Multisyllabic Word Production Research Articles

Atypical speech production of multisyllabic words and phrases by children with developmental dyslexia.

The prevalent "core phonological deficit" model of dyslexia proposes that the reading and spelling difficulties characterizing affected children stem from prior developmental difficulties in processing speech sound structure, for example, perceiving and identifying syllable stress patterns, syllables, rhymes and phonemes. Yet spoken word production appears normal. This suggests an unexpected disconnect between speech input and speech output processes. Here we investigated the output side of this disconnect from a speech rhythm perspective by measuring the speech amplitude envelope (AE) of multisyllabic spoken phrases. The speech AE contains crucial information regarding stress patterns, speech rate, tonal contrasts and intonational information. We created a novel computerized speech copying task in which participants copied aloud familiar spoken targets like "Aladdin." Seventy-five children with and without dyslexia were tested, some of whom were also receiving an oral intervention designed to enhance multi-syllabic processing. Similarity of the child's productions to the target AE was computed using correlation and mutual information metrics. Similarity of pitch contour, another acoustic cue to speech rhythm, was used for control analyses. Children with dyslexia were significantly worse at producing the multi-syllabic targets as indexed by both similarity metrics for computing the AE. However, children with dyslexia were not different from control children in producing pitch contours. Accordingly, the spoken production of multisyllabic phrases by children with dyslexia is atypical regarding the AE. Children with dyslexia may not appear to listeners to exhibit speech production difficulties because their pitch contours are intact. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Speech production of syllable stress patterns is atypical in children with dyslexia. Children with dyslexia are significantly worse at producing the amplitude envelope of multi-syllabic targets compared to both age-matched and reading-level-matched control children. No group differences were found for pitch contour production between children with dyslexia and age-matched control children. It may be difficult to detect speech output problems in dyslexia as pitch contours are relatively accurate.

Multisyllabic word production by Jordanian Arabic speaking children

ABSTRACT This study examined multisyllabic words in the speech of Jordanian Arabic-speaking children (JASC) regarding syllable structure, notable phonological processes, and stress assignment. Multisyllabic word productions were collected from 48 participants in the following four age groups: 3–3;6, 3;7–4, 4;1–4;6, and 4;7–5 with 12 participants in each age group. Data were collected using recorded spontaneous speech and picture naming. They were transcribed and analysed in terms of syllable structure, frequencies of syllable types, and phonological processes. Phonological processes were analysed and linked to syllable structure drawing on aspects of the metrical theory including extrametricality, extrasyllabicity, End Rule Right (ERR), and degenerate foot to account for the impact of phonological processes on stress assignment. The variability and complexity of children’s syllable structures were found to increase with age. Further, the CVC syllable structure was the most frequent across the four age groups, whereas CCVC, CCVV, and CVCC were the least frequent. Phonological processes affected antepenultimate, heavy, and closed syllables most. The most notable phonological processes were assimilation and syllable deletion in the younger two age groups. In addition, word-initial weak syllables were more frequently omitted than word-medial weak syllables. Thus, JASC start using phonological processes early to manage the complexity of syllable structures and later start to approximate adult speech as observed in age group 4;7–5 years who showed no phonological processes. These findings may help clinicians in diagnosing children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) and in selecting therapy targets within a developmental hierarchy.

SHORT-TERM REHABILITATION FOR LINGUISTIC IMPAIRMENTS IN PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE APHASIA: A CASE SERIES

Language rehabilitation has been a valid strategy in order to slow the progression of symptoms and to increase quality of life for patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). The objective is to report the results of intensive short-term treatment administered to a case series of patients with non-fluent PPA (PPA-NF), semantic PPA (PPA-S), logopenic PPA (PPA-L) and unclassified PPA (PPA- NC), focusing on sentence production, lexical retrieval and working memory. Thirteen patients (5 PPA-S, 3 PPA-NF, 3 PPA-L and 2 PPA-NC) were submitted to a standardized training either targetting naming deficits (PPA-S and PPA-NC), sentence production or production of multisyllabic words (PPA-NF) and naming deficits or working memory (PPA-L and PPA-NC), based on principles of errorless learning. Thirty-minute rehabilitation sessions were offered twice a week, with daily workouts at home. The trained items (pre and post-treatment) and untrained items (pre and post-treatment) were compared. Generalization to other language tasks and functional communication was also informed. Follow-up results are reported for three patients. The sample comprised 5 women and 8 men. Mean age was 65 years and mean schooling was 13.7 years. A significant improvement for treated items was seen for all patients. Nine patients also improved in untreated items. In addition, seven generalized for other tasks. Three patients were evaluated one month after the end of the treatment and demonstrated maintenance of treatment results. Even being a progressive syndrome, patients were able to relearn target vocabulary and strategies to improve sentence construction during the active phase of treatment. These preliminary results suggest that linguistic-based treatment strategies may constitute an effective approach in the clinical management of PPA patients.

