Browsing by Author "Valente, Ana Rita"
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- Age and gender effects in european portuguese spontaneous speechPublication . Albuquerque, Luciana; Valente, Ana Rita; Teixeira, Ana; Oliveira, Catarina; Figueiredo, DanielaAging is part of the normal evolution of human beings. However, the knowledge about speech in the older ages is still dispersed and incomplete. Considering conflicting findings reported in prior research, this study aims to contribute to increase our knowledge about age effects on the spontaneous speech of Portuguese adults. In order to analyze the effects of age on rhythmic, intonation and voice quality domains, several parameters were extracted from spontaneous speech produced by 112 adults, aged between 35 and 97. Data were obtained through a picture description task. The results showed that the most consistent age-related effects are an increase in speech pauses, mainly in men, and a Harmonics-to-Noise Ratio (HNR) decrease in women. Speaking fundamental fre-quency (f0) tends to decrease in women and to slightly increase in men with age. These findings for Portuguese are in line with previous research suggesting that suprasegmental characteristics of speech change with age, with some gender differences.
- Early Identification of Pre-school Children with Speech-language Disorder in Primary Health Care SettingsPublication . Mendes, Ana; Valente, Ana Rita; Loureiro, Helena; Clemêncio, Graça; Melo, Elsa; Lousada, MarisaSpeech-language disorders in pre-school children is considered a public health problem since its international prevalence is reportedly to be 20%. This study aimed to identify European-Portuguese pre-school children with speech-language disorder through RALF speech-language screening (Rastreio de Linguagem e Fala), in primary health care settings. RALF is a reliable and valid instrument that revealed strong levels of reliability, sensitivity and specificity for European-Portuguese (EP) pre-school children. 10 nurses with more than 6 years of clinical experience in a primary health care centers administered RALF to 37 (5-6 years old) EP children as part of health-child care routine. Results indicate that 21.6% of children did not pass the RALF screen and were referred to an in-depth speech and language assessment. This finding was in agreement with international research and reinforces the need for an early and precocious identification of the speech-language disorder in pre-school children. That is, way before the disorder has installed and has an impact on the academic, social and emotional development. This action-research study also reveals the important of using a valid, reliable, sensitive, and specific, as well as, culturally and linguistically adequate screening instruments by the health professionals as part of health-child care routine in primary health care centers.