In 2019, articles from the ASHA Journals were read 1.3 million times! During that time period, we published more than 750 new articles. Check out 10 of our most popular articles from the last year below in case you missed them!

Using Developmental Norms for Speech Sounds as a Means of Determining Treatment Eligibility in Schools by Holly Storkel. In our most-read article of the year, Holly Storkel outlines best practices for presenting three common sets of developmental norms to establish eligibility for speech treatment for children with speech sound disorders.

Effective Vocabulary Instruction Fosters Knowing Words, Using Words, and Understanding How Words Work by Margaret G. McKeown. In our most shared article of the year, the author summarizes features of effective vocabulary instruction that apply to students of all grade and skill levels.

Reference Values for Healthy Swallowing Across the Range From Thin to Extremely Thick Liquids by Catriona M. Steele, Melanie Peladeau-Pigeon, Carly A. E. Barbon, Brittany T. Guida, Ashwini M. Namasivayam-MacDonald, Weslania V. Nascimento, Sana Smaoui, Melanie S. Tapson, Teresa J. Valenzano, Ashley A. Waito, and Talia S. Wolkin. Although thickened liquids are a frequent intervention in dysphagia, gaps persist in our understanding of variations in swallowing behavior based on incremental thickening of liquids. In the study, the authors established reference data for healthy individuals swallowing liquids that ranged from thin to extremely thick. In this article, the authors present that reference data.

Speech-Language Pathology and the Youth Offender: Epidemiological Overview and Roadmap for Future Speech-Language Pathology Research and Scope of Practice by Pamela C. Snow. Evidence shows that individuals in the youth justice system—not just in the United States but internationally—often have severely compromised oral language skills. In this review article, Snow explores the important ways that speech-language pathologists can advocate for these individuals.

Dying for a Meal: An Integrative Review of Characteristics of Choking Incidents and Recommendations to Prevent Fatal and Nonfatal Choking Across Populations by Bronwyn Hemsley, Joanne Steel, Justine Joan Sheppard, Georgia A. Malandraki, Lucy Bryant, and Susan Balandin. The authors reviewed 52 studies focused on fatal and nonfatal choking on food. In this article, they summarize their review and present ways to respond to and prevent choking.

Representation of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids in the U.S. Newspaper Media: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Secondary Data by Vinaya Manchaiah, Pierre Ratinaud, and Eldré W. Beukes. The news often has the potential to establish and sway opinions on important topics. Here, the authors looked at newspaper data from 1990 to 2017 to establish the ways in which hearing loss and hearing aid use were mentioned. The results of this study can help hearing health care professionals understand societal presuppositions about hearing loss and hearing aids, as the media has the ability to influence societal perception and opinions.

Improving Reading Comprehension in the Primary Grades: Mediated Effects of a Language-Focused Classroom Intervention by Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC), Hui Jiang, and Jessica Logan. In their research, the authors focused on the relationship between language education and reading through a nationwide study of 160 classrooms. This article provides evidence that a language-focused intervention can positively impact students’ performance on language measures that are closely aligned with the intervention—with indirect, large effects on distal reading comprehension measures.

Longitudinal Relationships Between Decline in Speech-in-Noise Recognition Ability and Cognitive Functioning: The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam by Marieke Pronk, Birgit I. Lissenberg-Witte, Hilde P. A. van der Aa, Hannie C. Comijs, Cas Smits, Ulrike Lemke, Adriana A. Zekveld, and Sophia E. Kramer. Researchers examined four hypotheses surrounding links between aging, hearing, and cognition—and found that the causal pathways corresponding to all four hypotheses were supported.

Progression of Aphasia Severity in the Chronic Stages of Stroke by Lisa Johnson, Alexandra Basilakos, Grigori Yourganov, Bo Cai, Leonardo Bonilha, Chris Rorden, and Julius Fridriksson. This study focused on external factors that may help clinicians predict aphasia severity and duration for patients post stroke. In this article, the authors conclude that two factors—stroke age and receiving aphasia treatment—significantly influence language recovery in chronic aphasia. They also suggest a potential adjunct to language therapy: exercise.

Language Ability and the Familiar Talker Advantage: Generalizing to Unfamiliar Talkers Is What Matters by Susannah V. Levi, Daphna Harel, and Richard G. Schwartz. Children at all language levels are able to recognize words from familiar talkers. This is known as the familiar talker advantage. In this study, the authors used familiar and unfamiliar talkers with similar accents to determine if children with higher language scores were better at generalizing language.

We hope you enjoy catching up with these and thousands more articles from the ASHA Journals. Keep up with the latest research as it’s published by updating your email alert preferences on ASHAWire.