PRAXIS Questions

During an intervention session, a child produces the utterance "Mommy go run." The child's speech-language pathologist (SLP) uses an expansion approach to increase the complexity of the child's utterance. Which of the following statements could this SLP use in response to the child? A) "Mommy's going to run." B) "Mommy's going to run to the house." C) "Where is Mommy going?" D) "Say 'mommy is going to run.'"

A) "Mommy's going to run." Feedback: An expansion (also known as recast) is a form of experiential instruction in which the SLP provides a corrected version of a child's word or utterance. Because the SLP from this scenario is utilizing a expansion for the child, the SLP would provide only the corrected utterance (i.e. "Mommy's going to run"). In contrast to this, an expatiation is when the SLP provides a corrected version of a child's word or utterance the goes beyond the child's original meaning (i.e. "Mommy's going to run to the house"). Questioning occurs when the SLP asks follow up questions to the child's original utterance (i.e., "Where is Mommy running?") Finally, imitation occurs when the SLP provides a model and expects the child to replicate it (i.e, "Say 'Mommy's going to run'").

Which of the following, if observed in the speech of an African American child, is most likely to represent a dialectical variation rather than an articulation error? A) /f/ for /th/ in postvocalic position B) /th/ for /s/ in all positions C) Affricates for fricatives in word-final position D) Dentals for velars in word-initial position

A) /f/ for /th/ in postvocalic position. Feedback: The use of voiceless labiodental fricatives for voiceless interdental fricatives is a feature of African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

The telencephalon is the area of the brain that includes the cerebral hemispheres and receives its blood supply from a variety of different arteries. The artery that supplies most of the medial surfaces of the telencephalon is the : A) Anterior cerebral artery. B) Middle cerebral artery. C) Posterior cerebral artery. D) Anterior spinal artery.

A) Anterior cerebral artery. Feedback: The telencephalon includes the cerebral hemispheres, which receive blood from the anterior, middle and posterior cerebral arteries. The anterior cerebral artery branches off from the internal carotid artery and feeds the cerebral hemispheres starting in the area of the optic chiasm, which can be found in the medial portions of the hemisphers. In contrast to this, the middle cerebral artery supplies blood to a majority of the lateral cerebral hemisphers. The posterior cerebral artery supplies blood to the posterior cerebral hemispheres, including the occipital spheres. Finally, the anterior spinal artery supplies blood to the anterior spinal cord and posterior cerebellum

Which of the following types of cerebral palsy is characterized by slow, arrhythmic writhing and involuntary movements of the extremities? A) Athetosis B) Spasticity C) Hypotonia D) Bulbar palsy

A) Athetosis

A child has been diagnosed with a cognitive disability, with "expected associated language difficulties." Using this information, what should be targeted in this child's intervention sessions? A) Complex sentence structure and increasing relative clauses. B) Pragmatic communication and increasing vocabulary. C) Phonological memory and increasing attention span. D) Simple sentence structure and increasing sight word recognition.

A) Complex sentence structure and increasing relative clauses. Feedback: Children with cognitive disabilities generally show delayed morphological development due to their tendency to use less complex sentences and fewer relative clauses. By targeting these language structures, through intervention, these children can make improvements in both syntax and morphology. While there are semantic deficits associated with cognitive disability they tend to be deficits in understanding abstract vocabulary, rather than vocabulary acquisition. Additionally, pragmatic communication is generally commensurate with cognitive age and is not the most appropriate treatment target for this population. Phonological combinations would be appropriate if the child demonstrated an associated speech sound disorder, and attention span would be appropriate with associated attention deficits (i.e., ADHD). Finally, children with cognitive disability often use simple sentence structure, thus more advanced skills should be targeted

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) in an acute care hospital is interested in starting a research project, but is unsure of what direction to take. A large pharmaceutical company that works with the hospital discusses their new pill that will treat the hypokinetic dysarthria aspects of Parkinson's disease with the SLP and reveal that it still needs to be tested. The company representatives offer the SLP 10% of total profit if they are able to prove through a controlled study that his pill is more effective than just treatment alone. What course of action should this SLP take? A) Deny participation in the research study, as this is a conflict of interest. B) Accept participation in the research study, as this could be beneficial to many people. C) Deny participation in the research study, but offer to recommend patients to the company. D)Reduce their earnings to 2% profit, to minimize any conflict of interest.

A) Deny participation in the research study, as this is a conflict of interest. Feedback: According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Code of Ethics, Principle of Ethics III, Rule of Ethics B, "Individuals shall not participate in professional activities that constitute a conflict of interest." The SLP from this scenario is bound by the Code of Ethics to deny participation in this research study, as their receiving profit from the successful pill is a conflict of interest. For this reason, it would also be unethical for the SLP to recommend participants for the research study, as they are still participating in the project in a minimal degree. Finally, receiving any amount of profit (i.e., 2%-10%) still represents a conflict of interest and should be denied, regardless.

A public-school-based speech-language pathologist is employed in a state that sets the maximum caseload at 65. However, the clinician's caseload is currently at 64 with a waiting list of 10 additional students. The school principal insists that the speech-language pathologist enroll the 10 students immediately, because the district cannot locate another clinician to assist with the caseload. Which of the following is the most appropriate way for the speech-language pathologist to address the situation? A) Enroll 1 of the 10 students and provide the principal with a written statement of caseload needs, mentioning the amount, type, and frequency of treatment B)Refer the 10 students to a speech-language pathologist working in a private setting C)Suggest that the principal ask a school speech-language pathologist from another school district to take the 10 students D)Maintain current caseload until an additional speech-language pathologist is hired

A) Enroll 1 of the 10 students and provide the principal with a written statement of caseload needs, mentioning the amount, type, and frequency of treatment Feedback: It provides the principal with a statement detailing the needs of the students awaiting treatment but also observes the state's caseload limit.

A speech and language researcher has completed treatment tasks selected for a study and is preparing to administer a posttest to the study participants. However, this posttest is the same used as the pretest the study participants previously completed. As the study participants have already seen this test, the researcher needs to be aware of the potential threat to which of the following principles? A)Internal validity. B)External validity. C)Reliability. D)Content validity.

A) Internal validity Feedback: Internal validity is how well the study is testing or describing what it purports to be testing or describing and is dependent on the methods and procedures used to answer the research questions. As the participants have already seen the posttest material, this may cause their performance to improve more that it actually did. If this were the case, the internal validity would be reduced, as the study would not accurately describe improvement, but would describe the participant's ability to recall pretest materials

Zach's parent speaks to him with exaggerated speech, short utterances and heightened inflections. They are showing: A) Motherese B) Bootstrapping C) Word-learning biases D) Frequent exposure to television

A) Motherese Feedback: Motherese refers to the universally observed style of adjusting speech patterns in interacting with very young children. In contract to this, bootstrapping refers to use of language to infer the meaning of unknown vocabulary words. Finally, word-learning biases help children determine what referent is being labeled during early word learning.

A typically developing forth-grade girl reads grad-level single words accurately and promptly. Her spelling is appropriate for her grade level. When she reads aloud a passage from her English language arts textbook, her reading, while accurate, is extremely slow and halting. When the speech-language pathologist (SLP) asks this client questions that assess her understanding of what she has read, she formulates her responses clearly and accurately. The client's text-level reading difficulty suggests problems with: A) Reading fluency. B) Orthographic memory for letter patterns. C) Rules for orthographic-phonological association. D) Underlying vocabulary skills.

A) Reading fluency Feedback: This student is demonstrating adequate automaticity, as she is able to accurately and quickly read individual words. However, because she has difficulty wit reading of connected text, she is presenting with problems in reading fluency. Fluent reading reflects appropriate rhythm, intonation and syntactic chunking, all of which would be affected in this student's slow, halting, oral reading.

Jonathon is a typically developing 4-year-old preschooler. Which of the following structures would MOST LIKELY be in his language repertoire? A) Suggesting intention, emerging mastery of copula to be, identifies the first sound in a word. B) Predominantly nouns, calling and requesting action intentions, ritual request gestures. C) Spurts in word learning, combining two to three words, deletion of possessive -s. D) Combining single words with pointing, 50 words in his expressive vocabulary, words composed of open syllables.

A) Suggesting intention, emerging mastery of copula to be, identifies the first sound in a word. Feedback: A typical 4-year-old child usually exhibits more sophisticated pragmatic, metalinguistic and grammatical forms. The other items in this question all occur earlier in development.

A speech language pathologist (SLP) in an outpatient clinic has recently been given a new patient to his/her caseload. The patient's medical records reveal that the patient is experiencing aphasia with limb apraxia. Which treatment scenario would be MOST helpful for this patient? A) The SLP will work on nonverbal communication using Amerind. B) The SLP will focus on reducing paraphasias and improving word-finding. C) The focus of the treatment program is to improve agrammatism. D) The person being treated has mixed nonfluent aphasia and the treatment plan will include a trial of voluntary control of involuntary utterances.

