Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is a prevalent disorder which can lead to voice disorders, but its diagnosis is difficult. Consequently, various tools and methods have been explored for the diagnosis of LPR. A link may exist between vocal characteristics and reflux symptoms which may improve the diagnosis of LPR. This study’s objective was to investigate the associations between reflux symptoms, acoustic-, perceptual-, and physical vocal characteristics, the glottal function index (GFI) and the voice handicap index (VHI), in adults with non-organic voice disorders. A retrospective cohort explorative research design was employed by investigating, analysing and describing the existing database of an ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT) in the form of administrative data sets, case histories, questionnaires, and patient and stroboscopy reports. Data collection took place at an ENT practice at a private hospital in Gauteng, South Africa. The data of 51 individuals with non-organic voice disorder, aged 18 and older, were included in this study. Comparisons were made between the reflux symptom index (RSI), acoustic characteristics (jitter, shimmer and fundamental frequency (fo), maximum phonation time (MPT), perceptual characteristics (grade of hoarseness, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain and instability), physical vocal characteristics, GFI and VHI. Fair correlations were found between RSI and phase closure (rs=0.424; p=0.035), RSI and GFI (rs=0.366; p=0.008), RSI and VHIP (rs=0.302; p=0.035) and between RSI and caffeine intake (rs=0.322); p=0.043). Results indicated that underlying associations exist between reflux symptoms, vocal characteristics, the GFI and the VHI. Used in conjunction, these measurement tools could improve the clinical diagnosis of LPR. The implications of these findings are promising but further research is recommended. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / 2022/12/31 / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / MA (Speech-Language Pathology) / Unrestricted

Children with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) characterized by persistent shyness and anxiety in social or performance situation, exhibit social skills deficits. These deficits include difficulty initiating conversations, maintaining eye contact, and taking turns when speaking, which in turn leads to impairments in their daily interactions and development of peer relationships (Greco, 2005; Miers, 2010). Although there are many subjective assessments for treatment outcomes for children with SAD, in order to become more thorough and effective when assessing treatment outcomes, more objective measures of actual behaviors are needed. This study uses digital vocal analysis to examine vocal parameters associated with anxiety such as pitch and volume in children with SAD pre and post treatment. Measuring vocal parameters during role-play behavioral assessment tasks allowed us to examine whether the software was capable of detecting differences in vocal characteristics that are consistent with the clinical presentation of the disorder. Children with SAD showed differences in vocal characteristics pre to post treatment, in regards to pitch, pitch variability, volume, and volume variability. There were significant changes in volume pre to post treatment, however the changes in pitch, pitch variability, and volume variability were not significant. These results suggest that post SET-C treatment, certain vocal characteristics, (one of the social skills deficits exhibited by children with SAD) improved. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The present study examined the social skills and social acceptance of children with SAD (n=20), children with GAD (n=18), and typically developing (TD) children (n=20). A multimodal assessment paradigm was employed to address three study objectives: (a) to determine whether social skills deficits are unique to children with SAD or extend to children with GAD, (b) to assess whether skills vary as a function of social context (in vivo peer interaction Wii Task versus hypothetical Social Vignette Task) and (c) to examine the relationship between anxiety diagnosis and social acceptance. Parent questionnaire data indicated that both youth with SAD and GAD experienced difficulties with assertiveness, whereas children with SAD experienced a broader range of social skills difficulties. Blinded observers’ ratings during the behavioral assessment social tasks indicated that compared to children with GAD and TD children, children with SAD have deficits in social behaviors and social knowledge across settings, including speech latency, a paucity of speech, few spontaneous comments, questions and exclamations, and ineffective social responses. In addition, vocal analysis revealed that children with SAD were characterized by anxious speech patterns. By comparison, children with GAD exhibited non-anxious speech patterns and did not differ significantly from TD youth on social behaviors, with the exception of fewer spontaneous comments and questions. Lastly, children with SAD were perceived as less likeable and less socially desirable by their peers than both children with GAD and TD children. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed

The purpose was to determine the relationship between high or low cultural mistrust and vocal characteristics in African-American adolescent females. The vocal characteristics were vocal self-identification, singing style, and singing range.