Effects of a Phonological Reading and Writing Remediation Program in Students with Dyslexia: Intervention for Specific Learning Disabilities.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of a phonological remediation reading and writing program in individuals with dyslexia, through behavioral and objective evaluations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty children diagnosed with dyslexia, aged 8-14 years, were included in this study. Group I (GI) was composed of 10 children who took part in the program, and group II (GII) consisted of 10 subjects who did not take the remediation. The pre-testing evaluated phonological awareness, rapid naming, working memory, reading and writing of words and nonwords, thematic writing, and auditory evoked potential - P300. The type of stimulus used was the speech (20% of rare stimulus and 80% of frequent stimulus), intensity of 80 dBNa. The rare stimulus was the syllable /da/, and the frequent stimulus was the syllable /ba/. Next, the Phonological Reading and Writing Remediation Program was applied in 24 cumulative sessions, twice a week, each with a duration of 30 min. In the post-testing (at the end of the program), all the tests of the pre-testing were reapplied. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference (between pre- and post-testing) in phonological awareness, rapid naming, working memory, thematic writing, writing and reading words and nonwords, as well as in the latency of the P3 component of P300 in GI, while GII maintained the same difficulties. CONCLUSION: The phonological remediation program showed to be a therapeutic method of fast beneficial effects in written language of individuals with dyslexia. However, the wide age range and the size of the sample could be considered a limitation of this study - it interferes with the generalization of results.

Evaluating a speech-language pathology technology.

BACKGROUND: The creation of new educational strategies based on technology is the essence of telehealth. This innovative learning is an alternative to promote integration and improve the professional practices in speech-language pathology (SLP). The objective of this study was to evaluate an SLP technology designed for distance learning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The survey selected fourth-year SLP students (n=60) from three public universities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental group (EG) contained 10 students from each university (n=30), and the remaining students formed the control group (CG). Initially, both groups answered a preprotocol questionnaire, and the EG students received the technology, the recommendations, and the deadline to explore the material. In the second stage all students answered the postprotocol questionnaire in order to evaluate the validity and the learning of the technology contents. RESULTS: The comparison between the CG students showed that their performance worsened in the majority in comparison with the EG students, who showed an improved performance. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, this study concluded that the technology instrument actually responded to the population studied and is recommended to complement traditional teaching.

Babies With Pierre Robin Sequence: Neuropsychomotor Development.

BACKGROUND: The Pierre Robin Sequence presents heterogeneous symptoms, and each newborn can manifest from mild breathing and feeding difficulties to severe complications, as well as a predisposition to present changes in growth and neuropsychomotor development in the first years of life. OBJECTIVE: The aims were to evaluate and associate the neuropsychomotor development of zero- to 12-month-old children with Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) in the personal-social, fine motor-adaptive, language, and gross motor aspects. METHODS: The subjects of the study were 17 infants of both sexes with PRS admitted to the special care unit (SCU) of a reference hospital in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in the age range of 20 days to 263 days. Developmental assessments were performed using the Denver Development Screening Test II. The evaluations were carried out in the SCU, with duration of 30 minutes each. Statistical analysis was descriptive using the Mann-Whitney test, two-proportion equality test, and Spearman correlation. The level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: According to Denver Development Screening Test II, median 78.5 of the babies were at risk for developmental delay identified by the Denver II Test (n = 14, 82.4%). For the developmental areas analyzed by the test there was statistically significant difference in language area. CONCLUSION: The babies aged up to 12 months with PRS in this study presented risks for delay in neuropsychomotor development in language, gross motor, fine motor-adaptive, and personal-social aspects, and this finding should be considered to set goals in family orientation and intervention.

Oral language skills in Brazilian children with obstructive sleep apnea.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with a negative impact on neurocognitive development in children. Receptive/expressive oral language is a complex process, with limited investigations on the repercussion of OSA. This study aimed to analyze receptive and expressive oral language skills in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODOLOGY: This study included 52 children (27 females, 51.92 %) with a mean age of 7 ± 2 years (age range of 4-11 years), which underwent type 3 polysomnography (PSG). The participants were divided into N-OSA (n = 16) and OSA (n = 36) groups based on the apnea-hypopnea index. The speech-language therapist evaluated hearing and oral language for phonology, expressive semantics, syntax, receptive semantics (Peabody Image Vocabulary Test), pragmatics, and understanding of verbal instructions (Token Test). RESULTS: Oral language assessments showed a difference in the pragmatics subsystem (p = 0.047), with positive correlation between OSA severity and oral language functions such as pragmatics and syntax (desaturation index, p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had a negative impact on oral language skills, including the syntax and pragmatics subsystems.

