TEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VELOPHARYNGEAL FUNCTION IN CHILDREN

Objective: This investigation was designed to examine the performance of children with normal speech on temporal aspects of aerodynamic task s related to velopharyngeal closure. Design: The investigation was a d escriptive evaluation of variability in aerodynamic features related t o velopharyngeal function during multiple repetitions of the word ''ha mper.'' Setting: Children without speech or velopharyngeal difficultie s were seen in an experimental laboratory setting for the evaluation p rocedures. Participants: Twenty-seven subjects were recruited for the experiment. Three subjects were rejected because of behavioral difficu lties, and the remaining 24 subjects were subdivided into 4 groups of 6 children (3 males and 3 females) aged 3, 6, 9, and 12 years. The chi ldren, who were from local schools and day care centers, volunteered t o participate in the experiment. All of the children had age-appropria te speech, language, and hearing abilities, as determined by screening tests administered by one of the examiners (L,T), Main Outcome Measur es: Mean and variability of pressure-flow measures of peak intraoral a ir pressure and peak nasal airflow and the temporal measures accompany ing each air pressure or airflow pulse were evaluated for the age grou ps of children examined in the experiment. Results: The aerodynamic pr ocedures employed to evaluate velopharyngeal closure during speech wer e reliable for use with young children. There was a numerical trend to ward decreased duration of the temporal parameters with increasing age . Thus, children demonstrated durational values similar to those previ ously reported for normal-speaking adults, In general, peak oral air p ressure and nasal airflow values were like those of previous investiga tions and demonstrated low variability across all age groups of childr en tested. Conclusions: The data from the present investigation provid e a preliminary base for comparison of temporal features of velopharyn geal closure for the aerodynamic evaluation of children with impaired velopharyngeal function.