title: Speech inconsistency index in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Speech inconsistency is characterised by variable productions of the same lexical items within the same context. This study aimed to describe inconsistencies among Brazilian Portuguese (BP)-speaking children with and without phonological disorder (PD) as well as the effectiveness of a speech inconsistency test (SIT).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample included children between 5 years 0 months (5;0 years) and 10;10 years of age, both genders, 51 children with PD and 50 without speech-language disorders. The SIT includes 25 pictures, each named 3 times in different sequences within the same session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The inconsistency average of children with PD (27.4%) was higher than that of typically developing children (9.8%). Linear regression showed age and gender effects, receiver operating characteristic curves were built for speech inconsistency with combined gender and age cutoff values. Inconsistent subjects among typically developing children included 2 younger boys and 2 older girls. Inconsistencies were found among children with PD, including 10 boys up to 7;6 years and 11 over this age, and 7 girls up to 7;6 years and 6 over this age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Speech inconsistency in BP-speaking children seems to be an effective measure for differentiating children with PD from those with typically developing phonology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Occupational Therapy, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil. mamcastro@usp.br
authors.forename: Márcia Mathias
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: de Castro
authors.forename: Haydée Fiszbein
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Wertzner
mesh_terms: D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013062:Speech Articulation Tests; D014825:Vocabulary