Sound production treatment for acquired apraxia of speech: Effects of blocked and random practice on multisyllabic word production

Purpose: This study was designed to examine the effects of practice schedule, blocked vs random, on outcomes of a behavioural treatment for acquired apraxia of speech (AOS), Sound Production Treatment (SPT).Method: SPT was administered to four speakers with chronic AOS and aphasia in the context of multiple baseline designs across behaviours and participants. Treatment was applied to multiple sound errors within three-to-five syllable words. All participants received both practice schedules: SPT-Random (SPT-R) and SPT-Blocked (SPT-B).Result: Improvements in accuracy of word production for trained items were found for both treatment conditions for all participants. One participant demonstrated better maintenance effects associated with SPT-R. Response generalisation to untreated words varied across participants, but was generally modest and unstable. Stimulus generalisation to production of words in sentence completion was positive for three of the participants. Stimulus generalisation to production of phrases was positive for two of the participants.Conclusion: Findings provide additional efficacy data regarding SPT’s effects on articulation of treated items and extend knowledge of the treatment’s effects when applied to multiple targets within multisyllabic words.

Speech sound distortions in aphasia and apraxia of speech: reliability and diagnostic significance

Background: The differential diagnosis between apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia with phonemic paraphasia is challenging because the disorders share similar speech characteristics. Quantification of the speech profile of AOS is needed.Aims: To characterise the relative frequency of sound distortion errors in speakers with aphasia with and without AOS and to evaluate inter-observer reliability for this metric among independent listeners.Methods & Procedures: Fourteen adults with left hemisphere lesions were recruited from a consecutive clinical sample. They were assigned to groups of probable apraxia of speech (P-AOS) or probable aphasia with phonemic paraphasia (P-APP), based on the multisyllabic word production rate and perceptually evident sound errors. Four listeners generated independent phonetic transcriptions from an audio-recorded motor speech evaluation. The percentage of distorted segments and inter-observer reliability were calculated.Outcomes & Results: Inter-observer reliability was satisfactory for frequency of the overall distortion errors (ICC = 0.73, p < .001). Distortion frequencies were greater in the P-AOS group than in the P-APP group, but varied along on a continuum. Severity effects could not be ruled out, as the overall sound error frequencies were higher in the P-AOS group.Conclusions: With narrow phonetic transcription, independent clinicians can expect to code relative distortion frequency reliably, even though they may differ in the type of distortions they favour and in the absolute rates they observe. Distortion errors are present in speech produced by speakers with aphasia whose speech is characterised by sound error production, and rates are generally higher in stroke survivors who meet prosodic criteria for AOS. The relationship between phonemically salient sound errors and sound distortion frequency should be addressed in future research.

Evaluation of multisyllabic word production in Canadian English- or French-speaking children within a non-linear phonological framework

Currently, there is no theoretically justified, evidence-based metric for evaluating segmental and prosodic components of multisyllabic words (MSWs). A pilot study evaluated a MSW metric embedded in non-linear phonological- and language-processing frameworks. Six MSWs were analyzed in 10 Canadian English-speaking 5-year-olds with typically developing speech, and eight French-speaking children, ages 3–4 years, with protracted phonological development (PPD). Mismatches were tallied (with and without vowels), with totals ranked by word and participant, then compared with ranks from Phonological Mean Length of Utterance (PMLU) and Percent Consonants Correct (PCC) tallies. For both groups, the number of different ranks was significant in comparisons of MSW metrics with PMLU and PCC. Rank orderings were systematically higher for English-speaking children using the MSW metric, with/without vowels, and for French-speaking children using the MSW metric with vowels. Overall, the MSW metric was particularly suitable for fine-grained differentiation of phonological accuracy in MSW production.

