Speech Disorders in Children With Pompe Disease: Articulation, Resonance, and Voice Measures.

Purpose: Children with Pompe disease, a rare genetic metabolic myopathy, often have speech impairments. In this study, we provide a comprehensive description of articulation, resonance, and voice in children with Pompe disease.

Method: Fifteen children with Pompe disease (11 with infantile-onset Pompe disease [IOPD], four with late-onset Pompe disease [LOPD]) ranging from 6 to 18 years of age participated in standard speech assessments.

Assessment of Dysphonia in Children with Pompe Disease Using Auditory-Perceptual and Acoustic/Physiologic Methods.

Bulbar and respiratory weakness occur commonly in children with Pompe disease and frequently lead to dysarthria. However, changes in vocal quality associated with this motor speech disorder are poorly described. The goal of this study was to characterize the vocal function of children with Pompe disease using auditory-perceptual and physiologic/acoustic methods.

Muscle weakness and speech in oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.

Purpose: We documented speech and voice characteristics associated with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD). Although it is a rare disease, OPMD offers the opportunity to study the impact of myopathic weakness on speech production in the absence of neurologic deficits in a relatively homogeneous group of speakers.

Methods: Twelve individuals with OPMD and 12 healthy age-matched controls underwent comprehensive assessment of the speech mechanism including spirometry (respiratory support), nasometry (resonance balance), phonatory measures (pitch, loudness, and quality), articulatory measures (diadochokinetic rates, segment duration measures, spectral moments, and vowel space), tongue-to-palate strength measures during maximal isometric and speechlike tasks, quality-of-life questionnaire, and perceptual speech ratings by listeners.

Is tongue strength an important influence on rate of articulation in diadochokinetic and reading tasks?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between tongue strength and rate of articulation in 2 speech tasks, diadochokinetic rates and reading aloud, in healthy men and women between 20 and 78 years of age.

Method: Diadochokinetic rates were measured for the syllables /p/, /t/, /k/, and /ptk/, and articulation rates were calculated for a reading of the Rainbow Passage for 57 adult volunteers. The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (LLC Northwest) was used to obtain maximum tongue pressure, tongue pressure exerted during production of /t/, and tongue endurance.

Swallow characteristics in patients with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.

Purpose: This prospective investigation evaluates oral weakness and its impact on swallow function, weight, and quality of life in patients with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD).

Method: Intraoral pressure, swallow pressure, and endurance were measured using an Iowa Oral Performance Instrument in participants with OPMD and matched controls. Timed water swallow, weight, and quality of life were also assessed.

Effects of loud and amplified speech on sentence and word intelligibility in Parkinson disease.

Purpose: In the two experiments in this study, the author examined the effects of increased vocal effort (loud speech) and amplification on sentence and word intelligibility in speakers with Parkinson disease (PD). Methods Five talkers with PD produced sentences and words at habitual levels of effort and using loud speech techniques. Amplified sets of sentences and words were created by increasing the intensity of habitual stimuli to the level of loud stimuli.

Vowel space characteristics and vowel identification accuracy.

Purpose: To examine the relation between vowel production characteristics and intelligibility.

Method: Acoustic characteristics of 10 vowels produced by 45 men and 48 women from the J. M.

Effects of a sour bolus on the intramuscular electromyographic (EMG) activity of muscles in the submental region.

A sour bolus has been used as a modality in the treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia based on the hypothesis that this stimulus provides an effective preswallow sensory input that lowers the threshold required to trigger a pharyngeal swallow. The result is a more immediate swallow onset time. Additionally, the sour bolus may invigorate the oral muscles resulting in stronger contractions during the swallow.