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.

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.

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.

Hearing Disorders in Congenital Toxoplasmosis: A Literature Review.

Introduction Several studies show correlations between congenital toxoplasmosis and hearing loss, with a broad diversity of levels of hearing loss and specifications of hearing disorders. Objective To describe the studies found in the literature regarding hearing disorders in congenital toxoplasmosis. Data Synthesis A literature review was conducted on the Lilacs, SciELO, PubMed and Scopus databases by combining the following keywords: congenital toxoplasmosis and hearing . Based on this search strategy, 152 papers were found, the majority published on the Scopus and PubMed databases from 1958 to 2015. After the application of the inclusion criteria, 8 articles published between 1980 and 2015 were included in the present study. Conclusion This review showed a moderate evidence of the association between hearing disorders and congenital toxoplasmosis, which is characterized by sensorineural hearing loss. However, there are gaps in the description of the specific characteristics of the type and level of hearing loss, or of other possible disorders involved in the auditory processing.

Development and Evaluation of a Blog about Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate and Hearing.

Introduction Cleft lip and cleft palate can result in impairments in communication, specifically in hearing, making the use of technological resources such as blogs a fundamental guideline for health professionals. Objective The aim of this study was to prepare and analyze the access to a blog about cleft lip and cleft palate and hearing as a pedagogical tool for health professionals. Methods The first stage for the development of the blog was the selection of the content that would be addressed and the respective illustrations. The second stage was making the blog available through the WordPress platform, and the third stage included the evaluation of the blog, of the access to the WordPress statistical features, and of the quality of the blog through the Emory questionnaire, which was answered by 75 professionals. Results The blog, titled "Fissure and Hearing", was developed with the architecture of a digital information environment containing a system of organization, navigation, labeling and search (first stage). The address hosting the blog was: http://fissuraeaudicao.wordpress.com (second stage). The result of the third stage included 56,269 views of the blog from different countries, and Brazil was the country with the highest viewing. Regarding the assessment by the Emory questionnaire, we found that for most of the major issues, the percentages obtained were or equal to 90%, while the analysis of the scales, navigation and structure presented the lowest scores. Conclusion The blog was developed and enabled greater access to information available on the web about cleft lip and cleft palate and hearing.

Could speech disorders in children with cleft lip and palate be justified by impaired central auditory skills?

ABSTRACT Purpose: to verify the association between central auditory skills and speech disorders related to velopharyngeal dysfunction. Methods: forty-five children, with repaired non-syndromic cleft lip and palate or cleft lip only, aged 7-11 years old, were divided into three groups: G1 (n=15), children with hypernasality, nasal air emission, and compensatory articulations; G2 (n=15), children with hypernasality and nasal air emission, but without compensatory articulations; and G3 (n=15), children without hypernasality, nasal air emission, and compensatory articulations. The medical records of all participants were analyzed to verify the eligibility criteria and obtain speech assessments, and then, they were submitted to an assessment of central auditory skills. Statistical analysis comprised descriptive and chi-square test with a significance level of 5%. Results: G1 presented a higher occurrence of impairment in central auditory skills differing from the other groups, particularly in the temporal ordering and binaural integration skills. A significant difference was observed among groups in temporal ordering ability. No significant association was found between the use of specific types of compensatory articulations and impaired auditory skills. Conclusion: there was an association between changes in temporal ordering auditory skills and binaural integration in children with velopharyngeal dysfunction, regardless of the presence or type of compensatory articulation found.

Programas de educação em saúde em escolas para adolescentes: revisão integrativa da literatura / Health education programs in schools for adolescents: an integrative literature review / Programas de educación en salud en escuelas para adolescentes: una revisión integrativa de la literatura

Introdução: Projetos de educação em saúde em escolas possibilitam a criação de oportunidades e transformação da realidade, em que os alunos tornam-se disseminadores do conhecimento para a comunidade. Objetivo: Analisar programas de educação em saúde para jovens em escolas, a fim de verificar o uso de tecnologias de informação e comunicação como estratégias para as intervenções. Método: Foi realizada uma Revisão Integrativa da literatura. As buscas foram realizadas nas bases de dados PubMed, LILACS, Scopus e Embase, considerando os últimos 10 anos. Resultados: A amostra final contemplou 27 estudos. Diferentes tipos de estratégias e recursos foram utilizados, algumas envolvendo tecnologia de informação e comunicação, outras não. Dentre estes recursos, os mais utilizados foram projeção audiovisual presente em 13 artigos, e discussão e diálogo, presentes em 16 artigos. Em relação à avaliação dos programas, 26 artigos descreveram os resultados, em 23 casos os resultados foram positivos, e em três casos os resultados foram regulares. Conclusão: Este estudo demonstrou que são inúmeras as estratégias e recursos utilizados no desenvolvimento de um projeto de educação em saúde eficaz. Nos estudos desenvolvidos no Brasil, houve predominância da utilização de recursos tecnológicos, como o uso de tutores eletrônicos para atividades à distância. (AU)

