Performance of Normal Six- and Seven-Year-Old Males on Oral Manometer Tasks

Abstract

An assessment was made of oral manometric performance of normal speaking six-and seven-year—old bays. Readings of maximum, sustained, positive and negative pressure with bleed and nostrils occluded and open were obtained from each of forty subjects. It was found that the majority of normal speaking six— and seven-year-old boys had considerable difficulty generating and maintaining stable, maximal positive and negative pressure upon repeated trials of each of four manometric tasks. The findings of this project support the general hypothesis that oral mano-metric ratio data may be of questionable diagnostic value in predicting velopharyngeal adequacy for speech, particularly if ratio data must be interpreted dichotomously. The observations made were interpreted to support the View that there may be substantial differences even within the normal population in the ability to perform manometric tasks. The present results suggest that operational procedures com— monly used during manometric testing merit rigorous scrutiny, re-examination and analysis. Because of the nature of cranio—facial deviations associated with cleft palate, speech specialists have found it necessary to assess the competency of the velopha-ryngeal valving mechanism. The three approaches most commonly used to evaluate velopharyngeal competency include: artic— ulation testing (Morris Oral manometry is one aerodynamic technique frequently employed to assess the velopharyngeal system. Although the results of oral manometry in the form of pressure ratios are used to evaluate velo— pharyngeal adequacy, there appears to be limited information about the perform— ance of normal children during the execu— tion of routine manometric tasks. We have been able to find only one project dealing with manometric test performance of normal children (Goddard, 1959). Hence, the overall purpose of the present study was to assess oral manometric performance of normal speaking six-and seven-year-old boys. The specific aims of this project were: 1. to assess the magnitude of variation in breath pressure measurements obtained from individual subjects on repeated trials of a given manometric task, and