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Connected speech (CS) is an important component of child speech assessment in both clinical practice and research. There is debate in the literature regarding what size sample of CS is required to facilitate reliable measures of speech output. The aim of this study was to identify the minimum number of word tokens required to obtain a reliable measure of CS across a range of measures. Participants were 776 5-year-olds from a longitudinal community population cohort study (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, ALSPAC). Children’s narratives from a story retell task were audio-recorded and phonetically transcribed. Automatic analysis of the transcribed speech samples was completed using an automated transcription and analysis system. Measures of speech performance extracted included: a range of profiles of percentage consonant correct; frequency of substitutions, omissions, distortions and additions (SODA); percentage of syllable and stress pattern matches; and a measure of whole word complexity (Phonological Mean Length of Utterance, pMLU). Statistical analyses compared these measures at different CS sample sizes in increments using averages and weighted moving averages, and investigated how measures performed between CS samples grouped into word tokens of at least 50, 75 and 100, and restricted to samples of 50–74, 75–99 and 100–125. Key findings showed that sample sizes of 75 word tokens and above showed minimal differences in most measures of speech output, suggesting that the minimum requirement for samples of CS is a word count of 75. The exception to this is in the case of pMLU and measures of substitutions and distortions when a word count of 100 is recommended.

Recent studies report prevalence, phenotype, and persistence findings for a paediatric motor speech disorder in addition to childhood dysarthria and childhood apraxia of speech termed Speech Motor Delay (SMD). The aim of the present study was to determine if there is a frequent acoustic sign of SMD, with implications for theory, assessment, and treatment. We examined the frequency of 19 acoustic signs of SMD in audio recordings of continuous speech and word-imitation tasks in three groups of speakers with SMD: 50 children (mean age 5.1 years) with idiopathic Speech Delay (SD) from 6 USA cities; 87 children, adolescents, and adults with eight types of complex neurodevelopmental disorders; and 9 children (mean age 8.8 years) with persistent idiopathic SD from a population-based study of children in the South West of England. The 19 acoustic signs of imprecise or unstable speech, prosody, and voice were standardized on typical speakers of the appropriate dialect. The criterion for a frequent acoustic sign was that it occurred in at least 50% of participants with SMD in each of the three groups. Findings indicated that lengthened mid-vowels and diphthongs was the one sign that met criteria, occurring in 64.4% of the 146 participants with SMD, including 71% of the 87 participants with complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Findings are interpreted to support the potential of this acoustic sign, and possibly several others associated with temporal dimensions of speech sound development, to inform explication of the neuromotor substrates of SMD.

Background: Implementation fidelity refers to the degree to which an intervention or programme adheres to its original design. This paper examines implementation fidelity in the Sound Start Study, a clustered randomised controlled trial of computer-assisted support for children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Method: Sixty-three children with SSD in 19 early childhood centres received computer-assisted support (Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter [PFSS] – Australian version). Educators facilitated the delivery of PFSS targeting phonological error patterns identified by a speech-language pathologist. Implementation data were gathered via (1) the computer software, which recorded when and how much intervention was completed over 9 weeks; (2) educators’ records of practice sessions; and (3) scoring of fidelity (intervention procedure, competence and quality of delivery) from videos of intervention sessions. Result: Less than one-third of children received the prescribed number of days of intervention, while approximately one-half participated in the prescribed number of intervention plays. Computer data differed from educators’ data for total number of days and plays in which children participated; the degree of match was lower as data became more specific. Fidelity to intervention procedures, competency and quality of delivery was high. Conclusion: Implementation fidelity may impact intervention outcomes and so needs to be measured in intervention research; however, the way in which it is measured may impact on data.