Discussion of behavioral interventions in Alzheimer's disease (AD) notes new understanding, including that memory is not a unitary phenomenon, that certain types of memory are relatively spared in AD, and that conceptual knowledge is largely intact. Intervention techniques that capitalize on spared memory systems and take advantage of principles…

A framework to help speech-language pathologists deal with the communication problems of adolescents involved in violence in either school or correctional facility settings is proposed. Intervention programs containing socially and academically relevant activities that focus on assessment, general intervention principles, conversational…

The notion of "linguistic profile" as an alternative to standardized testing for speech and language disorders is discussed in this tutorial. Two specific examples of profiles, both for disordered phonology, are described, and readers are guided through their use. Finally, their relative strengths and weaknesses are assessed. (Author/CR)

This article for clinicians treating children with phonological disorders reviews changing trends in the definition of stimulability, standardized and nonstandardized approaches to its measurement, and clinical implications of stimulability for prognosis and treatment plan development as they have evolved over a 40-year period. Clinical…

A quantitative description of the segmental errors occurring in the speech of deaf children is developed. Journal availability: Elsevier North Holland, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017. (Author)

The article presents a protocol for the assessment of prelinguistic intentional communication with young and/or severely language-impaired children. A set of tasks and scoring procedures are presented for the elicitation of proto-declarative and proto-imperative behaviors. Data are presented to support reliability. (Author/CL)

Ways in which parents cope with the diagnosis of deafness are considered in a chronological discussion from pregnancy to diagnosis, education, and habilitation. The importance of parent counseling and of the total communication effort is stressed. (CL)

The author reviews ways in which stutterers manage their interaction in terms of speech practices, management strategies (such as avoiding troublesome situations, rehearsing social activities), and conversational practices (including managing conversation topics and using starters to initiate utterances). The value of such "folk remedies" in…

Ten factors that school clinicians should consider in determining treatment of children who stutter include, among others, increasing clinicians' confidence in treating stuttering, setting long-term and short-term goals, involving parents and teachers in treatment, and determining when the child is ready to be dismissed from treatment. (SW)

A fluency therapy process for adolescents who stutter is described and illustrated by a case history that applies a four-stage process for structuring, targeting, adjusting, and regulating behaviors. The affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of fluency are considered, along with behavior techniques for eliciting a feeling of fluency…

This article presents an overview of several written language assessment techniques, as well as a rationale and method for assessing the written expression of hearing-impaired individuals. Fluency, syntactic maturity, vocabulary, content, and conventions of notation are discussed; direct and indirect measures are compared; and a sample composition…

Laryngectomized patients using esophageal speech or an electronic artificial larynx have difficulty producing correct voicing contrasts between homorganic consonants. This paper describes a therapy technique that emphasizes "pushing harder" on voiceless consonants to improve alaryngeal speech intelligibility and proposes focusing on the production…

Clinicians, students, and administrators can save time and effort in preparing, revising, and producing reports on students with communication disorders by using word processing programs on microcomputers. The article discusses the characteristics, applications, and requirements for word processing programs as well as criteria for selection.…

The article demonstrates the use of word processing commands for the creation of sections of diagnostic reports, intervention plans, and progress summaries. The use of basic commands for searching and finding key words in a core report is illustrated, along with chaining sequences for writing objectives. (Author/CL)

The paper describes the decision process in the determination of software purchase for the professional's use of the microcomputer. Consideration to ensure that the software purchased will be a success, which software will be needed, and options that will facilitate the location and evaluation of software are discussed. (Author/CL)