Preliminary Study of the Applicability of Software in the Investigation of Sustained Auditory Attention.

Introduction The use of auditory behavioral tests, which specifically assess sustained attention, is necessary, due to its relationship with learning, language production, cognitive development and school performance. Objective To evaluate how children performed using software developed to investigate the ability of sustained auditory attention, and to compare the scores obtained in this format with those of the original, non-computerized test. Methods This cross-sectional study included 52 children of both genders, aged 6 to 11 years, with normal hearing and no history of complaints regarding inattention and/or hyperactivity. The computerized test was administered to all 52 children. The total error score (inattention and impulsivity) and the vigilance decrement were used to define the children's performance when using the software. The scores obtained in the two formats (computer software and original on compact disc) were then compared. Results Statistically significant differences were found in the scores for innattention, impulsivity, and total error score (inattention and impulsivity) when comparing genders, and a negative correlation coefficient was found when comparing ages. Increased scores were found for all variables of the sustained auditory attention ability test (SAAAT) compared with the original format. Conclusion Females performed worse than males in all aspects except for vigilance decrement when using the SAAAT software developed to evaluate the ability of SAAAT vigilance; younger children made more errors when using the SAAAT software; inattention errors were more frequent than impulsivity. Overall, higher values were obtained using the SAAAT software, when compared with the original version.

Auditory and language skills in children with cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVES: to investigate auditory and language skills in children with repaired cleft lip and palate. METHODS: The sample was composed of 22 children registered at the hospital where the study was conducted, seven to nine years old, 50% being female, with repaired unilateral cleft lip and palate (right or left), without associated malformations. Auditory skills were assessed using four central auditory processing tests: Random Gap Detection Test, Dichotic Digit Test, Dichotic Non-Verbal Test, Sustained Auditory Attention Ability Test. Language performance was evaluated by four standardized instruments: Illinois Psycholinguistic Skills Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Token Test and Phonological Skills Profile. The association between auditory and language skills was evaluated by the Fisher exact test at a significance level of 5% (p<.05). RESULTS: The central auditory processing tests evidenced that only one child presented adequate performance in all skills analysed, five children presented impaired performance in all skills, and 16 exhibited deteriorations in one to three auditory skills, highlighting that temporal resolution was the most impaired skill (81%). Concerning language, three children presented adequate performance in all tests applied, and Visual Association and Auditory Association were the most impaired skills (40%). No association was observed between deteriorations in auditory and language skills. CONCLUSION: There was high occurrence of impairment of auditory skills, which compose the central auditory processing, as well as of language skills, with greatest impairment of receptive language.

Global and communicative development skills in preschool children with cleft lip and palate.

IMPORTANCE: Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is globally among the most common childhood malformations. This disorder impacts childhood development, including speech and language, and affects children worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To analyze child development skills (adaptive fine motor, gross motor, personal-social, and language) in preschool children with isolated CLP compared with children without this malformation. METHODS: The participants included an experimental group of 27 children with isolated CLP and a comparison group of 27 children without CLP aged between 48 and 59 months. The groups were evaluated using two instruments: the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-II) and the Avaliação do Desenvolvimento da Linguagem (ADL-Language Development Assessment). Data were analyzed by descriptive and inductive analyses, using the Student's t-test and the Mann-Whitney test, at a significance level of P ˂ 0.05. RESULTS: All children in the comparison group performed within normal standards for their age range in the DDST-II and the ADL. The worst performance in the experimental group was observed in language skills, followed, in declining order, by adaptive fine motor, personal-social, and gross motor as measured by the DDST-II. Children with isolated CLP also performed poorly in receptive, expressive, and global language in the ADL. No statistically significant differences were observed in the experimental group's scores for the ADL and the DDST-II. INTERPRETATION: Developmental skill levels were below expectations for children of this age with isolated CLP.

Auditory and language skills in children with cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVES: to investigate auditory and language skills in children with repaired cleft lip and palate. METHODS: The sample was composed of 22 children registered at the hospital where the study was conducted, seven to nine years old, 50% being female, with repaired unilateral cleft lip and palate (right or left), without associated malformations. Auditory skills were assessed using four central auditory processing tests: Random Gap Detection Test, Dichotic Digit Test, Dichotic Non-Verbal Test, Sustained Auditory Attention Ability Test. Language performance was evaluated by four standardized instruments: Illinois Psycholinguistic Skills Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Token Test and Phonological Skills Profile. The association between auditory and language skills was evaluated by the Fisher exact test at a significance level of 5% (p<.05). RESULTS: The central auditory processing tests evidenced that only one child presented adequate performance in all skills analysed, five children presented impaired performance in all skills, and 16 exhibited deteriorations in one to three auditory skills, highlighting that temporal resolution was the most impaired skill (81%). Concerning language, three children presented adequate performance in all tests applied, and Visual Association and Auditory Association were the most impaired skills (40%). No association was observed between deteriorations in auditory and language skills. CONCLUSION: There was high occurrence of impairment of auditory skills, which compose the central auditory processing, as well as of language skills, with greatest impairment of receptive language.

