https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15050 2026-04-25T08:59:36Z 2026-04-25T08:59:36Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15597 2024-04-24T13:25:53Z 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Girls with autism spectrum disorder : missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis? Abstract: This research investigates the possibility of females with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) going initially missed or misdiagnosed in Malta. Potential reasons behind these diagnoses and the effects that they have on the individual were also explored. A literature review was conducted in order to gain a thorough understanding of the subject and to note gaps in areas of research. This study was qualitative and used semi-structured interviews as tools for data collection. Interviews were conducted with a group of 19 professionals who are involved in assessing and diagnosing individuals with ASD, and four mothers of females with ASD (fASD). These interviews were transcribed and analysed using a thematic approach. Through this analysis, themes were identified and discussed in view of reviewed literature. Results evidenced that initial misdiagnoses of fASD are uncommon in Malta, while missed diagnoses were acknowledged to occur locally. The most predominant factors identified as contributors to such diagnoses were: being high-functioning; the ability of females to mask their impairments; females‘ social inclination; professionals‘ hesitance and time constraints; and a general male-bias in diagnostic methods and clinical expectations. Repercussions with regards to missed diagnoses and misdiagnoses in fASD were generally related to a poor prognosis. However some professionals insisted that a misdiagnosis may not be detrimental to a child‘s prognosis as she is likely to be receiving intervention irrespective of the nature of the diagnosis. Description: B.SC.(HONS)COMMUNICATION THERAPY

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15595 2017-01-19T13:12:51Z 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Reliability testing of temporal tests for auditory processing Abstract: Introduction: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of three temporal processing tests for auditory processing on typically developing Maltese children. Additionally, the research highlighted preliminary trends of temporal processing skills across age, gender and between ears. Methodology: 16 participants comprising of 8 boys and 8 girls between the ages of 7;00 years and 9;11 years were recruited for the study. The study evaluated test-retest reliability of the Duration Pattern Test (DPT), the Frequency Pattern Test (FPT) and the Gaps-In-Noise (GIN) test across a time interval of 7-9 days. Furthermore, inter-list reliability for the GIN test was also evaluated. Data Analysis: The gathered data was analyzed statistically in order to compare the mean scores obtained at time one (T1) with mean scores at time two (T2) for each test. Furthermore, correlation coefficients between T1 and T2 were calculated to investigate the reliability of all three tests. Results: Overall results indicated no statistical differences between T1 and T2 for the DPT and FPT tests. Moderate and significant correlations between T1 and T2 for the two respective tests were noted, thus indicating an overall moderate reliability for the DPT and FPT tests. Results of the GIN test indicated good inter-list reliability for both approximate gap thresholds (ATh) and percentage scores. However, with regards to test-retest reliability, the GIN test demonstrated better reliability when analyzing percentage scores, as a statistically significant difference and a weak nonsignificant correlation were noted between T1 and T2 for the ATh scores. Upon analysis of the temporal tests between independent groups, results indicated one marginal statistical difference between age groups and the DPT. No other significant differences were noted between ears, gender or age groups for all tests. Conclusions: These findings tentatively suggest moderate reliability of temporal tests. However, further large scale research studies are required to determine whether a larger group with extended age range could strengthen the reliability of temporal processing tools. Description: B.SC.(HONS)COMMUNICATION THERAPY

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15589 2017-01-19T13:00:29Z 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Lexical skills in 4-year-old pre-schoolers : effects of socio-economic status Abstract: Past studies have shown that various factors associated with socioeconomic status (SES), such as the quality and quantity of child-directed language use during parent-child interaction, influence child vocabulary growth to varying degrees. Even so, opposing views exist in the literature and local research on the topic is scarce. The present research sought to investigate the effects of SES on the lexical skills of typically-developing Maltese-dominant preschoolers between the ages of 4;00 and 4;04 years. Forty-six typically-developing children were recruited from 10 different state schools spread all over the country. Fifteen subjects were categorised as low-SES, 18 were categorised as medium-SES and 13 were categorised as high-SES. Participants were assessed using Maltese and English versions of Receptive Picture Name Judgement (RPNJ) and Picture Naming tasks which measured their lexical comprehension and production skills respectively. Data was analysed quantitatively using statistical tools to note differences in lexical performance scores according to the children’s SES category and to investigate respective correlations between the two variables. Patterns of lexical mixing were also examined. The larger sample’s performance on the different lexical tasks was also compared across language versions. Overall, participants scored higher on the English picture naming task when compared to the Maltese version and higher on the Maltese RPNJ task when compared to the English version. Results indicate that SES has a significant impact on English lexical production skills and also on English receptive and Maltese production skills, to a lesser degree. Furthermore, SES was found to impact patterns of lexical mixing. While there was an increase in English lexical mixing with an increase in SES, an increase in Maltese lexical mixing presented with a decrease in SES.

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z