Introduction: Health education projects in schools create opportunities to transform reality, as students help spread knowledge to the community. Objective: To analyze health education programs for young people in schools, to verify the use of information and communication technology as intervention strategies. Method: An integrative review of the literature was conducted, searching articles in the PubMed, LILACS, Scopus, and Embase databases, considering the last 10 years. Results: The final sample had 27 studies. Various types of strategies and resources were used; some of them included information and communication technology, while others did not use them. The most used resources were audiovisual projection (present in 13 articles) and discussion and dialog (present in 16 articles). As for program assessment, 26 articles reported the results ­ which were positive in 23 and average in three of them. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that countless strategies and resources are used to develop effective health education projects. The use of technological resources (such as electronic tutors in remote activities) predominated in Brazilian studies. (AU)

Introducción: Los proyectos de educación para la salud en las escuelas permiten la creación de oportunidades y la transformación de la realidad, en la que los estudiantes se convierten en difusores del conocimiento a la comunidad. Objetivo: Analizar los programas de educación para la salud de los jóvenes en las escuelas, con el fin de verificar el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación como estrategias de intervención. Método: Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica integradora. Las búsquedas se realizaron en las bases de datos PubMed, LILACS, Scopus y Embase, considerando los últimos 10 años. Resultados: La muestra final comprendía 27 estudios. Se utilizaron diferentes tipos de estrategias y recursos, algunos con tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, otros no. Entre estos recursos, los más utilizados fueron la proyección audiovisual, presente en 13 artículos, y el debate y el diálogo, presentes en 16 artículos. En cuanto a la evaluación de los programas, 26 artículos describieron los resultados, en 23 casos los resultados fueron positivos y en tres casos los resultados fueron regulares. Conclusión: Este estudio demostró que existen numerosas estrategias y recursos utilizados en el desarrollo de un proyecto de educación sanitaria eficaz. En los estudios desarrollados en Brasil, hubo un predominio del uso de recursos tecnológicos, como el uso de tutores electrónicos para las actividades a distancia. (AU)

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.

How the speech-language pathologist interacts with cystic fibrosis patients? a scoping review / Qual a relação da fonoaudiologia com a fibrose cística? uma revisão de escopo / ¿Cuál es la relación entre la logopedia y la fibrosis quís- tica? una revisión del alcance

Objective: The review describes the changes related to sleep-breathing disorders, com- munication and feeding processes in subjects with CF, through a scoping review. Meth- ods: A scoping review based on the PRISMA protocol was carried out in Pubmed, Lilacs and Scopus databases, to investigate the possibility of including SLP in the treatment of patients with CF. The inclusion criteria included studies that addressed communication and eating processes and disorders related to CF. Studies with a sample that presented other comorbidities that would justify the worsening of the condition, or secondary stud- ies, were excluded. There was no time or language delimitation. Results: The search found 1566 works, 27 Lilacs, 1009 Pubmed and 530 Scopus, by analysis of titles, abstract and reading in full. A total of 30 articles were selected for inclusion, 2 Lilacs, 22 Pubmed and 6 Scopus, all related to Speech-Language Pathology. Conclusion: It was observed that there is a poor sleep quality due to nocturnal desaturation, mild and moderate obstructive apnea. In studies related to hearing, individuals had sensorineural hearing loss. Speech-Language Pathology is of paramount importance in monitoring these sub- jects.

