Phonetic inventories of 9 children with profoundly impaired hearing who used the 22-electrode cochlear implant (Cochlear Limited) were monitored before implantation and during the first 4 years of implant use. All children were 5 years old or younger at the time of implant. Spontaneous speech samples were collected at regular intervals for each child and analyzed to investigate phone acquisition over the post-implant period. Acquisition was measured using two different criteria. The "targetless" criterion required the child to produce a phonetically recognizable sound spontaneously, and the "target" criterion required the child to produce the phone correctly at least 50% of the time in meaningful words. At 4 years post-implant, 40 out of 44 phones (91 %) had reached the targetless criterion, and 29 phones (66%) had reached the target criterion for 5 or more of the children. Over the time of the study 100% of monophthongs, 63% of diphthongs, and 54% of consonants reached the target criterion. The average time taken for a phone to progress from the targetless to target criterion was 15 months. Overall, the data suggest trends in the order of phone acquisition similar to those of normally hearing children, although the process of acquisition occurred at a slower rate.

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BackgroundRecently there has been exponential growth in mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) for children with speech disorders. A challenge for health professionals and families is knowing how to find high quality apps that are therapeutically beneficial. We systematically search and critique the quality of mobile apps for childhood speech disorders. An evidence-based method for identifying suitable apps in the Google Play and Apple iTunes stores is also proposed.Methods and findingsA systematic search of the Google Play and Apple iTunes app stores was conducted from November 2016 to May 2017. Twelve pre-defined search terms were applied, identifying 5076 apps. Systematic screening resulted in 132 unique apps for full appraisal. These were appraised by two raters using the Mobile Application Rating scale. None were of excellent quality. Twenty-five were of good quality, 105 average and 2 were poor or very poor.DiscussionIt can be challenging for consumers to locate high quality speech therapy apps for children. Although we found more than 5000 apps, less than 3% met criteria for evaluation. Difficulties sourcing valid apps included: (i) Boolean operators were not available and therefore only one search term could be used each time (ii) the order of app listings in online stores continually changed (iii) apps were organised in online stores according to relevance and popularity (iv) there was no easy way to extract app titles and eliminate duplicates (v) app cost did not always correlate with therapeutic quality.ConclusionsThe rapid growth of mHealth heightens the need to develop rigorous and efficient systems to search and retrieve apps and evaluate their therapeutic benefits. Given the difficulty accessing speech therapy services worldwide, mHealth promises therapy benefits when apps are reliable, valid and easily found.

In clinical settings, a range of factors influence decision-making and therapy provided by SLPs to children with SSD. These SLPs had a high regard for clients' values and preferences. Prior clinical experiences also shaped clinical practice. Clinical decision-making was influenced by practice-setting constraints. SLPs are under pressure in their workplaces and are struggling to manage the competing demands on their time. Large clinical caseloads, heavy workloads, current service-delivery models and changing family structures are all impacting on the provision of therapy to children with SSD and therapy outcomes. As a profession, there is a need to consider these barriers and identify ways to overcome them in order to assist SLPs to routinely adopt the highest standards of clinical practice for children with SSD.

Background: Employment and job security are key influences on health and wellbeing. In Australia, little is known about the employment lifecycle of adults with dyslexia. Materials and Methods: Using a qualitative research design, this study sought to explore the experiences faced by adults with dyslexia seeking and retaining employment. In-depth interviews were conducted with a cohort either currently or previously in the labour market. We used the Job Demands Resource Model of Burnout (JD-R Model) to explore links between workplace characteristics and employee wellbeing. Deductive content analysis attained condensed and broad descriptions of participants' workplace experiences. Results: Dyslexic adults (n = 14) participated; majority employed part/full-time and experienced challenges throughout their employment; exhaustion and burnout at work were reported, also fear and indecision about disclosure of dyslexia. A minority reported receiving positive, useful support from team members following disclosure. Conclusion: The JD-R Model provided a guiding framework. We found participants experienced a myriad of challenges that included risk of mental exhaustion, discrimination, limited access to support and fatigue, leaving them vulnerable to job burn-out. Dyslexia does not have to be a major barrier to success in any occupation. Yet, when in supportive, informed workplace environments, employees with dyslexia thrive.