Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Speech Production Patterns Following Management Of Velopharyngeal Inadequacy, Debra Lynn Childs

Dissertations and Theses

This descriptive study investigated the pattern of speech sound production before and after surgical management of velopharyngeal inadequacy in two subjects. The research questions asked were: (a) What type of speech patterns do subjects referred for surgical management of velopharyngeal incompetence demonstrate presurgically? (b) What changes in the speech patterns of the subjects are observed in the immediate month following surgery for velopharyngeal incompetence? (c) Do these changes settle into a stabilized pattern of speech production by 4 months postsurgery?

The subjects' speech productions were audio recorded for analysis using the Broen CVC Probe to obtain imitated single word elicitations …

The Percentage Consonants Correct And Intelligibility Of Normal, Language Delayed, And History Of Language Delayed Children, Randi Jartun

Dissertations and Theses

Highly unintelligible children may mistakenly be assumed to have difficulty only with the misarticulation of consonants. Expressive language concerns may be ignored while the primary focus of intervention becomes the correction of misarticulated speech. Questions have arisen regarding the possibility of both speech and expressive language difficulties contributing to unintelligibility. Shriberg and Kwiatkowski (1982) developed an ordinal means of rating severity of involvement. One of the constructs of the severity scale was intelligibility. The metric percentage consonants correct (PCC) was developed to identify severity of involvement of disorders of phonology.

The Assessment Of Phonological Processes : A Comparison Of Connected-Speech Samples And Single-Word Production Tests, Susan A. Pinkerton

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if single-word elicitation procedures used in the assessment of phonological processes would have highly similar results to those obtained through connected speech. Connected speech sampling provides a medium for natural production with coarticulatory influence, but can be time-consuming and impractical for clinicians maintaining heavy caseloads or working with highly unintelligible children. Elicitation through single words requires less time than a connected-speech sample and may be more effective with highly unintelligible children because the context is known, but it lacks the influence of surrounding words. Given the inherent differences between these two methods …

Disfluencies In Normal Four-Year-Old Alaska Native And Caucasian Children, Annette Cameron O'Connell

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of occurrence of specific speech disfluencies in 4-year-old Alaska Native children to those of 4-year-old Caucasian children. Specifically, eight disfluency types were investigated: part-word repetition, word repetition, phrase repetition, interjection, revision-incomplete phrase, disrhythmic phonation, tense pause, and intrusive schwa. The questions addressed in the study were:

1. Do 4-year-old Alaska Native children exhibit a higher frequency of disfluencies than 4-year-old Caucasian children?
2. Do 4-year-old Alaska Native children exhibit a greater frequency of specific disfluencies, in terms of part-word repetition, word repetition, phrase repetition, interjection, revision-incomplete phrase, disrhythmic phonation, tense pause, or …

A Longitudinal Study Of Disfluencies In The Speech Of Normal Preschool Children, Susan Marto Crowell

Dissertations and Theses

The process of differentially diagnosing a child who is experiencing temporary normal disfluency from one who is beginning to stutter could be made objective by the establishment of normative data on fluency development. To date, there are no standardized norms on the development of fluency in children. Current investigations have contributed greatly to expectations of certain types and amounts of disfluencies in preschool-age children. Most of the research, however, has focused on observing children at discrete age levels from 2- to 7-years-of-age. Only one longitudinal study to date has been reported. Additional longitudinal data of preschoolaged children would benefit the …

Disfluencies In Normal Three-Year-Old And Five-Year-Old Male Children, Pamela Paguia Christianson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of specific disfluencies in 3 year old and 5 year old normal male children in terms of part-word repetitions, word repetitions, phrase repetitions, interjections, revision-incomplete phrases, disrhythmic phonations and tense pauses. The disfluencies were observed while each child spontaneously interacted with an investigator in a clinical room. Two questions were addressed:

1. Do three-year-old male children exhibit a higher overall frequency of disfluencies than five-year-old male children?
2. Do three-year-old male children exhibit a greater frequency of certain disfluencies than five-year old male children?

A Comparison Of Behavioral Problems Between Speech And/Or Language Impaired Children And Normal Children, Jeannie S. Botelho

Dissertations and Theses

The questions posed in this study were: 1) Is there a significant difference in the prevalence of behavioral problems between speech and/or language impaired children and normal children as reported by parents and teachers? and 2) Is there a significant difference in the types of behavioral problems between speech and/or language impaired children and normal children, as reported by parents and teachers?

Acoustical And Perceptual Correlates Of Vocal Effort In Normal Hearing And Hearing-Impaired Children, Corinne A. Thomas-Kersting

Dissertations and Theses

The present study was designed to investigate the perceptual and spectrographic features of vocal effort in the speech of severely to profoundly hearing-impaired children and their normal hearing agemates. Recorded vowel and speech samples were obtained from ten normal hearing children, ten severely to profoundly hearing-impaired children attending Oral/Aural educational programs, and eight severely to profoundly hearing-impaired children attending Total Communication programs. The degree of perceived vocal effort for vowels and speech was evaluated, using a nine point equal-appearing-interval scale. In order to obtain a physical measurement for vocal effort, a digital wave analyzer was used to produce vowel spectra, …

Listening Rate Preferences Of Language Disordered Children As A Function Of Grammatical Complexity, Wendy Lee Orloff

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if performance on a language comprehension task, varying in number of syntactical units (i.e., grammatical complexity) was affected by altered rates of speech. A total of twenty-four language disordered children, aged 7 years, 8 months, through 9 years, 8 months, who were enrolled in language/learning disorders classrooms in the Portland Public Schools served as subjects. The Assessment of Children’s Language Comprehension (Foster et al., 1972) test was administered to each subject via audio-tape at one expanded (100 wpm), one normal (150 wpm), and two compressed rates (200, 250 wpm) of speech.

The …

The Maximum Duration Of Phonation Of /A/ In Normal And Hoarse Voiced Children, Jo Coombs

Dissertations and Theses

Hoarseness seems to be the primary type of voice disorder occurring in school-aged children. Voice experts have suggested measurement of maximum phonation times as a clinical tool for assessing vocal function (Fairbanks, 1940; Westlake and Rutherford, 1961; Irwin, 1965; Boone, 1971). Most of the studies on duration of phonation have used adults as subjects; few investigations have involved children. An apparent need, therefore, existed to investigate duration of phonation in young children.

Articulation Error Rates For Oral Reading Tasks In Children With Developmental Apraxia Of Speech, Kenneth Jerry Arkell

Dissertations and Theses

Recently, there have appeared in the literature treatment approaches for the disorder of developmental apraxia of speech in children. These treatment approaches make use of the visual modality, and specifically use reading stimulus materials to improve articulation skills. Several authors have endorsed this use of reading materials in the treatment of developmental apraxia of speech in children including Morley (1965); Rosenthal (1971); Rosenbek and Wertz (1972); and Rosenbek et al. (1974). These treatment approaches have been offered via the literature without the benefit of empirical verification that children with DAS will make fewer articulation errors while reading aloud than they …