ACQ Vol 12 No 3 2010

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156 ACQ Volume 12, Number 3 2010 ACQuiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing
whereby the person with aphasia selects the picture that
is most representative of their response to the question.
The available pictorial scales differ in gender, age and
race to enhance the cultural sensitivity of the tool. Ratings
are translated into numerical scores that are totalled and
converted to percentages for the purpose of comparison
across the sections. Analysis of the results allows for
informed conversation and the collaborative identification
of the priority areas for intervention focus and goal
development.
For the purposes of this review, the CPD was trialled with
people attending an outpatient aphasia rehabilitation clinic.
Clinicians found the test to be easily administered and the
pictorial rating scale to be an effective means of quantifying
responses. The complete administration is lengthy and full
administration was not always considered appropriate.
This is acknowledged by the authors who advocate the
use of sensitivity and clinical judgment in the timing and/
or modification of the administration. It is imperative that
the administrator is sensitive to the person’s stage of
acceptance or adjustment to aphasia. The CPD is best
administered when a person has reached a chronic stage of
recovery, when there is a comfortable relationship between
the person with aphasia and the administrator, and when
the administrator has established an understanding of the
person’s cognitive abilities, social support and emotional
strength.
The CPD is powerful and potentially confronting tool,
capable of eliciting strong emotional responses. When used
by an experienced clinician, it has the capacity to evoke
valuable material to form the basis of meaningful intervention
for communication strategies and environmental change.
This assessment tool is recommended for use with people
wishing to mitigate the limitations and disabilities arising from
chronic aphasia.
Hixon, T., Weismer, G., & Hoit, J.D. (2008). Preclinical
speech science: Anatomy, physiology, acoustics,
perception. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing. ISBN: 978
1 59756 182 2; pp. 642; US$149.95; http://www.
Natalie Ciccone
In the authors’ words this text addresses preclinical speech
science which “encompasses speech production, speech
acoustics, speech perception, and swallowing” (Hixon,
Weismer, & Hoit, 2008, p. 1). The authors have written the
text for students and clinicians.
The text examines the
physical structures used
in speech production and
swallowing by breaking
the overall system into
the following subsystems:
breathing, laryngeal
function, velopharyngeal-
nasal function and
pharyngeal-oral function.
The chapters present
information on each
subsystem including:
anatomy, movement,
neural control, function in
relation to speech production and swallowing, development
of the subsystem, impact of ageing, the impact of gender
differences, methods of assessment, disorders of the
subsystem and professionals involved in the management
of the disorders. Additional chapters are also written on
acoustics, acoustic theory and vowel and consonant
production, speech acoustic analysis, provision of acoustic
phonetic data and speech perception. Although the text is
comprehensive, it is designed as a preclinical text and so
students would need additional texts addressing the clinical
management of the areas discussed.
The information provided integrates the authors’
knowledge with relevant research as well as theories on
how the various systems are thought to operate. They
successfully present complex information in a way that could
be understood by students but present it with a depth that
means practising clinicians will find the book to be a useful
reference text.
This is a large text and the amount of information is initially
daunting. However, the text includes a large number of
quality illustrations. The authors worked with one illustrator
who produced most of the illustrations. These do add to the
text and provide views of anatomical structures and present
information on how the various systems operate. Additionally
the authors add interest and clinical application through
the addition of ‘sidetracks’, boxes of text that present less
formal information that is designed to support the main text.
Just under half of the chapters also start and end with a
clinical case that demonstrates the clinical relevance of the
information being provided within the chapter.
Overall the text is comprehensive and meets its objective
of being a preclinical text which students and clinicians
would find beneficial.
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