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Background: Before a school speech-language pathologist (SLP) utilises a standardised speech-language test with a student with intellectual disability (ID), the clinician should carefully consider the purpose of the test and whether the test includes students with ID in the normative group. Method: This project reviewed 49 tests published between 1994 and 2004 and their applicability to students with ID. Results: Students with mild ID were included in the norm group for 23 of the tests, but no tests included students with more significant ID. Separate norms for students with mild ID were included in 15 tests, but none met Salvia & Ysseldyke's (1995) suggested requirement that at least 100 students be included to represent a specific subgroup. A majority of the tests assessed receptive and expressive vocabulary, syntax, and grammar but no recent test measured a student's pragmatic communication. Conclusions: Clinicians are encouraged to supplement standardised tests with non-standardised procedures to document students' pragmatic, social, and functional communication abilities. © 2006 Australasian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability Inc.

This study measured the receptive communication skills of 14 adults with significant intellectual disability living in community group homes in Connecticut. Group home staff members rated the 14 participants using it 14-item rating scale sensitive to the adult living situation. These individuals appeared to have relatively stronger skills for comprehension of single-step in-context directions and the ability to recognise that particular tangible objects represented certain daily routines. These individuals were relatively, weak in identifying,familiar people in photographs and common objects in magazines. Among these participants, persons with profound intellectual disability mere rated to hate lower receptive communication skills than persons with severe intellectual disability. Clinical implications are discussed for human service providers and education professionals.

This article examines the communication styles of children with mental retardation, emphasizing the assessment and intervention protocols used by health and education professionals. This article highlights the following approaches: a developmental psycholinguistic orientation, a pragmatics approach, and a supportive interdependent format consistent with the 1992 revision of how mental retardation is classified. This article discusses children with mental retardation who show challenging and disruptive behavior.

This study attempted to elicit distal gestures within dynamic assessment structured sampling events from six children with moderate to severe intellectual disability (ages 8-13). Using four communication temptations and a least-to-most prompting hierarchy across three sessions, three participants who had both pre-symbolic and preintentional communication demonstrated an initial distal gesture, often in response to a choice making temptation. Clinical implications are discussed with regard to the utility of dynamic assessment structured sampling activities. © 2008, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.

Twenty-five pediatricians responded to a confidential survey about their opinions on the relationship between otitis media and children's speech-language-hearing status. Results found that pediatricians did not necessarily agree that otitis media has an impact on speech-language-hearing development. Pediatricians reported that an early otitis media onset (birth to age 2) affects speech-language development, but they also reported that parents and daycare environments could mitigate any otitis media effect. Pediatricians reported a possible otitis media impact on hearing status, but they did not necessarily agree that an otitis media history required referral for audiological testing. Clinical implications are discussed for collaboration among pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists. Learning outcomes: (1) The reader will become familiar with pediatricians' opinions about the impact of otitis media on speech-language development. (2) The reader will become familiar with strategies to support interdisciplinary collaboration between pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This study surveyed 25 siblings of persons with Down Syndrome to gain an ecological perspective about important communication competence indicators. Siblings favorably described persons with Down Syndrome as “effective” and “good” communicators who “communicate to potential. “ Siblings regarded social communication skills as especially important, i.e., being able to communicate without fear, being able to express wants, needs, opinions, and feelings, being able to ask questions, and alerting partners to communication breakdowns. Siblings also regarded language comprehension as an important skill. Favorable descriptive labels were often applied to adult-aged persons with mild ID and normal hearing. Clinical implications are discussed focused on functional communication planning and implementation that takes into account the perspectives of family members, teachers, and rehabilitation personnel.

Thirty-one Connecticut group home managers responded to a 23-statement survey adapted from the Communications Supports Checklist for Programs Serving Individuals with Severe Disabilities (CSC; McCarthy et al., 1998, Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore, MD.). Results indicated that group home managers had very favorable opinions about the implementation of communication quality indicators in their group homes, and the degree of a resident's intellectual disability was not a factor in communication supports implementation. Three communication quality indicators were rated especially high: program philosophy, protection of communication rights, and assessment. Environmental support for communication was rated less favorably. Follow-up interviews with seven group home managers found that they especially valued direct care staff who understood a resident's idiosyncratic communication (e.g., response sensitivity). Managers also relied on team process for referral for ongoing speech-language consultation. Results from the surveys and interviews indicated that augmentative communication applications occurred less often than other quality communication indicators.

This study utilized a rating scale and random sampling of Connecticut school speech—language pathologists about their preprofessional education and current knoWledge of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The participants had a minimal amount of preprofessional academic or clinical preparation in ASD, and no differences Were found in hoW speech—language pathologists Were trained over the past 30 years. School speech—language pathologists reported relatively stronger knoWledge of the general behavioral and communication characteristics associated With ASD and less knoWledge of educational assessment and intervention formats. Given the prevalence of schoolchildren With ASD, speech—language pathology graduate programs need to enhance their preprofessional curricula to provide school-based speech—language pathologists With specific training to meet the communication needs presented by children With ASD. © 2004, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.

This study investigated the degree to which clinic directors rated the influence of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) discharge criteria and organizational factors on client discharge in the university setting. Results found that university clinic directors regarded ASHA's client-centered criteria to more strongly influence client discharge practices than did organizational factors. In fact, organizational factors (e.e., fee structure, resources, scheduling, disorder characteristics) were revealed to have little to no influence on discharge practices. Results have implications for the pre-professional education of student clinicians in the university clinic and how student clinicians are oriented to discharge practices across a variety of clinical settings.