The adequacy of biting, sucking, swallowing, and chewing as well as the presence or absence of nine infantile oral reflexes were assessed in 60 cerebral-palsied individuals. The effect of the asymmetric tonic neck reflex and the Moro reflex on the infantile oral reflexes was also studied. There was a trend for subjects with more adequate feeding skills to achieve higher levels of overall speech proficiency and articulatory competency, but this trend was not completely systematic. Fifteen subjects displayed abnormal oral reflexes, but these reflexes could not be elicited consistently. The effect of the ATNR and Moro reflex on the oral reflexes seemed limited. Results generally supported the value of the widespread prescription of improving feeding in cerebral palsy, but the need to modify abnormal oral reflexes received less support. The question of using prespeech oromotor training to reduce possible future dysarthria is discussed in terms of the findings.
Thirty-five aphasic subjects who were 1 year or longer post onset of brain injury were given a battery of reading tests which was composed of recognition and oral reading tests for letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs, and comprehension tests for sentences and paragraphs. Results indicated a residual reading disorder or alexia in all subjects, with comprehension tests producing the highest error rate, oral reading tests second, and then recognition tests. Reading ability was found to be related to overall language skill, level of education, and oral reading ability. Results are discussed in light of current theories of reading and future research needs.
Twenty Broca's aphasia patients were stimulated with four cues in a picture-naming task. Among the severe aphasics in the group, presentation of a word to be imitated was the most effective cue and presentation of the initial syllable of the word ranked second. Sentence completion and printed word cues were equally effective and ranked third. Mild aphasic patients responded equally well to all four classes of cues. Reliability measures indicated that the order of potency of cues for the severe group was stable over time. Oral apraxia did not appear to contribute significantly to the severity of Broca's aphasia in any of these subjects. Possible explanations are presented for the effectiveness of cues studied.
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