Objective: Existing protocols for running speech sampling in voice evaluations have been developed based on the skills and linguistic abilities of adults, and may not be suitable for children. Speaking targets can be elicited via reading, direct modelling, or in extemporaneous speech. Each method has benefits and drawbacks: extemporaneous speech has the highest ecological validity, yet is the most freeform, posing challenges in target elicitation. Reading and direct modelling are the most likely to elicit desired speech targets. Reading stimuli requires adult-level literacy skills, and will therefore not be accessible to young children. Further, differences have been found in the vocal qualities that children use in reading tasks, versus in extemporaneous speech. Direct modelling is therefore the method, accessible to children, that is most likely to elicit specific speech targets. However, it is unclear how voice quality in directly modelled speech compares to that used in other speaking tasks. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are any differences in vocal quality employed by children during structured, direct modelling tasks, when compared to extemporaneous running speech used in narrative re-tell tasks.
Methods/design: Data from 20 children will be retrospectively analyzed. Data were collected as part of a previous study, in which participants completed the Bus Story Test (BST) as per the test protocol, as well as a directly modelled elicitation of the CAPE-V sentences (CAPE-VS). The BST is the extemporaneous speech condition; the CAPE-VS is the directly modelled condition. Samples have previously been de-identified, and will be collated for this study, randomized in order, and rated by a minimum of ten (10) listeners. Comparative analysis will be performed.
Results: Data analysis is ongoing.
Conclusions: The findings of this study will inform appropriate procedures to sample running speech in pediatric voice disorders. These data will contribute to the development of a protocol to evaluate voice in young children.