Specific language impairment (SLI) is a condition in which there are difficulties with the acquisition of spoken language and articulation disorders without any evidence of organic or neurological deficit. In the present study, five different types of tests specifically designed to evaluate the development of phonological awareness were given a child with SLI aged five years and four months (mental age four years and two months). As a control, the same tests were administered to seventeen children of a similar age group. In comparison with the control group, the child with SLI had difficulties with the handling of phonemes in each battery of tests. This study thus suggests that the possibility that the child had a disability in handling the phonemic representation of language which might lead to an articulation disorder.

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The purpose of this study was to survey the approaches to speech therapy being used to aid parents and children when the children were recommended for follow-up observation following pediatric health examinations. The survey covered eight speech therapists at health centers in ten municipalities located in the suburbs of Tokyo and with populations between 20, 000 and 50, 000. All of the therapists were part-time workers and there were notable differences in their follow-up systems and methods. The survey also indicates the importance of making the best use of daily-life support systems and out-patient facilities supporting parents and children.

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This paper reports on a case of therapy with a person with severe aphasia who was depressed and rejecting therapy. The patient's behavior led me to change my therapeutic plan to “listening to the patient”. As a result of this new approach, the patient's depressive and resisting attitude disappeared. In addition, the patient's facial expression became more open and he began to talk more. This seems to indicate that “listening to the patient” is therapeutically significant.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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