Analysis of the voice quality of 14 7- to 10-year-old Down's syndrome children revealed significantly greater frequency and amplitude perturbations and spectral noise-to-harmonic component ratios compared to ratings for nonretarded subjects. (Author/CL)

Twenty-five adult (mean age 58) speakers who were either esophageal or tracheoesophageal speakers were grouped according to gender, voice type, and speaking proficiency. Naive listener evaluation found that speaker proficiency but not voice type had a significant effect on judgment of acceptability, suggesting that postlaryngectomy speech is quite…

Comparison of vocal problems of 50 female aerobic instructors and 50 female aerobic participants by means of questionnaires found that aerobic instructors generally experienced more hoarseness and episodes of voice loss during and after instructing and exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of nodules. (Author/DB)

Mean fundamental frequencies of 33 male and female Ss (ages 18 to 42) obtained with FLORIDA I (another method to determine fundamental frequencies) and a tape striation counting procedure were compared. The fundamental frequencies obtained with these two methods were similar and it appears that the tape striation counting procedure is a viable,…

This study, involving 20 adults, introduced a relative target method to examine the fine force control characteristics of the lips. Load equalization for each lip was accomplished by establishing four submaximal target levels related to maximum voluntary closing force. The upper lip was found to be more stable in controlling force at all levels.…

The maximum phoneme duration (MPD) of /s/ and /z/ task was measured for eight male and eight female children with diagnosed vocal nodules. Found that vocal nodules do not affect MPD s/z ratio, whereas the durations of /s/ and /z/ and the variance observed across multiple productions of /z/ are affected and should be considered as diagnostically…

Thirty-eight elementary grade school children with hoarse voices participated in a six-lesson, cartoon-illustrated vocal hygiene program that provided information concerning the human voice, voice quality, vocal abuse, and proper use of the voice. (Author)

This study correlated measures of nasalance computed by the Nasometer with listener judgments of nasality of speech passages spoken by 25 children with craniofacial disorders. Results showed a significant correlation between nasalance and nasality only when nasal consonants were not included in the passage spoken. (Author/DB)

Questionnaire responses from 146 high school cheerleaders indicated that acute, cheering-related dysphonia may be preceded or accompanied by a set of clinical signs that could be incorporated easily into a screening protocol for prospective cheerleaders. (Author/DB)

The study investigated the Lombard effect (evoking increased speech intensity by applying masking noise to ears of talker) on the speech of esophageal talkers, artificial larynx users, and normal speakers. The noise condition produced the highest intensity increase in the esophageal speakers. (Author/DB)

The article reviews common misconceptions about oral pharyngeal structure and function and suggests the need for more adequate training in order to make more reliable decisions about the adequacy of the speech mechanism. (CL)

Five cases of adolescents with functional aphonia (lack of speech despite normally appearing vocal chords) are presented. Therapeutic management is described which followed the symptomatic voice therapy approach. A consistent theme for four of the adolescents was stressful family environment, academic failure, and inadequate peer support.…

The speech of four phonologically disordered children (ages four and five) with place and voice errors affecting initial stop consonants was described through phonological and acoustic analyses. The presence of productive phonological knowledge, as inferred from acoustic data, facilitated rapid generalization of correct production of the treated…

This study reviewed the exceptional educational needs histories of 36 children who had received preschool speech services at a phonology clinic. Findings indicated that 75-80 percent of children continued to have speech/language and other special education needs as they neared middle school and beyond. (Author/DB)

Results of perceptual and acoustic analyses revealed that 20 Down's syndrome young adults were significantly more hypernasal than were two other groups (20 idiopathic and 20 nonretarded Ss). (Author/CL)