Bioelectronic measurement of nasality in trainable mentally retarded children

Fifty trainable mentally retarded children were evaluated with TONAR II, a bioelectronic instrument for detecting and quantitatively measuring voice parameters. Results indicated that one-half of the children tested were hypernasal. The strikingly high prevalence of excessive nasality was contrasted with results obtained from 64 nonretarded children and 50 educable retarded children tested with the same instrument. The study demonstrated the need of retarded persons for improved voice and resonance.