Evaluation of reliability and validity of the Serbian Aphasia Screening Test.

PURPOSE: A rise in strokes worldwide means that the number of people affected by aphasia is increasing. Early and accurate diagnosis of aphasia is crucial for recovery. Presently, there are no dedicated screening tests tailored for evaluating aphasia in Serbian-speaking individuals. This paper presents and describes the psychometric properties of the Serbian Aphasia Screening Test (SAST), a novel aphasia screening tool designed specifically for Serbian speakers. This initiative fills the gap in aphasia assessment tools for the Serbian population, providing a comprehensive and culturally sensitive approach to the evaluation of language disorders. METHOD: Data using the SAST were collected from 240 participants: 120 Serbian speakers with aphasia after stroke compared to 120 neurotypical individuals. The assessment included the following subtests: conversation, verbal automatized sequences, auditory comprehension, visual confrontation naming, responsive naming, repetition of words, repetition of sentences, oral word reading, oral sentence reading, reading comprehension, and writing. The main objectives were to ascertain the psychometric qualities of the SAST, including inter-rater reliability of scoring, test-retest reliability, reliability of the individual subtests, overall test reliability, and inter-correlations among subtests. Additionally, the study evaluated the discriminatory capability of the SAST in distinguishing between individuals with aphasia and neurotypical controls, as well as between individuals with different types of aphasia. RESULTS: The findings revealed that the SAST has excellent inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency. There were statistically significant differences between individuals with aphasia and neurotypical controls on all SAST subtests. Furthermore, the study identified significant differences in language profiles among participants with different types of aphasia. The significant correlations between scores on the SAST and on the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE) suggest good convergent validity of the SAST. CONCLUSIONS: The results underscore the robust psychometric properties of this novel screening assessment (SAST) and its ability to effectively discriminate between diverse linguistic abilities within different aphasia syndromes in Serbian speaking individuals.

Reliability and validity of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39) for a Serbian population.

Purpose: Aphasia has a negative impact on a person's quality of life (QOL). The Stroke Aphasia Quality of Life-39 scale (SAQOL-39) is a widely-used measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) developed for people with aphasia that has been translated into several languages. Its psychometric properties have been examined not only in English, but also in other languages. This study examined the reliability and validity of a translation and adaptation of the SAQOL-39 into Serbian in Serbian-speaking people with aphasia.Method: Using forward and backward translation, the SAQOL-39 was translated and adapted from English into Serbian and its psychometric properties were examined in 90 Serbian-speaking people with a broad range of times post-onset of aphasia. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and other analyses were conducted.Result: Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Serbian version was high (Cronbach's α > 0.9; ICC ≥0.87), which is similar to versions of the scale in other languages.Conclusion: The Serbian translation and adaptation of the SAQOL-39 was shown to be a valid and reliable measure of QOL in people with aphasia with reliable psychometric properties and is suitable for the assessment of Serbian people with aphasia.

Extending knowledge of the public awareness of aphasia in the Balkans: Serbia and Montenegro.

PURPOSE: Public awareness of aphasia has been surveyed in a number of countries revealing that it is universally low. We report results of surveys in the Balkan countries Serbia and Montenegro and compare results with data from Croatia and Slovenia. METHODS: Convenience surveys of the general public were conducted in public places like shopping centers/malls and parks in Serbia (N = 400) and Montenegro (N = 500) using an adapted version of the public awareness of aphasia survey questionnaire. Respondents were asked whether they have heard of aphasia and tested with questions about aphasia. Information on gender, age, occupation and education was recorded. OUTCOMES: Twelve percent (Serbia) and 11% (Montenegro) had heard of aphasia, but just 4% (Serbia) and 3.2% (Montenegro) had a basic knowledge of aphasia. Age, gender and occupation interacted variably with awareness. Between 16% (Slovenia) and 60% (Croatia) said they had heard of aphasia (10.5% overall mean for the four countries) and basic knowledge of aphasia across the four countries ranged between 3.2 and 7%. CONCLUSIONS: Levels of awareness of aphasia in the Balkans are low and variably associated with age, gender, socio-economic and educational levels. Respondents with some knowledge of aphasia gained it through personal or professional interaction with aphasia or the media. The data provide a basis for awareness raising in Balkan countries to reduce stigmatization, improve community access and understanding. Implications for rehabilitation Awareness of aphasia is low universally, even among healthcare workers. Low public awareness of a condition, like aphasia, results in under-funded research and service provision. In order to raise public awareness of aphasia we need to know how many members of the general public know about it. Improvements in public awareness could positively affect funding, the quality of services, and the public understanding and acceptance of individuals with aphasia in the community. Improving awareness of aphasia in those who come into contact with aphasic people, like healthcare workers, could significantly improve the healthcare experience of people with aphasia and their families.