A) The SLP will work on nonverbal communication using Amerind. Feedback: Limb apraxia is likely to affect an individual's ability to perform manual gestures to command. Of the scenarios presented, only working on nonverbal communication requires the production of manual gestures using the treatment method Amerind. While limb apraxia might affect performance within the other treatment programs, the plans are all focused on the remediation of verbal expression which is less likely to be affected by limb apraxia.

A 3-year-old child is brought to a speech and language clinic and is suspected of having a language disorder. Upon initial interview, the child's parents reveal that the child first learned to speak English, and they have not begun to teach the child Spanish. Following the evaluation, the speech-language pathologist (SLP) determines that the child demonstrates age-appropriate linguistic skill with English, but presents with significant difficulty with Spanish. Which of the following BEST describes this child? A) The child does not present with a language disorder. B) The child presents with a language disorder for Spanish only. C)The child presents with a language disorder for both languages. D)The child presents with a language delay for Spanish only.

A) The child does not present with a language disorder. Feedback: For children who are bilingual, determination of the first language (L-1) is critical, because a language disorder can only be diagnosed if the child presents with difficulties in only their L-1. If the child presents with difficulties in L-2, this may be a sign of difficulty learning a new language, but it is not indicative of a language disorder.

A pharmaceutical company has approached a group of speech-language pathologists (SLP's) working in the school System regarding their new product "Speak Easy!" pills. The company claims that these pills are a cure for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and would like the SLP's to represent the products at the upcoming American-Language-Hearing association (ASHA) Convention. One of the SLP's is interested, as the SLP would like to earn extra money by representing the product. The SLP should first: A)Ask to see the research supporting the pill's effectiveness. B)Try the pills with clients with CAS. C)Approach his/her director for permission to be the representative. D)Accept the position as representative for this product.

A)Ask to see the research supporting the pill's effectiveness. Feedback: According to the ASHA Code of Ethics, Principle of Ethics III, Rule of Ethics G, "Individuals' statements to the public when advertising, announcing, and marketing their professional services; reporting research results; and promoting products shall adhere to professional standards and shall not contain misrepresentation." As the SLP does not know the research evidence behind the pills, the SLP's immediate promotion of the pills may constitute an unethical misrepresentation. If the research show that the pills are effective, and do in fact cure CAS, the SLP can then make an appropriate informed decision about whether to promote the product or not. Trying the pills on their clients would also prove to be unethical, as the SLP does not have any information on the product.

Cranial nerves can include motor functions, sensory functions, or a mix of both. Which of the following cranial nerves (CN) serve both motor and sensory functions? A)CN V, CN IX, CN X. B)CN V, CN XI, CN XII. C)CN III, CN IX, CN X. D)CN III, CN X, CN XIII

A)CN V, CN IX, CN X. Feedback: The cranial nerves that are responsible for both motor movements and sensory information are V (trigeminal), VII (facial), IX (glossopharyngeal) and X (vagus). The other cranial nerves are responsible for either sensory information or motor movement, but not both.

James is a high school student who has been referred to a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for assessment of language and executive functioning skills. During the initial interview, James tells the SLP that he has significant difficulties making friends and has not been able to hold down a job. Following the assessment, the SLP notes that James presents with significant impairments in recognizing safe and unsafe behaviors. Utilizing this information, James MOST LIKELY presents with which of the following difficulties? A)Cognitive disability. B)Autism spectrum disorder. C)Spina bifida. D)Cerebral palsy.

A)Cognitive disability. Feedback: The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities defines a cognitive disability as a limitation in at least two of the following areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure and work. As James has stated that he has difficulty making friends (i.e. social skills) and has difficulty holding down a job (i.e. difficulty with work), he most likely presents with a cognitive disability. In contrast to this, there is no strict association of work difficulties or safety deficits in the populations of autism spectrum disorder, spina bifida, or cerebral palsy.

A patient who is experiencing nonfluent aphasia MOST LIKELY has some degree of cortical damage in Broca's area. This brain region is in which lobe? A)Frontal. B)Temporal. C)Parietal. D)Occipital.

A)Frontal. Feedback: Broca's area can be found in the frontal lobes of the brain, in the inferior frontal gyrus. Refer to "Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology for Speech, Language and Swallowing from Chapter 1 of this text for more information and visualization of this structure.

Jessica is a patient who was recently admitted to an acute rehabilitation hospital. Her physician has requested a referral for speech-language pathology, for reason of "communicative difficulties." After the speech-language pathologist performs an evaluation, he determines that while Jessica is a candidate for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), she will likely require only temporary use of AAC. Which of the following conditions is Jessica MOST LIKELY experiencing? A)Intubation-induced vocal fold edema. B)Severe Broca's aphasia. C)Total glossectomy. D)Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A)Intubation-induced vocal fold edema. Feedback: Temporary use of AAC may be implemented for patients with conditions that are likely to alleviate or improve drastically. In intubation-induced vocal fold edema, the patient may present as aphonic, which may reduce the patient's communicative effectiveness. However, this condition typically improves within a few weeks and would require temporary means of AAC. In contrast to this, patients with severe Broca's aphasia, total glossectomy and ALS have chronic and/or degenerative communication problems and would likely benefit from permanent means of AAC to aid their communicative effectiveness.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is working with a patient and observes signs at a bedside examination of potential penetration or aspiration. In order to accurately diagnose the presence of penetration or aspiration, which of the following instrumental assessments measures should be consulted? A)Modified barium swallow/video fluoroscopic swallow study (MBS/VFSS). B)Esophageal manometry. C)Cervical auscultation. D)Ultrasound.

A)Modified barium swallow/video fluoroscopic swallow study (MBS/VFSS). Feedback: The MBS/VFSS is a radiographic assessment measure that allows an SLP to determine the presence of either penetration or aspiration. Additionally, the MBS allow the SLP to determine the depth of infiltrate using such measures as the Penetration-Aspiration Scale and can alert the SLP to when penetration or aspiration occurs (i.e., before, during or after the swallow).

Children diagnosed as having specific language impairments are likely to exhibit the greatest deficits in which of the following? A)Production of sentences with appropriate inflectional morphology and syntax B)Acquisition of word meanings C)Comprehension of short sentences D)Motoric aspects of written expression

A)Production of sentences with appropriate inflectional morphology and syntax Feedback: Children with specific language impairments typically have difficulty producing utterances that morphologically and syntactically well formed

A team of SLPs is evaluating whether a new language intervention is suitable for use with children who are on their caseload. The clinicians read an article documenting research on the effect of a novel treatment on the language performance of 30 children with specific language impairment. The researchers administered a standardized language test to the children before and after the treatment program. The children's posttreatment scores on the test were significantly higher than their pretreatment scores. This led the researchers to conclude that the treatment was highly effective. Based on the preceding description, which of the following appears to be a significant limitation of the design of the study? A) The use of a single group pretest-posttest design B) The absence of a control group C) The inability to rule out the possibility that the children's language scores improved for reasons other than the treatment D) The use of random assignment to place the children into the treatment group E) The number of participants in the study

A, B, C, The use of a single-group pretest-posttest design is a limitation becuse there is inadequate control of internal and external validity without a control group. The absence of a control group is a limitation because control groups are a way of introducing control and can better isolate the effect of the treatment. Furthermore, since it is a longitudinal study, improvement based on language development cannot be ruled out

Fela is a third grade student in a public school. She is a speaker of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) who has difficulty with Standard American English (SAE) dialect used in her classroom. Her teacher believes that Fela's language skills are affecting her academic performance and has reffered her to the school's SLP. Which of the following is an appropriate rationale for providing language intervention to Fela? Select all that apply. A) It will likely foster better communication with Fela's linguistally and culturally diverse peers. B) It will likely improve Fela's code-switching ability with her teacher and other adult speakers of SAE. C) It may expand Fela's later academic and vocational opportunities D) It will likely lead Fela to adopt SAE as her main dialect.

A,B,C. The intervention will foster better communication because Fela and her peers will have a common dialect. Also, the intervention will provide Fela with the ability to switch easily between dialects using SAE structures. Furthermore, being able to switch codes will enable Fela to participate in more educational and vocational opportunities.

When counseling the parents of a child who has an articulation disorder, the SLP can cite developmental norms to show which of the following? A) The child's misarticulation will interfere with reading skills B) A certain percentage of children of a certain age can correctly articulate the misarticulated sound C) The misarticulation is caused by faulty learning D) The misarticulation is not physically based

B) A certain percentage of children of a certain age can correctly articulate the misarticulated sound

Which of the following errors is likely to persist the longest in the speech of children who are learning SAE as a first language and are following the normal developmental course for speech and language acquisition? A) Assimilation B) Consonant cluster reduction C) Final-consonant deletion D) Velar fronting

B) Consonant cluster reduction

While performing a modified barium swallow (MBS) study, the speech-language pathologist (SLP) discovers that the patient is experiencing premature spillage into the pharyngeal cavity, where the bolus sits for many seconds before being swallowed. Which part of the swallow is this patient having difficulty with? A) Hyolaryngeal elevation B) Initiation of the swallow C) Anterior-posterior movement D) Bolus formation

B) Initiation of the swallow Feedback: The swallow is typically initiated when the bolus head reaches the faucial pillars (in younger adults) or the back of the tongue (in older adults). If the bolus is spilling into the patient's pharyngeal cavity prior to hyolaryngeal elevation and excursion, the patient is experiencing difficulty with initiating swallowing.

