LSVT LOUD ® Applied to an Adult With Cerebral Palsy: Acoustic Findings

Abstract

A 36-year-old female with severe spastic dysarthria participated in this study. She received 4 weeks of individual, intensive voice-focused treatment. Voice recordings were conducted at three baseline points, immediately posttreatment, and at a 4-month follow-up. The primary outcome variables were selected acoustic measures of vocal function: sound pressure level (SPL), mean fundamental frequency (F0), maximum phonation time (MPT), jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonics ratio (NHR), and maximum phonation frequency range (MPFR). Significant pre-to-posttreatment changes (p < .05) were found for most acoustic variables. All acoustic gains, except for MPFR, were maintained at the 4-month follow-up. The significant posttreatment changes in the majority of the acoustic measures analyzed suggest that intensive voice-focused treatment may have the potential to improve vocal function in adults with severe spastic dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy (CP). Evidence-based treatment options for voice disorders in adults with CP are limited. Results emphasize the need for more studies with this population.

Keywords

voice disorders adult cerebral palsy treatment research acoustics

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