Acquired dyslexia in Serbian speakers with Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia.

This study examined patterns of acquired dyslexia in Serbian aphasic speakers, comparing profiles of groups with Broca's versus Wernicke's aphasia. The study also looked at the relationship of reading and auditory comprehension and between reading comprehension and reading aloud in these groups. Participants were 20 people with Broca's and 20 with Wernicke's aphasia. They were asked to read aloud and to understand written material from the Serbian adaptation of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. A Serbian Word Reading Aloud Test was also used. The people with Broca's aphasia achieved better results in reading aloud and in reading comprehension than those with Wernicke's aphasia. Those with Wernicke's aphasia showed significantly more semantic errors than those with Broca's aphasia who had significantly more morphological and phonological errors. From the data we inferred that lesion sites accorded with previous work on networks associated with Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia and with a posterior-anterior axis for reading processes centred on (left) parietal-temporal-frontal lobes.

Voice analysis before and after vocal rehabilitation in patients following open surgery on vocal cords.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The major role of larynx in speech, respiration and swallowing makes carcinomas of this region and their treatment very influential for patients' life quality. The aim of this study was to assess the importance of voice therapy in patients after open surgery on vocal cords. METHODS: This study included 21 male patients and the control group of 19 subjects. The vowel (A) was recorded and analyzed for each examinee. All the patients were recorded twice: firstly, when they contacted the clinic and secondly, after a three-month vocal therapy, which was held twiceper week on an outpatient basis. The voice analysis was carried out in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Clinic, Clinical Hospital Center "Zvezdara" in Belgrade. RESULTS: The values of the acoustic parameters in the patients submitted to open surgery on the vocal cords before vocal rehabilitation and the control group subjects were significantly different in all specified parameters. These results suggest that the voice of the patients was damaged before vocal rehabilitation. The results of the acoustic parameters of the vowel (A) before and after vocal rehabilitation of the patients with open surgery on vocal cords were statistically significantly different. Among the parameters--Jitter (%), Shimmer (%)--the observed difference was highly statistically significant (p < 0.01). The voice turbulence index and the noise/harmonic ratio were also notably improved, and the observed difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The analysis of the tremor intensity index showed no significant improvement and the observed difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05 ). CONCLUSION. There was a significant improvement of the acoustic parameters of the vowel (A) in the study subjects three months following vocal therapy. Only one out of five representative parameters showed no significant improvement.

Cognitive and electrophysiological characteristics of children with specific language impairment and subclinical epileptiform electroencephalogram.

The current study is a preliminary examination of cognitive profiles and cortical distribution of the spectral power of different electroencephalogram (EEG) rhythms in children with specific language impairment and subclinical epileptiform discharges. Although a number of empirical studies point to higher incidence of abnormal EEGs in children with specific language impairment, only a few studies were found examining electrophysiological characteristics, such as locus of discharges and connections with cognitive functioning in this population of children. The sample included 12 children with specific language impairment (SLI) and abnormal EEG who underwent testing of cognitive functioning using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). The control sample included 13 children with specific language impairment and regular EEG. Results point to lower scores on several subtests of the performance scale for children with abnormal EEG than for the group with regular EEG. Detailed EEG analysis of cortical distribution of the spectral power of different EEG rhythms partially confirms the results of neuropsychological assessment, pointing to abnormal function of frontal and temporal regions. Higher values of spectral power of the delta brain rhythm in frontal regions are associated with lower results on the WISC performance scale. Results are discussed in the context of subgroups of the population of children with SLI.

Education of speech and language therapists/logopedists in selected Central and Southeastern European countries: challenges and new horizons.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of student training in speech and language therapy/logopedics (SLT) in selected Central and Southeastern European countries (Poland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey). METHOD: Data were collected using a special questionnaire developed by Söderpalm and supplemented by Georgieva. Results from 23 SLT programs in the seven countries were collected and organized. RESULTS: In all these countries, SLT has roots in special education or health and is centralized in the university environment. The training programs have positive accreditation provided by the national agencies of accreditation and evaluation. Results were examined specifically for evidence of the new paradigm of evidence-based practice (EBP) according to the revised International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) guidelines and the application of research-based teaching in SLT. The professional bodies that govern clinical practice in public health and/or educational fields are in the process of EBP implementation. Most speech and language therapists/logopedists in the selected countries work in an educational setting, clinical organization and/or hospital as well as in social day care centers. Except in Turkey, private practices are not regulated by the law. CONCLUSIONS: In the seven countries examined in this survey, SLT is progressing as a professional discipline but must be supported by government funding of SLT education and services to relevant populations.

Analysis of voice impairment in aphasia after stroke-underlying neuroanatomical substrates.

