Speech-language therapists (SLTs) are experienced in recognising the symptoms and signs of speech-language disorders and can help the afflicted children overcome those disorders with appropriate intervention. Furthermore, with the increase in the number of children with special educational needs, teachers are expected to identify students with speech-language disorders, which is also a shared responsibility of SLTs. However, the teachers’ awareness and knowledge of speech-language therapy are relatively unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the primary school teachers' awareness and knowledge of speech-language therapy services in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. A total of 105 primary school teachers participated in this survey-based study. The findings discovered that the teachers' awareness and knowledge were limited. Among the participants, only 25.7% indicated a high awareness and knowledge regarding the SLTs' roles, yet 68.6% of the teachers had never read about speech-language therapy, and 63.8% had never heard anything about SLPs previously. Consequently, more emphasis on awareness and knowledge of SLPs should be executed for schoolteachers. This will assist the schoolteachers in identifying children with special needs in need of SLT services in the future.

Readiness for treatment reflects the individual’s motivation to seek help and preparedness to engage in treatment activities. The READI-SF aimed to assess parental readiness to engage in treatment. The present study aimed to translate the English version of READI-SF into the Malay language and subsequently assess its content validity using the content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI) and modified kappa analyses. Four independent translators carried out the translation procedures. Eight clinical professionals were involved as content experts. Of 17 items, six items needed to be revised due to low CVR values (< 0.75). Based on unfavourable individual CVI (I-CVI) results (< 0.78), two items (for item relevancy) and six items (for item clarity) had to be modified. The overall CVI of the questionnaire (S-CVI) was found to be good (i.e., 0.91 for item relevancy and 0.83 for item clarity). Nine items needed to be revised, and the modifications were carried out accordingly. At the end of the study, a valid Malay-translated READI-SF was produced. It has good potential to serve as a clinical tool to assess the readiness of Malay-speaking parents to engage in treatment. However, prior to its intended clinical application, further research is warranted to assess other aspects of validity (e.g., face validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity), as well as READI-SF reliability.

The interaction between adults and children during shared reading contributes to the conversation and reading in hand and makes the activity interactive. It is, therefore, imperative to understand parents’ goals for shared reading with their children as it will influence their behaviour and, in turn, affect their children’s development of language and literacy skills. In Malaysia, no local psychometric instrument identifying parent goals for shared reading is available. This study aims to translate the English version of the Parent Goals for Shared Reading Questionnaire (PGSRQ) into Malay and validate the translated questionnaire. Four qualified translators carried out the translation processes, and a panel of eight experts subsequently validated the Malay-translated version of PGSRQ. Of 33 items, the validation assessment revealed that 17 items had a content validity ratio (CVR) value of 1.0, while 12 items had a CVR value of 0.8. Only four items had a CVR value lower than 0.78 and were retranslated and modified. The findings of this study can pave the way for more research efforts in the field of shared reading in Malaysia. The questionnaire can also assist a speech therapist in assessing the goals that parents have on shared reading to come up with better designs for shared book reading intervention.

Background and Objectives: Despite few reports on the influence of ambient acoustic noise on auditory brainstem response (ABR) to click stimuli, its effects on ABR to level-specific (LS) stimuli have not been systematically investigated. This study aimed to investigate the influence of ambient acoustic noise on ABR findings using both LS chirp and click stimuli. Subjects and Methods: Twelve normal-hearing adults participated in this repeated measure design study. The ABRs were acquired at 80, 50, and 30 dBnHL using two stimuli (LS chirp and click) under two conditions (quiet and noise). The ABRs under noise conditions were acquired using babble noise and white noise. The noise level was set at 55 dBA. Two-way repeated measure analysis was used to identify the main effects of the test conditions, stimulus types, and their interactions at a 95% confidence level. Results: No significant influence of ambient acoustic noise on ABR findings was identified at all intensity levels. No significant difference was found in the number of signal averages to reach the 0.04 μV residual noise as stopping criteria among the ABRs recorded with different types of stimuli and test conditions. The ABR waves I and V amplitudes were larger with LS chirp than with click stimulus. Conclusions Ambient acoustic noise has no significant influence on ABR findings and the ABR test time based on the 55 dBA noise level used in this study.

