The language expertise of speech-language pathologists enables them to readily evaluate the phonological, orthographic, and morphological errors in student misspellings, in order to identify specific underlying linguistic deficits and plan targeted interventions. The error classification system provides speech-language pathologists with a tool that is both simple and time efficient and, thus, may help increase their confidence and ability in addressing the spelling needs of students.

This study examines the spelling of nine elementary school children with cochlear implants (CIs) who use spoken language, and compares their performance with children who have typical hearing and children who are hard of hearing (HH). Compared to children with typical hearing, children with CIs did not produce a significantly different percentage of misspelled words (p = 0.431, d = 0.38), but their spelling errors comprised significantly lower percentages of homophone substitutions (p = 0.019, r = 0.61) and legal vowel errors (p = 0.011, r = 0.61). Children with CIs and children who are HH did not produce a significantly different percentage of misspelled words (p = 0.521, d = 0.31) or a significantly different distribution of categorical spelling errors. Results suggest that children with CIs utilize similar linguistic strategies as their peers who are HH but different strategies than peers with typical hearing when attempting to spell unfamiliar words.

The present study describes the characteristics of students in Grades 3-12 with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) and known hearing loss. The study analyzed results of a survey of teachers of students with SCD (n = 38,367) who were slated to participate in an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards in 14 states in the United States. Analysis revealed similar profiles in academic achievement and symbolic language use combined with an increased incidence of additional sensory impairments among students with SCD and known hearing loss compared to their peers without known hearing loss. Results suggest that hearing loss may be underidentified and underserved among students with SCD and point to the need for improved hearing screenings and evaluations combined with services delivered by teams that follow a model of interprofessional practice.

Transactional theories of communication development focus on the interplay among child, caregiver, and environmental variables. Typically, this interplay involves symmetry between receptive and expressive modes (i.e., speech), but is asymmetrical for children with complex communication needs who hear speech but use graphic symbols expressively. Aided input, during which a communication partner points to graphic symbols while talking, may increase symmetry, but it is challenging to determine which words to represent with graphic symbols to ensure adequate aided input is provided. In this study, secondary analysis of transcripts of 16 mothers who interacted with their children with typical development across 6 time points (between 9 and 15 months) revealed 267 words that comprised 80% of the 257,480 words the mothers used. This list of words that mothers used most frequently was compared to three existing lists of the expressive vocabulary used most frequently by 65 toddlers and preschoolers with typical development, indicating substantial overlap. The results suggest that there is a common set of frequently occurring words that mothers use in their daily interactions with infants and toddlers, and that these same words also comprise a significant proportion of the words most frequently used by young children. Implications for representing these frequently occurring words with graphic symbols on the communication systems of children with complex communication needs are discussed.

Purpose Many children with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities are at a higher risk for hearing loss than their peers who are typically developing. Unfortunately, they do not consistently participate in routine school-based hearing screenings. The current study investigated the feasibility of increasing their participation using an otoacoustic emissions protocol and documented results relative to student educational profiles. Method A total of 43 students with significant cognitive disabilities enrolled at a public school exclusively serving this population participated in the study. All but 9, who were excluded because of known hearing loss, were screened by a licensed audiologist assisted by audiology doctoral students. The protocol included otoscopy, tympanometry, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), and teacher surveys. Results DPOAE screening was attempted on 33 students without previously diagnosed hearing loss and successfully completed for 26 (78.8%). Two students (4.6%) with absent otoacoustic emissions and normal tympanograms were referred for further assessment due to concerns about possible sensorineural hearing loss in one or both ears, and 10 (23.3%) had abnormal tympanograms in one or both ears. Conclusions Considering the high risk of sensorineural hearing loss for children with significant disabilities, it is important for them to be included in school hearing screenings. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of using DPOAEs for school-based hearing screenings with this population with an interprofessional team of licensed audiologists, educators, and speech-language pathologists. The results further suggest that students with significant disabilities and hearing loss may be unidentified and underserved. Given the complex needs of this population, an interprofessional practice model for hearing screenings and intervention services is recommended.

A speech-language pathology master's program that grew out of a partnership between the University of Zambia and a U.S.-based charitable organization, Connective Link Among Special needs Programs (CLASP) International, has just been completed in Zambia. The review of this program is outlined according to the suggested principles for community-based partnerships, a framework which may help evaluate cultural relevance and sustainability in long-term volunteer efforts (Israel, Schulz, Parker, & Becker, 1998).

Spelling in writing samples was compared between children who are hard of hearing (HH) (n = 142) and their peers with typical hearing (TH) (n = 72) in second and fourth grade. The same analyses were then conducted comparing groups of children who are HH with different levels of aided audibility. Compared to children with TH, children who are HH produced fewer misspelled words (p = .041, d = .42) at second grade but performed similarly in fourth grade (p = .943, d = .02). Compared to peers with TH, children who are HH demonstrated similar distributions of errors in roots but some differences in the distribution of errors for affixes. Different levels of aided audibility among children who are HH were not associated with significant differences in spelling accuracy at both grades. However, second-grade children with poorer aided audibility produced significantly more phonological omissions (p = .005, r = .32) and orthographic consonant errors for monomorphemic words (p = .001, r = .37), as well as more orthographic consonant errors for and affixes (p = .015, r = .28).

Approximately 56 countries in the world have speech-language pathology services which are promoted on public websites, The International Directory of Communication Disorders (2016), or The American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association resources (e.g., ASHA, 2016). For the remaining 140+ countries, sources detailing speech-language pathology services and academic programming are not readily available and the status of the profession is unclear. However, recent global efforts have highlighted the lack of rehabilitation services for persons in many countries. This article will review the barriers and solutions for change in locations where services such as speech-language pathology are not available, as well as recent developments that have prompted elevation of the rights of persons with disabilities.