Vowel Production in Children and Adults With Down Syndrome: Fundamental and Formant Frequencies of the Corner Vowels.

Purpose: Atypical vowel production contributes to reduced speech intelligibility in children and adults with Down syndrome (DS). This study compares the acoustic data of the corner vowels /i/, /u/, /æ/, and /ɑ/ from speakers with DS against typically developing/developed (TD) speakers.

Method: Measurements of the fundamental frequency ( ) and first four formant frequencies (F1-F4) were obtained from single word recordings containing the target vowels from 81 participants with DS (ages 3-54 years) and 293 TD speakers (ages 4-92 years), all native speakers of English.

Anatomic development of the upper airway during the first five years of life: A three-dimensional imaging study.

Purpose: Normative data on the growth and development of the upper airway across the sexes is needed for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital and acquired respiratory anomalies and to gain insight on developmental changes in speech acoustics and disorders with craniofacial anomalies.

Methods: The growth of the upper airway in children ages birth to 5 years, as compared to adults, was quantified using an imaging database with computed tomography studies from typically developing individuals. Methodological criteria for scan inclusion and airway measurements included: head position, histogram-based airway segmentation, anatomic landmark placement, and development of a semi-automatic centerline for data extraction.

Auditory-Perceptual Features of Speech in Children and Adults With Down Syndrome: A Speech Profile Analysis.

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine how the speech disorder profiles in Down syndrome (DS) relate to reduced intelligibility, atypical overall quality, and impairments in the subsystems of speech production (phonation, articulation, resonance, and prosody). Method Auditory-perceptual ratings of intelligibility, overall quality, and features associated with the subsystems of speech production were obtained from recordings of 79 children and adults with DS. Ratings were made for sustained vowels (62 of 79 speakers) and short sentences (79 speakers).

Growth and sexual dimorphism of the hyoid bone and its relationship to the mandible from birth to 19 years: A three-dimensional computed tomography study.

The hyoid bone and the hyomandibular complex subserve the functions of respiration, deglutition, and speech. This study quantified the growth of the hyoid bone and the hyomandibular relationships in males and females from birth to 19 years. Using 97 computed tomography (CT) scans, from a previous study (Kelly et al.

Acoustic parameters of voice in typically developing children ages 4-19 years.

Objectives: Report data on acoustic measures of voice in sustained vowels produced by typically developing children, aged 4-19 years, to add to the cross-sectional reference values in a pediatric database.

Methods: Recordings of sustained vowel/ɑ/phonation were obtained from 158 children (80 males, 78 females) aged 4-19 years who were judged to be typically developing with respect to speech and voice. Acoustic analyses were performed with the Multidimensional Voice Program (MDVP™) and the Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice (ADSV™), both from Pentax Medical.