The Relationship Between Speech Perception, Speech Production, and Vocabulary Abilities in Children: Insights From By-Group and Continuous Analyses.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	The Relationship Between Speech Perception, Speech Production, and Vocabulary Abilities in Children: Insights From By-Group and Continuous Analyses.
Authors:	Hearnshaw, Stephanie¹ sfor6076@uni.sydney.edu, Baker, Elise^2,3,4, Pomper, Ron⁵, McGregor, Karla K.⁵, Edwards, Jan⁶, Munroa, Natalie¹
Source:	Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Apr2023, Vol. 66 Issue 4, p1173-1191. 19p. 2 Charts, 4 Graphs.
Subject Terms:	Research, Phonological awareness, Intelligibility of speech, Ability, Articulation disorders, Vocabulary, Audiometry, Statistical correlation, Statistical power analysis, Physiological aspects of speech, English language, Judgment (Psychology), Analysis of variance, Multiple regression analysis, Speech perception in children, Task performance, T-test (Statistics), Phonetics, Social classes, Descriptive statistics
Geographic Terms:	Australia
Abstract:	Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children with and without speech sound disorders (SSDs), analyzing the data both by group and continuously. Method: Sixty-one Australian English–speaking children aged 48–69 months participated in this study. Children’s speech production abilities ranged along the continuum from SSDs through to typical speech. Their vocabulary abilities ranged along the continuum from typical to above average (“lexically precocious”). Children completed routine speech and language assessments in addition to an experimental Australian English lexical and phonetic judgment task. Results: When analyzing data by group, there was no significant difference between the speech perception ability of children with SSDs and that of children without SSDs. Children with above-average vocabularies had significantly better speech perception ability than children with average vocabularies. When analyzing data continuously, speech production and vocabulary were both significant positive predictors of variance in speech perception ability, both individually in simple linear regression and when combined in multiple linear regression. There was also a significant positive correlation between perception and production of two of the four target phonemes tested (i.e., /k/ and /ʃ/) among children in the SSD group. Conclusions: Results from this study provide further insight into the complex relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children. While there is a clinical and important need for categorical distinctions between SSDs and typically developing speech, findings further highlight the value of investigating speech production and vocabulary abilities continuously and categorically. By capturing the heterogeneity among children’s speech production and vocabulary abilities, we can advance our understanding of SSDs in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children with and without speech sound disorders (SSDs), analyzing the data both by group and continuously. Method: Sixty-one Australian English–speaking children aged 48–69 months participated in this study. Children’s speech production abilities ranged along the continuum from SSDs through to typical speech. Their vocabulary abilities ranged along the continuum from typical to above average (“lexically precocious”). Children completed routine speech and language assessments in addition to an experimental Australian English lexical and phonetic judgment task. Results: When analyzing data by group, there was no significant difference between the speech perception ability of children with SSDs and that of children without SSDs. Children with above-average vocabularies had significantly better speech perception ability than children with average vocabularies. When analyzing data continuously, speech production and vocabulary were both significant positive predictors of variance in speech perception ability, both individually in simple linear regression and when combined in multiple linear regression. There was also a significant positive correlation between perception and production of two of the four target phonemes tested (i.e., /k/ and /ʃ/) among children in the SSD group. Conclusions: Results from this study provide further insight into the complex relationship between speech perception, speech production, and vocabulary abilities in children. While there is a clinical and important need for categorical distinctions between SSDs and typically developing speech, findings further highlight the value of investigating speech production and vocabulary abilities continuously and categorically. By capturing the heterogeneity among children’s speech production and vocabulary abilities, we can advance our understanding of SSDs in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	10924388
DOI:	10.1044/2022_jslhr-22-00441