Viking Speech Scale

In my previous blog I have introduced a classification system for young children with CP that was developed to estimate their speech and language development over time. This blog presents another attempt at classifying speech performance in children with CP: The Viking Speech Scale (VSS).

The VSS was developed by an international team around Lindsay Pennington for use in CP surveillance registers to complement information on gross motor performance and manual abilities. Information on speech would help clinicians and researchers to obtain a clearer picture of presence and severity of motor problems that affect communication.

The VSS is intends to be a global measure of speech that captures how speech is produced in daily life. A combination of perceptual characteristics and intelligibility was used as a basis for the scale which comprises 4 levels:

   1. Speech is not affected by motor disorder

   2. Speech is imprecise but understandable to unfamiliar listeners out of context. Loudness
       is adequate; voice may be breathy and harsh; articulation is imprecise but difficulties do
       not affect intelligibility.

   3. Speech is unclear and not usually understandable out of context. Speech can be too loud
       or too quiet; speech can be hypernasal; voice may be harsh; breath control is difficult;
       pitch may change suddenly; only a small range of consonants can be produced.

   4. No understandable speech

The scale was tested using speech samples of 139 children with CP. Their speech was rated by parents and a range of health professionals including speech and language therapists through direct observation or case notes. Feedback was positive and the scale considered being a helpful tool to summarise speech performance of children with CP for clinical reports and research.