1/5. Mental illness and communication.Historical and more recent descriptions of mental illness emphasise the prominent nature of communicative difficulties in persons with these diagnoses (Sims 1995) and a large part of psychiatric intervention is verbally-mediated. Within this study, a theoretically-driven therapy programme addressed the communication needs of two persons with schizophrenia. Significant improvements were demonstrated using valid and reliable outcome measures.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = person (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/5. Development of communication and speech skills after cochlear implant in a sign language child.In selecting patients to undergo cochlear implant, a pre-existing use of sign language gives rise to two problems that have been widely debated in the literature. First, the caution shown toward the candidacy of patients using this mode of communication, since it is considered a possible element of interference in the acquisition of speech. Secondly, refusal of the cochlear implant procedure, on the part of the deaf community, on the grounds both of cultural identity and of it being more "natural" for a deaf person to use an unimpaired visual channel rather than an impaired hearing channel. In order to establish whether knowledge of sign language does, indeed, affect speech production negatively and evaluate which mode of communication, oral or gestual, is preferred, the present investigation was carried out on a preverbal deaf child who had undergone cochlear implant at about 7 years of age and has always used both languages. His verbal skills were evaluated in the precochlear implant stage, then at 6 and 12 months after, together with the changes in his use of sign language and in the relationship between the two modes. Results, besides observing the presence of linguistic evolution at each level examined and already evident at 6 months, also documented a progressive reduction in the spontaneous use of sign language. In conclusion, the present experience revealed no temporal or qualitative differences in post-cochlear implant evolution of speech skills, in comparison with that observed in patients with an exclusively aural-oral approach. Furthermore, the increased use of the hearing pathway, made possible by cochlear implant, determined a spontaneous choice of verbal language as the most natural and economic mode of communication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = person (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/5. Using microswitches with persons who have profound multiple disabilities: evaluation of three cases.This study evaluated the effectiveness of microswitch programs in promoting and maintaining responding of persons with profound multiple disabilities. Three participants were provided one or two microswitches. Their responding (microswitch activation) produced favorite stimuli. Analysis showed that all participants increased responding significantly, albeit with clear differences among them, during the intervention period of a few weeks. Two participants continued with the microswitch program in the daily context and had 3-mo. follow-up data similar to the intervention data. One participant did not continue with the program (reportedly because of inconsistent/low responding) and so did not receive a follow-up assessment. Links between responding and vigilance conditions and stereotypy are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = person (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/5. Evaluating a computer system used as a microswitch for word utterances of persons with multiple disabilities.PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of a computer system used as a microswitch for word utterances of two adults with multiple disabilities. The system combined a new control software programme with a commercially available speech recognition programme. METHOD: Nine word utterances were targeted for each participant. The participant's emission of those utterances triggered the occurrence of related (favourite) stimuli during the intervention and the post-intervention check. RESULTS: Intervention data showed that (1) the participants increased the frequencies of the target utterances and (2) the computer system recognized about 80% of those utterances correctly, providing the participants with high levels of favourite stimulation. The post-intervention check showed comparable data with both participants. CONCLUSIONS: The computer system proved an adequate microswitch for word utterances. Based on this evidence, microswitch programmes could be extended beyond the use of conventional motor responses.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = person (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/5. Remediation of communication problems through facilitated communication training: a case study.Facilitated communication training (FCT) is an educational technique intended to allow people who cannot speak or sign fluently to develop the hand skills necessary to use other non-speech communication strategies. It involves support to the arm, wrist or hand of the student, who is thus enabled to control his pointing, and has recently been the subject of considerable debate. Critics of the technique have cast doubt on the existence of any language problem remediable by touch. This study discusses the case of a person who had a language problem that did not appear to be connected with overt neuromotor impairment, was not accompanied by behavioural disturbance, and was remediable by touch alone. The case raises some interesting questions about the relation of physical prompts to language use.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = person (Clic here for more details about this article) |