Diana Patrick

Defense Date

7-25-2005

Graduation Date

Summer 2005

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

thesis

Degree Name

MS

Department

Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)

School

Rangos School of Health Sciences

Committee Chair

Susan Felsenfeld

Committee Member

Caterina Staltari

Committee Member

Perri Stern

Committee Member

Ravi Nigam

Keywords

developmental apraxia of speech, mothers, phonological disorder, qualitative methods, speech delay

Abstract

The present study used qualitative (phenomenological) research methodology to obtain and analyze the "personal stories" of mothers of children with had received a diagnosis of either developmental apraxia of speech (DAS) or developmental phonological disorder (DPD). Using a semi-structured interview, six mothers of children with DAS and five mothers of children with DPD were asked to reflect on specific aspects of the development of their child over time, with emphasis on communication development and communication challenges. In addition to providing rich descriptions of performance, the present study addressed the proposition that DPD and DAS are separate disorders by examining the distinctiveness of the narratives obtained from the two parent groups. Developmental "threads" (e.g., motor development, behavior, characteristics of verbal output) were followed across three early developmental stages: the baby stage (infancy to age 2;0), the toddler stage (ages 2;1 to 3;11), and the preschool stage (ages 4;0 to 6;11). The results of the present study provide support for the perspective that the two diagnoses describe different sets of children. This difference can best be captured as additional deficits more commonly reported in DAS rather than problems that are unique to each subtype. That is, children who receive these diagnoses share many characteristics, particularly when young. However, for children considered to have DAS, additional problems, many outside of speech, are reported more frequently by mothers.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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