Clinical Outcomes of the Intensive Stuttering Clinic for Adolescents and Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren DeBelly ◽  
Rodney Gabel ◽  
Farzan Irani
Nutrients ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 310
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Scully ◽  
Laura T. Jay ◽  
Steven Freedman ◽  
Gregory S. Sawicki ◽  
Ahmet Uluer ◽  
...  

Measures of body fat and lean mass may better predict important clinical outcomes in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) than body mass index (BMI). Little is known about how diet quality and exercise may impact body composition in these patients. Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body composition, 24-h dietary recall, and physical activity were assessed in a cross-sectional analysis of 38 adolescents and adults with CF and 19 age-, race-, and gender-matched healthy volunteers. Compared with the healthy volunteers, participants with CF had a lower appendicular lean mass index (ALMI), despite no observed difference in BMI, and their diets consisted of higher glycemic index foods with a greater proportion of calories from fat and a lower proportion of calories from protein. In participants with CF, pulmonary function positively correlated with measures of lean mass, particularly ALMI, and negatively correlated with multiple measures of body fat after controlling for age, gender, and BMI. Higher physical activity levels were associated with greater ALMI and lower body fat. In conclusion, body composition measures, particularly ALMI, may better predict key clinical outcomes in individuals with CF than BMI. Future longitudinal studies analyzing the effect of dietary intake and exercise on body composition and CF-specific clinical outcomes are needed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Rugemalila ◽  
Adellah Sariah ◽  
Samuel Mwaikambo ◽  
David Sando ◽  
Samuel Kalluvya

Abstract Background: Globally antiretroviral therapy access has increased and significantly changed HIV morbidity and mortality patterns. In sub-Saharan Africa there are reports of increasing rates of failure to second-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) hence, assessment for clinical outcomes is critical. Objectives: To assess clinical outcomes and retention using programmatic indicators among HIV-infected adolescents and adults receiving second-line ART in Tanzania. Methods: In this longitudinal retrospective cohort study, we enrolled HIV-infected individuals aged 15 years and above who were initiated on second-line ART (Protease Inhibitor based regimen) due to documented failure of first-line ART between July 2012 and September 2015. We evaluated mean change in CD4 cell count, HIV viral load and retention using survival analysis. Results : A total of 1446 participants were enrolled, the mean duration of second-line therapy was 37.0 months± SD 26.50 and the median CD4 cell count at initiation of the second line was 290 cells/mm3. Virologic suppression <50 copies/ml was increasing over time and reached 58% at 36 months. Six months after switching, 80% of patients were retained and thereafter. Predictors of retention were male gender with hazard ratio (HR) 1.04; 95% CI 1.0-1.1 P-value 0.037 and younger age (25 -39 years) with HR 1.1; 95% CI 1.0-1.2 P-value 0.006. Additionally, adherence > 90% increased the likelihood of retention with a strong correlation HR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-1.7 P-value 0.00. Clinical stage III and IV at switch were less likely to be retained HR 0.6; 95% CI 0.5-0.6 P-value 0.000 and higher CD4 cell count was associated with less retention HR <1; 95 % CI 0.4-0.6 P-value 0.000. Conclusion: There was a low rate of viral suppression (<50copies/ml) 58% 36 months after switch however, more than 87% of participants were retained to care after switch. Predictors of retention were male gender, younger age (25-39 years) and adherence > 90%. Therefore, improving viral suppression after switching to second-line requires further interventions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 1009-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Dennis ◽  
Diana Zannino ◽  
Karin du Plessis ◽  
Andrew Bullock ◽  
Patrick J.S. Disney ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1589-1594
Author(s):  
Yvonne van Zaalen ◽  
Isabella Reichel

Purpose Among the best strategies to address inadequate speech monitoring skills and other parameters of communication in people with cluttering (PWC) is the relatively new but very promising auditory–visual feedback (AVF) training ( van Zaalen & Reichel, 2015 ). This study examines the effects of AVF training on articulatory accuracy, pause duration, frequency, and type of disfluencies of PWC, as well as on the emotional and cognitive aspects that may be present in clients with this communication disorder ( Reichel, 2010 ; van Zaalen & Reichel, 2015 ). Methods In this study, 12 male adolescents and adults—6 with phonological and 6 with syntactic cluttering—were provided with weekly AVF training for 12 weeks, with a 3-month follow-up. Data was gathered on baseline (T0), Week 6 (T1), Week 12 (T2), and after follow-up (T3). Spontaneous speech was recorded and analyzed by using digital audio-recording and speech analysis software known as Praat ( Boersma & Weenink, 2017 ). Results The results of this study indicated that PWC demonstrated significant improvements in articulatory rate measurements and in pause duration following the AVF training. In addition, the PWC in the study reported positive effects on their ability to retell a story and to speak in more complete sentences. PWC felt better about formulating their ideas and were more satisfied with their interactions with people around them. Conclusions The AVF training was found to be an effective approach for improving monitoring skills of PWC with both quantitative and qualitative benefits in the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social domains of communication.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Binger ◽  
Jennifer Kent-Walsh

Abstract Clinicians and researchers long have recognized that teaching communication partners how to provide AAC supports is essential to AAC success. One way to improve clinical outcomes is to select appropriate skills to teach communication partners. Although this sometimes seems like it should be a straightforward component of any intervention program, deciding which skills to teach partners can present multiple challenges. In this article, we will troubleshoot common issues and discuss how to select skills systematically, resulting in the desired effects for both communication partners and clients.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-98
Author(s):  
Lynn E. Fox

Abstract Linguistic interaction models suggest that interrelationships arise between structural language components and between structural and pragmatic components when language is used in social contexts. The linguist, David Crystal (1986, 1987), has proposed that these relationships are central, not peripheral, to achieving desired clinical outcomes. For individuals with severe communication challenges, erratic or unpredictable relationships between structural and pragmatic components can result in atypical patterns of interaction between them and members of their social communities, which may create a perception of disablement. This paper presents a case study of a woman with fluent, Wernicke's aphasia that illustrates how attention to patterns of linguistic interaction may enhance AAC intervention for adults with aphasia.


Author(s):  
Charles Ellis ◽  
Molly Jacobs

Health disparities have once again moved to the forefront of America's consciousness with the recent significant observation of dramatically higher death rates among African Americans with COVID-19 when compared to White Americans. Health disparities have a long history in the United States, yet little consideration has been given to their impact on the clinical outcomes in the rehabilitative health professions such as speech-language pathology/audiology (SLP/A). Consequently, it is unclear how the absence of a careful examination of health disparities in fields like SLP/A impacts the clinical outcomes desired or achieved. The purpose of this tutorial is to examine the issue of health disparities in relationship to SLP/A. This tutorial includes operational definitions related to health disparities and a review of the social determinants of health that are the underlying cause of such disparities. The tutorial concludes with a discussion of potential directions for the study of health disparities in SLP/A to identify strategies to close the disparity gap in health-related outcomes that currently exists.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document