Which of the following is an accurate statement about whispered speech? A) It is produced by approximating the arytenoid cartilages so that their medial surfaces are in direct contact B) It is composed largely of aperiodic sounds C) Spectrographic analysis of it reveals no discernible formants for the vowels D) Most people can produce longer utterances per breath using it than they can using conventional phonation

B) It is composed largely of aperiodic sounds Feedback: Whispered speech is composed largely of aperiodic sounds, as the vocal folds do not vibrate while whispering is taking place.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) at an acute rehabilitation hospital is scheduled to evaluate a newly admitted patient with a diagnosis of flaccid dysarthria. Following a comprehensive speech evaluation, the SLP notes that the patient demonstrates significant hypernasality secondary to poor velum mobility and makes recommendations for prosthodontist consult. Which of the following prosthetic devices would be MOST APPROPRIATE for use with this patient? A) Speech bulb. B) Palatal lift. C) Palatal obturator. D) Palatal expander.

B) Palatal lift. Feedback: The palatal lift device is recommended for use with patients who have poor velar mobility, such as the patient in this scenario. The palatal obturator (used to close/occlude an open cleft or fistula) and speech bulb (used to occlude the nasopharynx when the velum is short) would not be an appropriate choice for this patient, due to the nature of their disorder.

A speech and language, researcher is designing a research study to determine the effects of time spent in intervention, dosage of intervention and type of feedback on the amount of progress made in children with phonological disorders. Which of the following methods should this research utilize in the study? A)Nonparametric experiment. B)Parametric experiment. C)Within-subjects experiment. D)Between-subjects experiment.

B) Parametric experiment Feedback: A parametric experiment is one that is designed to study the simultaneous effects of more than one independent variable on the dependent variable. In this scenario, the researcher is studying the effect of the independent variables of time in intervention, dosage of intervention and type of feedback on the dependent variable of progress made in intervention. As there are three separate independent variables, a parametric experiment would be the best selection for this researcher.

Federal laws regarding freedom of access to information stipulate that client records kept or written by health care professionals can be A) reviewed only by other health-care professionals B) reviewed only by the clients themselves unless the client provides written permission to share with others C) Reviewed by anyone who submits a formal written request D) released only by subpoena

B) Reviewed only by the clients themselves unless the client provides written permission to share with others Feedback: Clients have the right to review their own records

The sensorimotor integration of the muscles of the lower face depends on which two of the cranial nerves? A) the accessory and hypoglossal B) The trigeminal and facial C) The vagus and glosspharyngeal D) The phrenic and facial

B) The trigeminal and facial Feedback: The trigeminal nerve has a motor component which is involved in mastication (and thus the lower face) and a sensory component, which provides sensory information from the entire face (including the lower face) The facial nerve provides motor innervation to several muscles that are found in the lower face, including the orbicularis oris and the buccinator

Individuals diagnosed as having hemifacial microsomia are also most likely to have A)laryngeal dysfunction B)ear malformation C)webbed fingers and toes D)widely spaced eyes

B) ear malformation Feedback: Ear malformation is the only symptom of those listed that is typical of hemifacial microsomia, a genetic diagnosis within the oculo-auricular-vertebral (OAV) spectrum

Inspiration during quiet breathing involves contraction of the diaphragm which: A) Increases the volume of the thoracic cavity and causes pressure in the lungs to increase. B) increases the volume of the thoracic cavity and causes pressure in the lungs to decrease. C) Decreases the volume of the thoracic cavity and causes pressure in the lungs to increase. D) Decreases the volume of the thoracic cavity and causes pressure in the lungs to decrease.

B) increases the volume of the thoracic cavity and causes pressure in the lungs to decrease. Feedback: When the diaphragm contracts, it pulls downward toward the abdominal cavity, increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity, where the lungs are housed. According to Boyle's law, as volume increases, pressure decreases. Thus, if the volume of the thoracic cavity increases, the pressure in the lungs decreases, which is the main drive behind inspiration.

Jake is a typically developing 13-month-old toddler, and is demonstrating several common forms of communicative intention for his age group. Which type of communicative intention would Jake MOST LIKELY NOT demonstrate? A)Requesting action. B)Requesting permission. C)Repeating. D)Practicing.

B) requesting permission Feedback: Requesting permission is a form of communicative intent often expressed by preschoolers. As Jake has not reached preschool age, it is unlikely that he would be demonstrating this form of communicative intention. However, as he is typically developing toddler, he would most likely demonstrate the communicative intentions of requesting an action, repeating and practicing.

Richard is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) in a preschool setting. Currently, he is working with a child who has specific deficits in morphological developments. Richard wants to establish that morphemes he has targeted in this child's intervention sessions are being used consistently. What level of use is appropriate for establishing acquisition of morphological structures? A)85% of use in obligatory contexts. B)90% of use in obligatory contexts. C)95% of use in obligatory contexts. D)100% of use in obligatory contexts.

B)90% of use in obligatory contexts. Feedback: The consistency of morpheme use in obligatory contexts is the most appropriate measure for establishing the acquisition of a morpheme. This consistency can be calculated as the number of times the child correctly produced a specific morpheme (in obligatory context) divided by the total number of opportunities for the specific morpheme to have been produced in a spoken or written passage. Traditionally, 90% of use in obligatory contexts has been used as the standard for establishing morpheme acquisition.

Following a motor vehicle accident, an individual is experiencing complete paralysis of the upper and lower extremities. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan reveals damage to the lateral corticospinal tract in the spinal column. The lateral corticospinal tract is: A)An ascending pathway that conveys motor signals that control movement of the arms and legs. B)A descending pathway that conveys motor signals that control movement of the arms and legs. C)An ascending pathway that conveys motor signals that control movement of all trunk musculature. D)A descending pathway that conveys motor signals that control movement of all trunk musculature.

B)A descending pathway that conveys motor signals that control movement of the arms and legs. Feedback: The lateral corticospinal tract begins as a descending motor pathway (from the cerebral hemispheres into the spinal column) in the cerebral hemispheres. Eighty-five percent of the fibers decussate in the medulla and form the lateral corticospinal tract, which is responsible for control of the upper and lower extremities. The 15% that does not decussate forms the anterior corticospinal tract, which is responsible for motor control of trunk/girdle muscles.

After a speech and language evaluation, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) has diagnosed a 3-year-old client with an articulation disorder, characterized by difficulty producing the phonemes /l/, /r/, and /θ/. However, due to the client's young age, the SLP decides that this is an age-appropriate finding, as the child hasn't learned many sounds that "come before" the problem sounds. Which theory of development is the SLP MOST LIKELY using in their practice? A)Natural phonology theory. B)Distinctive features theory. C)Behavioral theory. D)Interactionist-discovery theory.

B)Distinctive features theory. Feedback: According to the distinctive features theory, articulatory aspects of speech sounds are defined as binary feature contrasts (i.e., + or -) that are learned in hierarchical development. Because the SLP in the scenario has determined that earlier developing sounds have not yet been learned, it then follows that the child would not have learned later developing sounds, according to this theory. In contrast to this, the natural phonology theory dictates that children learn to repress the use of specific phonological processes. Behavioral theory views verbal development as learned using the processes of contingent reinforcement and stimulus-response, and as there is no mention of lack of reinforcement for this child, this would not be an appropriate selection. Finally, according to Interactionist-discovery theory, the child is an active learner in phonological development and discovers phonological patterns at any point in development.

A patient has just been admitted to an acute care hospital after having a right middle cerebral artery (MCA) cerebrovascular accident (CVA), The initial symptoms appear to be left-sided pharyngeal weakness and reduced vocal fold closure. The SLP is consulted to perform an evaluation on the patient, and in order to maximize the limited time spent with the patient, which of the following compensatory maneuvers should be used during the modified barium swallow (MBS), base on the patient's symptoms? A)Chin-tuck maneuver B)Head rotation toward the left. C)Head tilt toward the left. D)Head back.

B)Head rotation toward the left. Feedback: A head rotation toward the weak side closes off the weak side of the pharynx and allows the bolus to be directed down the strong half of the pharynx. Additionally, when the pharynx is turned toward the side of damage, the airway is narrowed, which would help with the patient's reduced vocal fold closure.

