Developmental apraxia of speech: II. Toward a diagnostic marker

Abstract

This second paper in a series on developmental apraxia of speech (DAS) (Shriberg, Aram, & Kwiatkowski, 1997a) reports findings from two studies. Study I compares speech and prosody-voice profiles of a group of 14 children with suspected DAS to profiles of 73 children with speech delay (SD). Results suggest that the only linguistic domain that differentiates some children with suspected DAS from those with SD is inappropriate stress. Study II cross-validates these findings, using retrospective data from a sample of 20 children with suspected DAS evaluated in a university phonology clinic over a 10-year period. Discussion considers methodological and conceptual issues in the measurement of linguistic stress. Theoretical issues and implications for research and clinical practice are deferred for synthesis of the present findings with those from a multi-site cross-validation project (Shriberg, Aram, & Kwiatkowski, 1997b).