Electropalatography in the description and treatment of speech disorders in five children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Some children with cerebral palsy have articulation disorders that are resistant to conventional speech therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the visual feedback method of electropalatography (EPG) could be an effective tool for treating five children (mean age of 9.4 years) with dysarthria and cerebral palsy and to explore whether training improved the posteriorly placed articulation of the Swedish dental/alveolar target consonants /t/, /d/, /n/ and /s/ produced in different positions. An EPG analysis was conducted and some of the data were combined with a perceptual analysis. A more anterior placement was seen after treatment for the target sounds. Features of diagnostic importance revealed were unusual tongue–palate contacts, such as double articulation and abnormally retracted articulation. A possible change in stop closure duration was indicated. The results suggest that EPG could be of potential benefit for diagnosing, treating and describing articulation errors associated with cerebral palsy.

• cerebral palsy
• electropalatography
• articulation disorder
• speech therapy

Acknowledgement

This research was financially supported by Habilitation & Health, Region Västra Götaland, Sweden; the Disabilities Committee, Region Västra Götaland, Sweden; the National Association for Disabled Children and Youths in Sweden (RBU); the Jerring Foundation, Sweden; and the Agrenska Foundation, Sweden.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.