Phonation is a fundamental feature of human communication. Control of phonation in the context of speech-language disturbances has traditionally been considered a characteristic of lesions to subcortical structures and pathways. Evidence suggests however, that cortical lesions may also implicate phonation. We carried out acoustic and perceptual analyses of the phonation of /a/ in 60 males with aphasia (20 Wernicke's, 20 Broca's, 20 subcortical aphasia) and 20 males matched in age with no neurological or speech-language disturbances. All groups with aphasia were significantly more impaired on the majority of acoustic and perceptual measures as compared with the control speakers. Within the subjects with aphasia, subjects with subcortical aphasia were more impaired on most measures compared to subjects with Broca's aphasia, and they, in turn, more impaired than those with Wernicke's aphasia. Lesions in regions involved in sound production-perception result in dysfunction of the entire neurocognitive system of articulation-phonological language processing.

Acoustic voice analysis of patients with vocal fold polyp.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the investigation was to obtain acoustic correlates of the vocal quality of patients with vocal polyps, before and after the endolaryngeal phonomicrosurgery (EPM). METHODS: Acoustic voice tests were carried out on 46 female patients with vocal fold polyp, before the EPM intervention and 3 weeks after its completion. Acoustic voice parameters were compared with the control group without voice pathology. The results of the investigation were analyzed acoustically. RESULTS: The results showed that jitter (%), shimmer (%), fundamental frequency variation (vF(0)), voice turbulence index (VTI), pitch perturbation quotient (PPQ), amplitude perturbation quotient (APQ), and NHR values significantly differentiate the patients with vocal fold polyps from a control group without any pathological changes in the larynx. All of the analyzed parameters improved significantly (P<0.05) after the phonomicrosurgical intervention and tended to reach normal values. CONCLUSIONS: The acoustic voice analysis may be used for presurgical and postsurgical voice-status evaluation.

Characterising developmental language impairment in Serbian-speaking children: a preliminary investigation.

The aim of the article is to provide preliminary data on the use of auxiliaries and clitics in Serbian-speaking children with developmental language impairment. Two groups of children (a group of 30 children with developmental language impairment and a group of 30 typically developing children) aged between 48 and 83 months and matched on IQ took part in the study. They were asked to tell a story from a series of four pictures. The results showed that the children with language impairment omitted significantly more auxiliary verbs and clitics than the controls. In addition, the rate of omission of auxiliaries and clitics did not decrease with increasing chronological age. We conclude that, as in other languages, auxiliary verbs and clitics are particularly difficult for Serbian-speaking children with language impairment.

Investigation of language and motor skills in Serbian speaking children with specific language impairment and in typically developing children.

Specific language impairment (SLI) is usually defined as a developmental language disorder which does not result from a hearing loss, autism, neurological and emotional difficulties, severe social deprivation, low non-verbal abilities. Children affected with SLI typically have difficulties with the acquisition of different aspects of language and by definition, their impairment is specific to language and no other skills are affected. However, there has been a growing body of literature to suggest that children with SLI also have non-linguistic deficits, including impaired motor abilities. The aim of the current study is to investigate language and motor abilities of a group of thirty children with SLI (aged between 4 and 7) in comparison to a group of 30 typically developing children matched for chronological age. The results showed that the group of children with SLI had significantly more difficulties on the language and motor assessments compared to the control group. The SLI group also showed delayed onset in the development of all motor skills under investigation in comparison to the typically developing group. More interestingly, the two groups differed with respect to which language abilities were correlated with motor abilities, however Imitation of Complex Movements was the unique skill which reliably predicted expressive vocabulary in both typically developing children and in children with SLI.

Comparison of the recovery patterns of language and cognitive functions in patients with post-traumatic language processing deficits and in patients with aphasia following a stroke.

UNLABELLED: In this study we investigated the recovery patterns of language and cognitive functions in patients with post-traumatic language processing deficits and in patients with aphasia following a stroke. The correlation of specific language functions and cognitive functions was analyzed in the acute phase and 6 months later. Significant recovery of the tested functions was observed in both groups. However, in patients with post-traumatic language processing deficits the degree of recovery of most language functions and some cognitive functions was higher. A significantly greater correlation was revealed within language and cognitive functions, as well as between language functions and other aspects of cognition in patients with post-traumatic language processing deficits than in patients with aphasia following a stroke. Our results show that patients with post-traumatic language processing deficits have a different recovery pattern and a different pattern of correlation between language and cognitive functions compared to patients with aphasia following a stroke. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Better understanding of the differences in recovery of language and cognitive functions in patients who have suffered strokes and those who have experienced traumatic brain injury. (2) Better understanding of the relationship between language and cognitive functions in patients with post-traumatic language processing deficits and in patients with aphasia following a stroke. (3) Better understanding of the factors influencing recovery.