A speech-and-hearing clinic has recently opened, but referrals are slow in coming. Which of the following would be most appropriate and effective for the clinic's director to do first? A)Ask local hospitals to provide names of recent clients likely to need speech-language services B)Identify and define the major consumer groups and referral sources, and develop a plan to reach them C)Identify the weaknesses in the competition, and inform consumer groups and referral sources of the weaknesses D)Wait for demand to increase on its own, because marketing speech-language services is against the ASHA Code of Ethics

B)Identify and define the major consumer groups and referral sources, and develop a plan to reach them

A 24-month-old male child has been brought into a outpatient speech and language clinic for a comprehensive evaluation. According to the parents, the child has recently begun demonstrating "strange " behaviors, and the parents believe the child may have autism spectrum disorder. Which of the following is MOST LIKELY a waring sign these parents witnessed? A)Unusual prosody in speech. B)Lack of pointing to share interest. C)Repetitive movement with objects. D)Lack of response to his name.

B)Lack of pointing to share interest. Feedback: There are several social communication waring signs for autism spectrum disorder, which can be observed at varying points in development. At 24 months, if children demonstrate a lack of pointing to share interest, this could be a warning sign of ASD. In contrast to this, unusual prosody in speech and repetitive movement with objects are warning signs for ASD often seen at 18 months. Finally, lack of response to a child's own name is a warning sign for ASD seen at 9-12 months.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) has finished analyzing the date collected during his research study and has found that the p value is 0.04. Due to this level of statistical significance, the SLP may decide to reject which of the following? A)Hypothesis. B)Null Hypothesis. C)Means of analysis. D)Conclusion.

B)Null Hypothesis. Feedback: The null hypothesis is a statement that expresses belief that no change will occur. Because this SLP has found statistical significance (i.e., p < 0.05), the SLP is able to demonstrate that some amount of change has occurred. As this is a direct contrast to "no change will occur," the SLP may confidently reject the null hypothesis for his/her research. In contrast, if the SLP did not demonstrate statistical significance, he/she would have to reject the hypothesis, as there truly would be no change made.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) working in a preschool setting has been working with several children with autism spectrum disorder. This SLP believes the children would individually benefit from a social stories approach to intervention. The SLP develops individual stories for each child and is proceeding to implement the stories during intervention sessions. What is the next step that should be taken by this SLP? A)Read the stories only during the first intervention session to model an appropriate social response. B)Read the stories repetitively during intervention sessions, to establish a social response. C)Read the stories when the child demonstrates pragmatic difficulty to model an appropriate social responses. D)Send the stories home with the children, to allow their parents to model appropriate social responses.

B)Read the stories repetitively during intervention sessions, to establish a social response. Feedback: In the social stories method of intervention, social skills are taught through a story format. Each story must be specific to the child and the child's problem situation. Once the stories are developed, it is important that thy are read repetitively until it becomes a routine for the child. Following repetitive reading, the story may be sent home with the child for carryover purposes, But this should occur only after the child has been read the story multiple times.

Shannon and Stephanie are two speech-language pathologists (SLP's) who work in an outpatient speech and language clinic and are very close friends. Recently, Stephanie overheard Shannon discussing a client with another client's wife and is very distressed by what has happened. However, she is unsure how to handle the situation with her friend. What is the BEST way for Stephanie to handle the situation with Shannon? A)Give Shannon one more chance. B)Report Shannon to the Board of Ethics. C)Report Shannon to the client being discussed. D)Discuss the incident directly with Shannon.

B)Report Shannon to the Board of Ethics. Feedback: According to the ASHA Code of Ethics, Principle of Ethics IV, Rule of Ethics M, "Individuals who have reason to believe that the Code of Ethics has been violated shall inform the Board of Ethics." Because Shannon has violated the Code of Ethics and has shared client information without appropriate consent, Stephanie is ethically bound to report her friend to the Board of Ethics. At that time, the Board of Ethics will choose an appropriate sanction. While it is important that Stephanie also tell the client and discuss the violation with Shannon directly, she MUST tell the Board of Ethics, thus making this the most appropriate course of action.

An elderly patient with primary progressive aphasia and his wife have been working with a speech-language pathologist in order to implement and appropriate augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system to facilitate the patient's communication. However, the patient's wife does not understand AAC and has not been able to adequately perform partner-assisted scanning, despite large amounts of training. What type of barrier is the patient facing? A)Access barrier. B)Skill barrier. C)Knowledge barrier. D)Attitude barrier.

B)Skill barrier. Feedback: A skill barrier is a form of opportunity barrier (i.e., one caused by forces external to the AAC user) That is caused by facilitator difficulty implementing an AAC technique. As the patient's wife is demonstrating significant difficulty with implementing her husband's AAC strategies, the patient is experiencing a skill barrier to communication. In contrast to this a knowledge barrier is caused by a lack of information on the part of the facilitator for person with complex communication needs (CCN), and an attitude barrier is caused by incorrect, outdated, outmoded, or discriminatory attitudes regarding the abilities of people with CCN. Finally, an access barrier is a communicative barrier caused by limitations of the person with CCN.

A clinician in private practice is looking to purchase speech and language evaluations. She is interested in tests that will correctly rule out children who do not have speech and language disorders. This clinician should look up information in the evaluation manuals regarding test: A)Sample size. B)Specificity. C)Evidence. D)Sensitivity.

B)Specificity Feedback: Specificity refers to how well a test detects that a condition is not present when it is actually not present. If the clinician wanted to know information about how well evaluations rule out children who do not actually have speech and language disorders, the clinician should refer to the test manuals' sections on test specificity. Contrary to this, test sensitivity refers to how well the test detects a condition that is actually present. Sample size and test evidence would not help this clinician find information about how well the test detects disorders of lack of disorders.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) in an outpatient aphasia clinic has decided to use constraint-induced language therapy (CILT in a group session format. Why would this choice of treatment method, in theory, lead to improvements in a PWA's (person with aphasia's) language? A)The PWA is not allowed to use his/her "good", unimpaired limb when making a gestural response to describe pictures, thus forcing the person to learn gestures with impaired limb. B)The PWA is not allowed to use nonverbal means of communication, such as drawing, gesturing or augmentative communication devices, when performing language tasks, thus forcing the person to use spoken language output. C)The PWA is not allowed to use augmentative communication devices, but is allowed to use other nonverbal means of expression when performing language tasks, thus increasing the likelihood his/her message will be understood. D)The PWA is not allowed to respond immediately, but is constrained to respond after delays of increasing length, starting with a 5-second delay, thus increasing the likelihood of the ability to respond appropriately at various times during conversation.

B)The PWA is not allowed to use nonverbal means of communication, such as drawing, gesturing or augmentative communication devices, when performing language tasks, thus forcing the person to use spoken language output. Feedback: In constraint-induced language therapy, PWA must respond verbally when performing treatment tasks. Any nonverbal means of expression is not permitted, and a barrier is used to prevent the communication partner from seeing the PWA.

Doing which of the following would likely yield the most useful information about the effectiveness of an intervention strategy? A)Reviewing the results of standardized assessment instruments B)Utilizing a single-subject design (ABAB) or a reversal procedure (ABA) C)Utilizing the subjective, objective, assessment, and plan (SOAP) format D)Requesting that a colleague reevaluate the client

B)Utilizing a single-subject design (ABAB) or a reversal procedure (ABA) Feedback: An ABAB or ABA design shows changes when intervention is applied. Single-subject design using ABAB or ABA design is the best method to determine whether intervention has succeeded

A child with speech sound problems has recently been diagnosed with a speech sound disorder, characterized by difficulty producing interdental and alveolar fricatives. Which of the following speech sounds would this child demonstrate difficulty producing? A) /f/ and /h/ B) /ð/ and /s/ C) /z/ and /tʃ/ D) /θ/ and /b/

B. /ð/ and /s/ Feedback: The interdental fricatives include /ð/ and /θ/, and the alveolar fricatives include /s/ and /z/. As this child demonstrates speech sound errors on the /ð/ and /s/. In contrast, /f/ and /h/ are labiodental and glottal fricatives. While /z/ is an alveolar fricative, /tʃ/ is a palatal affricate. Similarly, while /θ/ is an interdental fricative, /b/ is a bilabial stop. There is no mention of the child's ability to produce affricates or stops, so these answers are not the most appropriate.

A child exhibits the following production errors. w/r θ/s t/ʃ t/tʃ z/dʒ t/k d/g If a target sound for initial intervention is to be selected on the basis of established developmental norms, then that sound will be A) /s/ B) /ʃ/ C) /k/ D) /tʃ/

C) /k/ Feedback: According to developmental norms, /k/ is the target phoneme that should be selected for intervention.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) in private practice was recently reported for violating the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Code of Ethics. ASHA has provided a sanction in which the SLP was officially rebuked, which was published to the membership of ASHA. Which sanction was leveled against this SLP? A)Reprimand. B)Revocation. C)Censure. D)Withholding.

C) Censure Feedback: When an SLP has been censured, they have been sanctioned with a public reprimand, which is published to the membership of ASHA, such as the SLP in this scenario. If the SLP had received a private rebuke, this is known as a reprimand. Revocation occurs for serious violations, and membership/certification can be revoked for a year, years or life. Finally, withholding may be sanctioned to clinical fellows in violation and their ability to apply for the Certificate of Clinical Competence may be withheld for a period of years, up to life.

