Articulation in children with Down's syndrome. A pilot study.
The articulation of children with Down's syndrome (trisomie 21, T21) in comparison to a group of age-matched normal probands was investigated in a clinical study, using digital sonagraphics (recording of frequency, amplitude and time of the speech signal), with peripheral factors taken into consideration. The T21-Group (n = 10) revealed a higher variability as well as a longer articulation of the test word "Tasse" than the Control Group (n = 10). There was no clear-cut dependence of speed and quality of articulation on all of the peripheral factors evaluated (Angle Class, overbite, oral motor ability, hearing disorder, logopedics, Castillo-Morales stimulating plate treatment). The results of our investigation show differing patterns of articulation in T21 children compared with normal probands, using a reproducible method. A clear-cut influence of various influencing peripheral factors as reported in the literature could not be found for the T21-Group. Thus, central factors seem to have a great impact on articulation in T21 patients.
Department of Orthodontics, Westphalian Wilhelms-University, Münster, Germany. hohoffa@uni-muenster.de
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Hohoff
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Seifert
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Ehmer
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Lamprecht-Dinnesen
D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors