Heather Kabakoff1, Olesia Gritsyk2, Daphna Harel3, Mark Tiede4, Jonathan L Preston5, D H Whalen6, Tara McAllister2. 1. Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, New York University, 665 Broadway Floor 9, New York, NY, 10012, USA. Electronic address: heather.kabakoff@nyu.edu. 2. Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, New York University, 665 Broadway Floor 9, New York, NY, 10012, USA. 3. Center for the Practice and Research at the Intersection of Information, Society, and Methodology, New York University, 246 Greene Street Floor 2, New York, NY, 10003, USA. 4. Haskins Laboratories, Yale University, 300 George Street Suite 900, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. 5. Haskins Laboratories, Yale University, 300 George Street Suite 900, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Syracuse University, 621 Skytop Road Suite 1200, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA. 6. Haskins Laboratories, Yale University, 300 George Street Suite 900, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue Floor 5, New York, NY, 10016, USA; Linguistics Department, Yale University, 370 Temple St, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Children with speech errors who have reduced motor skill may be more likely to develop residual errors associated with lifelong challenges. Drawing on models of speech production that highlight the role of somatosensory acuity in updating motor plans, this pilot study explored the relationship between motor skill and speech accuracy, and between somatosensory acuity and motor skill in children. Understanding the connections among sensorimotor measures and speech outcomes may offer insight into how somatosensation and motor skill cooperate during speech production, which could inform treatment decisions for this population. METHOD: Twenty-five children (ages 9-14) produced syllables in an /ɹ/ stimulability task before and after an ultrasound biofeedback treatment program targeting rhotics. We first tested whether motor skill (as measured by two ultrasound-based metrics of tongue shape complexity) predicted acoustically measured accuracy (the normalized difference between the second and third formant frequencies). We then tested whether somatosensory acuity (as measured by an oral stereognosis task) predicted motor skill, while controlling for auditory acuity. RESULTS: One measure of tongue shape complexity was a significant predictor of accuracy, such that higher tongue shape complexity was associated with lower accuracy at pre-treatment but higher accuracy at post-treatment. Based on the same measure, children with better somatosensory acuity produced /ɹ/ tongue shapes that were more complex, but this relationship was only present at post-treatment. CONCLUSION: The predicted relationships among somatosensory acuity, motor skill, and acoustically measured /ɹ/ production accuracy were observed after treatment, but unexpectedly did not hold before treatment. The surprising finding that greater tongue shape complexity was associated with lower accuracy at pre-treatment highlights the importance of evaluating tongue shape patterns (e.g., using ultrasound) prior to treatment, and has the potential to suggest that children with high tongue shape complexity at pre-treatment may be good candidates for ultrasound-based treatment.
PURPOSE: Children with speech errors who have reduced motor skill may be more likely to develop residual errors associated with lifelong challenges. Drawing on models of speech production that highlight the role of somatosensory acuity in updating motor plans, this pilot study explored the relationship between motor skill and speech accuracy, and between somatosensory acuity and motor skill in children. Understanding the connections among sensorimotor measures and speech outcomes may offer insight into how somatosensation and motor skill cooperate during speech production, which could inform treatment decisions for this population. METHOD: Twenty-five children (ages 9-14) produced syllables in an /ɹ/ stimulability task before and after an ultrasound biofeedback treatment program targeting rhotics. We first tested whether motor skill (as measured by two ultrasound-based metrics of tongue shape complexity) predicted acoustically measured accuracy (the normalized difference between the second and third formant frequencies). We then tested whether somatosensory acuity (as measured by an oral stereognosis task) predicted motor skill, while controlling for auditory acuity. RESULTS: One measure of tongue shape complexity was a significant predictor of accuracy, such that higher tongue shape complexity was associated with lower accuracy at pre-treatment but higher accuracy at post-treatment. Based on the same measure, children with better somatosensory acuity produced /ɹ/ tongue shapes that were more complex, but this relationship was only present at post-treatment. CONCLUSION: The predicted relationships among somatosensory acuity, motor skill, and acoustically measured /ɹ/ production accuracy were observed after treatment, but unexpectedly did not hold before treatment. The surprising finding that greater tongue shape complexity was associated with lower accuracy at pre-treatment highlights the importance of evaluating tongue shape patterns (e.g., using ultrasound) prior to treatment, and has the potential to suggest that children with high tongue shape complexity at pre-treatment may be good candidates for ultrasound-based treatment.
Authors: Tara McAllister; Amanda Eads; Heather Kabakoff; Marc Scott; Suzanne Boyce; D H Whalen; Jonathan L Preston Journal: J Speech Lang Hear Res Date: 2022-08-09 Impact factor: 2.674
Authors: Heather Kabakoff; Sam Pearl Beames; Mark Tiede; D H Whalen; Jonathan L Preston; Tara McAllister Journal: Clin Linguist Phon Date: 2022-03-04 Impact factor: 1.339