Editorial

EDITORIAL

Claudia Regina Furquim de Andrade

Professora Titular. Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional. Faculdade de Medicina Universidade de São Paulo

Dear Readers,

The second Editorial of 2009 shares a discussion about the factors that, more or less, have an influence on the speech-language pathologist's and audiologist's decision to attend and conclude a post graduation course (master and doctorate) in this area of knowledge. We all know that the formation of doctors - in a specific field of knowledge - implies in the future of the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, not only in terms of autonomy for generating knowledge (researches), but also in terms of evidence based clinical practice (basis that attend services demands).

American data of the Council of Academic Programs in Sciences and Human Communication Disorders (CAPCSD) indicates, in a retrospective study of the last 20 years, stability in the number of speech-language pathologists and audiologists - in America - who look for a doctorate degree. This number does neither follow the growing number of professionals who conclude graduation or attend population demands for Speech-Language and Hearing services.

According to the CAPCSD, factors considered as being positive - i.e. the reasons to look for a master or doctorate program - are:

. academic like and interest for research;

. desire to have a focus of expertise, respect and credibility given by the society to the professional who receives the title;

. desire for professional growth, reflected by the ascension in the career steps.

For this council, factors considered as being negative - i.e. the reasons for those who do not look for master or doctorate programs - are:

. family considerations;

. financial factors (one earns less in the academic life than in the clinical practice);

. lack of interest and personal accessibility to study;

. time spent with the course;

. fear of the dissertation or thesis;

. lack of interest in teaching other people.

According to the CAPCSD data, 58% of the speech-language pathologists and audiologists have never seriously considered to attend a master or doctorate program, against 42% who have seriously considered this as an option. For the group who considered a post-graduation course as an option, 33% submitted themselves to the selection processes, and from this total 95% were accepted.

An interesting approach was the analysis about pupil evasion, those who effectively were enrolled in the programs, according to different points of view: pupils' and professors'.

The pupils' five main reasons, following their statistical significance, were:

1. Clinical work is more satisfactory;

2. Lack of identification with the academic environment;

3. Unfinished dissertation or thesis;

4. Insufficient financial resources;

5. Time of dedication required by the program.

The professors'/tutor's five main reasons were:

1. Clinical work is more satisfactory;

2. Availability of financial resources;

3. Lack of identification with the academic environment;

4. Loss or incompatibility with the tutor;

5. Disillusionment with the research.

In Brazil, the Post-Graduation courses are in great development, reaching high standards, referenced by the evaluations of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes). We could consider this moment ideal to begin reflecting about the planning and managing of our growth as tutors and of ourselves, as researchers.

Based on the American experience, on the data presented at the beginning of this text, and comparing it to the search profile and growth of researchers as a group of experts who ascend in the National Council of Research (Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa), where out of the almost 500 speech-language pathologists and audiologists with Ph.Ds in the country, less than 10% effectively become researchers, I leave here a few points that could be discussed by the new Post-Graduations courses:

1. To give pupils who enter post-graduation courses support models so that they can begin, respecting the lines of work determined by the post-graduation programs, independent research proposals;

2. To prioritize, according to the models that structure the post-graduation programs, researches with a compatible and semi-structured design (qualitative or quantitative);

3. Programs can exchange thematic goals and can stimulate pupils of different institutions to develop different perspectives of a single project, according to the focus of the program (compatible with the postgraduation program);

4. Programs should be more alert to the great number of available international proposals, giving pupils the opportunity of taking part of multicultural researches.

Finally, we should consider and prepare ourselves for:

1. To tutor doctors who are sufficiently prepared to begin independent lines of research;

2. To stimulate the accomplishment of post-doctorate researches;

3. To stimulate the internationalization of pupils' tutoring (doctorates and post-doctorates) in order to maximize the exposure to different educational centers, and consequently to different theoretical, research and teaching points of view;

4. To stimulate opportunities to promote inter-institution researches (two or more programs united in a single research project), especially with international partners.

The second number of 2009 has twelve research articles, one case study, one research letter and one filler.

In the first study, Angrisani et al. (2009) point that the auditory evoked potentials (AEP) are electrophysiological tests that have been used as an instrument to establish the diagnosis of several disorders, as well as to assess therapeutic outcomes. Based on this, the authors propose a study that had as a purpose to characterize the AEP in eight stuttering individuals in comparison to a control group (eight fluent individuals) and to verify the amelioration of these potentials post speech-language treatment. Each group was submitted twice to the following evaluations: Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER), Middle Lantency Evoked Potencials (MLAEP) and P300, with an interval of 3 months between each evaluation. The BAER and the P300 results were the potentials that better distinguished the groups and the three AEP indicated post-treatment neural plasticity.

