Abstract
Background:
The assessment and diagnosis of apraxia of speech (AOS) has been well-studied in the English context, yet there is limited understanding on clinical practice with speakers of other languages, like Cantonese. This study aimed to understand the current clinical practice in Hong Kong, in terms of assessment and diagnosis of AOS in Cantonese speakers.
Methods:
An online survey of clinical practice in the assessment and diagnosis of AOS in Cantonese speakers were completed by 27 qualified speech therapists in Hong Kong. The questionnaire comprised 12 questions covering assessment methods and criteria used for diagnosing AOS in Cantonese speakers. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the responses obtained from the survey.
Results:
Results revealed about 30% of the respondents use established assessment tools (like Apraxia Battery for Adults – 2nd Edition) to assess and diagnose AOS; while majority (56%) of the respondents do not use any established assessment tools, acoustical nor instrumental measurements. All the respondents reported that they refer to clinical features of AOS when making AOS diagnosis. Specifically, all 22 clinical features reported from the existing literature are used by the respondents, with ‘articulatory groping’ and ‘inconsistent articulatory errors’
being the most commonly used clinical features for diagnosis of AOS. Results also showed that speech sample, diadochokinesis and repetition tasks are the most commonly used assessment tasks (52-59%), although there is a lack of common assessment tasks used by all the respondents.
Conclusion:
The results revealed that speech therapists in Hong Kong assess and diagnose AOS in Cantonese speakers using clinical features commonly reported in English literature. However, there is a lack of consensus concerning the use of the clinical features and assessment tasks in making AOS diagnosis in Cantonese speakers. Further investigations are needed for development of a valid and reliable assessment tool for Cantonese speakers with AOS.
The assessment and diagnosis of apraxia of speech (AOS) has been well-studied in the English context, yet there is limited understanding on clinical practice with speakers of other languages, like Cantonese. This study aimed to understand the current clinical practice in Hong Kong, in terms of assessment and diagnosis of AOS in Cantonese speakers.
Methods:
An online survey of clinical practice in the assessment and diagnosis of AOS in Cantonese speakers were completed by 27 qualified speech therapists in Hong Kong. The questionnaire comprised 12 questions covering assessment methods and criteria used for diagnosing AOS in Cantonese speakers. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the responses obtained from the survey.
Results:
Results revealed about 30% of the respondents use established assessment tools (like Apraxia Battery for Adults – 2nd Edition) to assess and diagnose AOS; while majority (56%) of the respondents do not use any established assessment tools, acoustical nor instrumental measurements. All the respondents reported that they refer to clinical features of AOS when making AOS diagnosis. Specifically, all 22 clinical features reported from the existing literature are used by the respondents, with ‘articulatory groping’ and ‘inconsistent articulatory errors’
being the most commonly used clinical features for diagnosis of AOS. Results also showed that speech sample, diadochokinesis and repetition tasks are the most commonly used assessment tasks (52-59%), although there is a lack of common assessment tasks used by all the respondents.
Conclusion:
The results revealed that speech therapists in Hong Kong assess and diagnose AOS in Cantonese speakers using clinical features commonly reported in English literature. However, there is a lack of consensus concerning the use of the clinical features and assessment tasks in making AOS diagnosis in Cantonese speakers. Further investigations are needed for development of a valid and reliable assessment tool for Cantonese speakers with AOS.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Not published / presented only - Jun 2021 |
| Event | 18th Conference of the International Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics Association - Online from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom Duration: 23 Jun 2021 → 25 Jun 2021 https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/psychologicalscienceshealth/speechlanguagetherapy/icpla2020/ |
Conference
| Conference | 18th Conference of the International Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics Association |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ICPLA |
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Glasgow |
| Period | 23/06/21 → 25/06/21 |
| Internet address |