Child development skills and language in toddlers with cleft lip and palate.

INTRODUCTION: Children born with cleft lip and palate (CLP) are exposed to several risk factors for developmental delay. METHODS: This cross-sectional and descriptive study compared the performance of gross motor, adaptive fine motor, social-personal and language skills in children with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (age = 36-47 months, n = 30) matched as to chronological age and gender. The evaluation instruments were Denver Developmental Screening Test II and MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory - part D, employed for the receptive and expressive vocabulary checklist. Intergroup comparisons were performed using t tests and Chi-square tests. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to verify the inter-category correlation (p ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: There was statistically significant difference in gross motor, adaptive fine motor, and language skills, both in receptive and expressive aspects, in the comparison between groups. In the personal-social area, children with CLP presented performance below the expected, without statistically significant difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Children with CLP are at risk for developmental disorders and should be monitored from early childhood to minimize the deleterious effects of this risk condition.

Assessment of websites on cleft lip and palate in Brazilian Portuguese

ABSTRACT Purpose: this study aimed at assessing the legibility, reliability, usability and coverage of websites on cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in Brazilian Portuguese and providing a global comparison. Methods: in order to evaluate the obtained data, four protocols were used, i.e., the Website Coverage Protocol, the legibility (by means of the COH METRIX PORT), the reliability (Discern Protocol), and the usability (by means of the System Usability Scale). Results: 98 websites were included with average legibility scoring of 31.6±11.7, rated as a hard readability level. Coverage average scoring was 19.9±3.79 from a total of 35 points. As for reliability, average scoring was 43.2±6.51 points, rated as acceptable. The usability scoring was 24.8±2.18 points, rated as the worst imaginable one. Conclusion: therefore, the assessed Brazilian websites on CL/P were rated difficult for legibility, requiring high-school level of education, restricted coverage and acceptable reliability, in addition to the low usability. The results were similar to those of websites from other countries, except for the legibility aspect, which was lower for Brazilian websites.

Obstructive sleep apnea and oral language disorders.

INTRODUCTION: Children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have consequences, such as daytime sleepiness and learning, memory, and attention disorders, that may interfere in oral language. OBJECTIVE: To verify, based on the literature, whether OSA in children was correlated to oral language disorders. METHODS: A literature review was carried out in the Lilacs, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using the descriptors "Child Language" AND "Obstructive Sleep Apnea". Articles that did not discuss the topic and included children with other comorbidities rather than OSA were excluded. RESULTS: In total, no articles were found at Lilacs, 37 at PubMed, 47 at Scopus, and 38 at Web of Science databases. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, six studies were selected, all published from 2004 to 2014. Four articles demonstrated an association between primary snoring/OSA and receptive language and four articles showed an association with expressive language. It is noteworthy that the articles used different tools and considered different levels of language. CONCLUSION: The late diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is associated with a delay in verbal skill acquisition. The professionals who work with children should be alert, as most of the phonetic sounds are acquired during ages 3-7 years, which is also the peak age for hypertrophy of the tonsils and childhood OSA.

Sleep quality in children: questionnaires available in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this paper was to evaluate and compare the questionnaires regarding sleep quality among children aged up to 12 years old, used in the Portuguese language in Brazil. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A search at the literature databases of Lilacs, Scielo and Pubmed was performed using keywords "sleep quality" and "children". Selected Articles were analysed for age of the studied population, the number of questions and the issues addressed thereby, who realized the application, the analysis of the results, and content. RESULTS: Out of 9377 titles, 11 studies were included, performing 7 different questionnaires: Questionnaire to measure quality of life among children with enlarged palatine and pharyngeal tonsils (translation of OSD-6) (1); Inventory of Sleep Habits for Preschool Children (2); the Questionnaire on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea-18 (OSA-18) (3), Sleep Questionnaire by Reimão and Lefévre - QRL (4); the Questionnaire on Sleep Behaviour Patterns (5) and the translation of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (6); Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire - BISQ (7) . Six of the questionnaires have covered the following issues: snoring and daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: A total of 7 protocols were found to be available in Brazil, the most commonly mentioned being OSA-18 and OSD-6. The use of protocols as a guided interview helps to define diagnosis and treatment among the paediatric population, but its large variability makes it difficult to compare a standardised monitoring process.

