As a Special Education Director, I often encounter challenges related to speech therapy, especially concerning hypernasality in students with cleft palate. The recent research article titled "Phonetic Context and Hypernasality in Two Groups of Cleft Palate Speakers" by Judith Borlak and Karlind T. Moller provides invaluable insights into this issue.
The study evaluated the effects of phonetic contexts on the perception of nasality in cleft palate speakers. The researchers categorized the subjects into two groups: mildly nasal and moderate-severely nasal. Their findings can significantly enhance the effectiveness of speech therapy for these students.
Key Findings and Their Implications
- Task Complexity and Nasality: The study revealed that nasality is judged to be more severe from isolated vowels to CVC syllables to sentences. This increase in nasality was significantly greater for the moderate-severely nasal group.
- Vowel and Consonant Influence: Severity of hypernasality was dependent on the vowel and, to a lesser extent, the consonant produced. High vowels were judged to be more nasal than low vowels.
- Backward vs. Forward Playback: Mildly hypernasal speakers were judged to be more nasal when speech was presented in backward playback than forward playback, while nasality judgments did not differ for moderate-severely hypernasal speakers.
Practical Applications for Practitioners
Based on these findings, here are some practical steps practitioners can take to improve their skills and provide better therapy:
- Assess Nasality in Context: Evaluate hypernasality using different speech tasks (isolated vowels, CVC syllables, and sentences) to get a comprehensive understanding of the severity.
- Focus on Vowel and Consonant Articulation: Pay close attention to high vowels and voiced consonants as they tend to increase perceived nasality. Tailor your therapy to address these specific phonetic contexts.
- Use Forward Playback for Assessment: When assessing nasality, use forward playback to avoid introducing additional variables that can affect the judgment of nasality, especially for mildly hypernasal speakers.
Encouraging further research and continuous learning is crucial for practitioners. Staying updated with the latest studies and findings can help refine therapy techniques and improve outcomes for students.
To read the original research paper, please follow this link: Phonetic Context and Hypernasality in Two Groups of Cleft Palate Speakers.
