Voice for All - 2014
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10377
Papers presented at the country’s first-ever international Conference on Speech Language Therapy, Audiology and Disability organized by the Department of Disability Studies in 2014
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Item Language Skills of 2-5 Year Old Children with Profound Hearing Loss Undergoing Auditory-Oral Education Compared to Typically-Developing Peers.(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Waidyasekara, C.; Rajapaksha, N.; Herath, K.; Hettiarachchi, S.Hearing impairment is the most frequent sensory defect that leads to communication difficulties and critical to speech and language development, communication, and learning. The objectives were to compare the language skills of children with profound hearing loss using digital amplification and undergoing intensive Auditory Oral education with typically developing peers and to determine the correlation between the time period of receiving Auditory Oral education and language outcomes. Twenty-two children with profound hearing loss using bilateral Behind- The- Ear hearing devices, were selected from an Auditory Oral pre-school. 44 children whose age, gender and geographical area matched were selected from mainstream pre-schools. All participants were assessed using the informal assessment tool. Median scores of receptive vocabulary skills are higher than scores of expressive vocabulary skills in both groups. The difference was statistically significant between the two groups. Receptive vocabulary, understanding of quality, understanding of spatial concept, understand of sequencing concept, understand of sentence structure (syntax) and integrative thinking revealed significant (p<0.05) for each age range 2;0 – 2;11, 3;0 – 3;11 and 4;0 – 5;0. There is a significant difference in seventeen out of twenty linguistic components between the two groups (p<0.05). Only three categories; initiating (p=0.157), producing syllables (p=0.157) and expressing negations (p=0.157) did not show significance. There is a significant (p<0.01) correlation among the time period of having AO education and language skills. The study concluded that there is a significant difference in language skills compared to the typically developing peers. Increased language skills were observed with the early attendance of Auditory Oral education and with appropriate hearing aid. Hence, the children with hearing loss need effective intervention to enhance their language skills in spoken language.Item A Normative Study on Phonological Error Patterns Exhibited by 3 (3; 0-3; 11) Year Old Sinhala-Speaking Children in the Matale District(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Udugama, K.L.L.G.; Hettiarachchi, S.In Sri Lanka, very limited research has been conducted on Sinhala phonological development. In the studies conducted, some language-specific features have been identified that are different to English (Nonis et al 2013).Therefore, it is essential to document normative data for Sinhala as it will be useful in the differential diagnosis of phonological delays from professional disorders. The study was carried out as a descriptive cross-sectional study to document phonological error patterns in 80 monolingual Sinhala-speaking children in two age bands of 3; 0-3;5 and 3;6- 3; 11 year olds (Male /Female ; with siblings /without siblings) in mainstream preschools in the Matale district. An informal picture assessment tool based on all phonemes in all word positions expect for pre-nasalied stops which do not occur in this word positions. The Transcend MP330 recording device was used for audio recording. A statistical analyses was conducted using Independent t-tests on SPSS 16.0 Eight typical phonological error patterns were identified in relation to word positions. All error patterns were observed only in word medial position, except for cluster reduction which included initial and final word positions as well. Denasalization of pre-nasalized stops and Lateralization were identified as language-specific error patterns. Both female and male participant groups indicated similar error patterns while children without siblings showed more error patterns than children with siblings. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were only identified for age comparisons. Phonological error patterns decrease with age. Most of the error patterns identified were similar to English normative data. Two language-specific error patterns were identified for Sinhala. There was no significant impact of gender and having sibling on phonological acquisition. These results can be used as tentative norms during the clinical evaluation of Sinhala-speaking children for this age range instead of English norms.Item Prevalence of External and Middle Ear Pathologies among Students with Hearing Impairment in School Settings(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Perera, N.C.S.; Chandrasekara, J.M.A.U.; Jayasena, B.N.Hearing impairment is a major health problem in children. The incidence of external and middle ear diseases is greater for children with severe to profound hearing impairment. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of external and middle ear pathologies among students with hearing impairment in school settings. A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in two selected schools for children with hearing impairment (6-9, 10-13 and 14-16 years). A total of 195 participants were selected using two stage stratified sampling method. Otoscopy and Tympanometry were performed. Intact tympanic membranes were found in 316 ears (81 %), which was high in the age group of 14 -16 years. 