Variability in Speech Outcome Following Severe Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: A Report of Three Cases

Abstract

The aim of the present paper was to demonstrate the variation in the nature and extent of the physiological and perceptual speech impairments that can occur in children following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Three children who presented with different speech profiles following severe TBI were discussed. The four speech subsystems were comprehensively evaluated using physiological measures of respiratory (Respitrace), laryngeal (Laryngograph, Aerophone II), velopharyngeal (accelerometry), and articulatory (lip and tongue pressure transduction systems) function. Perceptual speech evaluations included the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech, and a perceptual analysis of a speech sample. The findings for each case were compared with those of a non-neurologically impaired control group or a control subject matched for age and sex. Although demonstrating similar severity of injury, each subject was found to have a differing profile of speech subsystem deficits, highlighting the need for a full physiological and perceptual assessment of speech production.