HONC measures in 4- to 6-year-old children

Objective: To collect normative data using Horii's Oral Nasal Coupling Inde x (HONC) from 4- to 6-year-old children without cleft palate to be used in the evaluation of young children with cleft palate. In addition, to determi ne whether HONC values in children are similar to those of adults and thus show that the HONC ratio successfully normalizes nasal accelerometric signa ls across age, gender, and vocal intensity. Design: Measurement of accelerometric and acoustic signals from novel nasal and nonnasal utterances, which the children repeated after the experimente r. Measurements also included four sustained [m] productions, which were us ed to calibrate correction factors used to equate nasal and oral signals du ring a sustained [m] production. Setting: Laboratory at a state university. Participants: Ten girls and 10 boys, aged 4 to 6 years, with normal speech, language, and hearing. Results: Differences of 13 dB (HONC) were found to separate nasal from nonn asal sentences. No significant difference in HONC score was found across ge nder for nasal/nonnasal sentences and [m] productions. The correction facto rs generated during [m] calibration procedures did not differ between girls and boys. Conclusions: Horii's Oral Nasal Coupling index differences between nasal an d nonnasal utterances appear to be valid and reliable measures in both chil dren and adults for detection of disorders of nasal resonance.