Acoustic Predictors of Intelligibility Changes in Children with Dysarthria

Abstract

Most children with cerebral palsy experience dysarthria, which may negatively impact their speech intelligibility and communicative participation. However, there is limited research on effective speech treatments for this population. Identifying acoustic changes that lead to intelligibility increases would inform development and improvement of speech treatments. This study aimed to identify acoustic predictors of intelligibility increases by examining acoustic/intelligibility changes when children with dysarthria responded to two speech cues (big mouth and strong voice) designed to enhance intelligibility. Acoustic changes and intelligibility increases were found following both cues. Second-formant diphthong range, articulation rate, and sound-pressure-level were primary predictors of intelligibility increases. Thus, speech cues yielding more distinctive vowels, reduced rate, and increased vocal intensity may increase intelligibility in children with dysarthria.

Frits van Brenk

External consultant in the Motor Speech Disorders Laboratory

My research and teaching interests include motor speech disorders, clinical linguistics, experimental psycholinguistics, speech science, and research methods.