Journal/Magazine Articles
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This collection contains original research articles, review articles and case reports published in local and international peer reviewed journals by the staff members of the Faculty of Medicine
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Item The Effectiveness of the adapted Box Clever language intervention programme in the development of vocabulary and narrative skills of deaf and hard of hearing children(Taylor & Francis, 2022) Hettiarachchi, S.ABSTRACT: Children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) in Sri Lanka have inadequate access to early amplification and language stimulation. As a result, they are at risk of impoverished language development: spoken language and sign language. Thirty DHH children who use Sri Lankan sign language between the ages of 4;4-7;2 years from three classrooms of a School for the Deaf were included in this study. The culturally-modified Box Clever language-enrichment programme was offered as a whole-class approach twice a week during a 12-week school term through the class teacher. Pre- and post-intervention language measures and statistical analyses of language scores were undertaken of receptive and expressive vocabulary on picture-naming tasks of target vocabulary. In addition, content and syntactic analyses of narrative skills were undertaken using the Elephant Tales Narrative Assessment, an informal assessment created by the researchers, as no local formal standardised assessments exist currently. There were promising results with statistically significant positive gains in receptive and expressive vocabulary skills on target vocabulary items post-intervention by all the participants. Positive qualitative differences were observed in the content within the target narrative assessment post-intervention by all participants with evidence of the emergence of two to three sign combinations by many of the children. KEYWORDS: Deaf, vocabulary, narrative skills, language intervention, sign-language, Sri Lanka, whole-class, LMICItem The Effectiveness of a multisensory traditional storytelling programme on target vocabulary development in children with disabilities accessing English as a second language: A preliminary study(SAGE Publications, 2022) Hettiarachchi, S.; Walisundara, D.C.; Ranaweera, M.ABSTRACT: The current deliberations on increasing access to English and the democratization of English in post-war Sri Lanka must extend to students with disabilities. Research evidence from speech and language therapy promotes the use of multi-sensory stimuli to advance the development of communication and language skills in children with intellectual disabilities. In this preliminary study, 3 local children's stories, together with relevant story-making activities, were offered to 7 children with intellectual disabilities in one special school across 12 lessons. Vocabulary measures of word naming of target vocabulary were undertaken pre- and post-intervention using picture-based tasks presented via PowerPoint. A positive difference was found post-intervention on the target vocabulary naming test. The findings of this small preliminary study should be interpreted with caution. However, the findings are suggestive of the potential benefit of using culturally relevant familiar local traditional stories with a range of multi-sensory stimuli and storytelling activities to aid learning of new vocabulary in children with disabilities accessing English as an additional language. Further research using a large sample together with a control group will be required to substantiate the positive trend of vocabulary gains observed within this preliminary study. KEYWORDS: English; intellectual disability; multisensory; stories; traditional.Item "Now I am a techie too" - parental perceptions of using mobile technology for communication by children with complex communication needs in the global south.(Informa Healthcare, 2020) Hettiarachchi, S.; Kitnasamy, G.; Gopi, D.PURPOSE:Parental perceptions are key to the uptake of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for their children with complex communication needs. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of parents in a resource poor Global South country on the use of mobile technology as AAC devices. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Sixteen participants (11 female; 5 male) were included in the study. Focus group discussions, face-to-face interviews and telephone interviews were conducted with the aid of an interview guide. The interview data were analysed using the key principles of Framework analysis and through the lens of critical disability studies. RESULTS: Six broad themes emerged. Most participants indicated a penchant for mobile technology, though its current use with their children was mainly as a teaching tool rather than a communication device. Concerns were raised about the cost of mobile technology, which if used within communication, was only as a temporary stop-gap measure with limited knowledge. The power of mainstream technology to challenge prevalent notions of disability was also highlighted by the participants. CONCLUSIONS: There is an openness to using mainstream mobile technology by parents with their children with complex communication needs. This use is currently reserved mainly for educational purposes while its power to challenge disability-related stereotypes is acknowledged. More parent training is required to encourage the use of mobile technology as AAC devices for communication. Implications for rehabilitation Current parent perspectives on mobile technology as AAC devices must be explored, given its potential impact on the uptake of these devices to support communication in their children with complex communication needs. Mainstream mobile technology could challenge perceptions of disability and therefore, be more acceptable to parents for their children with complex communication needs. Parental training is required to increase knowledge on the use of mobile technology as AAC devices for communication to enable informed choice-making.Item The Effectiveness of colourful semantics on narrative skills in children with intellectual disabilities in Sri Lanka(SAGE Publications, 2016) Hettiarachchi, S.BACKGROUND: Children diagnosed with intellectual difficulties experience difficulties with narrative skills, due to limited syntactic knowledge. The Colourful Semantics approach with thematic roles and a colour coding system may encourage syntactic development in children experiencingintellectual disabilities. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of using the Colourful Semantics approach to develop narrative skills in Sri Lankan Tamil-speaking childrendiagnosed with intellectual difficulties. METHODS: Thirty Sri Lankan Tamil-speaking children identified with intellectual difficulties were included. The Colourful Semantics approach was offered twice a week for 6 weeks, facilitated by the class teachers. Pre- and post-intervention narrative skill assessments were undertaken and analysed for content and syntactic structures. RESULTS: The results indicate positive changes post-intervention on the qualitative and quantitative narrative skills measures undertaken on content and syntactic structures. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The Colourful Semantics approach is an effective therapy approach to support development of narrativeskills in children with intellectual difficulties.Item Human infection with Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens in Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 1993) Dissanaike, A.S.; Premaratne, U.N.; Hettiarachchi, S.; Weerasooriya, M.; Abeyewickreme, W.; Ismail, M.M.Human dirofilariasis due to Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens is a common zoonotic infection in Sri Lanka. Todate 70 cases are on record, and they include 3 expatriates from Russia, England and Korea, who were undoubtedly infected in Sri Lanka. Around 30-60% of dogs are infected with D. repens in various parts of the country and the mosquito vectors are Aedes aegypti, Armigeres subalbatus, Mansonia uniformis and M. annulifera. Unlike in other countries of the old world infection is most common in children under the age of 9 years, the youngest being 4 months old and the scrotum, penis and perianal regions of male children appear to be frequent sites for the worms. Dirofilaria (Dirofilaria) immitis is not present in Sri Lanka though it is present in neighbouring countries like India, and Malaysia.