Preliminary Study of the Applicability of Software in the Investigation of Sustained Auditory Attention

Abstract Introduction The use of auditory behavioral tests, which specifically assess sustained attention, is necessary, due to its relationship with learning, language production, cognitive development and school performance. Objective To evaluate how children performed using software developed to investigate the ability of sustained auditory attention, and to compare the scores obtained in this format with those of the original, non-computerized test. Methods This cross-sectional study included 52 children of both genders, aged 6 to 11 years, with normal hearing and no history of complaints regarding inattention and/or hyperactivity. The computerized test was administered to all 52 children. The total error score (inattention and impulsivity) and the vigilance decrement were used to define the children's performance when using the software. The scores obtained in the two formats (computer software and original on compact disc) were then compared. Results Statistically significant differences were found in the scores for innattention, impulsivity, and total error score (inattention and impulsivity) when comparing genders, and a negative correlation coefficient was found when comparing ages. Increased scores were found for all variables of the sustained auditory attention ability test (SAAAT) compared with the original format. Conclusion Females performed worse than males in all aspects except for vigilance decrement when using the SAAATsoftware developed to evaluate the ability of SAAAT vigilance; younger children made more errors when using the SAAAT software; inattention errors were more frequent than impulsivity. Overall, higher values were obtained using the SAAAT software, when compared with the original version.

Interferência do frênulo lingual para a evolução do quadro fonológico: caso clínico / Interchange of ankyloglossia for the evolution of the phonological framework: clinical case / Interferencia del anquilogossia para la evolución del cuadro fonológico: caso clínico

Introdução: A alteração de frênulo lingual se torna agravante em crianças com Transtorno Fonológico. Tendo em vista a complexidade da produção de fala, é necessário garantir que a intervenção fonoaudiológica contemple o equilíbrio entre forma e função. Objetivo: objetivo deste estudo foi descrever o processo terapêutico de uma criança, do sexo masculino, aos cinco anos de idade, com Transtorno Fonológico e alteração de frênulo lingual Métodos: O diagnóstico de Transtorno Fonológico foi realizado aos 5 anos de idade. A avaliação do aspecto fonológico foi realizada por meio da aplicação das provas de imitação e nomeação do Teste de Linguagem Infantil ABFW- item fonologia e cálculo de Porcentagem de Consoantes Corretas (PCC) em três momentos distintos. A intervenção terapêutica foi baseada no Modelo de Ciclos Modificado e realizada Frenectomia. Resultados: No processo de intervenção foram realizadas 12 sessões de terapia fonoaudiológica enquanto a criança aguardava o procedimento cirúrgico, notando-se evolução limitada dos fonemas /r/ e /l/. Foi realizado procedimento cirúrgico de Frenectomia e 23 sessões de terapia fonoaudiológica com o objetivo de organizar o sistema fonológico. Após intervenção terapêutica e cirúrgica foi observado melhora no grau de inteligibilidade de fala que passou de Levemente Moderado para Leve e adequação de processos fonológicos não esperados para a idade. Conclusão: A terapia fonoaudiológica com o enfoque nos processos fonológicos foi importante para amenizar a gravidade da inteligibilidade de fala, porém se faz fundamental o procedimento cirúrgico, visando melhorar as distorções articulatórias justificadas pela forma alterada.

Introduction: Changing lingual frenulum becomes aggravating in children with Phonological Disorder. In view of the complexity of speech production, the speech-language intervention is necessary to ensure the balance between form and function. Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe the therapeutic process of a male child at five years of age with Phonological Disorder and lingual frenulum alteration. Methods: The diagnosis of Phonological Disorder was performed at 5 years of age. The evaluation of the phonological aspect was performed through the application of the imitation tests and appointment of the Children's Language Test ABFW- phonology and calculation of Percentage of Correct Consonants (PCC) in three different moments. The therapeutic intervention was based on the Modified Cycle Model and performed Frenectomy. Results: In the intervention process 12 speech therapy sessions were performed while the child waited for the surgical procedure, with a limited evolution of the / r / and / l / phonemes. A surgical procedure of Frenectomy and 23 speech therapy sessions were performed with the objective of organizing the phonological system. After therapeutic and surgical intervention, an improvement was observed in the degree of speech intelligibility that went from mild to moderate and adequacy of phonological processes not expected for the age. Conclusion: Speech therapy with a focus on phonological processes was important to improve speech intelligibility, but the surgical procedure is fundamental to improve articulatory distortions justified by the altered form.

