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COURSE OUTLINE

This module addresses knowledge and skills relating to:

• the scientific bases of speech perception and production, hearing, and audiology and
• the speech and language therapy management of children with developmental impairments of speech production and children with hearing impairment.

The module links closely with all other Year A modules and with modules SLANG202: Management of Communication Disorders 3: Language and Cognition (Acquired) and SLAN0011G204: Brain, Mind and Health in Year B of the programme.

AIMS

• To introduce students to the structure and function of the vocal tract and of the peripheral hearing mechanisms & the auditory pathways, and to disorders of these structures
• To enable students to understand the principles underlying the Speech Chain
• To enable students to understand the acoustic-phonetic characteristics of speech sounds
• To develop an understanding of the processes involved in the development of perception and production of speech by human listeners with normal and with impaired hearing
• To describe current approaches to the assessment of hearing and balance in children and adults, and to the management of hearing loss in children (hearing aids & cochlear implants)
• To describe the current approaches to assessment of communication skills and intervention in children with hearing impairment
• To describe the aetiology and classification of developmental impairments of speech production and methods for differential diagnosis
• To enable students to assess the speech of children with hearing impairment, Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD) and phonological disorder and plan appropriate intervention
• To provide opportunities for students to practise phonetic transcription of the speech of children with hearing impairment and children with developmental impairments of speech production
• To develop a critical appreciation of the evidence base relating to speech and hearing research, technology and its application to SLT practice.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge and understanding

At the end of the module students will be able to the students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the structure and function of the vocal tract and of the peripheral hearing mechanism, and related disorders
• the Speech Chain
• the development of speech perception and production in normally-hearing and hearing-impaired people
• the theories of developmental impairments of speech production
• the impact of developmental impairments of speech production and the impact of hearing impairment on communication
• the theoretical rationale and evidence base for current approaches to the assessment of communication skills and intervention in children with, DVD, phonological disorder and hearing impairment
• different communication modes (esp BSL) & the Deaf community

Skills

At the end of the course students will have learned to:

• integrate knowledge about structure and function when considering impairments of speech and hearing
• apply their knowledge of the Speech Chain and of speech perception in speech and language therapy practice with children and to speech science research
• use specialist software for the acoustic analysis of speech sounds
• integrate knowledge about speech perception and speech production
• understand how materials for speech perception testing are developed and how speech perception test data is analysed,
• design speech perception and production assessments for clinical use,
• interpret audiological case-notes and data for children in order to enter into dialogue about clients with the multi-disciplinary team,
• phonetically transcribe the speech of children with hearing impairment and children with other developmental impairments of speech production,
• critically evaluate different approaches to the assessment of developmental impairments of speech production and intervention with children with speech difficulties arising from DVD, phonological disorder and hearing impairment.
• conduct and interpret speech assessments with children with DVD, phonological disorder and hearing impairment.
• plan and evaluate interventions to improve speech intelligibility with children with DVD, phonological disorder and hearing impairment.

Students will also have further developed the following transferable skills:

• essay/assignment/laboratory report writing
• integrating information from case records
• applying theoretical knowledge to the interpretation of clinical data
• critically evaluating assessment and intervention approaches
• designing outcome measures to evaluate intervention.

These outcomes will be achieved through:

• teaching of the syllabus outlined below
• guidance and formative feedback from tutors and peers in small-group workshops,
• Moodle discussion forums and via email
• guidance and formative feedback from tutors on assessed work
• students’ management of their own learning.