Hearing loss in infants who are born with a cleft palate is usually related to which of the following? A) the infant's ability to create positive pressure in the oral cavity B) Malformation of the middle-ear ossicles associated with malformation of the palate C) Eustachian tube dysfunction D) Cochlear dysfunction

C) Eustachian tube dysfunction Feedback: Eustachian tube dysfunction, a major factor contributing to middle-ear disease and conductive hearing loss, is nearly universal in infants with cleft palate

Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that are important in sending neural signals between adjacent neurons. The BEST description of neurotransmitter release is that it: A) Excites neighboring cells. B) Excites neighboring cells only if it binds with a receptor and causes a channel opening. C) Excites or inhibits neighboring cells if it binds with a receptor and causes a channel opening. D) Inhibits neighboring cells.

C) Excites or inhibits neighboring cells if it binds with a receptor and causes a channel opening. Feedback: Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are released from neurons that help with neural signal transmission. Neurotransmitters can have one of two functions: excitatory or inhibitory. Excitatory neurotransmitters help continue the propagation of the neutral signal, whereas inhibitory neurotransmitters slow or cancel the propagation of the neural signal.

A 5-year-old client is brought by his parents to the local speech-language pathologist clinic for a full speech and language evaluation. After completion of the evaluation, the speech-language pathologist (SLP) reviews the results and notices that the child produces the words /bo/ (boat), /fiʃ/ (fish), /kʌ/ (cup), /sʌn/ (sun) and /dɔ/ (dog). Which of the following best describes this child's speech pattern? A) Affrication of medial fricatives. B) Fronting of initial fricatives. C) Final consonant deletion of stops. D) Initial consonant deletion of nasals.

C) Final consonant deletion of stops. Feedback: When evaluating the childs's errors, it is important to note that the child omits some, but not all of the final consonants of the words produced. Of those omitted, all consonants are stop consonants (i.e., /g/, /t/, /p/). Therefore, the most appropriate phonological pattern that this child demonstrates is final consonant deletion of stop consonants. if the child deleted the first phoneme of each word (i.e., /ot/ for /bot/), then the child would demonstrate initial consonant deletion. As the child appropriately produces all of the initial consonant-vowel-consonat (CVC) words, there is not an opportunity for the child to affricate medial consonants, making this selection incorrect.

When planning treatment for individuals with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), a clinician needs to be cognizant of deficits beyond speech sound production. Other frequently occurring deficit areas include: A) Fluency, feeding/swallowing and literacy. B)Hearing, metalinguistic/phonemic awareness and syllable shapes. C) Language, metalinguistic/phonemic awareness and syllable shapes. D) Prosody, phonation and feeding/swallowing.

C) Language, metalinguistic/phonemic awareness and syllable shapes Feedback: Children with CAS often have co-occurring deficits in nonspeech motor behaviors, motor speech behaviors, speech sounds/structures (i.e., words, and syllable shapes), prosody, language, metalinguistic/phonemic awareness and literacy. However, these children do not have problems with fluency, hearing or feeding/swallowing skills.

Which of the following muscles produces the opposing action to those that produce velopharyngeal closure? A) Musculus uvulae B) Levator veli palatini C) Palatoglossus D) Stylopharyngeus

C) Palatoglossus Feedback: Velopharyngeal closure is largely produced by soft palate elevation, and the only muscle in the list that produces soft palate depression (the opposite of soft palate elevation) is the palatoglossus

A number of research reports have described poor auditory memory in children with language impairments. Which of the following can most appropriately be concluded from these studies? A) Poor auditory memory can be improved by language-intervention programs that focus on teaching vocabulary and word meanings. B)Poor auditory memory is a reflection of a language impairment, and clinicians and researchers cannot effect improvement. C) Poor auditory memory could be a reflection or a cause of a language impairment or could be related to some other factor, and further research is needed to determine which is the case. D)Children with language impairments normally do not have well-developed representational skills.

C) Poor auditory memory could be a reflection or a cause of a language impairment or could be related to some other factor, and further research is needed to determine which is the case. Feedback: Research reports are restricted to the variables examined in the studies on which they are based. A relationship between poor auditory memory and language impairment has been found in some research studies. Other factors could be involved, however, suggesting that further research is needed. Conclusions about treatment or the effects of the impairment must be made through additional research studies.

According to research on the development of Brown's morphemes in young children, which of the following is a determinant of acquisition order? A) Phonological ease of production B) Figurative-language ability C) Semantic and syntactic compexity D) Sequencing and segmentation strategies

C) Semantic and syntactic complexity Feedback: Brown's morphemes are acquired by children in an order that is determined by semantic and syntactic complexity, with the simplest forms acquired first. The order of acquisition is typically followed by all children.

Which teaching strategies are MOST consistent with a so-called top-down approach to reading instruction? A) Teaching of grapheme-phoneme skills. B) Instruction in decoding and spelling words containing the six syllable types. C) Teaching children how to use context to infer the pronunciation of words that they cannot decode. D) Teaching children how to recognize and pronounce high-frequency roots and affixes.

C) Teaching children how to use context to infer the pronunciation of words that they cannot decode. Feedback: In top-down instruction, approaches to reading and/or writing emphasize exposure to authentic literature and leveraging of discourse contexts. By having the student engage in reading unfamiliar words through contextual guessing, the student is gaining experience with reading through authentic means. The other answers for this question include portions of a bottom-up instruction progression, which includes phonological awareness, grapheme-phoneme relationships, syllable structure recognition, morphological analysis and text-level decoding fluency.

Following a very successful intervention session, in which Annie produced 95% of targeted utterances correctly; her speech-language pathologist (SLP) implements a subsequent motivational event. Which therapy component BEST describes this situation? A) The SLP delivers feedback to Annie regarding her productions. B) The SLP models appropriate productions for Annie. C) The SLP presents Annie with a sticker for appropriate productions. D) The SLP allows Annie to play with a board game before therapy.

C) The SLP presents Annie with a sticker for appropriate productions Feedback: A subsequent motivational event (SME) is reinforcement that occurs following a child's attempt at the language targets, which is likely to foster continued success and attention. Because Annie was given a sticker, this is likely to cause her to be motivated for continued participation in language therapy services. In contrast to this, antecedent instructional events (AIE's) include whatever methods the SLP employs before the child's attempt to use the language target (i.e., modeling, sequence pictures, etc.) Subsequent instruction events (SIE's) include the feedback the SLP provides to the child following an attempt to use the language target. Finally, antecedent motivational events (AME's) are activities not directly related to the learning of the language target, which fosters the child's attention (i.e., playing with a board game.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is addressing the agrammatism of a person with aphasia in the treatment plan. A treatment goal to address this aspect of the disorder would be: A) Working on lexical retrieval of single nouns. B) Assessing writing abilities to dictation. C) Working on correct noun-verb agreement. D) Addressing the motor speech difficulties associated with apraxia of speech.

C) Working on correct noun-verb agreement. Feedback: Agrammatism refers to difficulty producing and comprehending the grammatical aspects of language inherent in word morphology and syntax. Therefore, treatment of agrammatism addresses grammatical abilities such as noun-verb agreement and the use of functor words like prepositions, articles and auxiliary verbs.

Compared with children who do not have language disorders, children with language disorders tend to: A) take more conversational turns B) initiate topics and direct the flow of conversation more C) ask fewer open-ended questions D) initiate more indirect requests

C) ask fewer open-ended questions

A 6-year-old child produces /t/ for /s/, /d/ for /z/, /p/ for /f/ and /b/ for /v/. Intervention for this problem would target language at the level of: A) morphology B) syntax C) phonology D) semantics

C) phonology Feedback: The speech patterns described in the question stem all pertain to speech sound production. Phonology is the aspect of language that deals with speech sound production.

A person with acute onset of aphasia whose first language is Spanish and who knows only a few words of English has been assigned to the caseload of a monolingual English-speaking speech-language pathologist (SLP) in a large urban medical center. The SLP should: A)Proceed as usual with the evaluation and use English-language tests and any Spanish-language tests available in the department. B)Conduct an informal evaluation with the help of a multilingual friend or family member present who can translate what the SLP says and what the patient says. C)Arrange to have a professional interpreter to be present during the evaluation and use the English-language test he/she usually uses with the interpreter translating the items. D)Explain to the patient and family that she or he must delay the evaluation until arrangements can be made to have another SLP who speaks Spanish conduct the evaluation.

C)Arrange to have a professional interpreter to be present during the evaluation and use the English-language test he/she usually uses with the interpreter translating the items. Feedback: It is recommended that the SLP's use interpreter services whenever thy are needed in conducting evaluations of people whose native language is not the same as the SLP's native language.

Amy is a paraprofessional who has been working with a young child with autism spectrum disorder. Recently, Amy has found that the child's language skills have been lagging behind those of this peers. Amy has contacted the school's speech-language pathologist (SLP) in order to procure expert advice on what she can do to aid the child's linguistic development in the classroom What role has the SLP taken in an endeavor to help Amy? A)Instructor. B)Interventionist. C)Consultant. D)Collaborator.

