title: Nasometry cooperation in children 4-6 years of age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hypernasality is a common problem in cleft care. It should be treated before the age of six, because of the impact it can have on speech sound development in young children. An objective method of nasalance evaluation is nasometry. Cooperation of young children, by nature, differs over time and situations. First aim of this study is to indicate a minimum age for cooperation with the nasometer. Second aim is to compare the cooperation of children in the most used research setting (school) with the cooperation of children in the most used setting in daily practice (ENT outpatient clinic).
  
  
  METHODS
  Children from four to six years of age were recruited from schools. Outpatient clinic children were recruited from the Groningen ENT clinic. Both groups were tested with the nasometer. The cooperation with installation and repetition of speech stimuli were noted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  118 school children and 41 outpatient clinic children were recruited. Six years old children cooperated significantly better than the five years old. The five years old cooperated better than the four years old. Moreover, school children cooperated significantly better than the outpatient children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most children of 6 years of age and older, will show good cooperation with nasometry. In children aged 5, cooperation depends on the situation in which the nasometer is used. In a school setting the cooperation is better than in an outpatient clinic setting. In the 4 years old children the cooperation with the nasometer often is insufficient, probably due to normal, unpredictable cooperative behavior belonging to this age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van der Heijden
authors.forename: H H F
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Hobbel
authors.forename: B F A M
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: van der Laan
authors.forename: A G W
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Korsten-Meijer
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Goorhuis-Brouwer
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000502:physiology*; D009426:Netherlands; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010699:Phonation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D025363:Rhinomanometry / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013068:Speech Production Measurement / Q000379:methods; D013334:Students; D014681:Velopharyngeal Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology