Brain science shows that people who stutter（PWS）exhibit impairments in the auditory speech area of the left hemisphere. In our previous study, PWS had a low brain activity in the left auditory speech area associated with the right ear. For the present study, we hypothesized that left hemisphere dysfunction is caused by the auditory pathway. Our objective was to assess the auditory pathway of PWS using the auditory brainstem response（ABR）．The subjects were 13 adults who stutter（AWS） and 16 adults who were fluent. They underwent ABR evaluation, which comprised　click and Japanese mora /da/, initially with the left ear and then with the right ear. Interpeak latencies（IPLs）were statistically analyzed using the two-way analysis of variance with two factors: the group and the left and right ears. As a result, for click ABR via the left ear, AWS with mild impairment exhibited significantly longer IPLs （I-V）than fluent subjects and AWS with moderate and severe impairment（p<.05）． For click ABR via the right ear, AWS with moderate and severe impairments exhibited significantly longer IPLs（I-V）than fluent subjects and AWS with mild impairment （p<.05）．Our data suggest that there are some problems in the auditory pathway of　AWS. We consider that a slight delay in auditory information causes speech confusion.

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We compared the communicative abilities in daily living（CADL）and the CADL family questionnaire（FQ）ratings for communication evaluation of aphasia patients. In addition, aphasia patients were asked to take the Standard Language Test of Aphasia, which is an index of language function, and Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices, which is an index of intellectual function. This study included 5 patients with mild-tomoderate aphasia and 8 patients with severe aphasia. The results showed that there were many items for which the score was higher on CADL than on FQ in patients with mild-to-moderate aphasia than in those with severe aphasia. In comparison, there were many items for which the score was higher on FQ than on CADL in patients with severe aphasia than in those with mild-to-moderate aphasia. We also found that the language comprehension and intellectual function of patients with aphasia were associated with the results of the evaluation by a family member. It is necessary to evaluate the maximum ability that patients with aphasia can demonstrate in their daily lives from a variety of viewpoints and to provide insights to their family members.

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We conducted a questionnaire survey of 142 people who stutter（PWS）to investigate which symptoms they perceived as eliciting more or less negative reactions. While few PWS reported that they had experienced negative reactions of listeners to the“struggle”and“avoidance”characteristics of stuttering, there were more PWS who felt that they had experienced negative reactions to the core behaviors of stuttering　“repetition”and“block.”Compared to previous research that claimed“struggle”and “avoidance”characteristics create negative impressions in listeners, this study suggests that PWS and listeners have different perceptions of stuttering symptoms.

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This survey aimed to show the eating habits of children with disabilities. The childcare worker answered the questionnaire which had six domains（meal form/posture/food tool/how to eat/manner/unbalanced diet）．29.4 % of the 132 children had appropriate eating skills, while only 6.8 % of the total reported that they had difficulty teaching. The two domains, posture and tableware, were significantly worse than the other domains. The manner domain required guidance more than the other　domains. By facility type, there were few opinions that the training facilities were in good condition in the tableware, posture, and manner areas. In order for their to be cooperation between healthcare workers and the nursery teachers, the healthcare workers need to be aware of childcare issues in early childhood, such as eating utensils, postures, manners.

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This article explains some test concepts in clinical practice with respect to performance: measurement,　standardization, reliability, validity, and diagnostic accuracy. In addition, it suggests considerations to improve test validity in the context of clinical practice as an opinion toward a round-table talk.

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Two tools to assess the pragmatic development of Japanese in children were investigated, the already standardized Japanese version of the Children’s Communication Checklist Second Edition（CCC-2）and the Test of Pragmatics of Japanese（TOPJ），which is intended for standardization. The correlation coefficient between the GCC of CCC-2 and the number of total correct responses to TOPJ was significant, but the correlation was weak. Classification analyses revealed that children with autism spectrum disorder（ASD）were better discriminated when CCC-2 and TOPJ were combined than by CCC-2 or TOPJ alone.

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In this paper, we make some remarks on the study of the secondary use of clinical test data in psychology with machine learning based on a study of knowledge discovery regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder（ASD）from Children’s Communication Checklist 2nd Edition（CCC-2）data by the authors.

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The usefulness of psychological testing lies in translating subjective awareness into an objective indicator. However, psychological tests are often ambiguous in their wording and scoring. The tester must construct　understandable test items for the subjects of the test. Adjustment of the weighting of test items is an important issue that must be addressed when developing new appropriate tests. Therefore, a test developer must clarify the definitions of words and the weighting of items. On the other hand, it is essential for the tester to select an appropriate psychological test in consideration of the importance of subjective appraisal.

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This article presents three considerations in the practical use of psychological testing: the relationship with the client, the variation of test scores caused by the environment, and the meaning of testing itself, with respect to which this article discusses the interests of the client. We should pay attention to the possibility that objective test scores do not always conduce to the interests of the client; rather, the usefulness of testing depends on the state of the client. The tester should carefully consider the state of the client to improve the usefulness of testing in clinical practice.

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[in Japanese]

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This article presents cases of psychological testing in clinical practice in public institutions to discuss its usefulness and limitations. First, psychological testing serves as a fair form of allocation according to reliability and validity standards. Therefore, the user, the practitioner, and the researcher must establish the standards together. Second, monitoring oneself in passing back and forth between the EBA and NBA perspectives in one’s mind is required. This leads to the development of useful psychological tests and applications to practical support.

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[in Japanese]

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