Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups has now been free to all ASHA members for more than 3 months! We hope you’ve had the time to check out some of the important resources you can use in the clinic.
The April issue of Perspectives published last week, and we can’t wait for you to see what Perspectives has to offer you! Read more below to see how this journal is bridging research and practice for ASHA’s clinicians.
Children and Young Adults With Hearing Difficulties
Not All Signing Is Sign Language: The Risks of Conflating Communication Opportunities for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children: Children who are deaf and hard of hearing express themselves in a number of ways—for example, using spoken language, sign language, or SimCom, or speaking and signing at the same time. The authors of this article distinguish signed languages from SimCom and other communication systems, highlighting the role of grammar in supporting cognitive and linguistic development.
Factors Encouraging or Discouraging Hearing Aid Use Among Young Adult Hearing Aid Users: ASHA audiologists work not only to connect people with useful tools that can aid in their communication but also to help them use these tools in their everyday lives. Learn about the usage patterns of young adults who wear hearing aids, including situations in which they remove their hearing aids.
Swallowing and Language
Understanding the Domains of Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults With Dysphagia: A Scoping Review: Research into the health-related quality of life for older adults with dysphagia has historically focused on symptoms and swallowing function. This review emphasizes the importance of understanding psychosocial and contextual factors to help you provide more effective, personalized interventions.
Response Speed and Variability on a Verbal Stroop Task: A Small-Sample Comparison of Bilingual and Monolingual Adults: Bilingual speakers work to suppress the influence of one language when using another, and it has long been speculated that this could lead to a cognitive advantage. Results show that these individuals do indeed possess an advantage, particularly in tasks demanding selective attention and inhibiting competing information.
Productivity and Purpose in the Clinic
Do Productivity Standards Impact Clinical Decision Making for Speech-Language Pathologists? More than 60% of ASHA members working in health care report that they are expected to meet productivity standards, including the number of minutes spent in patient care and the number of billable activities. The authors of this study surveyed speech-language pathologists (SLPs) about their productivity requirements—and whether or not these expectations influenced clinical decision making and workplace ethics.
The Obstacle Is the Way: Communication Sciences and Disorders Student Perceptions of a Meaningful Work Seminar: As health professionals face rising demands, it’s important that clinicians safeguard their well-being through resilience and a sense of purpose. Undergraduate students attended a 7-week seminar on meaningful work, which aimed to give them tools to combat burnout.
We Hope You’re Enjoying Perspectives!
The April issue of Perspectives contains more than 20 additional articles, covering 17 topic areas across communication sciences and disorders. Perspectives is always publishing new content, so check back often to read even more clinically relevant articles!
