Speech sound production, speech intelligibility, and oral-motor outcomes of preterm children: Are they different from full term children?

We studied the speech sound abilities of preterm (PT) children. Thirty-one PT and twenty-nine full term (FT) children were recruited. Speech abilities were assessed in single word, story retelling, oral-motor, and intelligibility. PT group had poorer outcomes (Mean = 25.77, SD = 17.19) than FT ones (Mean = 5.9, SD = 4.97) for single word (p < 0.001). They obtained poorer results (Mean = 9.65, SD = 7.85) than FT peers (Mean = 2.95, SD = 3.34) in story retelling (p = 0.002) and intelligibility (Man-Whitney U = 89.50, p = 0.02). They obtained lower values for diadochokesis/patuku/(p < 0.001), isolated (p = 0.001), and sequenced movements (p = 0.02) but not for diadochokesis/patukejk/(p = 0.12). Significant values of correlation were found among single word scores with birth weight (r = -.54, p < .001) and gestational age (r = -0.67, p < .001) and story retelling scores with birth weight (r = -0.40, p = .013) and gestational age (r = -0.64, p < .001). The associations of single word score and maternal (r = -0.02, p = .85) and paternal education (r = -0.10, p = .41) were not significant. No significant relationships were obtained between story retelling score and maternal (r = 0.16, p = .34) and paternal education (r = 0.09, p = .59). The significant values were obtained for associations of intelligibility with isolated (r = 0.54, p = .001), sequenced movements (r = 0.59, p < .001), and diadochokesis/patukejk/(r = 0.39, p = .016) but not significant for intelligibility and diadochokesis/patuku/(r = 0.25, p = .13). Findings implied that speech abilities are weaker in PT children.

Translation, Validity, and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Aging Voice Index.

OBJECTIVES: The Aging Voice Index (AVI) was developed to study quality of life in older adults with voice disorders. The purpose of this study was to translate the original English version of the AVI to Persian version of Aging Voice Index (P-AVI) and validate the P-AVI for the Persian-speaking older adults with voice disorders. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and methodological study was performed to translate and validate the Persian version of the AVI. The translation was performed in accordance with recommendations from the World Health Organization. Eighty-five treatment-seeking patients with voice disorders and 20 older adults without voice complaints were recruited for this study. Psychometric properties were investigated, including: different types of validity (content validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity), reliability (test-retest and internal consistency), and item analysis of the Persian version of AVI. The relationship between total score of P-AVI and age, sex, and voice pathology were determined using multiple linear regression. RESULTS: A panel of three speech pathologists performed the content validity of the P-AVI and reached agreement on all of the items. Construct validity was confirmed by a significant difference in the mean of total score of the P-AVI was identified between the particiapnts with voice disorders and those with no voice complaints (P < 0.001). There was high correlation between the total scores of the participants in the Persian version of the AVI and the Persian version of the voice-related quality of life (r = 0.86, P < 0.001). All reliability measures were found to be good with scores higher than 0.8. To assess the need for item reduction, a Cronbach's alpha coefficient remained constant with the elimination of each item; therefore, all no items were removed. Age and voice pathology were not predictive for the total P-AVI score, but a weak effect was identified for sex and the total score of P-AVI (F = 18.75, P < 0.001) with an R2 of 0.21. CONCLUSIONS: The Persian version of AVI is a valid and reliable questionnaire designed specifically for older adults that speech-language pathologists and otolaryngologists can use to objectively assess the impact of voice disorders in aging Persian-speaking patients.