfagi vid måltidsobservationerna. Vid föreläsningarna var deltagarantalet lågt, vilket kan ha bidragit till att ingen markant förändring hos deltagarna kunde observeras. Det kan konstateras att ett interventionsupplägg i form av två föreläsningar inte är tillräckligt för att göra skillnad när det gäller dysfagi. Tydligt är dock att behovet av kunskap om dysfagi på äldreboenden är stort.

Språket är i ständig förändring vilket innebär att språkligt material med tiden föråldras och blir inaktuellt. Vid talaudiometrisk testning av barn är det viktigt att testmaterialet innefattar ord som är välkända för barn eftersom förståelsen för materialet kan inverka på mätresultatet. Det talaudiometriska test som idag används för barn bygger på ordmaterial som ursprungligen insamlats under 1930-talet. Föreliggande studie är en del av ett större projekt och inleder arbetet med att utarbeta ett nytt talaudiometriskt material för barn.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att beräkna och jämföra ordfrekvens och antal ordformer utifrån inspelade samtal mellan de deltagande barnen i åldersgrupperna 5-8 år (Grupp 1) respektive 9-12 år (Grupp 2). Totalt 79 barn mellan 5 och 12 år deltog i studien. Inspelningar av barns samtal med varandra gjordes på förskolor och fritidshem i Linköpings tätort och cirka 300 minuter inspelat material analyserades. Barnens yttranden transkriberades ortografiskt och de ord som användes i samtalen grupperades för att därefter delas in i sex olika kategorier. Frekvensberäkning av ord per åldersgrupp utfördes och de båda åldersgruppernas totala volym av ordformer räknades ut.

Resultaten visade att ordfrekvensen var högre i Grupp 2 än i Grupp 1. I Grupp 2 förekom också ett större antal ordformer än i Grupp 1. Hos båda åldersgrupperna var Substantiv den mest använda kategorin avseende antal ordformer, dock var det stor skillnad mellan Grupp 1 och Grupp 2 gällande vilka ordformer som användes.

Resultaten diskuteras utifrån de åldersrelaterade skillnaderna mellan grupperna, olika sätt att beräkna ordfrekvens samt i relation till förändringar i svenska språket över tid.

Att perceptuellt uppfatta och identifera lukter påverkas av en rad olika kortikala system och kognitva förmågor. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka huruvida personer med afasi har en luktförmåga som skiljer sig från normalpopulationen och ifall en afasiproblematik påverkar de faktorer som normalt involverar luktförmågan.

         I studien medverkade tio försökspersoner, sex män och fyra kvinnor. Personerna hade varierande grad och typ av afasi och var mellan 42 och 76 år. Deltagarna delades in i åldersgrupper där två personer klassades som yngre och åtta som äldre. Samtliga testdeltagare genomförde två olika lukttest: Odor Threshold Test (OTT), och Swedish Odor Identification Test (SOIT). Testdeltagarnas journaler granskades även för information om skadehistoria samt livsvanor.

          Resultaten visade att 60% av deltagarna hade en nedsatt luktförmåga och att det fanns större resultatskillnader i SOIT än OTT då kön och förekomst/avsaknad av epilepsi testades mot varandra. Inga resultat kunde dock styrkas med statistisk signifikans jämfört med en normalpopulation eller inom gruppen.

Velopharyngeal insufficiency may affect resonance, articulation and thus how speech is perceived by other listeners. Velopharyngeal insufficiency is frequently found in the cleft palate population due to structural abnormalities of the palate. The pharyngeal flap is the most commonly used operation designed to improve velopharyngeal function. The aim of the present study was to compare speech before and after pharyngeal flap surgery by perceptual evaluation regarding nasality, articulation and deviant speech. The study includes preoperative and postoperative speech samples of 28 patients who underwent pharyngeal flap surgery at the University Hospital in Linköping between 2002 and 2007. The speech samples were phonetically transcribed and analysed regarding nasality and articulation by the authors. For comparison of results, naïve listeners and graduate students of speech-language pathology rated speech deviances. Speech was evaluated as less hyper nasal and with less maladaptive patterns of articulation after surgery. Articulation with maladaptive patterns related to velopharyngeal insufficiency, especially weak articulation, decreased more than other misarticulations. Naïve listeners as well as speech language pathology students rated speech as being less deviant postoperatively. Naïve listeners rated speech as being more improved in comparison with speech language pathology students. The results indicate that pharyngeal flap surgery leads to less deviant speech as well as reduced hypernasality and misarticulation, which support other studies. Furthermore, the results indicate that speech pathology training may influence the perception of deviant speech. When assessing the outcome of speech enhancing surgery in future studies, the authors recommend adding the opinion of naïve listeners.

