The 11th International Language and Speech Disorders Congress, organized biennially, was hosted this year by Üsküdar Üniversitesi in collaboration with the Association of Language and Speech Disorders, Anadolu University, and Üsküdar Üniversitesi. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Konrot, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Language and Speech Disorders and Head of the Speech and Language Therapy Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, stated, “We gathered the discussion themes of the 11th National SLD Congress under the headings of ‘Motor Control and Assessment of Speech,’ ‘Analysis of Narrative Language Samples,’ and ‘Stuttering and Management in School-Age Children.’ Thanks to Üsküdar Üniversitesi’s special interest in the field of speech and language disorders, which is founded on the Neurology-Psychiatry-Psychology triangle, our congress was richer and more productive. We completed this year with record participation, with 1500 experts attending. The interest in this field makes us very happy.” At the opening of the congress, Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tanrıdağ, Head of the Neurology Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine, drew attention to why these two sciences cannot be separated in his seminar titled ‘Interdisciplinary Approach and Neuroscience in Speech and Language Therapy.’
Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tanrıdağ: “Neuroscience and ‘Speech and Language Therapy’ are inseparable”
The 11th International Language and Speech Disorders Congress (UKDB) took place this year from May 19-21, 2023, at Üsküdar Üniversitesi NP Health Campus in Istanbul, in cooperation with the Association of Language and Speech Disorders, Anadolu University, and Üsküdar Üniversitesi. The congress, which saw approximately 1500 experts fill the halls, reached a record number of participants. The event, where attendees formed long queues for entry and registration, was completed with 14 conferences, 9 panels, 8 courses, and over 150 paper presentations by experts from various professional groups as well as foreign academics.
Numerous Suggestions and Papers Received from Academics
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Konrot, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Language and Speech Disorders (DKTD), began his opening speech by thanking Üsküdar Üniversitesi for their contributions to the congress. Konrot stated that leading experts in the field participated as speakers on ‘Motor Control and Assessment of Speech,’ ‘Analysis of Narrative Language Samples,’ and ‘Stuttering and Management in School-Age Children.’ He added, “We made an open call for the congress. We received suggestions and numerous paper, course, and panel support from both our students and alumni, as well as academics from other universities. We welcomed each of them with appreciation. We held our congress with 14 conferences, 9 panels, 8 courses, and over 150 papers across 10 halls.”
International Participation in the Congress
The congress hosted expert guests in the field of speech and language disorders. Prof. Dr. İlknur Maviş, Co-Chair of the 11th International UDKB Congress, introduced speakers from various universities around the world. Prof. Suzanne Boyce from the University of Cincinnati, USA, gave a presentation and workshop on devices such as ultrasound for motor speech disorders. Prof. Natalia Gagarina, Director of the ZAS Institute from Germany, informed participants about innovations and practices in the field with her talk titled ‘Why is the assessment of narrative skills so important for typical, atypical, and irregular language acquisition?’ Prof. Kurt Eggers, known for his seminars on stuttering and attending from Thomas More University, Belgium, also had his presentation closely followed by participants.
Prof. Dr. Şükrü Torun, a full-time lecturer in the Department of Speech and Language Therapy at Anadolu University Faculty of Health Sciences, gave a presentation titled “Rhythm in Language and Speech from a Neuroscience Perspective.” Öget Öktem Tanör, President of the Neuropsychiatry Association and one of the doyens of neuroscience, also gave a presentation on “Aphasia.” These guests highlighted the interdisciplinary approach of the congress.
Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör: “We first establish our connection with the world through language”
Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör, Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, who delivered the opening speech of the congress, began her address emotionally as the opening of the 11th International UDKB Congress coincided with May 19th, Republic Day, stating, “Wherever there is a Republic, and wherever we commemorate Atatürk, I always become very emotional.” Güngör continued: “Speech and Language Therapy is a very important field of health sciences and one of the most preferred departments at our university. We first establish our connection with the world through language. We can socialize by putting thoughts into words. I congratulate Prof. Dr. Ahmet Konrot for his efforts in establishing and expanding such a field.”
Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tanrıdağ: “Neuroscience and Speech and Language Therapy cannot be considered separately”
Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tanrıdağ, Head of the Department of Neurology at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine, also gave a seminar titled ‘The Importance of Interdisciplinary Approach in Speech and Language Therapy: Neuroscience’ within the scope of the congress.
Tanrıdağ began his speech by expressing his honor at being included in the congress’s scientific program, stating, “Neuroscience and Speech and Language Therapy cannot be considered separately. These two professional fields are indispensable for each other. Because without neuroscience, speech and language therapy becomes a process where the therapist moves away from biological hypotheses, not knowing what to do and unable to measure it. As long as these are absent, it becomes an effort devoid of scientific rigor. Conversely, neuroscience without speech and language therapy transforms into a mechanical endeavor, not only providing incomplete information about the workings of the human brain but also lacking knowledge about the place of the language-dominant hemisphere within the general cognitive structure and its relationships with other brain regions. Therefore, let alone interdisciplinary interaction, we must state that these two scientific fields form an indispensable scientific infrastructure for each other,” emphasizing the necessity for these two fields to work together.
Prof. Dr. Kurt Eggers: “Bilingualism is becoming increasingly common worldwide”
Prof. Kurt Eggers, discussing his research on stuttering at Thomas More University in Belgium, gave a conference to participating Speech and Language Therapists, providing valuable information on stuttering in bilingual and monolingual children. In his speech, Eggers stated, “Bilingualism is becoming increasingly common worldwide. For example, if you look at Syrian children in Turkey or children whose native language is Kurdish, you’ll see that these children are raised bilingually. On the other hand, when you look at studies on stuttering, you find they are based on norms for monolingualism. This suggests that bilingual children might face the risk of misdiagnosis in this regard. Conversely, in some research I conducted in Lebanon, where almost everyone is raised bilingually, I expected a high prevalence rate of stuttering, but it wasn’t. To my knowledge, such a research finding does not exist.”
Prof. Dr. Kurt Eggers: “If we are assessing stuttering, we need to focus on all components”
Discussing the assessment criteria for stuttering based on scales, Eggers said, “If we are talking about diagnosing stuttering in children, we absolutely need to focus on all components. Not just the motor characteristics of speech, but we also need to ask other questions. What is going through the child’s mind? How do they feel? What is the child’s environment like? What is the parents’ reaction? We need to take all of these into account. We consider speech fluency or disfluencies as assessment criteria. We can talk about two types of disfluencies. If there is 3% stuttering-like disfluency, it is considered a sign of stuttering. If a certain phrase is repeated, we consider it a normal repetition. This falls into the category of other disfluencies. If a multi-syllabic word is repeated, this also falls into the category of other disfluencies. But if repetitions like ‘I I I’ occur during speech, we count this as a stuttering-like disfluency. If you look at the categories here, stuttering-like disfluencies include single-syllable word repetition, partial word repetition, syllable repetition, dysrhythmic phonation, silent prolongation, or a pause in the middle of a word.” Throughout his conference, Prof. Kurt Eggers shared numerous research findings with participating speech and language therapists, using examples from different countries and languages.