Considering that the long latency auditory evoked potentials (LLAEP) provide objective data about the function of hearing cortical structures, the purpose of the study presented by Ventura et al. (2009) was to characterize the maturation of the central hearing system in 56 normally hearing children. The obtained results suggest that the maturational process of the central hearing system occurs gradually, being the greatest changes observed when comparing children and adults. The results also indicate that there is no significant statistical difference between genders.

The research presented by Rossi et al. (2009) had as a theme the Williams-Beuren Syndrome (WBS) and its implications to speech. According to the authors, the occurrence of speech disruptions can be caused by lexical and semantic deficits. Given this, the purpose of the research was to determine the speech fluency profile of individuals with WBS and to compare the speech performance of these individuals to a control group matched by gender and mental age. The results indicate that the speech fluency profile of individuals with WBS presented a greater occurrence of typical disfluencies (mainly hesitations and word repetitions) when compared to individuals with similar mental age and with typical language development. The presence of these typical disfluencies can be caused by deficits in the lexical, semantic, and syntactic processing of verbal information.

The purpose of the study presented by Mousinho and Correa (2009) was to evaluate the performance of readers and nonreaders in tasks related to several linguistic and cognitive skills and to determine the implication of the results to the clinical practice and to education; 15 children were considered readers and 20 children nonreaders. The obtained results indicate that the group of readers presented a better performance in the phonological awareness tasks when compared to the group of nonreaders. The authors emphasize that the performance of readers and nonreaders in the phonological awareness assessments indicates the importance of taking into account not only the required level of linguistic segmentation but also the cognitive level required by the nature of the task.

Mota and Melo Filha (2009) presented a study about phonological awareness abilities of children with a history of speech-language disorders. The purpose of the study was to compare the phonological awareness abilities of individuals who recovered from phonological disorders after having gone through speech-language treatment with that of individuals with typical phonological development. The results indicate that, even after speech therapy the group of children with a history of phonological disorders (after recovery) presented a worse performance in terms of the phonological awareness abilities.

The assessment of the vocal quality and of the voice-related quality of life in 103 elderly women (with ages between 60 and 103 years) was the purpose of the research presented by Gama et al. (2009). The results indicate that although most of the elderly women presented some level of dysphonia, the vocal disorders did not have an influence on their life quality. However, the physical and total scores of the Voice Related Questionnaire of Life Quality (V-RQOL) presented a correlation to dysphonia severity, indicating that the more severe the dysphonia, the lower the voice-related quality of life.

Rissato and Novaes (2009) proposed the characterization of a protocol for the fitting and verification of hearing aids in children, as well as for the verification of the impact of the adjustment of the acoustic characteristics in speech perception tasks. The results indicate that the mean percentage of correct answers improved after the modification of the electro acoustic characteristics. The authors conclude that the use of a protocol that verifies and validates the fitting of hearing aids in children is necessary.

Baggio et al. (2009) point that gentamicin is an antibiotic that acts in Gram-negative bacilli infections, having otoxicity as one of the most important side effects. Based on this, the authors presented a study that had as a purpose to verify in 26 albino guinea pigs the lesion caused by gentamicin to the external ciliary cells (ECC). For this purpose, an anatomic verification was made through scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and a functional verification was also carried out using distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). The results indicate that no lesions or alterations in the function of the EEC of the guinea pigs were observed after the use of gentamicin.

Cera and Ortiz (2009) proposed a study that analyzed the phonological errors of 20 adults with speech apraxia, speakers of the Brazilian Portuguese language. According to the results, the authors conclude that the errors present in the speech of these individuals seem to suffer the influence of language once the most affected phonemes are different from those described in international studies.

The purpose of the study presented by Prates et al. (2009) was to evaluate the index of speech recognition (IPRF) using frequency compression in three different ratios. For this purpose, monosyllabic words were recorded using an algorithm of frequency compression in three ratios: 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, generating three lists of words. The results indicate that frequency compression hinders speech recognition; i.e. as the compression ratio increases, so does the level of difficulty. Besides that, the authors suggest that the familiarity with the words facilitates recognition in any hearing condition.