Objetivo: Descrever alterações relacionadas aos processos de distúrbios respiratórios do sono, comunicação e alimentação em sujeitos com FC, por meio de uma scoping review. Métodos: Foi realizada uma scoping review nas bases de dados Pubmed, Lilacs e Scopus, para investigar a possibilidade de incluir o fonoaudiólogo no tratamento de pacientes com FC, utilizando o checklist PRISMA. Os critérios de inclusão incluíram estudos que abor- dassem processos de comunicação e alimentação e distúrbios relacionados à FC. Foram excluídos estudos com amostra que apresentasse outras comorbidades que justificassem o agravamento do quadro, ou estudos secundários. Não houve delimitação de tempo ou idioma. Resultados: A busca encontrou 1566 trabalhos, sendo 27 Lilacs, 1009 Pubmed e 530 Scopus, por meio de análise de títulos, resumo e leitura na íntegra. Foram seleciona- dos para inclusão 30 artigos, sendo 2 Lilacs, 22 Pubmed e 6 Scopus, todos relacionados à Fonoaudiologia. Conclusão: Observou-se que há má qualidade do sono devido à dessa- turação noturna, apneia obstrutiva leve e moderada. Em estudos relacionados à audição, os indivíduos apresentaram perda auditiva neurossensorial. A Fonoaudiologia é de suma importância no acompanhamento desses sujeitos.

Objetivo: Describir las alteraciones relacionadas con los procesos de trastornos respira- torios del sueño, comunicación y alimentación en sujetos con FQ, a través de una revisión de alcance. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión de alcance en las bases de datos Pubmed, Lilacs y Scopus, para investigar la posibilidad de incluir al logopeda en el tratamiento de pacientes con FQ, utilizando la lista de verificación PRISMA. Los criterios de inclusión incluyeron estudios que abordaran los procesos de comunicación y alimentación y los trastornos relacionados con la FQ. Se excluyeron los estudios con una muestra que pre- sentaba otras comorbilidades que justificasen el empeoramiento del cuadro, o estudios secundarios. No había delimitación de tiempo ni de idioma. Resultados: La búsqueda en- contró 1566 trabajos, de los cuales 27 fueron Lilacs, 1009 Pubmed y 530 Scopus, me- diante análisis de títulos, resúmenes y lectura completa. Se seleccionaron 30 artículos para inclusión, 2 Lilacs, 22 Pubmed y 6 Scopus, todos relacionados con Logopedia. Con- clusión: Se observó que existe mala calidad del sueño por desaturación nocturna, apnea obstructiva leve y moderada. En estudios relacionados con la audición, los individuos tenían pérdida auditiva neurosensorial. La logopedia es de suma importancia en el segui- miento de estos sujetos.

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.

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 and communication aspects in children.

OBJECTIVES: To correlate quality of life of children in terms of sleep, with their oral language skills, auditory processing and orofacial myofunctional aspects. METHODS: Nineteen children (12 males and seven females, in the mean age 9.26) undergoing otorhinolaryngological and speech evaluations participated in this study. The OSA-18 questionnaire was applied, followed by verbal and nonverbal sequential memory tests, dichotic digit test, nonverbal dichotic test and Sustained Auditory Attention Ability Test, related to auditory processing. The Phonological Awareness Profile test, Rapid Automatized Naming and Phonological Working Memory were used for assessment of the phonological processing. Language was assessed by the ABFW Child Language Test, analyzing the phonological and lexical levels. Orofacial myofunctional aspects were evaluated through the MBGR Protocol. Statistical tests used: the Mann-Whitney Test, Fisher's exact test and Spearman Correlation. RESULTS: Relating the performance of children in all evaluations to the results obtained in the OSA-18, there was a statistically significant correlation in the phonological working memory for backward digits (p = 0.04); as well as in the breathing item (p = 0.03), posture of the mandible (p = 0.03) and mobility of lips (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: A correlation was seen between the sleep quality of life and the skills related to the phonological processing, specifically in the phonological working memory in backward digits, and related to orofacial myofunctional aspects.

Syndromic craniosynostosis: neuropsycholinguistic abilities and imaging analysis of the central nervous system.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize patients with syndromic craniosynostosis with respect to their neuropsycholinguistic abilities and to present these findings together with the brain abnormalities. METHODS: Eighteen patients with a diagnosis of syndromic craniosynostosis were studied. Eight patients had Apert syndrome and 10 had Crouzon syndrome. They were submitted to phonological evaluation, neuropsychological evaluation and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. The phonological evaluation was done by behavioral observation of the language, the Peabody test, Token test and a school achievement test. The neuropsychological evaluation included the WISC III and WAIS tests. RESULTS: Abnormalities in language abilities were observed and the school achievement test showed abnormalities in 66.67% of the patients. A normal intelligence quotient was observed in 39.3% of the patients, and congenital abnormalities of the central nervous system were observed in 46.4% of the patients. CONCLUSION: Abnormalities of language abilities were observed in the majority of patients with syndromic craniosynostosis, and low cognitive performance was also observed.

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.