ACQ Vol 13 no 3 2011

and regular plural noun were learnt well by both groups. These are now the forms I will take most notice of in my clinical work. Results also showed that the two groups followed the same path – the bilingual group taken as a large group was not deviant. When looking at an individual’s learning curve, I still feel that interference from the other language can be significant – for instance, use of pronouns where the language of Tagalog is dominant. There were many similarities in the developmental pathways followed by both groups (bilingual and

monolingual) during the chronological age periods sampled. The headline that readers will remember is that the bilingual children at age 3, taken as a group, were generally at a lower level of development. This of course, poses many more questions, such as “What would we see at age 5?”. As I value bilingualism, I want to highlight, as the authors noted, that this study did not look at many factors including combined language skills or the social sphere. Being able to talk to Oma or Nonno in their language is priceless. I will still be advocating bilingualism as strongly as before. Now I will have information that is much more statistically valid.

Resource reviews Speech pathology resources

The book is divided into three sections: Section I: Foundations and Practicalities; Section II: Assessment and Treatment; and Section III: Related Cognitive-Language Disorders. The first section addresses brain basics, humanistic basics, aphasia theory, models and classification, practices in acute care settings, neuroimaging, multicultural and multilinguistic issues, and enhancing quality of life. The second section focuses on assessment and treatment related to: naming and word retrieval, comprehension, reading and writing impairments, syntax and linguistic based approaches, pragmatics and discourse, social and life participation approaches, assistive technology, treatment effectiveness and evidence based practice, and resources for family and clinicians. The final section contains one chapter on each of the following areas: right hemisphere damage, dementia and traumatic brain injury, blast injury, and multisystem injuries. Each chapter includes a detailed summary of the key issues related to the topic and provides a concise review of the literature within the field. Chapter reviews and test questions are available at the end of chapters to support learning of the material. The chapters provide a useful summary of the key issues and provide a starting point for clinical management. This book would make a good, clinically relevant text for an undergraduate speech pathology course on neurogenic communication disorders or for clinicians working with people with aphasia or related cognitive-language disorders who would like to refresh their knowledge.

LaPointe, L.L. (2001). (Ed.). Aphasia and related neurogenic language disorders . (4th ed.). New York: Thieme. ISBN: 978 1 60406 261 8; pp. 286 including the index; A$64.95. http://www.elsevierhealth.com.au/ Natalie Ciccone

This book presents “a collection of ideas and scholarship on brain damage and communication loss” and assemblies “a group of experts on brain based disorders of communication who have been there; in the clinics, hospitals,

research labs, and classroom” (p. ix). The book focuses primarily on aphasia, providing an overview of issues related to and research on aphasia and its clinical management. However, its final three chapters address related cognitive-language disorders. The authors of each chapter are recognised experts within their field, resulting in a book that covers a wide range of topics, all of which are relevant to the management of aphasia and related cognitive-language disorders within different clinical contexts. The book addresses foundational topics such as brain function and the classification of aphasia; it also focuses on the impact of communication disorders on an individual’s life and in doing so has a client- focused approach that concentrates on the humanistic nature of the language disorder.

Would you like to contact more than 4,500 speech pathologists? Advertising in ACQ and Speak Out is a great way to spread your message to speech pathologists in Australia and overseas. We have different size advertising space available. If you book in every issue for the whole year you’ll receive a discount. See www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au for further information about advertising

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ACQ Volume 13, Number 3 2011

ACQ uiring Knowledge in Speech, Language and Hearing