Journal/Magazine Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/13
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 using multi-sensory children’s stories on vocabulary development in young deaf and hard-of-hearing children(Taylor & Francis, 2021) Hettiarachchi, S.; Ranaweera, M.; Disanayake, H.M.L.N.ABSTRACT: Young deaf and hard-of-hearing children enrolling in school in Sri Lanka often display language delay due to limited amplification and limited language stimulation. The scarcity of speech and language therapy support within the educational context at present necessitates a rethink of service-delivery models to reach more children. Multi-sensory stimuli and traditional children’s stories have been used in speech and language therapy to promote vocabulary development in children experiencing language-learning difficulties. Fifteen deaf or hard-of-hearing children from three different educational contexts were offered a three week “Katha malu” multi-sensory children’s story programme through the class teacher. The programme focused on developing receptive and expressive vocabulary of a set of 30 target words. The programme was offered using a combination of Sri Lankan Sign Language and Spoken Sinhala. The participants' receptive and expressive vocabulary knowledge on the target words was assessed using a specially devised picture-based vocabulary assessment pre- and post-intervention. The results show positive gains at both group and individual levels on receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. There was a positive effect of familiarity with the story with the overall vocabulary gains more prominent for the older, more traditional story. The findings of this study highlight the possibility of offering access to language stimulation programmes at classroom-level facilitated by the class teacher, under the guidance of a speech and language therapist. KEYWORDS: Early childhood education, language facilitation, engagement of children with adequate or inadequate amplification, multi-sensory, traditional storiesItem The Effectiveness of using the colourful semantics approach to support language development with children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Hettiarachchi, S.; Ranaweera, M.ABSTRACT: The lack of early identification, suboptimal language stimulation and limited remedial services in Sri Lanka for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing place them at-risk of language delay. The reality for many preschool and primary school children entering formal education in Sri Lanka is a language delay in spoken language and/or sign language compared to their age-matched hearing peers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Colourful Semantics approach as a whole-class language enrichment programme to develop the use and responses to target wh questions. Thirty primary school children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing between the ages of five-ten years were included. The programme was offered once a week for 12 weeks through the class teacher. Individual pre- and post-language measures and statistical analyses were undertaken on receptive knowledge and expressive use of the target wh questions using a picture naming task and tasks based on three local children’s story books. A statistically significant improvement was observed in the understanding of target wh questions post-intervention by all the children. There was also a positive change in the responses to the target wh questions by all the children post-intervention with many combining signs or spoken words with signs. The Colourful Semantics approach has potential as a whole-class language-teaching approach to strengthen the understanding and use of wh question forms. This study emphasizes the benefits of collaborative partnerships between speech and language therapists and teachers in delivering intervention particularly in resource-limited contexts. KEYWORDS: Deaf, children, language delay, Sri Lankan sign language, Colourful SemanticsItem 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.