Assessing intelligibility by single words, sentences and spontaneous speech: A methodological study of the speech production of 10-year-olds

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of different assessment methods on intelligibility scores and to examine the validity and reliability of those methods. Four assessment methods were used: multiple-choice and transcription of single words (read out), transcription of sentences (read out), and spontaneous speech. The results showed a statistically significant difference between outcomes for the different assessment methods. Reliability was high for all methods. Validity was low for all three reading-based methods. The method using transcription of spontaneous speech had low validity for the population included. It was concluded that reading is not a suitable elicitation technique for 10-year-olds and that the assessment procedure used for spontaneous speech needs to be further developed and investigated.

Key words::

• Assessment
• children
• elicitation
• intelligibility
• sentences
• single words
• speech
• spontaneous speech

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the speech-language pathologists Sofia Antonsson, MSc, Emilia Ahlberg, MSc, Christina Havstam, PhD, and Ann Nordberg, MSc, for valuable help with listener judgements; and Jakob Åhsberg, PhD, at the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, for valuable comments on statistical analysis.

Declaration of interest: This study has in part been supported by the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), the Mayflower Charity Foundation for Children, and the Petter Silfverskiöld Memorial Fund. The responsibility for the content of this article lies with the authors. The authors report no declarations of interest.