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• Mastery of rhotic sounds is not strongly correlated with chronological age. • Relationship between rhotic vowel and rhotic consonant accuracy provides an estimate of rhotic sound developmental level. • Effects of phonetic context on the mastery of rhotic sounds appear to be dialect-specific. • Positional and phonetic contexts are important for assessment and clinical decision making for children with rhotic errors. Rhotic vowels are known to be difficult sounds for children to learn, but their acquisition has not been investigated in detail. This study examined rhotic vowel development, including accuracy and error patterns, in young children across age, diagnostic groups, and phonetic contexts. Participants included 34 children from 2 to 6 years of age with and without speech sound disorders (SSD). Data included 36 elicited single words containing stressed and unstressed rhotic monophthongs ([ɜ˞] and [ə˞]) and four rhotic diphthongs (/ɪ͡ə˞/, /ε͡ə˞/, /ɔ͡ə˞/, and /ɑ͡ə˞/). Additional words containing non-rhotic vowels and the consonant /ɹ/ were also included for comparison. A significant difference in rhotic vowel production accuracy was found between diagnostic groups (with vs. without SSD), but not across age groups or phonetic contexts. Yet, the accuracy scores for children without SSD were bimodally distributed, showing overlapping patterns with children with SSD. Error patterns were examined for all children with low rhotic vowel accuracy scores, regardless of age and diagnostic status. Results of this study highlight the variability in rhotic vowel development in young children and the importance of studying rhotic sounds using overall rhotic sound accuracy of each individual child regardless of their age or diagnostic status. Clinically, systematic within-speaker error patterns suggest the need for the detailed error pattern assessment of rhotic sounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Short silent intervals were statistically differentiated from pause intervals. • Short silent intervals in speakers with PD were significantly longer than controls. • Speakers with PD had longer Between-word silent intervals compared to controls. • No differences in silent interval duration were observed at any other boundary. Abstract The purpose of the current investigation was to examine a statistical approach to differentiating shorter silent intervals (e.g., stop gaps) from longer silent intervals (e.g., pause) at varying syntactic locations within a reading passage to better characterize articulatory and prosodic aspects of speech timing in Parkinson disease (PD). Silent intervals 15 ms and longer were extracted from reading sample. Logarithmic transformation of the silent interval durations yielded a bimodal distribution. Gaussian Mixture Model analysis was used to statistically differentiate the first mode (Mode 1) that corresponded to short silent intervals from the second mode (Mode 2) that corresponded to longer silent intervals. The syntactic context surrounding each silent interval was also categorized. Results revealed that the large majority of silent intervals that occurred within a clause, phrase, or word were assigned to Mode 1, while the majority of silent intervals that coincided with sentence-ending punctuation were assigned to Mode 2. Results revealed that Mode 1 intervals were slightly, but significantly longer for speakers with PD (Mean = 52.48 ms, SE = 3.23) compared to controls (Mean = 44.67 ms, SE = 2.00). Examination of the surrounding syntactic context revealed that this difference occurred at between-word boundaries contained within a phrase or clause. No between group differences were observed for the other inter- and intra-sentence syntactic boundaries or Mode 2 intervals. This study outlines a data-based approach to differentiating short between- and within-word intervals from longer silent intervals or pauses that reflect the prosodic and syntactic structure of a reading passage. Using this approach, the current data suggest that speakers with PD exhibit longer short silent intervals than controls, potentially reflecting a slight delay in the fluent segment-to-segment transition between words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A modified version of the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment scale (m-FDA) is introduced. • The m-FDA is suitable to evaluate dysarthric speech signals. • Dysarthric speech signals can be accurately modeled using i-vectors. • Longitudinal analyses confirm the robustness and suitability of the method. Abstract Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder that produces motor and non-motor impairments. The evaluation of motor symptoms is currently performed following the third section of the Movement Disorder Society – Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS-III); however, only one item of that scale is related to speech impairments. It is necessary to develop a specific scale such that considers those aspects related to speech impairments of the patients. Aims (i) To introduce and evaluate the suitability of a modified version of the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment (m-FDA) scale to quantify the dysarthria level of PD patients; (ii) to objectively model dysarthric speech signals considering four speech dimensions; (iii) to develop a methodology, based on speech processing and machine learning methods, to