Background and Objectives: No known studies have investigated the influence of stimulus polarity on the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) elicited from level-specific (LS) chirp. This study is important as it provides a better understanding of the stimulus polarity selection for ABR elicited from LS chirp stimulus. We explored the influence of stimulus polarity on the ABR from LS chirp compared to the ABR from click at 80 dBnHL in normal-hearing adults. Subjects and Methods: Nineteen adults with normal hearing participated. The ABRs were acquired using click and LS chirp stimuli using three stimulus polarities (rarefaction, condensation, and alternating) at 80 dBnHL. The ABRs were tested only on the right ear at a stimulus rate of 33.33 Hz. The ABR test was stopped when the recording reached the residual noise level of 0.04 µV. The ABRs amplitudes, absolute latencies, inter-peak latencies (IPLs), and the recorded number of averages were statistically compared among ABRs at different stimulus polarities and stimuli combinations. Results: Rarefaction polarity had the largest ABR amplitudes and SNRs compared with other stimulus polarities in both stimuli. There were marginal differences in the absolute latencies and IPLs among stimulus polarities. No significant difference in the number of averages required to reach the stopping criteria was found. Conclusions Stimulus polarities have a significant influence on the ABR to LS chirp. Rarefaction polarity is recommended for clinical use because of its larger ABR peak I, III, and V amplitudes than those of the other stimulus polarities.

The present study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of subjective visual horizontal(SVH) testing when tested with solid and dotted line images. In this repeated measures study,36 healthy young Malaysian adults (mean age=23.3±2.3 years, 17 males and 19 females)were enrolled. All of them were healthy and had no hearing, vestibular, balance, or vision problems.The SVH angles were recorded from each participant in an upright body position using acomputerized device. They were asked to report their horizontality perception for solid and dottedline images (in the presence of a static black background). After 1 week, the SVH procedurewas repeated. The test-retest reliability of SVH was found to be good for both solid line[intraclass correlation (ICC)=0.80] and dotted line (ICC=0.78). As revealed by Bland-Altmanplots, for each visual image, the agreements of SVH between the two sessions were within theclinically accepted criteria (±2°). The SVH testing was found to be temporally reliable, which canbe clinically beneficial. Both solid and dotted lines in the SVH testing are reliable to be usedamong young adults. J Audiol Otol 2020;24(2):107-111

Background and Objectives: The cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) is a useful objective test for diagnosing hearing loss and auditory disorders. Prior to its clinical applications in the pediatric population, the possible influences of fundamental variables on the CAEP should be studied. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of age and type of stimulus on the CAEP waveforms. Subjects and Methods: Thirty-five healthy Malaysian children aged 4 to 12 years participated in this repeated-measures study. The CAEP waveforms were recorded from each child using a 1 kHz tone burst and the speech syllable /ba/. Latencies and amplitudes of P1, N1, and P2 peaks were analyzed accordingly. Results: Significant negative correlations were found between age and speech-evoked CAEP latency for each peak (p< 0.05). However, no significant correlations were found between age and tone-evoked CAEP amplitudes and latencies (p>0.05). The speech syllable /ba/ produced a higher mean P1 amplitude than the 1 kHz tone burst (p=0.001). Conclusions The CAEP latencies recorded with the speech syllable became shorter with age. While both tone-burst and speech stimuli were appropriate for recording the CAEP, significantly bigger amplitudes were found in speech-evoked CAEP. The preliminary normative CAEP data provided in the present study may be beneficial for clinical and research applications in Malaysian children.

No abstract available.
Hearing Loss, Conductive ; Sound Localization

Introduction: Tinnitus is a common complaint amongpatients with ear diseases and can be serious if not treated.Recently, a Malay tinnitus questionnaire, known as the“Borang Evaluasi Soal selidik Tinnitus” (BEST) had beendeveloped and preliminarily validated among Malayspeakingpopulation. The aims of the present study were todetermine the test-retest reliability and responsiveness ofthe BEST questionnaire.Method: Forty-six Malay adults (aged 23-74 years) withtinnitus were enrolled. They were instructed to fill in theBEST questionnaire accordingly. After one week, 21 of themwere asked to fill in the questionnaire again. The other 25subjects underwent tinnitus intervention for three monthsand following this; the BEST was administered to themagain.Results: In the test-retest reliability task, the intraclasscorrelation values obtained were acceptably high (0.70-0.90).After the intervention, significant differences in the BESTresult were found in the mind domain, main domain andcomposite score (p<0.05) with moderate effect sizes (0.61-0.70).Conclusion: The test-retest reliability of the BEST was foundto be good. It also showed good responsiveness tointervention. The clinical usefulness of the BEST inassessing patients with tinnitus was further supported bythe present study.nnaire; reliability; responsiveness; effect size