Do all speech-disordered children have motor deficits

Author(s): Dodd, B.

Journal/Book: Clin Linguist Phonet. 1996; 10: 4 John St, London, England WC1N 2ET. Taylor & Francis Ltd London. 77-101.

Abstract: The performance of four groups of speech-disordered children and a normal control group on tasks assessing volitional and non-volitional oral movements, fine motor skills and speech motor planning (novel word learning) were compared. Children whose phonological and/or articulation skills were slowly following the normal course of development did not appear to have specific difficulty on any of the experimental tasks. Children who consistently used non-developmental phonological rules did not differ from normal controls on tasks which assessed speed, dexterity and co-ordination of fine motor movements, indicating that their deficit is not one of motor control or implementation, motor planning or integration of perceptual and motor information. Further, the results of the new-world learning task demonstrated that they are as good as the control group when learning to recognize and say new words. Children who made inconsistent speech errors performed as well as normal controls on tasks which assessed the function of the lips and tongue in a non-speech context, and the ability to sequence two non-speech oral movements, eliminating an ore-motor implementation deficit. However, they were significantly poorer than controls on tasks which required speed and dexterity of fine motor movements, indicating that children with inconsistent deviant phonology had more difficulty organizing complex sequences of movement when time was included as a performance factor. Children diagnosed as having developmental verbal dyspraxia had difficulty on the fine motor subtests, reflecting deficits at the levels of integrating sensory information into a plan of action, and at the level of co-ordinating speed and dexterity of intricate movements. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.

Note: Article B Dodd, Univ Queensland, Dept Speech & Hearing, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia

Keyword(s): speech; disorder; motor deficits; developmental verbal dyspraxia; DEVELOPMENTAL VERBAL DYSPRAXIA; OTITIS-MEDIA; PHONOLOGICAL DISORDERS; LANGUAGE; APRAXIA; ARTICULATION; PERFORMANCE

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