automatically quantify/predict the dysarthria level of patients with PD. Methods The speech recordings are modeled using features extracted from several dimensions of speech: phonation, articulation, prosody, and intelligibility. The dysarthria level is quantified using linear and non-linear regression models. Speaker models based on i-vectors are also explored. Results and conclusions The m-FDA scale was introduced to assess the dysarthria level of patients with PD. Articulation features extracted from continuous speech signals to create i-vectors were the most accurate to quantify the dysarthria level, with correlations of up to 0.69 between the predicted m-FDA scores and those assigned by the phoniatricians. When the dysarthria levels were estimated considering dedicated speech exercises such as rapid repetition of syllables (DDKs) and read texts, the correlations were 0.64 and 0.57, respectively. In addition, the combination of several feature sets and speech tasks improved the results, which validates the hypothesis about the contribution of information from different tasks and feature sets when assessing dysarthric speech signals. The speaker models seem to be promising to perform individual modeling for monitoring the dysarthria level of PD patients. The proposed approach may help clinicians to make more accurate and timely decisions about the evaluation and therapy associated to the dysarthria level of patients. The proposed approach is a great step towards unobtrusive/ecological evaluations of patients with dysarthric speech without the need of attending medical appointments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The purpose of the current study was to assess the short-term effectiveness of short and intensive speech therapy provided to patients with cleft (lip and) palate (C(L)P) in terms of articulation and resonance. Methods Five Ugandan patients (age: 7.3-19.6 years) with non-syndromic C(L)P received six hours of individualized speech therapy in three to four days. Speech therapy focused on correct phonetic placement and contrasts between oral and nasal airflow and resonance. Speech evaluations performed before and immediately after speech therapy, including perceptual and instrumental assessment techniques, were compared. Results Post-therapy, improvement of speech was noted for most of the patients, although to varying degrees. Clinically relevant progress of objective nasalance values and/or articulation was obtained in four patients. Overall, two patients showed normal speech intelligibility, while three patients required additional speech therapy. Conclusion These preliminary short-term results demonstrate that short and intensive speech therapy can be effective for patients with C(L)P in countries with limited access to speech-language therapy. However, further research is needed on the long-term effectiveness and the advantages of applying this treatment protocol in countries with good access to speech therapy. Learning outcomes The reader will be able to (1) list the challenges in resource poor-countries to achieve access to speech-language therapy services, (2) describe when the application of speech therapy is appropriate in patients with C(L)P, (3) describe the speech therapy that can be applied to reduce compensatory articulation and resonance disorders in patients with C(L)P, and (4) list the (possible) advantages of short, intensive speech therapy for both resource-poor and developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impaired speech fluency in 54.5% of children with Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. • Association between infection and speech disfluency in children with Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. • New light on speech and language in Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. • Defining impact on speech in Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. • Reactualizing early 1900s theories regarding infection and speech. In the early 20th century a link between infection and speech disfluency was discussed. Recent reports indicate that PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) may be associated with a high incidence of speech disfluency. The present study specifically investigates disfluency and other speech symptoms following onset of PANS and PANDAS. Prevalence of previously reported speech related symptoms vocal tics, selective mutism and "baby talk" is included. The present study also aims to explore possible changes in articulation and intelligibility, distress due to speech impairment, and effect of PANS or PANDAS medication on speech symptoms. A questionnaire was distributed to caregivers of children with diagnosed or suspected PANS or PANDAS. In total 55 individuals in Sweden were included. Onset of speech disfluency in association with PANS or PANDAS was reported by 54.5% of the caregivers. Most frequent disfluency symptoms were higher speech rate, superfluous verbal behavior, verbal blocks and associated motor symptoms. Previous findings of vocal tics, baby talk and mutistic behavior are supported. The present study also exposed previously unreported symptoms such as impaired articulation, reduced intelligibility, reduced speech production and language impairment. Eleven caregivers reported that medical treatment had a positive effect on speech fluency. A connection between PANS and PANDAS and speech disfluency is supported, and a possible link between infection and disfluency is reactualized. Reported disfluency shares several characteristics with stuttering and cluttering, but the caregivers did not consistently associate it with stuttering. The present study also sheds new light on how symptoms of "baby talk", selective mutism and vocal tics might be viewed in this population. In all, the results indicate a substantial impact on speech fluency, speech and language in affected children, reducing quality of life. