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Variability and Diagnostic Accuracy of Speech Intelligibility Scores in Children

Variability and Diagnostic Accuracy of Speech Intelligibility Scores in Children

Authors :
Hustad, Katherine C.
Oakes, Ashley
Allison, Kristen
Source :
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Dec 2015 58(6):1695-1707.
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

Purpose: We examined variability of speech intelligibility scores and how well intelligibility scores predicted group membership among 5-year-old children with speech motor impairment (SMI) secondary to cerebral palsy and an age-matched group of typically developing (TD) children. Method: Speech samples varying in length from 1-4 words were elicited from 24 children with cerebral palsy (mean age 60.50 months) and 20 TD children (mean age 60.33 months). Two hundred twenty adult listeners made orthographic transcriptions of speech samples (n = 5 per child). Results: Variability associated with listeners made a significant contribution to explaining the variance in intelligibility scores for TD and SMI children, but the magnitude was greater for TD children. Intelligibility scores differentiated very well between children who have SMI and TD children when intelligibility was at or below approximately 75% and above approximately 85%. Conclusions: Intelligibility seems to be a useful clinical tool for differentiating between TD children and children with SMI at 5 years of age; however, there is considerable variability within and between listeners, highlighting the need for more than one listener per child to ensure validity of an intelligibility measure.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1092-4388
Volume :
58
Issue :
6
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
EJ1086068
Document Type :
Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1044/2015_JSLHR-S-14-0365