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International Journal of Language &... 2023Echolalia, the repetition of others' speech, is a common observation in autistic people. Research has established that echolalia is functional and meaningful for many;... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Echolalia, the repetition of others' speech, is a common observation in autistic people. Research has established that echolalia is functional and meaningful for many; however, some clinicians and researchers continue to characterise it as pathological and in need of reduction. The aim of this systematic review was to understand the range and impact of interventions for echolalia in autistic children.
METHOD
A systematic search was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 15 studies met predetermined inclusion criteria. Screening, data extraction and quality rating using the Scientific Merit Rating Scale (SMRS) were performed in duplicate.
RESULTS
Ten interventions across 15 papers were found. Results indicated that interventions generally decreased levels of echolalia. However, there were considerable inconsistencies in the definitions and conceptualisations of echolalia, administration, generalisation techniques and the measures used. The quality of the studies was very low.
CONCLUSION
Interventions for echolalia vary widely in terms of administration and measurement. There is limited consensus on the definition of echolalia among the reviewed studies, and no evidence that echolalia is recognised as functional or meaningful to the autistic children. Further, the lack of methodological rigour makes it difficult to draw clinical conclusions about the interventions.
WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS
What is already known Echolalia is the immediate or delayed repetition of others' speech and is a common observation in autistic children and in some older autistic people. While research and practice has established that echolalia is a functional and meaningful form of communication, particularly for those first developing spoken communication, some clinicians and researchers continue to characterise it as problematic and suggest that echolalia should be reduced or eliminated. What this study adds We systematically searched the literature about echolalia interventions to try to find out about the types of interventions that aim to reduce or eliminate echolalia. We found 15 studies on this topic. The way they defined echolalia was varied, and there was a range of interventions researched. None of the research papers recognised echolalia as functional or meaningful and the quality of the research was very low. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Clinicians, families and researchers should think carefully and critically about suggesting any programs or supports that aim to reduce echolalia as no recommendations can be drawn from the research we studied. Echolalia should be considered functional, and efforts made to understand the meaning and purpose of echolalic speech.
Topics: Humans; Child; Echolalia; Autistic Disorder; Communication; Speech; Generalization, Psychological
PubMed: 37462136
DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12931 -
European Archives of... Jan 2022Cochlear implantation became a valid hearing rehabilitation option in common cavity deformity. This study aimed to assess the audiological and speech outcomes of... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Cochlear implantation became a valid hearing rehabilitation option in common cavity deformity. This study aimed to assess the audiological and speech outcomes of cochlear implantation in common cavity deformity patients and to address the surgical aspect used in this population.
METHODS
A comprehensive systematic literature review based on preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline from database inception through April 2020. Eighteen published articles including 138 patients with common cavity deformity met the inclusion criteria. These articles studied the surgical techniques and the audiological outcomes of cochlear implantation in patients with common cavity deformity in English language.
RESULTS
Trans-mastoid labyrinthotomy was the common surgical approach in these patients. The average speech intelligibility rating and categories of auditory performance scores in common cavity deformity were lower than in normal cochlea subjects (p < 0.05), and non-significant (p > 0.05) compared with other types of inner ear malformations.
CONCLUSION
Patients with common cavity deformity who underwent cochlear implantation showed a beneficial audiological and speech outcome. However, their performance is highly variable. Therefore, pre-operative counseling of the parents is necessary. The surgical approaches should be individualized according to clinical, radiological, and surgical findings.
Topics: Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Ear, Inner; Humans; Speech Intelligibility; Speech Perception; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 34052873
DOI: 10.1007/s00405-021-06884-5 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research May 2017Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are computer-generated characters that simulate key properties of human face-to-face conversation, such as verbal and nonverbal... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are computer-generated characters that simulate key properties of human face-to-face conversation, such as verbal and nonverbal behavior. In Internet-based eHealth interventions, ECAs may be used for the delivery of automated human support factors.
OBJECTIVE
We aim to provide an overview of the technological and clinical possibilities, as well as the evidence base for ECA applications in clinical psychology, to inform health professionals about the activity in this field of research.