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers, as well as the lay public and the popular press, have become increasingly concerned about the lack of reproducibility of research findings. Despite this concern, research has shown that replications of previously published work comprise a very small proportion of published studies. Moreover, there are fewer published direct replications of research studies by independent investigators, and this type of replication is much less likely to confirm the results of the original research than are replications by the original investigator or conceptual replications. A search of the communication disorders research literature reveals that direct replications by independent investigators are virtually non-existent. The purpose of this project was to describe the major issues related to research reproducibility and report the results of a direct replication of a study by Locke (1972) regarding ease of articulation. Two methods for rating ease of articulation were employed. We were able to reproduce the results of the original study for the first method, obtaining a moderate positive correlation between our rankings of phoneme difficulty and Locke's rankings. We obtained a very high positive correlation between our phoneme rankings and rankings obtained in the original study for the second method. Moreover, we found a higher correlation between difficulty rankings and order of speech sound acquisition for American English than was found in the original study. Direct replication is not necessary for all studies in communication disorders, but should be considered for high impact studies, treatment studies, and those that provide data to support models and theories. Learning outcomes: The reader will be able to: (1) describe the major concerns related to the replicability of research findings; (2) describe the status of research replications in communication disorders; (3) describe how ease of articulation may relate to the order of speech sound acquisition in children; (4) list some types/areas of research that might be candidates for replication in the field of communication disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Speech disorder that continues into middle childhood is rarely studied compared with speech disorder in the early years. Speech production in single words, connected speech and nonword repetition was assessed for 7390 eight-year-old children within the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The majority (n =6399) had typical speech and 50 of these children served as controls. The remainder were categorised as using common clinical distortions only (CCD, n =582) or speech difficulties (SDiff, n =409). The samples from the CCD children were not analysed further. Speech samples from the SDiff and the control children were transcribed and analysed in terms of percentage consonants correct, error type and syllable structure. Findings were compared with those from children in the Shriberg et al. (1997) lifespan database (n =25). The 8-year-old children from ALSPAC in the SDiff and control groups achieved similar speech accuracy scores to the 8-year-old children in the lifespan database. The SDiff group had consistently lower scores than the ALSPAC control group, with the following measures most clearly differentiating the groups: single word task (percentage of substitutions and distortions), connected speech task (percentage of vowels correct (PVC), percentage of omission of singletons and entire clusters, and stress pattern matches), nonword repetition task (PVC, percentage of entire clusters omitted, percentage of distortions, and percentage of stress pattern matches). Connected speech and nonword samples provide useful supplementary data for identifying older children with atypical speech. Learning outcomes: The reader will recognize the methods used to identify speech characteristics in a large scale population study. They will describe how measures of speech accuracy in connected speech compare with the Shriberg et al. (1997) lifespan database. The reader will also recall information on how typically and atypically developing children differ on a range of measures across different types of speech sample. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several authors mentioned the occurrence of articulation problems in the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) population. However, few studies have undertaken a detailed analysis of the articulation skills of NF1 patients, especially in schoolchildren and adults. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine in depth the articulation skills of NF1 schoolchildren and adults, both phonetically and phonologically. Speech samples were collected from 43 Flemish NF1 patients (14 children and 29 adults), ranging in age between 7 and 53 years, using a standardized speech test in which all Flemish single speech sounds and most clusters occur in all their permissible syllable positions. Analyses concentrated on consonants only and included a phonetic inventory, a phonetic, and a phonological analysis. It was shown that phonetic inventories were incomplete in 16.28% (7/43) of participants, in which totally correct realizations of the sibilants /ʃ/ and/or /ʒ/ were missing. Phonetic analysis revealed that distortions were the predominant phonetic error type. Sigmatismus stridens, multiple ad- or interdentality, and, in children, rhotacismus non vibrans were frequently observed. From a phonological perspective, the most common error types were substitution and syllable structure errors. Particularly, devoicing, cluster simplification, and, in children, deletion of the final consonant of words were perceived. Further, it was demonstrated that significantly more men than women presented with an incomplete phonetic inventory, and that girls tended to display more articulation errors than boys. Additionally, children exhibited significantly more articulation errors than adults, suggesting that although the articulation skills of NF1 patients evolve positively with age, articulation problems do not resolve completely from childhood to adulthood. As such, the articulation errors made by NF1 adults may be regarded as residual articulation disorders. It can be concluded that the speech of NF1 patients is characterized by mild articulation disorders at an age where this is no longer expected. Learning outcomes: Readers will be able to describe neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and explain the articulation errors displayed by schoolchildren and adults with this genetic syndrome. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A young child with macroglossia of unknown cause was seen for treatment to modify resting tongue posture and improve speech sound production. Evaluation of the treatments indicated positive change in resting tongue posture and a modest change in speech sound production. Treatment for such patients can be complex and must consider orthodontic and/or surgical interventions, because an enlarged tongue can influence growth, development, and physiology of the oropharyngeal complex. The speech-language pathologist must be prepared to deal with the complex of problems demonstrated by patients with macroglossia during growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate a consecutive series of 65 participants between 3 and 33 years of age (median age of 9 years and 4 months) with a confirmed 22q11.2 deletion, in order to ascertain the frequency and severity of articulation difficulties, velopharyngeal impairment (VPI), and the level of intelligibility. The majority had velopharyngeal impairment; over half of them to such a degree that surgery had been performed or was considered necessary. A high level of correct place and manner of consonants was only found in children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome from age 6. The most misarticulated consonants were stops and fricatives. Glottal articulation assessed in words and sentences was less frequent than expected according to earlier studies. A high prevalence of reduced intelligibility at different ages indicates an obvious communication limitation in younger children, and for some individuals even as teenagers and adults.: Educational objectivesAs a result of this activity, the participant will have knowledge about the frequency and severity of: (1) articulation difficulties; (2) velopharyngeal impairment; and (3) the level of intelligibility in patients with a 22q11.2 deletion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A prospective follow-up of very low birth weight infants (VLBW) with (n=89) and without (n=71) bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and Term control children (n=93) was conducted at 8 years of age. Groups were compared on measures of articulation, receptive and expressive language, verbal and performance IQ, oral motor skills and gross and fine motor skills. The BPD group demonstrated reduced articulation, receptive language skills, performance IQ, and overall gross and fine motor skills when compared to VLBW and Term groups. The BPD and VLBW groups did not differ on expressive language, oral motor skills, or verbal IQ. The groups also differed in enrolment in special classes and speech–language therapy, with almost half (48%) of the BPD group enrolled in speech–language therapy compared to 21% of the VLBW group, and 9% of the Term group. These results suggest that BPD may have adverse effects on speech development as well as on performance IQ, motor skills, and receptive language over and above the effects of VLBW.: Learning outcomes(1) As a result of this activity the reader will be able to describe what BPD is and how it impacts speech and language. (2) As a result of this activity the reader will be able to discuss how children with VLBW with BPD differ from children with VLBW without BPD in their developmental outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated articulation in 13 individuals with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), chronological age from 7; 0 to 29; 5, total IQ from 38 to 83. To elicit a speech sample a picture-naming test was used. Pictures were chosen so that, when named correctly, they yield a sample containing instances of all Dutch single speech sounds and clusters in all permissible syllable positions. All samples were transcribed phonetically by a stringent transcription procedure, and reliability of the transcription was assessed both by an intra-observer and inter-observer reliability check. The transcribed speech samples were subjected to several analyses as to characterize articulation from different perspectives. It was found that articulation in persons with PWS is usually impaired. Results suggest that the overall error rate is a function of IQ, and that with increasing age, phonological problems gradually resolve while phonetic difficulties become more evident.Learning outcomes: The reader will learn about (1) clinical characteristics, etiology, incidence, and prevalence of Prader–Willi syndrome; (2) speech and language difficulties in Prader–Willi syndrome; (3) articulation characteristics in Prader–Willi syndrome. