title: Clinical significance of the relative intelligibility of pictorially represented spondee words.
abstract: The relative intelligibility of 20 pictorially represented spondees were found for 40 normal hearing children between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years old. The range of the level of relative intelligibility was 5.3 dB. A spondee threshold (ST) was obtained for 60 different children between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years old in a 2 dB (N = 30) or a 5 dB step (N = 30) method for three sets of pictorially represented spondees (six pictures per set) having low, mid, and high levels of relative intelligibility. The ST's using a 2- or 5-dB step were not significantly different regardless of picture set level of relative intelligibility. ST's obtained with the picture sets having different levels of relative intelligibility were significantly different from each other. It was suggested that clinical consideration be given to the use of pictorially represented spondees which were identified at the lowest levels of relative intelligibility to increase the efficiency and precision of the ST measurement in children.
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception