Neuromuscular and Biomechanical Adjustments of the Speech Mechanism During Modulation of Vocal Loudness in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Dysarthria

ABSTRACChildren with cerebral palsy (CP) are characterized as difficult to understand because of poor articulation and breathy voice quality. This case series describes the subsystems of the speech mechanism (i.e., respiratory, laryngeal, oroarticulatory) in four children with CP and four matched typically developing children (TDC) during the modulation of vocal loudness. TDC used biomechanically efficient strategies among speech subsystems to increase vocal loudness. Children with CP made fewer breathing adjustments but recruited greater chest wall muscle activity and neuromuscular drive for louder productions. These results inform future clinical research and identify speech treatment targets for children with motor speech disorders.