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Lombard and sidetone amplification effects in normal and misarticulating children
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|March 1, 1984
Summary
Children with speech sound disorders, specifically misarticulating the /r/ sound, and their normal-speaking peers responded to auditory feedback changes. Both groups adjusted vocal intensity, indicating no generalized feedback processing deficit in misarticulating children.
Area of Science:
- Speech-language pathology
- Auditory feedback processing
- Childhood speech development
Background:
- Children with speech sound disorders may have difficulties with auditory feedback processing.
- The Lombard procedure and sidetone amplification are used to study vocal adjustments to auditory changes.
- Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for effective speech therapy interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate vocal intensity adjustments in misarticulating children compared to normal-speaking peers under Lombard and sidetone amplification conditions.
- To determine if specific instructions enhance responses to auditory feedback manipulations.
- To assess for generalized deficits in auditory feedback processing in children with speech sound disorders.
Main Methods:
- Twelve 8-year-old children with /r/ misarticulation and matched normal-speaking peers participated.
- Participants performed storytelling tasks under Lombard noise (60 & 90 dB SPL) and sidetone amplification (0 & +20 dB).
- Vocal intensity was measured under standard and enhanced instruction conditions.
Main Results:
- Both groups increased vocal intensity in noise and decreased it with amplification, demonstrating responsiveness to auditory feedback.
- Enhanced instructions amplified these effects, particularly in normal-speaking children during sidetone amplification.
- The procedures were effective for both groups, showing no evidence of generalized feedback processing deficits in misarticulating children.
Conclusions:
- Misarticulating children demonstrate comparable, though sometimes less pronounced, vocal adjustments to auditory feedback changes compared to normal-speaking peers.
- Auditory feedback mechanisms appear intact in children with specific speech sound disorders like /r/ misarticulation.
- Findings suggest that interventions targeting auditory feedback processing may not be necessary for all children with speech sound disorders.