Tvåspråkighet kan innebära ändring av röstbeteendet vid växling av språk vilket kan bidra till en ovan röstanvändning och orsaka röstproblem. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur tvåspråkiga personer upplever sina röster när de talar dels sitt modersmål, dels sitt andraspråk, samt om det finns skillnader som kan identifieras perceptuellt och/eller akustiskt vid växling av språk. I studien undersöks även ifall tvåspråkighet kan vara en bidragande faktor till röstproblem. Fem kvinnor med ryska som modersmål och med svenska som andraspråk, som dessutom lärde sig svenska i vuxen ålder, undersöktes med hjälp av intervjuer, percep tuell  röstbedömning och akustisk analys. Intervjudelen med ”Grounded Theory” som analysmetod belyste deltagarnas upplevelser vid byte av språk. Deltagarnas röstegenskaper analyserades på svenska och ryska vid läsning och spontantal genom perceptuell röstbedömning. SVEA-protokollet användes som analysunderlag vid skattningar gjorda av tre röstlogopeder. Akustisk analys med Praat undersökte medel-F0 och den genomsnittliga tonhöjdsvariationen vid läsning på ryska och svenska. Resultaten i intervjudelen visade att de flesta deltagare upplever att rösten ändras vid byte av språk och att röststyrka är den röstegenskap som ändras mest. Samtalssituation och deltagarnas röstmedvetenhet var viktiga faktorer som påverkade deras upplevelser om den egna röster vid språkbyte. Perceptuell röstbedömning visade att samtliga deltagare ändrar några röstparametrar vid språkväxling, men dock inte genomgående och inte samma parametrar. Akustisk analys visade att samtliga deltagare har skillnader i medel-F0 och genomsnittlig tonhöjdsvariation på svenska och ryska och att skillnaderna är olika stora. Slutsatsen man kan dra är att i den aktuella studien finns det en del tendenser till ändring av röstbeteende vid byte av språk. Logopeder kan behöva vara mer medvetna om att tvåspråkighet kan bidra till ändring av röstbeteende och kan vara en riskfaktor för röstproblem.

In the present study, the institutional discourse in health care was examined, focusing onspeech therapists and occupational therapists in interaction with a common patient withaphasia. The purpose of the present study was to identify common communication strategiesused in the professional conversation between a speech therapist and a patient and between anoccupational therapist and the same patient. Specific research questions were: Whatcommunicative strategies are used in interaction between a speech therapist and a patient withaphasia and between the occupational therapist and the same patient? Are theredifferences/similarities between how speech therapists and occupational therapists interactwith patients with aphasia?Six people in total, two patients in interaction with a speech therapist and an occupationaltherapist respectively, were recorded during treatment sessions of each profession. Generaland specific aspects of the institutional interaction were then analysed according to principlesof conversation analysis.Similarities in the use of closed questions as a strategy to increase the effectiveness ininteraction could be seen between the two different professions studied. The use ofevaluations in interaction was also relatively similar between the two occupations.Some differences were identified in the ways that each profession used repetitious behavior,co-constructions and non-verbal communication. In terms of use of communication aids tosupport the patient's understanding, clear differences between the professions were observed.