C)Consultant. Feedback: When a speech-language pathologist acts as a consultant, the SLP provides indirect services through giving expert advice to teachers, parents and paraprofessionals regarding the speech or language needs of a child. In contrast to this, when an SLP acts as a collaborator, he/she is working with teachers, parents and paraprofessionals to assess and provide intervention to a student with speech or language needs. Although SLP's may act as educators or interventionists, these are not specific roles they would assume in working with paraprofessionals or teachers.

Control over the fundamental frequency of the laryngeal tone is most closely related to the activity of which of the following muscles? A)Posterior cricoarytenoid B)Lateral cricoarytenoid C)Cricothyroid D)Sternocleidomastoid

C)Cricothyroid Feedback: The cricothyroid muscle has the greatest control over the fundamental frequency of the laryngeal tone by the lengthening or tensing the vocal folds

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) at a skilled nursing facility has been asked by a nurse to perform a swallowing evaluation on an elderly patient with whom they have been working. The SLP knows that there are multiple, typical changes to the swallow as one ages, but which of the following would still be considered an ABNORMAL result form the examination? A)Increased duration of the swallow. B)Reduction in smell and taste. C)Increased presence of aspiration. D)Lower salivary flow.

C)Increased presence of aspiration. Feedback: Because of decreased muscle tone with aging, there are typical amounts of associated increase duration of swallowing, delayed hyoid elevation and longer opening of the upper esophageal sphincter. Additionally, while it does not occur with everyone, there is a typical decrease in smell and taste abilities in the elderly population. However, any presence of aspiration is considered a deficit in the swallow, regardless of the age group.

A patient is in the later stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Which of the following treatment approaches is most appropriate for an individual at this stage of the disease? A)Enhancing the sensory capacities of the bolus. B)Using postural adjustments. C)Introduction of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube. D)Oral range of motion exercises.

C)Introduction of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube. Feedback: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that affect both upper and lower motor neurons. Over the course of the disease, patients gradually lose their ability to engage in motor acts, such as walking, speaking and swallowing. In the later stages of the disease, there may be such a great loss of swallowing ability that patients may not be able to receive their nutrition and hydration orally, indicating the need for a PEG tube to be placed.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) has been working with a patient who has flaccid dysarthria. After many weeks of therapy, the SLP has decided to refer the patient for a palatal lift fitting. Adequate fitting of a palatal lift should result in which of the following outcomes for this patient? A)Occlusion of the nares during tidal breathing. B)Improvements in phonation for sustained vowels. C)Production of perceptually distinct nasal consonants. D)Increase in nasal emissions during running speech.

C)Production of perceptually distinct nasal consonants. Feedback: Use of palatal lift is a compensatory maneuver for weakness in the soft palate, which allows for the reduction of hypernasality and perception of distinct nasal and non-nasal phonemes. Use of a palatal lift does not fully occlude the nares during tidal breathing and allows for appropriate nasal breathing. Nasal emission should be decrease, due to the decrease size of the velopharyngeal port. As a palatal lift does not directly affect the vocal folds, improvements in phonation would not occur from use of a lift alone.

Megan is a young child who demonstrates behaviors consistent with the triad of deficits seen in autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, Megan demonstrates severely restricted, repetitive behaviors. Which of the following is a behavior MOST LIKELY demonstrated by this child? A)Exaggerated gestures that accompany speech, to the point of interrupting communicative attempts from her parents. B)Aversion of eye contact with parents and siblings to a degree that prohibits communication. C)Prolonged sustained attention on a stuffed toy tiger, to the point of blocking out all communicative attempts from her parents. D)Verbal perseveration of a favorite phrase, with very little other spontaneous verbal output.

C)Prolonged sustained attention on a stuffed toy tiger, to the point of blocking out all communicative attempts from her parents. Feedback: Restricted, repetitive behaviors exhibited by children with autism spectrum disorder may come in the form of stereotyped or repetitive motor movement, insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, highly restricted interest and hypo-/hyper-reactivity to sensory input. Megan's prolonged sustained attention toward her stuffed tiger would be classified as a restricted, repetitive behavior as it is a highly restricted,fixated interest on a single item. This could be considered abnormal in intensity or focus. In contract to this, exaggerated gestures accompanying speech and aversion of eye contact are considered deficits in social communication, whereas verbal perseveration is considered a language deficit.

A clinician notices that the speaker fails to take a breath to replenish his air supply, talking into his reserve volume. The speaker exhibits loudness decay when this occurs a breath group lengths are a little longer than age and gender-matched controls. Therapy should focus on: A)A thorough assessment of respiratory shape. B)Improving coordination of the respiratory and phonatory system. C)Reducing maladaptive respiratory behaviors. D)Adopting the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment.

C)Reducing maladaptive respiratory behaviors. Feedback: The type of breathing patterns that his particular speaker is exhibiting is not efficient from a communicative perspective. Focusing on reduction of the maladaptive respiratory behaviors can lead to reduction in loudness decay and age- and gender-appropriate breath groups. The speaker should be instructed in optimal breath groups and to replenish air supply at appropriate conversation junctures.

Caitlin is a typically developing 2-year-old girl. Which of the following semantic structures would she MOST LIKELY demonstrate? A) Declarative sentences and contracted forms. B) Gestures and phonological process suppression. C)Relational terms and interrogative terms. D)Derivational affixes and bound morphemes.

C)Relational terms and interrogative terms. Feedback: Relational (i.e., on, under, next, to) and interrogative (i.e., what, who, how why) terms are semantic structures that are typically developed by 24 months of age. Additional terms that are developed include temporal relationship terms (when, before), physical relations (big, little, wide, narrow), and kinship terms (son, parent, aunt, nephew). Declarative sentences and contracted forms are syntactic structures, gestures are pragmatic constructs, phonological process suppression deals with phonology, and derivational affixes and bound morphemes are morphological structures.

Speech-language pathologists (SLP's) are required to gain knowledge of the nature of communication disorders, differences and swallowing disorders in the "big 9" areas of practice. Which of the following is not one of the big 9? A)Voice and resonance. B)Communication modalities. C)Research and research methods. D)Hearing.

C)Research and research methods. Feedback: The big 9 areas of speech-language pathology practice include: articulation, fluency, voice and resonance (including respiration and phonation): receptive and expressive language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics) in speaking/listening/reading/writing/and manual modalities; hearing (including impact on speech and language); swallowing (including all phases of the swallow, oral function for feeding and orofacial myofunction); cognitive aspects of communication (attention, memory, sequencing, problem solving and executive functioning); social aspects of communication (challenging behavior, ineffective social skills, lack of communication opportunities): and communication modalities (oral, manual, augmentative and alternative communication techniques and assistive technologies).

In working with a client with a diagnosis of apraxia of speech, the speech-language pathologist (SLP) acquires the following percentage of correct scores for spontaneous (without cueing) productions for one-, two- and three-syllable words targeting a specific transition involving the /s/: 98%, 68% and 15%. Using integral stimulation, the percentage correct for the same stimuli was 100%, 84% and 42%. Treatment should begin: A)With three-syllable words in the absence of any cueing, followed by the addition of tactile, visual and auditory cueing. B)With one-syllable words in the absence of any cueing, followed by two-syllable words without cueing. C)With two-syllable words in the presence of integral stimulation while gradually decreasing cueing. D)With two-syllable words in the presence of integral stimulation.

C)With two-syllable words in the presence of integral stimulation while gradually decreasing cueing. Feedback: Because this patient is highly intelligible at the spontaneous one-syllable level, beginning treatment at this level may lead to lower motivation for the participant, as there is not much room for improvement. However, as the patient has significantly reduced intelligibility at the two-syllable level and is stimulable to the use of cues at this level, they are an appropriate candidate to begin treatment by focusing on production of two-syllable words. As this skill builds and the patient is able to spontaneously produce intelligible utterances at the two-syllable level, treatment focus may transition to the three-syllable level.

An infant is being raised in a home with English-speaking parents, one of whom also speaks German. The parents have decided that they would like to expose their child to both the English and German language while the child grows up. Which of the following BEST describes this scenario? A) Successive Bilingualism B) Simultaneous biculturalism. C) Simultaneous bilingualism. D) Generative beculturalism

C. Simultaneous bilingualism Feedback: Simultaneous bilingualism occurs when two or more languages are learned at the same time. Because this child is being exposed to both English and German at the same time, the child is experiencing simultaneous bilingualism. This typically begins shortly after birth and continues to be a feature of the care-giving environment. In contrast to this, successive bilingualism occurs when a second language (or more) is learned after the acquisition of a first language. If the child from this scenario learned English first, and then his parents taught him German, this would constitute successive bilingualism. Finally, simultaneous biculturalism technically refers to being raised in tow cultures at the same time. While language is intertwined with a culture, the child's language learning does not have to include learning about the associated culture.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) at an acute rehabilitation hospital has just received a patient with flaccid dysarthria on his/her caseload. After the first session, the SLP decides that the patient may benefit from abdominal trussing. Which of the following rationales for adopting this method for this particular patient would be appropriate for the SLP to use? A) To counter inspirartory weakness and assist in creation of inspiratory force for the generation of subglottal pressure during inspiration. B) To increase vocal fold tension leading to increased loudness and improved vocal quality. C) To counter expiratory weakness and assist in creation of expiratory force for the generation of subglottal pressure during expiration. D) To improve functioning of both the direct and indirect upper motor neuron pathways.

