Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Intonation patterns in older children with cerebral palsy before and after speech intervention

Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor Nick Miller, Professor Lindsay Pennington

Downloads


Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).


Abstract

Purpose: This paper examined the production of intonation patterns in children with developmental dysarthria associated with cerebral palsy (CP) prior to and after speech intervention focussing on respiration and phonation. The study further sought to establish whether intonation performance might be related to changes in speech intelligibility.Method: Intonation patterns were examined using connected speech samples of 15 older children with moderate to severe developmental dysarthria due to CP (9 females; age range: 11-18). Recordings were made prior to and after speech intervention based on a systems approach. Analyses focused on use of intonation patterns, pitch accentuation and phrasing. Result: Group analyses showed a significant increase in the use of rising intonation patterns after intervention. There were also some indications that this increase might have been related to gains in speech intelligibility for some of the children. No changes were observed regarding pitch accentuation and phrasing following intervention.Conclusion: The findings highlight that changes can occur in the use of intonation patterns in children with dysarthria and CP following speech systems intervention. It is hypothesised that the emergence of the rising pattern in some of the children’s intonational inventories possibly reflected improved breath support and control of laryngeal muscles.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Kuschmann A, Miller N, Lowit A, Pennington L

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology

Year: 2017

Volume: 19

Issue: 4

Pages: 370-380

Online publication date: 05/10/2016

Acceptance date: 03/07/2016

Date deposited: 04/07/2016

ISSN (print): 1754-9507

ISSN (electronic): 1754-9515

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2016.1216601

DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2016.1216601


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share