Studies of Portuguese phonetics and phonology indicate that fricatives are central to some interesting features of the language, yet studies of Portuguese fricatives have been few and limited. In this study, Portuguese fricatives were analyzed in ways designed to enhance our description of the language and to increase our understanding of the production of fricatives. Corpora of Portuguese words containing /f, v, s, z, P, W/, nonsense words of the pattern =V 1 FV 2 = that follow Portuguese phonological rules, and sustained fricatives were recorded by four native speakers of European Portuguese (two men, two women). Results of analysis show that more than half of the voiced fricatives devoice; devoicing occurs more often in word-final fricatives. Averaged power spectra were computed for all fricatives and parameterized in order to aid comparisons across speaker and across corpus, and to gain insight into the production mechanisms underlying the language-specific variations. Substantial differences were found between spectra of voiced and unvoiced, same-place fricatives. The parameters spectral slope, frequency of maximum amplitude, and dynamic amplitude, derived from previous studies, behaved as predicted for changes in effort level, voicing, and location within the fricative. Changes in syllable stress, however, did not affect the fricatives in a manner consistent with effort level variation. Some combinations were also useful for separating the fricatives by place or by sibilance. r

Health literacy, a more complex concept than knowledge, is a required capacity to obtain, understand, integrate and act on health information [1], in order to enhance individual and community health, which is defined by different levels, according to the autonomy and personal capacitation in decision making [2]. Medium levels of Health literacy in an adolescent population were found in a study conducted in 2013/2014, being higher in sexual and reproductive health and lower in substance use. It was also noticed that the higher levels of health literacy were in the area adolescents refer to have receipt more health information. The health literacy competence with higher scores was communication skills, and the lower scores were in the capacity to analyze factors that influence health. Higher levels were also found in younger teenagers, but in a higher school level, confirming the importance of health education in these age and development stage. Adolescents seek more information in health professionals and parents, being friends more valued as a source information in older adolescents, which enhance the importance of peer education mainly in older adolescents [3]. As a set of competences based on knowledge, health literacy should be developed through education interventions, encompassing the cultural and social context of individuals, since the society, culture and education system where the individual is inserted can define the way the development and enforcement of the health literacy competences [4]. The valued sources of information should be taken into account, as well as needs of information in some topics referred by adolescents in an efficient health education. Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental illness which has a profound effect on the health and well-being related with the well-known nature of psychotic symptoms. The exercise has the potential to improve the life of people with schizophrenia improving physical health and alleviating psychiatric symptoms. However, most people with schizophrenia remains sedentary and lack of access to exercise programs are barriers to achieve health benefits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of exercise on I) the type of intervention in mental health, II) in salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol and serum levels of S100B and BDNF, and on III) the quality of life and selfperception of the physical domain of people with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 31 females in long-term institutions in the Casa de Saúde Rainha Santa Isabel, with age between 25 and 63, and with diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Physical fitness was assessed by the six-minute walk distance test (6MWD). Biological variables were determined by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). Psychological variables were assessed using SF-36, PSPP-SCV, RSES and SWLS tests. Walking exercise has a positive impact on physical fitness (6MWD -p = 0.001) and physical components of the psychological test...

Citation: Lousada, M., Jesus, L.M.T., Capelas, S., Margaca, C., Simoes, D., Valente, A., Hall, A. and Joffe, V. (2013). Phonological and articulation treatment approaches in Portuguese children with speech and language impairments: a randomized controlled intervention study. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 48(2), pp. 172-187. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-6984.2012 This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent

Citation: Lousada, M., Jesus, L. M., Hall, A. & Joffe, V. (2014). Intelligibility as a clinical outcome measure following intervention with children with phonologically based speechsound disorders. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12095 This is the unspecified version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent

No abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Background: Addressing the long-term consequences of stroke is a top-ten research priority (Pollock, St George, Fenton, & Firkins, In Press), and understanding the views of different stakeholders is essential in designing appropriate patient-centred multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Permanent repository linkAims: This study reports on the perspectives of 38 individuals who live with or work with aphasia: people with aphasia (PWA), family members and friends (FM), and speech and language therapists (SLTs), about its consequences in the daily lives of people with aphasia. Method & Resources:Fourteen PWA, 14 FM, and 10 SLTs participated in the study. All participants were interviewed about the consequences of stroke and aphasia. Small focus groups were used with some participants. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used with other participants. Interviews were carried out in groups or individually in order to accommodate severe aphasic impairments, or respondents with fewer years of education. Interviews were video or audio-recorded. Verbal and non-verbal communication was transcribed and analysed qualitatively using content analysis. Data was coded and mapped onto the ICF framework. Outcomes & Results:All three groups reported consequences in Body Functions and Body Structures, primarily in Mental Functions (Specific Mental Functions and Global Mental Functions) Conclusions: PWA, FM and SLTs reported a considerable range of stroke and aphasia consequences in the daily life of those who live with it. They were concerned to different degrees with language, physical, and emotional changes, and impact on communication, mobility, self-care, relationships, leisure and work. Professionals' practices in Portugal need to be changed in order to consider these findings.Keywords: aphasia; consequences; ICF; family members; clinicians. INTRODUCTION BackgroundStroke is considered the third leading cause of death and permanent disability in developed countries (Direcção Geral de Saúde (DGS) -Portuguese "Central Health Agency" 2010). In Portugal, stroke is the first cause of death (DGS, 2008) and disability (DGS, 2010;Martins, 2006) and is therefore one of the most frequent diseases causing hospitalisation (Ferro & Pimentel, 2006). Aphasia is a common consequence of stroke, affecting one third of the stroke population (Darrigrand et al., 2011;Kelly, Brady, & Enderby, 2010), and has a significant onward impact on people's lives (Martin, Thompson, & Worrall, 2008). Addressing the long-term consequences of stroke is a top-ten research priority, and includes helping stroke survivors and their families cope with speech problems (Pollock et al., In Press).Qualitative interview-led research of the 1990s revealed diverse consequences of aphasia and stroke. People reported obvious difficulties associated with impaired language, including effort in communicating, and difficulties with speaking, speaking in a grou...

12 13This study focuses on the temporal analysis of stops /p b t d k / and devoicing analysis of voiced stops /b d / produced in different word positions by six native speakers of European Portuguese. The study explores acoustic properties related to voicing. The following acoustic properties were measured: voice onset time (VOT), stop duration, closure duration, release duration, voicing into closure duration, duration of the preceding vowel and duration of the following vowel. Results suggested that when [b d ] were devoiced, the acoustic properties stop duration, closure duration, duration of the following vowel, duration of the preceding vowel and duration of voicing into closure were relevant for the voicing distinction. Implications for research and practice in speech and language therapy are discussed. Further investigation is needed to find how the productions analysed in the present study were perceived by listeners, specifically productions of devoiced stops.

Children with speech sound disorders (SSD) represent a large number of speech and language therapists' caseloads. The intervention with children who have SSD can involve different therapy approaches, and these may be articulatory or phonologically based. Some international studies reveal a widespread application of articulatory based approaches in children with different SSD. In Portugal no survey has been previously conducted about speech and language therapists (SLTs) practices when working with children with SSD, so it is still unknown how SLTs treat children with SSD. This study aims to explore the use of different intervention approaches of SLTs in Portugal, and to describe the approaches most frequently used in treating children who have phonologically based SSD. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire available on the web platform Advanced Communication and Swallowing Assessment (ACSA; http://acsa.web. ua.pt), and data analysis was based on 88 responses, corresponding to 5% of the total Portuguese SLTs population. Results showed that the intervention approaches most used with children who have SSD are phonological awareness (97% of the participants), auditory discrimination (92%), meaningful minimal contrast therapy (75%) and parent-based work (58%). The great majority of SLTs combined several approaches in their intervention. There was also a high percentage of SLTs that used articulation based approaches, namely articulation work (31%) in cases of phonologically based disorders. Most (63%) SLTs used weekly interventions over a period of more than six months (51%).The data presented here agrees with the results obtained in South African, UK and USA studies in terms of the approaches most frequently used in intervention with children who have phonologically based SSD. Regarding the frequency and duration of intervention, there is a discrepancy between the results obtained and what is commonly used across research. The characteristics described by the Portuguese SLTs for establishing the differential diagnosis of SSD do not always reflect the evidence available in recent literature. The findings presented in this article revealed the intervention approaches that SLTs currently use to treat children with Language Teaching and TherapyOliveira et al. research-article2014Article at NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY on June 9, 2015 clt.sagepub.com Downloaded from 174 Child Language Teaching and Therapy 31 (2) phonologically based SSD and the theoretical foundations that guide their clinical practice. This allows the reader to compare clinical practice of SLTs across countries and research studies.