In 2023, ASHA Journals reached record readership for the fourth year in a row! With more than 800 articles published, you may have missed some of the groundbreaking research that we published in the last year. Check out highlights of some of the most read, most cited, and trending articles of the year below.
Language Acquisition
Using the Natural Language Acquisition Protocol to Support Gestalt Language Development: Our two most popular articles of the year both looked at language development and acquisition. First, this article showed how gestalt language processing, a natural style of language acquisition, can be used to support language development in autistic and non-autistic individuals. The authors contrasted gestalt language development with analytic language development—and highlighted the importance of adapting their communication styles to each individual client to help support language development.
Learning a Sign Language Does Not Hinder Acquisition of a Spoken Language: Our second most read article was also our most talked-about article online in 2023. Using empirical evidence, the authors broke down and refuted arguments that sign language acquisition hinders spoken language development. The authors also found some evidence that sign language acquisition could positively correlate with spoken language outcomes!
Our Most-Read Articles for Audiologists
Comparing Hearing Aid Outcomes in Adults Using Over-the-Counter and Hearing Care Professional Service Delivery Models: Although previous research has validated many over-the-counter hearing aid technologies, authors of this paper sought to understand the real-world benefit of this service delivery model. Results showed that people using over-the-counter hearing aids experienced satisfaction and benefits—and suggested ways that hearing care providers could work to complement these services.
Central Auditory Processing Dysfunction in Service Members and Veterans: Treatment Considerations and Strategies: Military service members and veterans face a variety of unique risk factors for auditory processing deficits—including noise exposure, head trauma, and exposure to toxins. This article listed existing treatments and gaps in the literature, advocating for future research on the best ways to provide care for these individuals.
Directed Attention and Habituation: Two Concepts Critical to Tinnitus Management: This tutorial can help audiologists focus on directed attention and habituation when working with clients diagnosed with tinnitus. Although cognitive behavioral therapy is the most well-researched model for tinnitus management, these authors discussed three similar methods that use directed attention as a strategy and that seek habituation as a goal.
Popular Articles in Speech-Language Pathology
The Apraxia of Speech Rating Scale: Reliability, Validity, and Utility: Assessing, diagnosing, and describing apraxia of speech can be difficult for many clinicians for a variety of reasons, including overlap with other disorders and traditional methods’ reliance on perception-based judgment. In this article, the authors showed that the latest version of the Apraxia of Speech Rating Scale is a reliable, valid scale that is sensitive to the unique features of apraxia of speech.
Motor Speech Interventions for Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review: Dysarthria is common among children with cerebral palsy and results in poor speech intelligibility and low communicative participation. In this review, the authors investigated whether or not motor speech interventions have been proven to increase speech intelligibility.
The Functional External Memory Aid Tool Version 2.0: A How-To Clinical Guide: When working with patients with cognitive-communication disorders, it’s important for SLPs to understand how these patients use memory aids in their everyday lives. Learn how to use a free, easy-to-administer, and clinically sound tool that can help clinicians gather this data.
School-Based Resources From LSHSS
Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives on Teaching Reading Comprehension: The authors of this LSHSS article found that elementary school teachers do not agree on how to teach reading comprehension—and that few learned the techniques that they use through education or mentorship. Further, these authors advocated for the introduction of evidence-based based practice both when teaching reading and when educating future teachers.
School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists’ Stress and Burnout: A Cross-Sectional Survey at the Height of the COVID-19 Pandemic: High turnover of school-based SLPs has been attributed to occupational stress and burnout, among other factors. The authors surveyed school-based SLPs on stress and burnout at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and provided actionable steps for supervisors, administrators, and other stakeholders.
And Even More Research!
These articles represent just a small sample of those we published in 2023 (and the thousands in our archives). This year, why not resolve to explore the latest in communication sciences and disorders in the ASHA Journals on ASHAWire?
