title: Using electropalatography (EPG) to diagnose and treat articulation disorders associated with mild cerebral palsy: a case study.
abstract: Some children with mild cerebral palsy have articulation disorders that are resistant to conventional speech therapy techniques. This preliminary study investigated the use of electropalatography (EPG) to diagnose and treat a long-standing articulation disorder that had not responded to conventional speech therapy techniques in an 8-year-old boy (D) with a congenital left hemiplegia. The targets for EPG therapy were speech errors affecting velar targets /k, g, eta/, which were consistently fronted to alveolar placement [t, d, n]. After 15 sessions of EPG therapy over a 4-month period, D's ability to produce velars improved significantly. The EPG data revealed two features of diagnostic importance. The first was an unusually asymmetrical pattern of tongue-palate contact and the second was unusually long stop closure durations. These features are interpreted as a subtle form of impaired speech motor control that could be related to a mild residual neurological deficit. The results suggest that EPG is of potential benefit for diagnosing and treating articulation disorders in individuals with mild cerebral palsy.
authors.affiliation: Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, UK. fgibbon@qmuc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Fiona E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Gibbon
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000150:complications / Q000151:congenital; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010159:Palate / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010700:Phonetics; D013062:Speech Articulation Tests; D013070:Speech Therapy