Introducción: La alteración de frentes linguales se vuelve agravante en niños con trastorno fonológico. En vista de la complejidad de la producción de habla, es necesario garantizar que la intervención contemple el equilibrio entre forma y función. Objetivo: Describir el proceso terapéutico de un niño, sexo masculino, a los cinco años de edad, con trastorno fonológico y alteración de frente lingual. Métodos: El diagnóstico de trastorno fonológico fue realizado a los 5 años de edad. La evaluación del aspecto fonológico fue realizada por medio de la aplicación de las pruebas de imitación y nombramiento del Test de Lenguaje Infantil ABFW- elemento fonología y cálculo de Porcentaje de Consonantes Corretas (PCC) en tres momentos distintos. La intervención terapéutica fue basada en el Modelo de Ciclos Modificado y realizada Frenectomía. Resultados: Se realizaron 12 sesiones de terapia fonoaudiológica mientras el niño aguardaba el procedimiento quirúrgico, notándose una evolución limitada de los fonemas / r / y / l /. Se realizó Frenectomía y 23 sesiones de terapia fonoaudiológica con el objetivo de organizar el sistema fonológico. Después de intervención terapéutica y quirúrgica se observó mejoría en el grado de inteligibilidad de habla que pasó de Leoso Moderado a Ligera y adecuación de procesos fonológicos. Conclusión: La terapia de fala con el enfoque en los procesos fonológicos fue importante para amenizar la gravedad de la inteligibilidad de habla, pero se hace fundamental el procedimiento quirúrgico, buscando mejorar las distorsiones articulatorias justificadas por la forma alterada.

Obstructive sleep apnea and oral language disorders / Apneia obstrutiva do sono e alterações da linguagem oral

Abstract Introduction Children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have consequences, such as daytime sleepiness and learning, memory, and attention disorders, that may interfere in oral language. Objective To verify, based on the literature, whether OSA in children was correlated to oral language disorders. Methods A literature review was carried out in the Lilacs, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using the descriptors “Child Language” AND “Obstructive Sleep Apnea”. Articles that did not discuss the topic and included children with other comorbidities rather than OSA were excluded. Results In total, no articles were found at Lilacs, 37 at PubMed, 47 at Scopus, and 38 at Web of Science databases. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, six studies were selected, all published from 2004 to 2014. Four articles demonstrated an association between primary snoring/OSA and receptive language and four articles showed an association with expressive language. It is noteworthy that the articles used different tools and considered different levels of language. Conclusion The late diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is associated with a delay in verbal skill acquisition. The professionals who work with children should be alert, as most of the phonetic sounds are acquired during ages 3–7 years, which is also the peak age for hypertrophy of the tonsils and childhood OSA.

Resumo Introdução Crianças e adolescentes com Apneia Obstrutiva do Sono (AOS) podem apresentar sonolência diurna, alterações de aprendizado, memória e atenção, que podem interferir na linguagem oral. Objetivo Verificar, com base na literatura, se a AOS apresenta correlação com alterações da linguagem oral. Método Foi feita revisão bibliográfica nas bases de dados Lilacs, Pubmed, Scopus e Web of Science, a partir das palavras-chaves “Linguagem Infantil” AND “Apneia do Sono Tipo Obstrutiva”. Os artigos que não se relacionavam ao tema foram excluídos, bem como estudos com crianças que apresentassem outras comorbidades, além da AOS. Resultados Foram localizados 37 artigos na Pubmed, 47 na Scopus e 38 na Web of Science e nenhum na Lilacs. A partir dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão, foram selecionados seis estudos, publicados de 2004 a 2014. Dos artigos incluídos, observou-se em quatro artigos a relação do grupo com ronco primário/SAOS com a Linguagem Receptiva e em quatro artigos a relação dessa população com a Linguagem Expressiva. Ressalta-se que os artigos usaram instrumentos diferentes e consideraram níveis diversificados da Linguagem. Conclusão O diagnóstico e o tratamento tardio de AOS resultam em alterações significantes na qualidade da aquisição verbal. Torna-se imprescindível a atenção dos profissionais que atuam com a população infantil para esse aspecto, uma vez que grande parte dos sons da fala são adquiridos entre 3–7 anos, que corresponde ao período de pico de ocorrência de hipertrofia adenoamigdaliana e AOS na infância.