Impact of four nonclinical speaking environments on a child's fundamental frequency and voice level: a preliminary...

The aim of this study was to investigate how a child's fundamental frequency (F(0)) and estimated voice level (dB SPL) change in distinct speaking environments.

A child age 5;7 (years;months) wore a National Center for Voice and Speech voice dosimeter for 4 days. The 2 parameters measured were F(0) and dB SPL. During analysis, the F(0) and dB SPL data were segmented to represent 4 typical speaking environments of school-age children: (a) free-play (2.5 hr), (b) preschool (3 hr), (c) home (10.7 hr), and (d) adult (5.6 hr). Unique to this study, the child's voice data were presented as voice use profiles.

The child's F(0) and dB SPL patterns within an adult environment were similar to that found in the literature but showed much greater variation in the free-play environment. The preschool environment elicited speech of a lower modal F(0) than did the home, but a higher median and mean F(0), as well as a somewhat elevated mean dB SPL.

The child produced significantly different F(0) and dB SPL patterns across 4 different speaking environments. If future studies substantiate this pattern, clinicians and researchers must be aware of this difference when working with children.