METHODS
Given the large variety of applied methodologies, types of applications, and scientific disciplines involved in ECA research, we conducted a systematic scoping review. Scoping reviews aim to map key concepts and types of evidence underlying an area of research, and answer less-specific questions than traditional systematic reviews. Systematic searches for ECA applications in the treatment of mood, anxiety, psychotic, autism spectrum, and substance use disorders were conducted in databases in the fields of psychology and computer science, as well as in interdisciplinary databases. Studies were included if they conveyed primary research findings on an ECA application that targeted one of the disorders. We mapped each study's background information, how the different disorders were addressed, how ECAs and users could interact with one another, methodological aspects, and the study's aims and outcomes.
RESULTS
This study included N=54 publications (N=49 studies). More than half of the studies (n=26) focused on autism treatment, and ECAs were used most often for social skills training (n=23). Applications ranged from simple reinforcement of social behaviors through emotional expressions to sophisticated multimodal conversational systems. Most applications (n=43) were still in the development and piloting phase, that is, not yet ready for routine practice evaluation or application. Few studies conducted controlled research into clinical effects of ECAs, such as a reduction in symptom severity.
CONCLUSIONS
ECAs for mental disorders are emerging. State-of-the-art techniques, involving, for example, communication through natural language or nonverbal behavior, are increasingly being considered and adopted for psychotherapeutic interventions in ECA research with promising results. However, evidence on their clinical application remains scarce. At present, their value to clinical practice lies mostly in the experimental determination of critical human support factors. In the context of using ECAs as an adjunct to existing interventions with the aim of supporting users, important questions remain with regard to the personalization of ECAs' interaction with users, and the optimal timing and manner of providing support. To increase the evidence base with regard to Internet interventions, we propose an additional focus on low-tech ECA solutions that can be rapidly developed, tested, and applied in routine practice.
Topics: Communication; Humans; Psychology, Clinical; Telemedicine
PubMed: 28487267
DOI: 10.2196/jmir.6553 -
Appetite Jun 2024The aim of this review is to provide an overview of parental communication patterns during mealtimes, with a special emphasis being placed on the differences between...
Parental verbal communication and modeling behavior during mealtimes shape offspring eating behavior - a systematic review with a focus on clinical implications for eating disorders.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this review is to provide an overview of parental communication patterns during mealtimes, with a special emphasis being placed on the differences between families with and without a history of eating disorders.
METHODS
The systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. A systematic literature search was carried out in PubMed, PubPsych and PsycINFO and the results were assessed for eligibility by two independent raters using the PICOS criteria. Only studies that included a mealtime observation were considered suitable for analysis of both explicit and implicit parental communication.
RESULTS
The results of the review suggest that mothers communicate more, with more complexity, and with a greater variety of words with their children during mealtimes compared to fathers. The intention and type of communication is diverse and heterogeneous. In general, parents often tried to encourage their children to eat. Verbal modeling and co-eating appeared to be common behaviors. Mothers with a history of eating disorders expressed more negative emotions during eating than mothers without eating disorders. Findings regarding the use of positive comments and controlling speech are contradicting.
DISCUSSION
The review outlines major fields of parent-child communication and modeling behavior around family meals which might be relevant to investigate and integrate into models of intergenerational transmission of eating behavior and disordered eating.
PubMed: 38944057
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107584 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2021Rett Syndrome is an x linked developmental disorder which becomes apparent in females after 6 to 18 months of age. It leads to severe impairments including loss of... (Review)
Review
Rett Syndrome is an x linked developmental disorder which becomes apparent in females after 6 to 18 months of age. It leads to severe impairments including loss of speech, loss of hand movements/manual dexterity, characteristic hand movements such as hang wringing and intellectual disability/learning problems. This systematic review was carried out to identify the dental manifestation of Rett syndrome and to shed light on treatment options available for oral health problems associated with Rett syndrome. A systematic literature search was conducted on the PubMed, Scopus, Biomed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholars, Cochrane and CINAHL using the following entries: Rett syndrome ( = 3790), Oral health and Rett syndrome ( = 17), dental health of Rett syndrome patients ( = 13), and the MeSH terms listed below: Rett syndrome and Oral Health ( = 17), Rett syndrome and dentistry ( = 29). The final review included 22 search articles. The most common oral findings was bruxism. Masseteric hypertrophy was also reported. Anterior open bite and non-physiological tooth wear was observed. Other oral manifestations of Rett syndrome included mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, digit/thumb sucking, high arch palate. Increased awareness and dental education amongst dentists and assistants regarding the dental manifestations of Rett syndrome and similar neurodevelopmental disorders is required to improve the level of care and empathy they can provide to these differently able patients. Research on dental aspects of Rett is scarce and this remains a neglected topic.
Topics: Bruxism; Female; Hand; Humans; Rett Syndrome; Speech
PubMed: 33525609
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18031162 -
Journal of General Internal Medicine Dec 2021Many health providers and communicators who are concerned that patients will not understand numbers instead use verbal probabilities (e.g., terms such as "rare" or...
INTRODUCTION
Many health providers and communicators who are concerned that patients will not understand numbers instead use verbal probabilities (e.g., terms such as "rare" or "common") to convey the gist of a health message.
OBJECTIVE
To assess patient interpretation of and preferences for verbal probability information in health contexts.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of literature published through September 2020. Original studies conducted in English with samples representative of lay populations were included if they assessed health-related information and elicited either (a) numerical estimates of verbal probability terms or (b) preferences for verbal vs. quantitative risk information.
RESULTS
We identified 33 original studies that referenced 145 verbal probability terms, 45 of which were included in at least two studies and 19 in three or more. Numerical interpretations of each verbal term were extremely variable. For example, average interpretations of the term "rare" ranged from 7 to 21%, and for "common," the range was 34 to 71%. In a subset of 9 studies, lay estimates of verbal probability terms were far higher than the standard interpretations established by the European Commission for drug labels. In 10 of 12 samples where preferences were elicited, most participants preferred numerical information, alone or in combination with verbal labels.
CONCLUSION
Numerical interpretation of verbal probabilities is extremely variable and does not correspond well to the numerical probabilities established by expert panels. Most patients appear to prefer quantitative risk information, alone or in combination with verbal labels. Health professionals should be aware that avoiding numeric information to describe risks may not match patient preferences, and that patients interpret verbal risk terms in a highly variable way.
Topics: Humans; Probability
PubMed: 34357577
DOI: 10.1007/s11606-021-07050-7 -
The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry Dec 2022Prosthetic rehabilitation, especially with removable complete dentures (CDs), can contribute to speech problems, although the prevalence of the problem is unclear. (Review)
Review
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Prosthetic rehabilitation, especially with removable complete dentures (CDs), can contribute to speech problems, although the prevalence of the problem is unclear.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the influence of implant-supported fixed complete dentures (FCDs), implant-supported overdentures, and removable CDs on speech articulation disorders in patients with at least 1 completely edentulous jaw.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
This study was prepared according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42020182705). The PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences, Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry, and Cochrane Library databases were searched through April 2020 to identify clinical trials comparing maxillary and/or mandibular implant-supported dentures with removable CD use in terms of speech articulation in participants with at least 1 completely edentulous jaw. The risk of bias of selected studies was assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools, and the quality of evidence was tested by using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
RESULTS
Initially, 2586 articles were identified, and their titles and abstracts were read. Sixteen articles were read in full, and 8 studies (4 paired clinical trials and 4 cross-sectional studies) were included in this review. In total, 290 prosthesis users aged 29 to 90 years, approximately 44 of whom had hearing difficulties, were included. Four studies had a low risk of bias, and 4 studies had a high risk of bias. Distortions of the /s/ phoneme were observed more often in the first 6 months of maxillary FCD use than with removable CD use. Speech articulation did not differ between mandibular FCD and removable CD users. The quality of evidence for speech articulation disorders was low.
CONCLUSIONS
Given the low quality of evidence on speech articulation disorders, further research on speech articulation disorders in prosthesis wearers is needed.
Topics: Humans; Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; Speech; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental Implants; Denture, Complete; Denture, Overlay; Jaw, Edentulous; Articulation Disorders; Patient Satisfaction
PubMed: 33865562
DOI: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2021.03.006 -
Child: Care, Health and Development May 2016Children born before full term (39-41 weeks' gestation) are at increased risk of adverse cognitive outcomes. Risk quantification is important as late-preterm (LPT;... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Children born before full term (39-41 weeks' gestation) are at increased risk of adverse cognitive outcomes. Risk quantification is important as late-preterm (LPT; 34-36 weeks) and early-term (ET; 37-38 weeks) births are common.
METHOD
This review analyses the effect of LPT and ET births on long-term cognitive and educational outcomes. The primary outcome was general cognitive ability. Secondary outcomes included verbal/non-verbal intelligence quotient, subject-specific school performance and special educational needs. The search strategy included Medline and Embase from January 1975 to June 2013. Eligible studies investigated specified outcomes and included suitable gestational age participants assessed at 2 years and older. Outcome measures and socio-demographic descriptors were extracted, and data meta-analysed where possible.