C. To counter expiratory weakness and assist in creation of expiratory force for the generation of subglottal pressure during expiration. Feedback: Use of abdominal trussing would most likely be used with patient who has impairments in the respiratory subsystem. This method would be used to counter expiratory weakness and assist in the creation of expiratory force for increased subglottal pressures. Depending upon the needs of the specific patient, abdominal trussing can be used on a short-term or long-term basis.

During a language evaluation, a child produces the utterance "The boy pushed the cars." How many free morphemes are there in this child's utterance? A)2. B)3. C)4. D)5.

D) 5. Feedback: Free or unbound morphemes are those units of meaning that can stand alone in an utterance. In the sentence given, the additional morphemes ("-s" after car and "-ed" after push) cannot stand alone.

For a test of expressive morphology and syntax for speakers of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) the test item that would be considered LEAST biased against such speakers would be the one requiring: A) Use of the auxillary verb "be" in the present progressive tense B) use of the past-tense ending "-ed" C) use of sentences with multiple negation D) Agreement of personal pronouns with their antecedents in gender and number

D) Agreement of personal pronouns with their antecedents in gender and number Feedback: The morphological feature listed is one in which AAVE does not differ from Standard American English

A person is experiencing ataxia. Which central nervous system structure is MOST LIKELY impaired? A) Midbrain. B) Pons. C) Medulla. D) Cerebellum.

D) Cerebellum Feedback: The cerebellum is the structure below the cerebral hemispheres that is responsible for coordination of movements. Damage to the cerebellum would result in ataxia, or uncoordinated movement, on the ipsilateral side of the body.

A child is brought to a speech and language clinic by the child's parents, who provide a chief complaint of "being hard to understand." The speech-language pathologist (SLP) administers a comprehensive speech evaluation and reveals the following errors: /bu/ for /blu/, /gin/ for /grin/, and /sar/ for /star/. Which phonological process does this child demonstrate? A) Nasal assimilation B) Affrication C) Metathesis D) Cluster simplification

D) Cluster simplification Feedback: The child from this scenario is eliminating one consonant from a consonant cluster (i.e., two or more consonants not separated by a vowel), which is known as the phonological process of cluster simplification. This occurs in this child's speech sample when he removes the /l/ phoneme from the /bl/ cluster or the /r/ phoneme from the /fr/ cluster. In contrast, nasal assimilation occurs when produce of phoneme is more like a nasal phoneme in the target word. Affrication occurs when a fricative consonant is replaced with an affricate consonant. Finally, metathesis occurs when there is transposition of phonemes or syllables in a target word.

Two researchers are analyzing the data collected from a recently completed research study. The researchers have found that their measurements are in good agreement, thus demonstrating adequate interobserver agreement. This finding is a good estimate of measurement: A) Accuracy. B) Agreement. C) Precision. D) Consistency.

D) Consistency. Feedback: Interobserver agreement is a measurement of how consistent two or more researchers are in making a particular measurement. As the two researchers from this scenario demonstrate good interobserver agreement, it is safe to say that they are being consistent in their measurement.

A child in an elementary school is currently producing one-word utterances and has demonstrated difficulty producing more advanced utterances. The speech-language pathologist (SLP) who is working with this child has decided to use expatiations during play activities as a means of increasing utterance length. If the child produces the utterance "kitty," which of the following is an appropriate response for this SLP to use? A) "What does the kitty like to do?" B) "That is a kitty." C) "What's the Kitty's name?" D) "That is a soft kitty."

D) D) "That is a soft kitty." Feedback: Expatiations are contingent verbal responses that add new but relevant information to a child's utterance and can be sued to indirectly target language facilitation. By adding the information that the kitty is "soft," the SLP is offering new information and vocabulary to the child. In contrast to this, an expansion is a contingent verbal response that increases the length of complexity of the child's utterance. The response "That is a Kitty" is an example of expansion. The response "What does the kitty like to do?" is an example of a prompt, which is a comment or question that serves to extend what the child has said. Finally, the response of "What's the kitty's name?" utilizes the vertical structure method, where the SLP asks questions in order to construct a syntactically correct sentence.

Which of the following is the most important acoustic cue that distinguishes between an unreleased final /p/ and an unreleased final /b/, as in cap versus cab A) locus frequency of burst B) Voice onset time C) Vocal fundamental frequency D) Duration of the preceding vowel

D) Duration of the preceding vowel Feedback: Research shows that vowel duration influences a listeners perception of voicing. Vowels that precede unreleased voiced stop consonants are as much as 1.5 times as long as vowels that precede voiceless stops

After performing a comprehensive speech evaluation on a pediatric client, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) has determined that although the child produces the /s/ phoneme, he demonstrates the phonological process of final consonant deletion for this phoneme, consistent with a phonemic error. Which method of intervention would be an appropriate selection for the SLP to utilize with this child? A) Van Riper traditional approach. B)Multiple phoneme approach. C)Paired stimulus approach. D)Minimal contrast approach.

D) Minimal contrast approach Feedback: The minimal contrast approach is an intervention method used for phonemic speech errors and is utilized to eliminate excessive homonymy in children's speech. In contrast, the Van Riper traditional approach, multiple phoneme approach and paired-stimuli approach are all intervention methods used for children with phonetic speech errors and would not be helpful in remediating this particular child's speech sound disorder as this child already knows the motor pattern for the /s/ phoneme and requires help to generalize production to new word positions.

A parent arrives at local speech and language clinic with his young son, with complaints of "difficulty speaking." A speech-language pathologist (SLP) provides a comprehensive speech evaluation and determines that the child is exhibiting the phonological processes of affrication, epenthesis and reduplication. The SLP decides to taret only the child's reduplication, as she believes the child has not reached an age where he should suppress affrication and epenthesis. Which theory of phonological development best matches this SLP's approach to treatment? A) Prosodic Theory B) Generative phonology C) Behavioral theory D) Natural Phonology

D) Natural Phonology Feedback: The natural phonology theory emphasizes that children are born with a set of natural phonological processes that they need to suppress as they age. These phonological process are suppressed as the child develops. Because the SLP believes that the child has not developed enough to suppress specific phonological processes, she utilizes principles from the natural phonology theory. In contrast to this, the generative phonology theory is an expansion of the distinctive feature theory and includes concepts such as underlying representations, surface forms and phonological rules, but does not include suppression of phonological processes. The prosodic theory emphasizes the perception of whole words as early word productions, but, again, does not emphasize suppression of phonological patterns. Finally, behavioral theory posits that phonological development is contingent upon reinforcement, not suppression of phonological processes.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) in private practice has been working with a child for the past 6 months in order to correct the child's speech distortions. However, the child has made no progress over the course of treatment, and the SLP prepares a referral for otolaryngology (ENT) intervention. With which of the following distortions does this child MOST LIKELY present? A)Glottal stop. B)Compensatory productions. C)Phoneme-specific nasality. D)Obligatory distortion.

D) Obligatory distortion Feedback: Obligatory distortions occur when there is normal articulatory placement but an abnormal structure (i.e. velopharyngeal insufficiency). It is likely that this child is experiencing obligatory distortions, as this type of error does not respond to speech therapy. However, compensatory articulation productions, phoneme-specific nasal emission and glottal stop are all forms of error that would see improvement through speech therapy. Therefore, it is unlikely that this child is demonstrating any of these error types.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) has been working with a child who demonstrates difficulty producing /k/ in the initial and final word positions. However, the child does correctly produce the following words: /ki/, /kæt/, /bæk/ and /baɪk/. The SLP decides to utilize a treatment method that capitalizes on these correct productions to aid in faulty productions. Which of these interventions is MOST LIKELY the method chosen by the SLP? A)Integral stimulation. B)Multiple phoneme approach. C)Sensory-motor approach. D)Paired-stimuli approach.

D) Paired-stimuli approach Feedback: The paired-stimuli approach utilizes four key words as a starting point, and ten training words are then paired wit the key words to aid in production. As the child from this scenario is able to produce the the errored speech sound correctly in four separate words, these may act as the key words and aid further production of the /k/ phoneme. In contrast, the integral stimulation approach may be utilized to establish a speech sound that the child is unable to produce and would not be recommended for this client. The sensory-motor approach uses bisyllable productions of nonerrored phonemes used as facilitating contexts to produce a target sound. As the child is able to produce the target /k/, this method of intervention is contraindicated. Finally, the multiple phoneme approach is utilized for children with multiple phoneme errors, and as this child only demonstrates errors on the /k/ phoneme, this method is also contraindicated for use in intervention.

