Auditory-perceptual norms for speech development (Schölderle et al., 2020)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to collect auditory-perceptual data on established symptom categories of dysarthria from typically developing children between 3 and 9 years of age, for the purpose of creating age norms for dysarthria assessment.Method: One hundred forty-four typically developing children (3;0–9;11 [years;months], 72 girls and 72 boys) participated. We used a computer-based game specifically designed for this study to elicit sentence repetitions and spontaneous speech samples. Speech recordings were analyzed using the auditory-perceptual criteria of the Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales, a standardized German assessment tool for dysarthria in adults. The Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales (scales and features) cover clinically relevant dimensions of speech and allow for an evaluation of well-established symptom categories of dysarthria.Results: The typically developing children exhibited a number of speech characteristics overlapping with established symptom categories of dysarthria (e.g., breathy voice, frequent inspirations, reduced articulatory precision, decreased articulation rate). Substantial progress was observed between 3 and 9 years of age, but with different developmental trajectories across different dimensions. In several areas (e.g., respiration, voice quality), 9-year-olds still presented with salient developmental speech characteristics, while in other dimensions (e.g., prosodic modulation), features typically associated with dysarthria occurred only exceptionally, even in the 3-year-olds.Conclusions: The acquisition of speech motor functions is a prolonged process not yet completed with 9 years. Various developmental influences (e.g., anatomic–physiological changes) shape children’s speech specifically. Our findings are a first step toward establishing auditory-perceptual norms for dysarthria in children of kindergarten and elementary school age.Supplemental Material S1. Proposal for clinical use of the age norms (Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales).Schölderle, T., Haas, E., & Ziegler, W. (2020). Age norms for auditory-perceptual neurophonetic parameters: A prerequisite for the assessment of childhood dysarthria. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00114

目的：本研究的宗旨在于收集3至9岁正常发育儿童构音障碍既定症状类别的听觉感知数据，旨在为构音障碍评估制定年龄规范。方法：一百四十四名正常发育的儿童（年龄为3岁0个月至9岁11个月，其中女孩72名，男孩72名）参与了研究。我们采用了一种专门为本研究设计的基于计算机的游戏，以诱发句子复述和自发言语样本。语音录音利用博根豪森构音障碍量表（Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales）的听觉感知标准进行分析，该量表是成人构音障碍的标准德语评估工具。博根豪森构音障碍量表（量表及其特征）涵盖了语音的临床相关维度，并允许对构音障碍既定症状类别进行评估。结果：正常发育的儿童表现出多种与构音障碍既定症状类别重叠的语音特征（例如，气声语音、频繁吸气、降低的发音精确度和降低的发音速率）。在3至9岁之间观察到显著的进展，但在不同维度上的发育轨迹存在差异。在若干领域（例如，呼吸、嗓音质量）中，9岁儿童仍表现出显著的发展性语音特征，而在其他维度（例如，韵律调节）中，通常与构音障碍相关的特征仅在例外情况下出现，甚至在3岁儿童中也是如此。结论：语音运动功能的习得是一个漫长的过程，在9岁时尚未完成。各种发育影响因素（例如，解剖生理变化）具体塑造了儿童的语音。我们的发现是建立幼儿园和小学年龄儿童构音障碍听觉感知规范的第一步。补充材料S1：博根豪森构音障碍量表年龄规范的临床应用建议。Schölderle, T.，Haas, E.，& Ziegler, W.（2020）。年龄规范的听觉感知神经语音参数：评估儿童构音障碍的先决条件。言语、语言和听力研究杂志。在线预发表。https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00114