ACQ Vol 13 No1 2011

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ACQ Volume 13, Number 1 2011 1
Language disorders
The Oxford Dictionary defines language as “the method of
human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a
structured and conventional way”. The definition of disorder is “a disruption of
normal physical or mental functions; a disease or abnormal condition”. Although I
am convinced that we, as speech pathologists, could spend days, if not weeks,
discussing and disputing these definitions, we would probably all agree that the
ability to use language is what defines us as humans; however, visit http://www.
for some fascinating videos on language use in
apes. So instead, perhaps we would all agree that language is vitally important in
our daily lives and that a disorder of language would dramatically impact our daily
functioning. As you have noticed the topic language disorders is close to my heart.
It is thus with great pleasure that I introduce this issue of ACQuiring Knowledge in
Speech, Language and Hearing.
The issue brings a range of peer-reviewed articles that fall under the language
disorders umbrella. Howe and colleagues start off by investigating the benefits of
group treatment for people with aphasia, who have acquired their language disorder
in later life. Miles et al. address the effects of topic familiarity on the expressive
language skills in an individual with aphasia following a stroke. Next is an article by
Kirk, Gillon and Hide, who compare two types of interventions aimed at improving
consonant cluster productions in children with developmental speech and language
disorders. Golding, Williams, and Leitão take a different approach, by investigating
foster carers’ knowledge and experience of speech and language development. This
is important as children in foster care, as a group, are at increased risk of delayed
speech and language development. Our final topic-related paper deals with
secondary-school students with language disorders, a clinical group that is often
overlooked. In this article, Starling and colleagues argue the importance of adopting
evidence based approaches when supporting adolescent clients with spoken and
written language disorders.
Cimoli reminds us about the importance of creating a career and professional
development framework and raises issues about ensuring the competency of our
speech pathology workforce. One way to ensure competency is to keep informed
of the most recent literature. Although this may seem a daunting task, Croot,
Taylor, and Nickels present an excellent clinical scenario that highlights how we
can seek evidence when deciding on what services to offer to our clients. And, as
always, Caroline Bowen’s Webwords provides us with a treasure trove of good-
quality website links that should assist you in finding recent articles related to child
language. I am sure you will enjoy the Top 10 columns and I just want to say a
special thanks to Lara and the children at the Fremantle Language Development
Centre for their wonderful pictures.
On a slightly different note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nicole
Watts Pappas for her fantastic work as the co-editor of ACQ during 2009–10. At
the same time, we welcome Kerry Ttofari Eecen, who has been busy since October
to help put together the current issue. Kerry and I are committed to continue to
raise the profile and quality of ACQ. You will have noticed an increase in the number
of peer-reviewed submissions over the past two years, with a greater focus on
evidence based practice. At the same time, the emphasis is on clinical implications
and applications and we will continue to provide a forum for publications with a
clinical focus. As most of you will be aware, ACQ has recently been granted a
B-ranking by the Australian Research Council, which places our journal at the same
level as some well-known international speech pathology publications. Although this
is great news, we cannot afford to be complacent, and we welcome feedback from
our readers about the content or the layout of ACQ at any time.
From the editors
Marleen Westerveld and Kerry Ttofari Eecen
1 From the editors
2 Group treatment for people with aphasia:
A review of the benefits according to the ICF
framework – Tami Howe, Annette Rotherham,
Gina Tillard, and Christine Wyles
7 Effects of topic familiarity on discourse in
aphasia: A single case study – Adrienne Miles,
Natalie Ciccone, and Erin Godecke
12 Speech and language development:
Knowledge and experiences of foster carers
– Shannon Golding, Cori Williams, and
Suze Leitão
20 The effect of two different types of
intervention on cluster production in children
with speech and language impairment
– Cecilia Kirk, Gail T. Gillon, and Megan Hide
26 Supporting secondary school students with
language impairment – Julia Starling, Natalie
Munro, Leanne Togher, and Joanne Arciuli
30 Peer review: (December 2009 –
December 2010)
31 Ensuring the competency of the speech
pathology workforce: The need for a career
and professional development framework
– Michelle Cimoli
37 What’s the evidence? Evidence for speech,
language, and communication interventions in
progressive aphasia – Karen Croot, Cathleen
Taylor, and Lyndsey Nickels
41 The role of speech pathologists in assessing
children with language disorders: Does the
need for funding make a difference? –
Nerina Scarinci, Wendy Arnott, and Anne Hill
44 Webwords 39: Child language bonanza
– Caroline Bowen
45 Fremantle Language Development Centre’s
Top 10 resources – Lara Lambert, Mary
Bishop, and Wendy Strang
47 Top 10 favourite resources: The Royal Perth
Hospital Team
49 Clinical Insights: Creating your own therapy
tool – Polly Woodfine
50 Research update: Spoken and written
language development in children with Down
syndrome – Anne van Bysterveldt
51 Research update: The Longitudinal Outcomes
of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI)
study: A brief overview of interim findings
– Teresa Y. C. Ching, Julia Day, Kathryn Crowe,
Nicole Mahler, Vivienne Martin, Laura Street,
Jo Ashwood, and Helen-Louise Usher
53 Around the journals
56 Resource reviews
Contents
Marleen Westerveld (left) and
Kerry Ttofari Eecen
“Language is the blood of the soul into which
thoughts run and out of which they grow.”
(Oliver Wendell Holmes, American poet)