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To respond to the need of objective screening tools for motor speech disorders (MSD), we present the screening version of a speech assessment protocol (MonPaGe-2.0.s), which is based on semi-automated acoustic and perceptual measures on several speech dimensions in French. We validate the screening tool by testing its sensitivity and specificity and comparing its outcome with external standard assessment tools. The data from 80 patients diagnosed with different types of mild to moderate MSD and 62 healthy test controls were assessed against the normative data obtained on 404 neurotypical speakers, with Deviance Scores computed on seven speech dimensions (voice, speech rate, articulation, prosody, pneumophonatory control, diadochokinetic rate, intelligibility) based on acoustic and perceptual measures. A cut-off of the MonPaGe total deviance score (TotDevS) >2 allowed MSD to be diagnosed with specificity of 95% and an overall sensitivity of 83.8% on all patients pulled, reaching 91% when very mildly impaired patients were excluded. A strong correlation was found between the MonPaGe TotDevS and an external composite perceptual score of MSD provided by six experts. The MonPaGe screening protocol has proven its sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing presence and severity of MSD. Further implementations are needed to complement the characterization of impaired dimensions in order to distinguish subtypes of MSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good quality normative data are essential for clinical practice in speech-language pathology but are largely lacking for French-speaking children. We investigated speech production accuracy by French-speaking children attending kindergarten ( maternelle) and first grade ( première année). The study aimed to provide normative data for a new screening test - the Test de Dépistage Francophone de Phonologie. Sixty-one children named 30 pictures depicting words selected to be representative of the distribution of phonemes, syllable shapes and word lengths characteristic of Québec French. Percent consonants' correct was approximately 90% and did not change significantly with age although younger children produced significantly more syllable structure errors than older children. Given that the word set reflects the segmental and prosodic characteristics of spoken Québec French, and that ceiling effects were not observed, these results further indicate that phonological development is not complete by the age of seven years in French-speaking children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to adapt the Speech Handicap Index (SHI) in French, to compare it with the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and to study its relevance in dysarthric patients. Patients and Methods: Two hundred and twenty-nine subjects filled out the French versions of the SHI and VHI. SHI test-retest reliability was performed on 82 subjects. Psychometric properties were analyzed in 112 healthy controls and 89 patients with speech disorders. Mean scores of 89 speech-disordered and 28 dysphonic patients were obtained. Results: For SHI, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.9) and test-retest reliability (Spearman's r > 0.75) were high. Mean scores were significantly different between healthy subjects (8/120) and patients (52/120) (p < 0.0001). Scores were statistically different between dysphonic (40/120) and speech-disordered patients (52/120) (p < 0.05), and also between patients with oropharyngeal surgery (44/120) and dysarthric patients (57/120) (p < 0.05). Patients with speech difficulties had higher scores on the SHI than dysphonic patients (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The French SHI is a reliable and sensitive tool. It can be proposed to all patients with speech disorders. The contrasting results between the SHI and the VHI highlight the importance in giving the appropriate questionnaire tailored to the patient's pathology. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]