The comparison of the expressive vocabulary of two year-old children born prematurely to that of those born at term was the purpose of the study developed by Isotani et al. (2009). The results indicate that children born underweight and prematurely present a greater occurrence of expressive language delay. Besides that, pre-term children present significantly lower expressive vocabulary and phrasal extension than children of the same age born at full-term. Based on this, the authors conclude that children born prematurely and underweight are at risk in terms of vocabulary development.

Schwarz and Cielo (2009) proposed a research that had as a purpose to investigate the sensations and the vocal and laryngeal impact produced by the sonorous tongue vibration technique (STVT). The obtained results indicate that after using the STVT, a statistically significant difference was observed in terms of: improvement of voice type; focus of vertical resonance; vocal quality; predominance of positive sensations; maintenance of the larynx images parameters and increase in fundamental frequency, among others.

The case study presented by Barreto et al. (2009) had as a purpose to characterize perceptual and acoustic features of speech in three patients with spinocerebellar ataxia and to verify the presence of similar features among these patients. The authors conclude that the phonatory disorders and altered temporal patterns of speech seem to be typical in dysarthric patients with spinocerebellar ataxia.

Béfi-Lopes et al (2009) presented a research letter about a study that had as a purpose to verify the comprehension and production of singular and plural markers in children within normal language development, speakers of the Brazilian Portuguese language. The obtained results indicate that the production of the plural form was variable receiving the lower scores, but presented a significant enhancement from 3:0 to 5:0 years. Based on this finding the authors concluded that this ability improved with development and was considered productive after 5:0 years of age.

Finally, Maldonade (2009) presents a filler about the organization of the work developed by trainees - speech-language pathologists and audiologists - in a Public Health Unit.

Regards, Claudia

Referências Bibliográficas

• Angrisani RMG, Matas CG, Neves IF, Sassi FC, Andrade CRF. Avaliação eletrofisiológica da audição em gagos, pré e pós terapia fonoaudiológica. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):95-100.
• Baggio CL, Silveira AF, Hyppolito MA. Estudo experimental anatômico-funcional da cocleotoxicidade da gentamicina com doses habituais para recém-nascidos. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):137-42.
• Barreto SS, Mantovani J, Martins FC, Ortiz KZ. Ataxia espinocerebelar: análise perceptivo-auditiva e acústica da fala em três casos. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):167-70.
• Befi-Lopes DM, Rodrigues A, Puglisi ML. Aquisição do morfema de número em crianças em desenvolvimento normal de linguagem. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):171-4.
• Cera ML, Ortiz KZ. Análise fonológica dos erros da apraxia adquirida de fala. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):143-8.
• Gama ACC, Alves CFT, Cerceau JSB, Teixeira LC. Correlação entre dados perceptivo-auditivos e qualidade de vida em voz de idosas. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):125-30.
• Isotani SM, Azevedo MF, Chiari BM, Perissinoto J. Linguagem expressiva de crianças nascidas pré-termo e termo aos dois anos de idade. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):155-60.
• Maldonade IR. Enfrentar a realidade metodologicamente: o Zopp e a organização do trabalho fonoaudiológico por estagiários em UBS. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):175-7.
• Mota HB, Melo Filha MGC. Habilidades em consciência fonológica de sujeitos após realização de terapia fonológica. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):119-24.
• Mousinho R, Correa J. Habilidades lingüístico-cognitivas em leitores e não-leitores. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):113-8.
• Prates LPCS, Silva FJF, Iório MCM. Compressão de freqüências e suas implicações no reconhecimento de fala. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):149-54.
• Rissatto MR, Novaes BCAC. Próteses auditivas em crianças: importância dos processos de verificação e validação. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):131-6.
• Rossi NF, Souza DH, Moretti-Ferreira D, Giacheti CM. Perfil da fluência da fala na síndrome de Williams-Beuren: estudo preliminar. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):107-12.
• Schwarz K, Cielo CA. Modificações laríngeas e vocais produzidas pela técnica de vibração sonorizada de língua. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):161-6.
• Ventura LMP, Costa Filho OA, Alvarenga KF. Maturação do sistema auditivo central em crianças ouvintes normais. Pró-Fono Revista de Atualização Científica. 2009 abr-jun;21(2):101-6.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  24 July 2009
• Date of issue
  June 2009