-Abstract-
The objective evaluation of velopharyngeal closure function is the key to diagnosis
and therapy control of velopharyngeal incompetency. The aim of this to evaluate the
aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics of the velopharyngeal closure function of
patients who have developed velopharyngeal incompetency after management with
speech aids.
The test words were composed of sustained vowels /a/, /i/, /e/, /u/, /ja/, /je/, /wi/
and polysyllabic word /p'ap'i/, /siso/, /mami/ for measuring nasalance.
The data was collected before the placement of the speech aids and one to three
months after.
The results were as follows : The nasalance score of the velopharyngeal incompetency
speakers was higher than that of the normal control group, except for nasal sounds, and
was decreased after placement of the speech aids, especially in high vowels /i/(P<.01)
and /wi/(P<.05).
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