A combination of training in deep muscle relaxation, instruction in phonation in controlled vowel contexts, and gradual reintroduction of a normal voice quality restored normal voice quality after five sessions to a 40-year-old female with hoarseness of sudden onset and of suspected psychogenic origin. (Author/KW)

Thirty-six chronically hoarse children (mean age nine) with nodules were found to be similar to those without nodules on various perceptual measures. Twenty of thirty of these children showed improvements after a year of rehabilitation in the public schools; improvement varied according to the abilities of individual clinicians. (Author/CL)

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,…

The voice quality, breathiness, hoarseness, and laryngeal strain of 20 profoundly deaf and 5 normal-hearing children, age 5-19, were judged. Findings suggest that overall prediction of voice quality cannot reliably be based on glottal parameters and judged voice deviations, although severe cases of deaf voice deviations may be detectable.…

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.…

Acoustic phonatory events were identified in 14 women diagnosed with adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD), a focal laryngeal dystonia that disturbs phonatory function, and compared with those of 14 age-matched women with no vocal dysfunction. Findings indicated ADSD subjects produced more aberrant acoustic events than controls during tasks of…

The relation between partial or absent hearing and control of the voicing contrast has long been of interest to investigators, in part because speakers who are born deaf characteristically have great difficulty mastering the contrast and in part for the light it can cast on the role of hearing in the acquisition and maintenance of phonological…

Purpose: Evidence-based practice (EBP) entails a critical mindset and rigorous methods that foster the judicious integration of scientific evidence into clinical decision making. The purpose of this tutorial is to present strategies, resources, and examples to help speech-language pathologists get started in EBP for childhood speech and language…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present an exploration of some of the issues surrounding adherence to vocal behavioral change in voice therapy within the context of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and to explore MI's potential for integration into voice therapy (MI-adapted voice therapy). MI is a style of interpersonal communication in…

Purpose: Maximum flow declination rate (MFDR) in the glottis is known to correlate strongly with vocal intensity in voicing. This declination, or negative slope on the glottal airflow waveform, is in part attributable to the maximum area declination rate (MADR) and in part to the overall inertia of the air column of the vocal tract (lungs to…

The study examined the speech production strategies used by 4 young children (30- to 32-months-old) with cleft palate and velopharyngeal inadequacy during the early stages of phonological learning. All the children had had primary palatal surgery and were producing primarily single word utterances with a few 2- and 3-word phrases. Analysis of each…

A test for any relationship between the existence of vocal nodules and personality type. (CH)

There are a number of methods and activities clinicians can use to overcome vocal abuse in school-age children. (Author/PHR)

A study compared the laryngeal behavior associated with the perceptually fluent speech of 3-to-7-year-old stutterers (N=8) to that of normally fluent peers (N=8). Analysis of electroglottograph readings indicated that normally fluent children exhibited significantly more typical patterns during consonant-vowel and vowel-consonant transitions than…

A follow-up study on a 10-year public school voice clinic program surveyed 39 parents of children seen at voice clinics and referring clinicians regarding the impact and effectiveness of the voice clinics. The program appears to have increased public understanding of voice problems and is useful in expediting management. (Author/CL)