METHOD: A web-based questionnaire was developed to obtain information about SLPs' practises during assessment, planning and treatment.
RESULT: A total of 53 SLPs completed the questionnaire. When assessing the children, participants either always or usually involved parents, suggesting that they understood the importance of family involvement in services provided. When planning goals, the SLPs relied mostly on their clinical experience and less on research evidence. Participants reported that, most often, they employed a one-to-one approach when providing treatment. There was, however, great variation in the frequency of treatment provided, reflecting the different workplaces of participants.
CONCLUSION: Generally, findings from this study indicated that some practises employed by Malaysian SLPs when managing children with SLD in the DLS are on par with the best practise guidelines, but there is still room for improvement in certain areas such as team collaboration and evidence-based practise. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
METHODS: This is a prospective instrument correlation study done on 93 children aged 1-4 years of age with speech and language delay for at least 3 months. Hearing status was confirmed using otoacoustic emissions, pure tone audiometry and brainstem evoked response (BSER). Hearing status was then compared to the 14-point questionnaire final scores and is statistically correlated.
RESULTS: There were 26 patients, 15 males (58%) and 11(42%) females who were diagnosed to have hearing loss. The average age of presentation was 2.49 and conductive hearing loss accounted for about 74% of cases of hearing loss. The mean questionnaire score obtained through our patients was 3.83±1.987. Discriminant analysis suggests that a questionnaire score of above 4 was indicative that the child was suffering from hearing loss.
CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the low-cost bilingual (Malay and English) questionnaire can be used to detect hearing loss in the Malaysian population and could potentially be useful in rural health centres to help detect hearing loss and to determine the urgency of referral to a tertiary health centre.
METHODS: We therefore conducted a cluster analysis of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) scores from 85 individuals with ASD to predict subgroups and subsequently identified dysregulated genes by reanalyzing the transcriptome profiles of individuals with ASD and unaffected individuals. Proteome profiling of lymphoblastoid cell lines from these individuals was performed via 2D-gel electrophoresis, and then mass spectrometry. Disrupted proteins were identified and compared to the dysregulated transcripts and reported dysregulated proteins from previous proteome studies. Biological functions were predicted using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) program. Selected proteins were also analyzed by Western blotting.
RESULTS: The cluster analysis of ADI-R data revealed four ASD subgroups, including ASD with severe language impairment, and transcriptome profiling identified dysregulated genes in each subgroup. Screening via proteome analysis revealed 82 altered proteins in the ASD subgroup with severe language impairment. Eighteen of these proteins were further identified by nano-LC-MS/MS. Among these proteins, fourteen were predicted by IPA to be associated with neurological functions and inflammation. Among these proteins, diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI) protein was confirmed by Western blot analysis to be expressed at significantly decreased levels in the ASD subgroup with severe language impairment, and the DBI expression levels were correlated with the scores of several ADI-R items.
CONCLUSIONS: By subgrouping individuals with ASD based on clinical phenotypes, and then performing an integrated transcriptome-proteome analysis, we identified DBI as a novel candidate protein for ASD with severe language impairment. The mechanisms of this protein and its potential use as an ASD biomarker warrant further study.
CASE REPORT: We report audiological tests and auditory brainstem response (ABR) findings in a 5-year old Malay boy with NS. Despite showing the marked signs of NS, the child could only produce a few meaningful words. Audiological tests found him to have bilateral mild conductive hearing loss at low frequencies. In ABR testing, despite having good waveform morphology, the results were atypical. Absolute latency of wave V was normal but interpeak latencies of wave's I-V, I-II, II-III were prolonged. Interestingly, interpeak latency of waves III-V was abnormally shorter.
CONCLUSION: Abnormal ABR results are possibly due to abnormal anatomical condition of brainstem and might contribute to speech delay.
METHODS: Twenty-five typically developing children and 25 children with Down syndrome aged between 12 and 36 months were involved in this study. They were recruited from an early intervention center and various kindergartens from the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Their play skills were assessed using the Symbolic Play Test Second Edition, and information about their vocabulary was obtained through the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories that was filled out by their parents.
RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the vocabulary and symbolic play scores of children with Down syndrome compared with typically developing children. There was also a positive correlation between symbolic play scores and receptive and expressive vocabulary scores for both groups of children.
CONCLUSION: When providing intervention, speech-language pathologists need to promote the development of symbolic play in addition to language, given the association between the two. They should also look into introducing an augmentative and alternative communication system to the children who demonstrate age-appropriate symbolic play skills but have trouble with symbolic language production.