Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders, New York University , New York, NY, USA.
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Syracuse University , Syracuse, NY, USA.
Clin Linguist Phon. 2021 Jan 2;35(1):19-42. doi: 10.1080/02699206.2020.1739749. Epub 2020 Apr 3.
The rhotic sound /r/ is one of the latest-emerging sounds in English, and many children receive treatment for residual errors affecting /r/ that persist past the age of 9. Auditory-perceptual abilities of children with residual speech errors are thought to be different from their typically developing peers. This study examined auditory-perceptual acuity in children with residual speech errors affecting /r/ and the relation of these skills to production accuracy, both before and after a period of treatment incorporating visual biofeedback. Identification of items along an /r/-/w/ continuum was assessed prior to treatment. Production accuracy for /r/ was acoustically measured from standard/r/stimulability probes elicited before and after treatment. Fifty-nine children aged 9-15 with residual speech errors (RSE) affecting /r/ completed treatment, and forty-eight age-matched controls who completed the same auditory-perceptual task served as a comparison group. It was hypothesized that children with RSE would show lower auditory-perceptual acuity than typically developing speakers and that higher auditory-perceptual acuity would be associated with more accurate production before treatment. It was also hypothesized that auditory-perceptual acuity would serve as a mediator of treatment response. Results indicated that typically developing children have more acute perception of the /r/-/w/ contrast than children with RSE. Contrary to hypothesis, baseline auditory-perceptual acuity for /r/ did not predict baseline production severity. For baseline auditory-perceptual acuity in relation to biofeedback efficacy, there was an interaction between auditory-perceptual acuity and gender, such that higher auditory-perceptual acuity was associated with greater treatment response in female, but not male, participants.
/r/ 是英语中最新出现的音之一，许多儿童在 9 岁以后仍存在/r/发音残留错误，需要接受治疗。人们认为，有残留发音错误的儿童的听觉感知能力与他们的正常发展同龄人不同。本研究考察了影响/r/的残留发音错误儿童的听觉感知敏锐度，以及这些技能与治疗前后使用视觉生物反馈治疗的关系。在治疗前，评估了儿童对/r/-/w/连续体项目的识别能力。治疗前后，使用标准/r/可激发探针测量/r/的发音准确性。59 名年龄在 9-15 岁之间有残留发音错误（RSE）的儿童完成了治疗，48 名年龄匹配的完成相同听觉感知任务的对照组儿童作为对照组。研究假设 RSE 儿童的听觉感知敏锐度低于正常发展的儿童，且治疗前的发音准确性与听觉感知敏锐度相关。研究还假设听觉感知敏锐度将作为治疗反应的中介。结果表明，正常发育的儿童对/r/-/w/对比的感知比 RSE 儿童更敏锐。与假设相反，治疗前的听觉感知/r/的基线敏锐度并不能预测基线生产严重程度。关于生物反馈疗效与基线听觉感知的关系，听觉感知敏锐度和性别之间存在交互作用，即女性参与者的听觉感知敏锐度越高，治疗反应越大，而男性参与者则没有这种关系。