When producing the voiceless fricative /f/, the muscle that MOST LIKELY contracts is the: A)Lateral cricoarytenoid. B)Transverse interarytenoid. C)Oblique interarytenoid. D)Posterior cricoarytenoid.

D) Posterior cricoarytenoid Feedback: As /f/ is a voiceless phoneme, it is important that the vocal folds are not contracted during production. In order for this to occur, the vocal folds need to be abducted, invoking contraction of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle, the sole vocal fold abductor. The other muscles listed function as vocal fold adductors and close the vocal folds for production as voiced phonemes. As /f/ is a voiceless phoneme, it would require no activation in these muscles.

For a patient with communication and swallowing disorders secondary to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a SLP will most appropriately: A) Serve only as a consultant to others who are directly involved in the patient's care B) Provide treatment on a monthly basis C) Provide treatment only as prescribed by the patient's physician D) Provide treatment in consultation with the patient's primary-care physician or medical team

D) Provide treatment in consultation with the patient's primary-care physician or medical team Feedback: Treatment in consultation with the patient's primary care physician or medical team would provide the information needed to determine the best management of the patient

A student reads seven research articles regarding recycling challenges and methods. He summarizes and critiques the articles and then, based on his synthesis, proposes a novel strategy to solve urban recycling efforts. The cluster of behaviors is MOST CLOSELY associated with which of Chall's reading stages? A) Stage 2: Confirmation, fluency, ungluing from print B) Stage 3: Reading for learning the new C) Stage 4: Multiple viewpoints D) Stage 5: Construction and reconstruction

D) Stage 5: Construction and reconstruction Feedback: This student would fall into Chall's stage 5 as the student synthesized multiple viewpoints in order to generate a novel hypothesis. The hallmark characteristics of Chall's stage 5 include creation of new theories based on analysis, synthesis and evaluation of existing sources of information, which this student has demonstrated. Because the student has generated his/her own hypothesis regarding the material, the student has advanced past Chall's stage 4.

Which muscle contributes to hyolaryngeal depression? A) Stylohyoid. B) Geniohyoid. C) Mylohyoid. D) Sternohyoid.

D) Sternohyoid Feedback: The muscles most responsible for laryngeal depression are the infrahyoids, which include the sternohyoid, sternothyroid, omohyoid and thyrohyoid. The stylohyoid, geniohyoid and mylohyoid muscles are suprahyoid muscles and contribute to laryngeal elevation.

A 12-year-old native speaker of Spanish who has been studying English as a second language for three years is most likely to do which of the following when speaking English in casual conversation with teachers at school? A) Use the auxillary "have" in place of "be" in progressive tenses B) Use incorrect word order within prepositional phrases C) Use conjunctions in place of prepositions D) Use multiple negation improperly

D) Use multiple negation improperly Feedback: Multiple negation is a grammatical feature of Spanish but not of Standard English. The contrast between the two languages can cause multiple negation to persist as a speaker attempts to learn Standard English.

Primary motor innervation to the larynx and velum is provided by which cranial nerve? A) V B) VII C) IX D) X

D) X. Feedback: Primary innervation to the larynx and velum is provided by cranial nerve X, the vagus nerve. The other answer choices identify cranial nerves that are not primarily involved in motor innervation to the larynx and velum.

Following anoxic encephalopathy, clients are likely to experience the most significant long-term impairments in the area of A) prosody B) resonance C) aphonia D) memory

D) memory Feedback: Anoxic encephalopathy, or brain damage resulting from oxygen deprivation, typically leads to global impairment that affects memory. It is difficult to reverse the effects of memory loss, so the impairment is usually long-term.

To justify providing individual treatment for a 2½ year old with apraxia of speech, which of the following would be LEAST important for the SLP to include in the evaluation report? A)A description of the child's typical interaction with peers B)Relevant prognostic data C)Information about apraxia of speech D)A description of the language development of the child's older siblings

D)A description of the language development of the child's older siblings Feedback: A description of the child's older sibling's language development does not provide the objective, documented evidence required to justify provision of treatment for a child of an age at which some unintelligibility would be typical.

Charlie is a 3-year-old boy who is having trouble communicating with others. At school he has a habit of interrupting and seems rude. His mother says his speech is clear, but he has trouble getting to the point of his message, making his intentions hard to understand. Which of the following BEST describes the language area in which he is having the most problems? A)Morphology. B)Semantics. C)Gestural. D)Pragmatics.

D)Pragmatics. Feedback: Charlie's behaviors indicate difficulty using the social rules of communication, rather than trouble with the grammar (syntax) or meaning (semantic) levels of language. There was no description of gesturing in this question.

A patient who had a stroke was referred for a language and cognitive evaluation. The referral specifically mentioned that the man had trouble with "Theory of Mind" tasks, indicating he had difficulty understanding what another person's beliefs or thoughts might be. In which adult diagnostic groups would deficits of Theory of Mind be categorized A)Alzheimer's disease in the early stage. B)Wernicke's or conduction aphasia. C)Parkinson's disease and dementia. D)Right-hemisphere strokes.

D)Right-hemisphere strokes. Feedback: Deficits in Theory of Mind are associated with damage to the right hemisphere in adult stroke patients. None of the other diagnostic groups listed are known to display difficulties with Theory of Mind tasks to the same extent as right-hemisphere stroke patients.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is working in a school setting and has many students that come from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. The SLP knows that there are many issues associated with CLD populations, including which of the following issues? A)The SLP should try to use English as much as possible in intervention. B)There are no cultural difference that influence perception of gender. C)Using English-language assessments predict language performance in other languages. D)The SLP must respect the home culture and assist acculturation in the school.

D)The SLP must respect the home culture and assist acculturation in the school. Feedback: An issue that arises for SLP's working with CLD populations includes respecting the home culture of any client and assisting with acculturation as needed. In contract, SLP's should utilize interpreters as needed, which includes providing intervention in a client's language (i.e., one that may be different from English). Finally, English-language test instruments should not always be utilized and do not predict performance in any of the client's other languages.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is considering dismissing a child from therapy services, as the SLP believes the child has made the maximum amount of progress possible. What is the MOST IMPORTANT factor to consider when dismissing a child from language therapy from a SLP perspective? A)The child has met all measurable goals and objectives set for him through language therapy. B)The child is refusing to participate in further language treatment sessions. C)The child's family has become tired of receiving language intervention. D)The child is able to meet all communication demands for activities of daily living.

D)The child is able to meet all communication demands for activities of daily living. Feedback: There are multiple factors that are interrelated when considering dismissal from therapy for language disorders. Among these factors is whether the child is able to meet all of the communication demands imposed through activities of daily living. From an SLP perspective, being able to demonstrate adequate language skills for daily life is the ultimate goal of treatment. Once a client has demonstrated this ability, this may be indicative of dismissal from therapy. In contrast,if the child has met all language goals, but is unable to meet the communicative needs of the activities of daily living, the child may benefit from further therapy sessions. Finally, if the child and family would not like to receive language intervention, this is also an important factor to consider, as SLP's are ethically bound to provide services that the family would like to receive, but this is not a factor from a speech and language perspective.

A child is brought into a speech and language clinic for a language evaluation. After performing the evaluation, the speech-language pathologist (SLP) reveals the following utterances: "look doggy," "more cookie," "no bed." and "mommy good." Which of the following statements BEST describes this child's speech sample? A)The child is producing babbling. B)The child is producing narratives. C)The child is producing simple sentences. D)The child is producing telegraphic speech.

D)The child is producing telegraphic speech. Feedback: Telegraphic speech is characterized by content word combinations that often contain a pivot word or phrase. As this child is producing two-word utterances that contain content words, they are demonstrating telegraphic speech. In contrast, babbling is an early form of communication consisting of consonant-vowel (CV) syllables, such as "bababa." Narratives include decontextualized monologues that convey a story, personal recount or retelling of a book or movie. Finally, simple sentences are characteristic of Bronw's stages II and III and include some form of grammatical structure, such as "I am walking."

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) has been asked to perform an evaluation on a patient with a neurodegenerative communication disorder with very limited verbal output. Following assessment, it is also revealed that the patient is not literate and greatly struggles with any literacy-based material. Which approach to intervention would be BEST for this patient's needs? A)The patient will benefit from intervention targeting cognitive, rather than communicative skills. B)The patient will not be an appropriate candidate for AAC due to deficits in literacy. C)The patient can use alphabet supplementation following intense instruction in phoneme/grapheme association. D)The patient can use an AAC device that utilizes symbolic representations of words and phrases.

D)The patient can use an AAC device that utilizes symbolic representations of words and phrases. Feedback: Persons with complex communication needs (CCN) do not need to be literate in order to be eligible for AAC use. If a patient is not literate, a speech -language pathologist may utilize symbolic representations that aid in the person's communicative effectiveness, similar to this scenario. As this patient was not interested in literacy-based approaches, direct instruction in phoneme-grapheme association would be contraindicated. Lastly, if a patient is referred for AAC, communication should be directly targeted and cognitive skills may also be targeted during intervention sessions.