Direct Magnitude Estimation of Articulation Rate in Boys With Fragile X Syndrome

• Published in: Journal of speech, language, and hearing research language, and hearing research, 2009-10, Vol.52 (5), p.1370-1379
• Main Authors: Zajac, David J, Harris, Adrianne A, Roberts, Joanne E, Martin, Gary E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustics; Adolescent; Articulation (Speech); Articulation Disorders - diagnosis; Articulation Disorders - etiology; Auditory Evaluation; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Child; Children; Children & youth; Comparative Analysis; Data analysis; Data collection; Developmental Delays; Fragile X syndrome; Fragile X Syndrome - complications; Genetic Disorders; Humans; Hyperactivity; Imitation; Interpersonal Competence; Intonation; Linear Models; Listening; Male; Males; Matched Groups; Medical screening; Mental Retardation; Multiple Regression Analysis; Predictive Value of Tests; Regression analysis; Repetition; Reproducibility of Results; Sentences; Social integration; Social research; Speech; Speech Acoustics; Speech Articulation Tests - methods; Speech Articulation Tests - standards; Suprasegmentals; Undergraduate Students; Withdrawal (Psychology)
• ISSN: 1092-4388; 1558-9102
• DOI: 10.1044/1092-4388(2009/07-0208)

Adrianne A. Harris Joanne E. Roberts Gary E. Martin FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Contact author: David J. Zajac, University of North Carolina Craniofacial Center, CB No. 7450, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. E-mail: david_zajac{at}dentistry.unc.edu . Purpose: To compare the perceived articulation rate of boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) with that of chronologically age-matched (CA) boys and to determine segmental and/or prosodic factors that account for perceived rate. Method: Ten listeners used direct magnitude estimation procedures to judge the articulation rates of 7 boys with FXS only, 5 boys with FXS and a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 12 CA boys during sentence repetition. Sentences had similar articulation rates in syllables per second as determined acoustically. Four segmental/prosodic factors were used to predict perceived rate: (a) percentage consonants correct, (b) overall fundamental frequency (F 0 ) level, (c) sentence-final F 0 drop, and (d) acoustically determined articulation rate with the final word of the sentence excluded. Results: Boys with FXS and ASD were judged to talk faster than CA controls. Multiple linear regression indicated that articulation rate with the final word of the sentence excluded and sentence-final F 0 drop accounted for 91% of the variance for perceived rate. Conclusions: Descriptions of speakers with FXS as having fast and/or fluctuating articulation rates may be influenced by autism status. Also, atypical sentence-final prosody may be related to perceived rate in boys with FXS and ASD. KEY WORDS: fragile X syndrome, speaking rate, articulation rate, direct magnitude estimation, prosody CiteULike     Connotea     Del.icio.us     Digg     Facebook     Reddit     Technorati     Twitter     What's this?