Be. Murdoch et al., IMPAIRED TONGUE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE IN DEVELOPMENTAL VERBAL DYSPRAXIA - A PHYSIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, European journal of disorders of communication, 30(1), 1995, pp. 51-64
Tongue strength and endurance measures were obtained from six children
with developmental verbal dyspraxia (DVD) aged between 5;6 years and
11;5 years and compared to those achieved by six normal speaking contr
ols matched for age and sex. The instrument for measuring tongue stren
gth comprised an air-filled soft rubber bulb connected to a pressure t
ransducer. The results indicated that the DVD group had weaker lingual
musculature than the controls. In addition the DVD subjects exhibited
significantly reduced tongue strength endurance compared with the con
trols. Overall the findings support the hypothesis that a motor impair
ment forms at least part of the basis of DVD and may be indicative of
the presence of a concomitant dysarthria in children with DVD, or may
reflect an underspecification of the motor programme. The need for rev
ision of contemporary taxonomies relating to childhood motor speech di
sorders is discussed.