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Phonatory age-related changes included greater airflow and lower cepstral measures. • Aging-induced slowing of tongue movements was observed for the articulatory system. • Cepstral/spectral measures, except CPP predicted age-related intelligibility change. • Maximum speed was a significant contributor to age-related intelligibility change. The aims of the current study were to determine age-related changes to the phonatory and articulatory subsystems and to investigate an exploratory model of intelligibility for healthy aging based on phonatory and articulatory measures. Fifteen healthy, older adults (55–81 years) and 15 younger adults (20–35 years) participated in instrumental assessments of the phonatory (aerodynamic, acoustic) and articulatory (kinematic) subsystems. Speech intelligibility was determined by five listeners during multi-talker babble. Older adults displayed shorter maximum phonation time, greater airflow during sentence reading, and lower cepstral peak prominence (CPP) and CPP SD. Additionally, older adults had slower tongue movement speed than younger adults. Speech intelligibility was also significantly reduced in the older group. A generalized estimating equations model combining phonatory and articulatory measures showed that CPP SD , low/high (L/H) spectral ratio mean and SD , Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID), and maximum tongue movement speed were significant contributors to intelligibility changes in older individuals. While L/H mean and SD and CSID displayed an inverse relationship with intelligibility, CPP SD and maximum tongue speed displayed a direct relationship with intelligibility. Aging affects the phonatory and articulatory subsystems with implications for speech intelligibility. Phonatory cepstral/spectral measures (except mean CPP) were associated with speech intelligibility changes, suggesting that changes in voice quality may contribute to reduced intelligibility in older adults. Pertaining to articulation, slower tongue movement speed likely contributed to reduced intelligibility in older individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether young children who do (CWS) and do not stutter (CWNS) with a positive versus negative family history of stuttering differ in articulation, language and attentional abilities and family histories of articulation, language and attention related disorders., Method: Participants were 25 young CWS and 50 young CWNS. All 75 participants' caregivers consistently reported a positive or negative family history of stuttering across three consecutive time points that were about 8 months apart for a total of approximately 16 months. Each participant's family history focused on the same, relatively limited number of generations (i.e., participants' parents & siblings). Children's family history of stuttering as well as articulation, language, and attention related disorders was obtained from one or two caregivers during an extensive interview. Children's speech and language abilities were measured using four standardized articulation and language tests and their attentional abilities were measured using caregiver reports of temperament., Results: Findings indicated that (1) most caregivers (81.5% or 75 out 92) were consistent in their reporting of positive or negative history of stuttering; (2) CWNS with a positive family history of stuttering, compared to those with a negative family history of stuttering, were more likely to have reported a positive family history of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and (3) CWNS with a positive family history of stuttering had lower language scores than those with a negative family history of stuttering. However, there were no such significant differences in family histories of ADHD and language scores for CWS with a positive versus negative family history of stuttering. In addition, although 24% of CWS versus 12% of CWNS's caregivers reported a positive family history of stuttering, inferential analyses indicated no significant differences between CWS and CWNS in relative proportions of family histories of stuttering., Conclusion: Finding that a relatively high proportion (i.e., 81.5%) of caregivers consistently reported a positive or negative family history of stuttering across three consecutive time points should provide some degree of assurance to those who collect such caregiver reports. Based on such consistent caregiver reports, linguistic as well as attentional vulnerabilities appear associated with a positive family history of stuttering, a finding that must await further empirical study for confirmation or refutation., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)