Evaluation of the Vocal Performance of Children Using a Voice Range Profile Index
- 1 April 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Speech Language Hearing Association in Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
- Vol. 41 (2), 232-238
- https://doi.org/10.1044/jslhr.4102.232
Abstract
Voice range profiles (VRPs) were analyzed according to 11 frequency, intensity, and morphological characteristics for 94 normal children and 136 children with vocal fold pathologies (ages 6–11 years). Normative data are presented showing marked differences between the groups. Using a specific combination of the child's age, the highest vocal fundamental frequency, the lowest intensity, and the slope of the upper VRP contour, a Voice Range Profile Index for Children (VRPIc) may be constructed using discriminant analysis. It is shown how the VRPIc can be used to screen children for vocal disorder or to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of voice treatment. Since the group means of the VRPIc for healthy and dysphonic children are scaled to +10 and –10, respectively, the VRPIc enables the clinician to rate a child's vocal performance with reference to healthy and dysphonic children in general. The sensitivity and specificity of this method was found to be 90% and 83%, respectively.Keywords
This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Voice profiles and standard voice profile of untrained childrenJournal of Voice, 1995
- Relations between voice range profiles and physiological and perceptual voice characteristics in ten-year-old childrenJournal of Voice, 1994
- Sources of variation in phonetogramsJournal of Voice, 1993
- Phonographic Relationship between Pitch and Intensity of the Human VoiceFolia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 1984
- Recommendation by the Union of European Phoniatricians (UEP): Standardizing Voice Area Measurement/PhonetographyFolia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 1983
- Acoustic Analysis of Fundamental Frequencies of Voices of Children with and without Vocal NodulesPerceptual and Motor Skills, 1982
- Attributes of loudness, pitch and rate among male childrenJournal of Communication Disorders, 1975
- Four Laminagraphic Studies of Vocal Fold ThicknessFolia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 1969