Jj is for Jottings 75.  Voice Quality and Speech Intelligibility.

I was reminded the other day about the effects that voice quality can have on the clarity of a person’s speech.  In addition to reduced speech intelligibility caused by speech sound problems (see here), poor voice quality can also interfere with the listener’s ability to understand the message.  I was reminded by this:

A new principal referred a child to me because she couldn’t understand him.  He’d had 2-3 years of speech therapy when he began school. He was discharged from therapy when his sound errors were mainly correct, although he falls into the category of “never going to be crystal clear”.  (Note the scientific terminology.)  When I retested him I was pleasantly surprised at how clear his speech sounds actually were, but I noted that his voice was hoarse. This had not been the case when he had therapy several years ago. I asked if he shouted a lot and he said he did – at his favourite computer game and at football were two places that came up immediately. It was the hoarse quality of his voice which was interfering with his intelligibility, because his voice was breathy and the sound was not as strong because of the breathiness. It is a similar effect to static on the radio – the speech sounds are fine but you cannot clearly understand the message.

Discussion with his mother revealed that sometimes they can’t understand him at all because of the hoarseness.  I was impressed with the fact that she had picked his voice quality as being the key factor in his lack of intelligibility.  She also said that she felt that he was very tense in the larynx (not her words, but the meaning was clear) because he was struggling at school. She felt that this factor contributed to his hoarseness as much as his shouting.  This is one insightful mother!

What to do Next?

The first step under these circumstances is to refer to an ear, nose and throat specialist, to check the state of the child’s vocal cords.  Then work on removing any vocal abuse and misuse (which is easier said than done in children).  In this particular case, that also means finding ways of helping him to relax in the face of his difficulties with schoolwork.  We’ll talk a little more about voice problems and how they develop in children next time.

 

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