RESULTS
Eight studies compared ET birth with full-term birth. Fourteen studies compared LPT birth with either term birth (>37 weeks, n = 12 studies) or full-term birth (39-41 weeks, n = 2 studies). Substantial between-study heterogeneity existed. LPT and ET children underperformed in most outcomes compared with their term/full-term counterparts, respectively. For example, LPT children had an increased risk of lower general cognitive ability (adjusted risk ratio 1.38 [95% confidence interval 1.06-1.79]), and full-term children performed 5% of a standard deviation higher (z-score 0.05 [0.02, 0.08]) than ET children. Poorer outcomes persist into adulthood; term cohorts performed 5% of a standard deviation higher than LPT cohorts (z-score 0.05 [0.04, 0.07]), and full-term cohorts performed 3% of a standard deviation higher than ET cohorts (z-score 0.03 [0.02, 0.04]).
CONCLUSION
This review critically examines the knowledge around long-term cognitive outcomes of LPT and ET births, demonstrating multiple, small, adverse differences between LPT/ET and term/full-term births.
Topics: Child Behavior Disorders; Child, Preschool; Cognition Disorders; Early Intervention, Educational; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Infant, Premature, Diseases; Odds Ratio
PubMed: 26860873
DOI: 10.1111/cch.12320 -
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Apr 2023This paper presents a systematic review of the empirical literature that uses dual-task interference methods for investigating the on-line involvement of language in... (Review)
Review
This paper presents a systematic review of the empirical literature that uses dual-task interference methods for investigating the on-line involvement of language in various cognitive tasks. In these studies, participants perform some primary task X putatively recruiting linguistic resources while also engaging in a secondary, concurrent task. If performance on the primary task decreases under interference, there is evidence for language involvement in the primary task. We assessed studies (N = 101) reporting at least one experiment with verbal interference and at least one control task (either primary or secondary). We excluded papers with an explicitly clinical, neurological, or developmental focus. The primary tasks identified include categorization, memory, mental arithmetic, motor control, reasoning (verbal and visuospatial), task switching, theory of mind, visual change, and visuospatial integration and wayfinding. Overall, the present review found that covert language is likely to play a facilitative role in memory and categorization when items to be remembered or categorized have readily available labels, when inner speech can act as a form of behavioral self-cuing (inhibitory control, task set reminders, verbal strategy), and when inner speech is plausibly useful as "workspace," for example, for mental arithmetic. There is less evidence for the role of covert language in cross-modal integration, reasoning relying on a high degree of visual detail or items low on nameability, and theory of mind. We discuss potential pitfalls and suggestions for streamlining and improving the methodology.
Topics: Humans; Cognition; Language; Problem Solving; Cues; Speech; Memory, Short-Term
PubMed: 35996045
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02144-7 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Dec 2021Although behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is classically defined by behavioral and socio-emotional changes, impairments often extend to other cognitive... (Review)
Review
Although behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is classically defined by behavioral and socio-emotional changes, impairments often extend to other cognitive functions. These include early speech and language deficits related to the disease's core neural disruptions. Yet, their scope and clinical relevance remains poorly understood. This systematic review characterizes such disturbances in bvFTD, considering clinically, neuroanatomically, genetically, and neuropathologically defined subgroups. We included 181 experimental studies, with at least 5 bvFTD patients diagnosed using accepted criteria, comparing speech and language outcomes between bvFTD patients and healthy controls or between bvFTD subgroups. Results reveal extensive and heterogeneous deficits across cohorts, with (a) consistent lexico-semantic, reading & writing, and prosodic impairments; (b) inconsistent deficits in motor speech and grammar; and (c) relative preservation of phonological skills. Also, preliminary findings suggest that the severity of speech and language deficits might be associated with global cognitive impairment, predominantly temporal or fronto-temporal atrophy and MAPT mutations (vs C9orf72). Although under-recognized, these impairments contribute to patient characterization and phenotyping, while potentially informing diagnosis and management.
Topics: Atrophy; Frontotemporal Dementia; Humans; Language; Language Development Disorders; Neuropsychological Tests; Speech
PubMed: 34673112
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.015