Association of Tongue Strength and Maximum Incisal Opening with Oral Intake in Persons with Head and Neck Cancer Treated with Radiotherapy: A Retrospective Study.

Persons treated with radiotherapy (RT) for cancer of the head and neck (HNC) may experience limited oral intake at treatment completion. The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the contributions of tongue strength and maximum incisal opening (MIO) to oral intake in a cohort of veterans treated for HNC. Medical records of veterans diagnosed with HNC treated with RT who were seen by the Speech Pathology Service prior to and throughout treatment per usual care were reviewed for this study; eighty-two records met the inclusion criteria for analysis. Tongue strength in kPa, MIO in mm, feeding tube status at completion of RT, and food and liquid consistencies consumed at completion of RT were among the data abstracted from the records. Most veterans (67%) did not have a feeding tube present at the completion of RT and reported drinking thin liquids (84.2%) at treatment completion. Eighteen percent reported including all food consistencies in their diet at the end of treatment. Both MIO and tongue strength decreased after treatment. Greater tongue strength during RT and larger MIO at the completion of RT were predictive of improved functional outcomes for oral intake at the end of treatment. This study provides evidence of the importance of increasing tongue strength and MIO during treatment with RT, and supports an important focus for intervention by speech-language pathologists.

Signaling noncomprehension of language: a comparison of fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome.

Signaling noncomprehension of the spoken messages of others was examined for youth with fragile X or Down syndrome in comparison with each other and nonverbal MA-matched typically developing children. A direction-following task was used in which some of the directions were inadequate. Both syndrome groups signaled noncomprehension less often than did the typically developing children. The ability to signal noncomprehension appropriately was related to a measure of receptive vocabulary and syntax. Preliminary analyses indicated that males with fragile X syndrome signaled noncomprehension less often than did their female peers, even after controlling for differences in nonverbal MA.

Collaboration in referential communication: comparison of youth with down syndrome or fragile X syndrome.

Referential communication was examined in youth with Down syndrome or fragile X syndrome in comparison to each other and to MA-matched typically developing children. A non-face-to-face task was used in which the participant repeatedly described novel shapes to listeners. Several dimensions of referential communication were especially challenging for the syndrome groups (i.e., they displayed below-MA performance), although there were differences in the dimensions that each syndrome group found to be most challenging. Independently assessed expressive language ability contributed to variations in referential performance, especially for participants with Down syndrome.