Studies have shown that high levels of background noise are damaging on voice, hearing andlanguage learning skills but also affects other cognitive skills. High sound pressure can lead to ahyperfunctional and faulty voice use. This can cause chronic voice disorders. The voice organs inchildren may be particularly vulnerable since they are not yet fully developed. The noise level ishigh in many preschools and therefore both children and teachers are at risk for developing voicedisorders and hearing impairment.The study consists of sound pressure level measurements and focus group interviews of 16 fiveyear-old children in two different preschools. The purpose was to find out how five-year-oldchildren experience noise and communication in preschools and relate their opinions to themeasured sound pressure levels. The study is included in a bigger Nordic project.The result showed that the children seem to have some knowledge of the effects of noise onhearing but not at all of the effects on voice. The statements reflect that they seem to have someknowledge about negative effects of noise on communication. The children also express that theyprefer lower levels of background noise rather than high. The children expressed that they hadexperiences of occasionally having difficulties to communicate in their preschool due to highbackground noise. These statements are supported by the high levels of background noisemeasured in the study. Three themes and six categories were identified from the interviews, theywere: Own Experiences (Physical, Emotional), Environmental Factors (Spatial, Noise) andStrategies (Voice, Hearing).Sound pressure levels were measured in all rooms with and without the children and teacher’sattendance. With children and teachers present noise levels were ranging from 60 to 93 dB(A).The noise levels were frequently over 70 dB(A) and the highest noise value was 93 dB(A) in the playing room when free play occurred.

Dementia may cause impairment of linguistic abilities, affecting both production and comprehension, which in turn affects communication (Mahendra & Hopper, 2012: Perkins, Whithworth & Lesser, 1998). The aim of the present study was to investigate and describe the communication strategies in everyday conversations between people with dementia and their interlocutors, and to describe the identified interaction phenomena based on a participatory perspective.

The study was conducted at a home for people with dementia. Three people with known dementia and two health professionals participated in the study. Everyday interactions were filmed, and then transcribed and analyzed according conversation analytic principles. The transcribed data was also analyzed with ideas from positioning theory.

The present study highlights the presence of trouble sources in communication between the person with dementia and carers and how these are handled by the participants in terms of strategies, competence and positioning. The study shows that all participants use communicative strategies when trouble sources occurs, but also that trouble sources in the conversation sometimes are ignored. How trouble sources are handled affects how participants acknowledge themselves and each other competence and how they position themselves and each other in the conversation. The study also demonstrates that Conversation Analysis can be an important tool to map strenghts and break downs in communication between people with dementia and key interlocutors. That knowledge could then form the basis for designing individual adaptations and strategies to facilitate communication. 

The purpose of this study was to investigate a possible correlation between vocabulary and strategy use in working memory tasks. Children with intellectual disabilities are presumed to have difficulties in remembering visual represented information using a phonological strategy, meaning rehearsal in the working memory (Milgram, 1973). Children with intellectual disabilities have a deficit in the ability to rehearse words in working memory (Henry, 2002). This can be related to a study made by Gathercole and Baddeley (1989) implying that phonological working memory is important when learning new words. Our hypothesis was therefore that vocabulary size would correlate with a use of a phonological working memory strategy.

     Thirty-two children with a mental age span between 5:9 and 10:9 participated. The target group consisted of 16 children with intellectual disability. The control group consisted of 16 children matched on non-verbal mental age. In order to compare children with equal mental age, the target group and the control group were divided into three age groups. In order to analyze which strategies children practice to remember, a computer program, specially designed for this study was used. The program helped us to map out strategy use among the groups. We determined each child’s vocabulary to compare these variables. We found a correlation between vocabulary size and strategy use in the younger age groups of children with with intellectual disability. We also found that the control group had a significantly larger use of the mature phonological strategy in comparison to the group with intellectual disability. To summarize it seems that there is a correlation between strategy use and vocabulary size.

Conversation analysis has been used as a complement to traditional standardized testing to evaluate the functional aspect of communication (Wells & Local, 1992; Yont, Hewitt & Miccio, 2002; Samuelsson 2009). The purpose of the present study is to explore the relationship between everyday communicative needs and objectives set in speech and language intervention through systematic analysis of everyday conversations and speech and language intervention.

Three children with language impairment were video recorded during everyday interaction at home, at the preschool and during one speech and language therapy session. The material was transcribed and analyzed according to principles of conversation analysis. Interviews and retrospections were conducted with parents, preschool teachers and the treating speech and language pathologists in order to further illustrate the participating children’s communicational situation.

The results in the present study show that the communicational needs does relate to the objectives set up in speech and language intervention for the children in the current study. The children’s communication is primarily afflicted by their phonological difficulties in the way that it fuels for sources of communicational breakdowns, the children’s utterances become ignored and it restrains their participation in conversation. Repair strategies are used by both adults and children to solve sequences where mutual understanding is not achieved. These strategies may, through retrospections, be identified and discussed in speech and language intervention in order to avoid future situations where unintelligible utterances are not solved.