74 (19 %) reported non occluded ear cerumen, occluded ear cerumen, tympanic membrane perforation, bulging tympanic membrane, external ear infection, foreign bodies and discharge. Most common pathology was non occluded ear cerumen in 49 (12.6 %), and high in 10 -13 age group. Only 383 ears were examined by Tympanometry due to occluded ear cerumen, presence of foreign bodies and external ear infection in 7 ears. Type “A” tympanograms were found in 282 ears (74%) and those were normal middle ears. Remaining 101 ears (26%) were pathological middle ears. Type “As” (47 ears; 12%) and type “Ad” (23 ears; 12%) were the most frequent pathological tympanograms, which was high in the 14 -16 group. There is a noticeable prevalence of external and middle ear pathologies among students with hearing impairment. The study findings highlight importance of regular ear examinations and promoting hearing hygiene in children with hearing impairment.Item Acquisition of Reading Skills of Sinhala Vowel Modifiers among Pre-School Leavers and Grade One Leavers in Gampaha District(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Perera, B.M.R.K.; Williams, C.; Wijeratne, L.Vowel modifiers are a very important feature in Sinhala written language, which are used with consonants to make different sound syllables. They always appear in word medial or final positions to represent the associated vowel sounds; they can be used before, after, on top, bottom or around the consonant (Dissanayaka, 2005). The main objective of this study was to identify teachers’ expectations in children’s performance, in terms of reading vowel modifiers at pre-school level and grade one leaver level, as well as to identify the actual performance level of children. A quantitative cross-sectional exploratory study was done in four selected schools in the Gampaha District. The sample comprised of forty pre- school leaver level students, eighty grade one leaver level students, eight pre-school teachers and eight grade one teachers. Teachers’ data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and a record sheet to mark the expected level for the whole class. Children were tested individually using a Sound Blending and Meaning Picture Card Test (SBMPT) with the same record sheet to mark their performance. The results reveal that teachers’ expected level of children’s performance in reading vowel modifiers were 0% and 100% for preschool and grade one leaver levels respectively. Average scores for pre- school children on SBMPT was 0% and most of the grade one children were able to obtain 100% for vowel modifier / ɑ:/ at syllable level. The least performance was noticed with /o: / at 88%. Acquisition of the skills in reading vowel modifiers was not associated with gender, but was significantly associated with age. i.e., when age of the children increased the percentage of vowel modifiers they acquire also increased proportionally. In conclusion, it was found that most of the pre-school leavers have not acquired reading skills in terms of vowel modifiers and the majority of the grade one leavers have mastered most of the vowel modifiers.Item Communication related quality of life in oral cancer patients after surgery(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Jayasinghe, K.S.D.; Kalupahana, S.Oral cancer patients undergone surgery, experience communication difficulties due to poor functioning of articulators. A study of communication related quality of life (CRQOL) of oral cancer patients was not found in Sri Lanka. Hence this study was planned to assess the variation of their communication following surgery and identifying the affected areas. This is helpful in identifying the potential targets for individuals and setting aims to improve their CRQOL. A cross sectional descriptive study was undertaken to assess CRQOL in oral cancer patients after surgery. The questionnaire was modified, adopted and pilot tested. 100 patients (35- 84 years age range) who had undergone surgery for oral cancer completed the questionnaire. The effect on CRQOL on patients undergone surgery was not statistically significant. Only 7% of people had impact on their CRQOL after surgery for oral cancer when their overall score is considered. In a higher portion of patients with oral cancer, the emotional status regarding communication was affected than the physical and functional status. Functional communication scored better when compared to the physical status. The total score and physical status regarding communication score strongly correlate with the site of the tumor. The site of the tumor also correlates with the emotional and functional status. Patients who have undergone surgery for oral cancer have an impact on their communication related quality of life. Emotional status and physical status regarding communication were the most affected. People who have posterior tumors have worse impact on their CRQOL than people who have anterior tumors.Item Audiovisual Segregation in Typically Developing Children(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Jayasena, B.N.; Nanayakkara, S.; Illangasighe, C.; Jacob, J.Learning in typical classrooms with high background noise is often difficult for children, where they may have to lipread the teacher to understand what is being said. In this scenario, it is assumed that a child should possess the ability to separate congruent information from incongruent information in an audiovisual signal. This study was aimed at investigating how well typically developing children can segregate visual information in the presence of auditory distracters, compared to young adults. 12 typically developing primary school children and 11 young adults with normal hearing and vision lipread 120 consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel (CVCV) nonsense syllable words presented in four conditions: (1) visual-only condition, (2) visual stimuli with a multi-talker babble, (3) visual stimuli with reversed speech sounds of the nonsense syllable words, (4) visual stimuli with non-altered speech sounds of the nonsense syllable words. Mean scores of children in all four conditions were lower than that of the adults, and also a significant difference for all the conditions between the two groups was noted. Results suggest that normal-like audiovisual segregation is difficult for young children because of maturation effects. The study findings can be used to encourage further research in audiovisual segregation. Also, if used constructively, these findings will be helpful in highlighting the importance of creating learner-friendly environments with minimal auditory distractions for children.Item Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Noise Induced Hearing Loss among Factory Workers of Two Dairy Product Manufacturing Factories in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Hansajie, S.T.K.; Jayasena, B.N.; Chathurika, L.K.E.The main purpose of this study was to describe dairy product manufacturing factory workers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on Noise Induced Hearing Loss. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 187 factory workers in two factories in the Gamapaha District. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information pertaining to knowledge, attitudes and practices related to Noise Induced Hearing Loss. In the study, it was found out that knowledge on risk factors of NIHL (23.5%) and symptoms of NIHL (38%) was weak. Even though most of the workers (76.5%) perceive noise as a usual phenomenon in the working area, 77% of the workers were willing to seek medical attention if the hearing starts to deteriorate. The overall practice level was not satisfactory. 80.2% of the workers have never used hearing protection devices (HPD) while working. 98.9% of the workers have never undergone a hearing evaluation and 99.5% of the workers have never attended to a hearing conservation program. 95% of the workers reported that the occurrence of hearing deterioration due to high level of noise was worrying. Only 0.5% of the workers reported wearing HPD while working. 80.2% of the workers never used HPD during work. There was a significant association between aspects of work experience and HPD usage (2= 5.193, p= 0.02). In conclusion, it was discovered that there is a need to have a hearing conservation program that stresses on the use of hearing protective devices to prevent the occupational noise induced hearing loss in the particular setting.Item Subjective Evaluation of Perceived Sources of Noise Annoyance and Associated Ailments of Teachers in Selected Sinhala Medium Primary Schools in the Attangalla Education Division(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Devapaksha, E.; Ileperuma, L.D.; Siriwardhana, D.Noise levels in school premises have increased at present than in past years. In most countries, there are policies and regulations regarding noise exposure in school premises. However, Sri Lanka lacks significant research findings regarding noise exposure and outcomes in the educational settings.7 schools in the Attanagalla Educational Division were selected purposively and all teachers employed in those schools were included in the study. Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire. A higher number of participants among the surveyed teachers were in the age range of 45-55 years. 85.83% of teachers considered noise to be annoying. The most presenting indoor noise source was students chatting in the class during lessons (33.03%). The most presenting outdoor noise source was traffic noise (9.17%). It showed that every participant who considered noise was annoying had reported at least one ailment. A significant amount of teachers had tiredness (74.31%) and vocal discomfort (67.69%). Less number of teachers complained of otologic symptoms (ear fullness-11.92%, Tinnitus- 13.77%, perception of reduced hearing sensitivity-13.77%). Noise in the school environment is the main annoying factor for teachers during their working hours. There was a low number of hearing impaired teachers (3.14%) reported among the surveyed teachers. It is difficult to figure out whether the hearing loss occurred with age or noise. Teachers’ awareness should be raised by implementing awareness programmes on noise and its hazards and noise control methods to school settings.Item The perspectives of a selected group of families and teachers from Sri Lanka on high- technology augmentative and alternative communication devices(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Weerasinghe, Y.; Sumanasena, S.P.Weerasinghe, Y. and Sumanasena, S.P., 2014. The perspectives of a selected group of families and teachers from Sri Lanka on high- technology augmentative and alternative communication devices. In: Voice for All – Speech and Language Therapy, Audiology and Disability Conference Book of Abstracts, Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, p. 24.Item A Descriptive Study on Profile of Clients with Dysphagia Referred to Speech Therapy Units in Two Government Hospital Settings(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, 2014) Weerasinghe, W.A.M.A.; Ratnayake, S.The study was aimed at identifying commonly presented initial symptoms and feeding method on the initial session of dysphagic clients. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used with a retrospective chart review. Data of 100 completed records of dysphagic patients who were above the age of 12 years were studied. Participants included patients referred to speech therapy units of two hospital settings within a 6-month period. Mean and standard deviation of age of the participants was 61.12 years and 14.36 years respectively. Median time duration between on set to referral is 11 days. Most prevalent cause for dysphagia was cerebrovascular accident (79%). Additionally, progressive neurological disorders and ‘other’ causes were observed. 32% were in severely dysphagic, while another 32% were moderately severe and 9% were mild. Of all the participants, oral and pharyngeal phase was affected in 52% of participants. At the time of admission to the speech therapy unit, 58% of patients relied only on non-oral feeding methods. Commonly presented symptoms were impaired trigger (63%), coughing (52%) and voice quality changes (29%). According to chi square test, there was no association between presence / absence of dysarthria and severity of dysphagia. Most of the clients were older and referrals were taking a long duration. The study findings suggest the importance of early referral and also the need to generate awareness about the symptoms to help in early identification. Recommendations are made such that screening assessment should be done for all stroke clients to identify any risk of aspirations.
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