SPA 4250 – Quiz #2 Study Guide

Flashcards based on lecture notes about voice disorders, articulation, and phonology.

What is vocal hygiene, and what intervention/treatment strategies/goals help improve vocal quality or conditions?

Habits to maintain healthy vocal folds and prevent damage; includes hydration, avoiding excessive throat clearing/coughing, reducing vocal misuse, vocal rest, voice therapy exercises, good posture, and modifying diet to reduce acid reflux.

What is a laryngectomy?

Surgical removal of the larynx due to cancer, where the trachea is redirected to a stoma (hole in the neck).

What speaking options are available for someone who has undergone a laryngectomy and opted out of using an electrolarynx?

Esophageal speech, which involves air released near the neoglottis.

What medical conditions can impact your voice?

Recurrent laryngeal nerve damage of the Vagus (X) can cause unilateral paralysis, requiring the affected fold to be moved closer to the midline. Spasmodic Dysphonia also affects the voice.

What kinds of vocal behaviors can impact your voice?

Vocal fold abuse/misuse, leading to contact ulcers, nodules, polyps, and carcinoma.

What are papillomas?

Wart-like growths that may compromise the airway if they become too large.

What are contact ulcers?

Ulcers on the vocal processes of the arytenoids, often due to excessive slamming during low pitch, nonproductive throat clearing/coughing, gastric reflux, or intubation.

What are nodules?

Callous-like growths, often forming in pairs at the greatest amplitude of vibration, common in "screamer's nodules."

What are polyps?

Blister-like growths, usually unilateral.

What is carcinoma?

Cancer that forms in epithelial tissue, potentially on the vocal folds or esophagus, with increased risk from inhaled smoke, smoking, and drinking.

What are the major structures in the larynx (hyoid, thyroid, arytenoids, vocal folds, etc.) and what do they do?

The hyoid bone suspends the larynx. The thyroid cartilage forms the front wall of the larynx. The cricoid cartilage maintains an open airway. The arytenoids help move the vocal folds. The vocal folds vibrate to produce sound.

How are the major structures in the larynx connected to each other structurally?

The vocal folds attach from the arytenoids to the thyroid cartilage. The arytenoids sit on the cricoid cartilage and pivot to move folds. Membranes and intrinsic muscles connect and control these parts.

What is Botox and how can it help voice patients?

Relaxes the vocal folds, improving voice quality for about 3–6 months, especially in spasmodic dysphonia.

What is fundamental frequency, and what are the anatomical and perceptual differences between men, women, and children?

The base rate of vocal fold vibration, determined by mass, tension, and length. Men have lower F0 (120 Hz) due to longer and thicker vocal folds. Women have higher F0 (200 Hz). Children have even higher F0 due to smaller larynxes.

What is happening with your breathing when you’re saying a long sentence?

Speech breathing, using exhalation to produce speech.

At what point is the breathing apparatus at a mechanically neutral position?

At the end of quiet expiration (resting lung volume).

What are the differences between severities of articulation errors and how do they impact communication?

Mild: Produce a few sounds in error, usually late 8 sounds, generally intelligible. Moderate: Difficulty producing all sounds within a class, intelligible to family but not unfamiliar listeners.

Severe: Unintelligible to most listeners, more than six sounds in error, inconsistent sequencing, reliance on gestures.

What are the 3 major articulators, and what role do they play in articulation?

Tongue (most mobile, forms speech sounds), lips (make bilabial and labiodental sounds), and mandible (supports tongue and lip movement).

Review articulation errors.

Omission (e.g., “ca” for “cat”), substitution (e.g., “wabbit” for “rabbit”), distortion (unclear sound, not a real phoneme), and addition (inserting extra sounds).

What are the functions of the left hemisphere of the brain in terms of communication?

Sequential functioning and dominant role in speech/language.

What are the functions of the right hemisphere of the brain in terms of communication?

Holistic processing, face recognition, comprehending and expressing emotions.

What are phonemes?

Phonemes are the smallest units of sound that change meaning. Example: ‘ship’ has 3 phonemes /ʃ/ /I/ /p/

What is the difference between accent, delay, dialect, and disorder?

Accent is a speech pattern influenced by a different first language. Delay is when a child's speech is typical of a younger child. Dialect is a regional or social variation. Disorder is when speech is unlike children at any age developing normally.

What is bilingualism?

The ability to speak two languages, each with its own phonology.

What are allophones?

Variations of the same phoneme (e.g., /p/ in “spin” vs “pin”).