Vibrotactile Thresholds and Oral Stereognosis in Children

Abstract

This investigation was designed to compare oral vibrotactile thresholds and oral form identification measurements on 10 normal-speaking children and 10 children with sibilant articulation defects. The two measures employed included the NIDR 20 oral stereognostic forms and tongue-tip vibrotactile thresholds at 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 Hz. The results of oral stereognostic testing were not useful in predicting sensitivity to lingual vibrotactile stimuli for either normal-speaking or articulatory-defective Ss. Children with normal and defective articulation did not differ in their responses either to oral stereognosis or to vibrotactile stimulation. There were differences in vibrotactile thresholds at different frequencies for both groups.