Editors and Authors: Arnold E. Aronson, PhD; and Diane M. Bless, PhD
Publisher: Thieme – 301 pages, plus Index
Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram
Any book that is in its fourth edition is testimony to these two important factors: the earlier editions were well received and have done doing well in sales, and there is additional and important new information to share.
This fourth edition of Clinical Voice Disorders contains expanded and additional chapters. They have also been updated with new and current sources of material and augmented with extended content. A DVD has also been added with supplementary chapters, demonstration therapy, and interviewing.
The editors point out also that organic evolution has been considerably expanded to include the photos and concepts developed by the late Jan Wind, PhD in his 1970 seminal work On the Ontogeny and the Phylogeny of the Human Larynx.
But like the first three, this fourth edition deals principally with:
- Disorders of voice due to laryngeal structural changes and neurologic diseases
- Psychogenic voice disorders due to environmental stress and psychoneuroses and muscle tension dysphonia
In the Preface, Dr. Aronson lays out a perspective about voice disorders by making these five points: 1) Your voice is your identity; 2) When it becomes abnormal, the disorder is tantamount to an illness as devastating as any other illness; 3) Dysphonia is a sign of organic illness; 4) Voice is complex; and 5) Clinical voice disorders are no longer a speech pathology’s stepchild.
To provide you an overview of the contents of this large book, we list below the titles of its 18 chapters:
- Introduction to Clinical Voice Disorders
- Normal Voice development
- Voice Disorders of Structured Origin
- Nasal Resonatory Disorders
- Neurologic Voice Disorders
- Spasmodic Dysphonia
- Clinical Voice Evaluation
- Psychogenic and Other Behavioral Voice Disorders
- Psychodiagnostic Interviewing and Counseling for Voice Disorders
- Studies in Clinical Diagnosis
- Treatment of Voice Disorders
- Special Considerations for the Professional Singer
- Extended Case Studies in Psychogenic Voice Disorders
Chapters 14-18 are available in the accompanying DVD-ROM
- The Evolution of the Larynx and Respiratory System
- Embryology of the Larynx and Respiratory System
- Anatomy and Physiology of Respiration
- Respiration for Speech
- Anatomy and Physiology for Phonation
Clinicians will need to know the answers to four key questions about their patient’s voice disorders, including an abnormal voice, points out coeditor Dr. Arnold Aronson. They are:
- What are the medical reasons responsible for this abnormal voice?
- How can I examine this patient that will lead to this all-important question?
- What kinds of information will I have to know in order to obtain a full understanding of this patient and his or her voice disorder?
- What do I need to know in order to reduce or eliminate the abnormal voice?
The topics and subtopics discussed in each chapter are laid out clearly, with bold headings for the reader to first browse through what he is looking up information on, then reading what is presented. Bullet points and numbers are generously used. Let us take a look at the contents of chapter 3, Voice Disorders of Structural Origin. It begins with a bullet-point list, followed by a brief discussion of each disorder:
- Voice Disorders Due to Structural Changes in Childhood
- Cri du Chat
- Congenital Laryngeal Stridor
- Laryngomalacia
- Congenital Subglottic Stenosis
- Laryngotracheal Cleft
- Congenital Laryngeal Web
- Congenital Cysts and Salcus Vocalis
- Papilloma
- Inflammation
- Malnutrition
- Down Syndrome
- Trauma
- Voice Disorders Due to Structural Changes in Adulthood
- Chronic Nonspecific Laryngitis
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- Chronic Hypertropic Laryngitis
- Cricoarytenoid Arthritis
- Malignant Tumors
- Endocrine Disorders (two case studies presented and discussed in detail
- Trauma
- Esophageal Reflex and Granulomas
- Bowing of the Vocal Folds
- Summary (four conclusions presented in this section)
- References
This is a book that provides a strong connection between anatomical-physiological conditions and assessment of voice disorders. With detailed information on various disorders and diseases presented in over 300 pages and with more than 200 illustrations, this well-laid out work written with clear language is a valuable resource for established laryngologists and speech-language pathologists, as well as trainees in these fields.
Editors and Authors:
Arnold E. Aronson, PhD is Professor and Emeritus Consultant in the Division of Medical Speech Pathology at Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical College in Rochester, Minnesota.
Diane M. Bless, PhD is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication Disorders and in the Department of Surgery in the Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Heath in Madison, Wisconsin.
Contributors:
Brian E. Petty, MA, CCC-SLP is Speech Language Pathologist and Singing Voice Specialist in the Department of Surgery in the Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin.
Susan L. Thibeault, PhD, CCC –SLP is Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery in the Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin.
Nathan V. Welham, PhD, CCC-SLP is Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery in the Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin.