Speech and literacy development in a child with a cochlear implant: Application of a psycholinguistic framework

This single case study describes the speech, phonological awareness and literacy of a 6;0-year-old girl with a cochlear implant. NG, a child with a congenital bilateral severe / profound hearing loss, received a monaural cochlear implant at the age of 3;0, three years prior to the study. Using a psycholinguistic framework to investigate her single word speech processing skills, we aimed to describe NG’s speech, phonological awareness and literacy in relation to norms for her chronological age, and areas of relative strength and weakness in terms of her own speech processing profile. These aims were pertinent as NG faced her first year of formal schooling in a mainstream school and for providing further targeted intervention. NG was shown to have developed age-appropriate literacy and phonological awareness skills, although her speech processing profile revealed residual difficulties with processing and production of multisyllabic words. The case study contributes to knowledge of speech processing skills in children with cochlear implants, and has clinical implications for those working with children with cochlear implants and their families.

Treatment for apraxia of speech in nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia.

There is a growing body of literature examining the utility of behavioral treatment in primary progressive aphasia (PPA). There are, however, no studies exploring treatment approaches to improve speech production in individuals with apraxia of speech (AOS) associated with the nonfluent variant of PPA. The purpose of this study was to examine a novel approach to treatment of AOS in nonfluent PPA. We implemented a treatment method using structured oral reading as a tool for improving production of multisyllabic words in an individual with mild AOS and nonfluent variant PPA. Our participant showed a reduction in speech errors during reading of novel text that was maintained at one year post-treatment. Generalization of improved speech production was observed on repetition of words and sentences and the participant showed stability of speech production over time in connected speech. Results suggest that oral reading treatment may offer an efficient and effective means of addressing multisyllabic word production in AOS associated with nonfluent PPA, with lasting and generalized treatment effects.

Treatment for Apraxia of Speech in Nonfluent Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia

There is a growing body of literature examining the utility of behavioral treatment in primary progressive aphasia (PPA). There are, however, no studies exploring treatment approaches to improve speech production in individuals with apraxia of speech (AOS) associated with the nonfluent variant of PPA. The purpose of this study was to examine a novel approach to treatment of AOS in nonfluent PPA. We implemented a treatment method using structured oral reading as a tool for improving production of multisyllabic words in an individual with mild AOS and nonfluent variant PPA. Our participant showed a reduction in speech errors during reading of novel text that was maintained at one year post-treatment. Generalization of improved speech production was observed on repetition of words and sentences and the participant showed stability of speech production over time in connected speech. Results suggest that oral reading treatment may offer an efficient and effective means of addressing multisyllabic word production in AOS associated with nonfluent PPA, with lasting and generalized treatment effects.

An Analysis of Young Children's Ability to Produce Multisyllabic English Nouns

Differentiation of normal versus delayed acquisition of correct production of multisyllabic words has not become a useful clinical tool because there are no clearly established clinical guidelines. Identification of normal patterns of emergence and progression of words with complex canonical form could help us to understand deficient development and would facilitate identification of phonological delays. In this investigation, phonological simplifications were determined for bisyllabic and multisyllabic English nouns produced by 72 normal, middle-class children. The children's age range was 24.5 to 54.5 months. Findings indicated that syllable deletion was a strategy used extensively by 2-year-olds, but this phonological process showed dissolution with age and, by the age of 4, syllable number was correct except in some words with atypical English stress patterns such as bisyllabics with iambic stress patterns. Target words were analysed for characteristics that were likely to cause syllable deletions, an...

Speech production/phonological deficits in reading-disordered children.

Speech production/articulation was examined in reading-disordered and normal children. Subjects participated in three tasks involving the production of multisyllabic words and phonologically complex phrases. Results demonstrated that the reading-disordered children made significantly more speech production errors than normal children in each of the tasks. Furthermore, the reading-disordered children's performance on the speech production tasks was correlated with their reading ability. It is concluded that the speech production difficulties of the reading-disordered children are a reflection of their various deficits in phonological processing.