Background: Children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH) have malformations of the spinal cord and brain, which can have significant lifelong consequences. Recent studies show that young adults with SBH have “lower than expected” rates of independence, employment, post-secondary education and social integration. Although speech and language are essential life skills, one important aspect of communication – prosody – has not been investigated systematically in children with SBH. Prosody plays a central role in spoken communication and the lack of research into prosody is therefore a surprising gap. Difficulties understanding or using prosody have a significant negative impact on pragmatic, interactional and general communication skills and may underlie some of the lower than expected developmental, educational and social outcomes.
Aims: This research aims to profile receptive and expressive prosodic skills in children with SBH, and to investigate the relationship between prosody and language skills in this clinical group.
Participants: Thirty children aged 7-12 years medically identified as having SBH will be recruited, as well as two control groups of 30 age-matched and 30 verbal mental age-matched typically developing children.
Method: Children’s prosodic skills will be measured using Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C). A battery of standardised language tests will assess related skills. Results of PEPS-C from the SBH group will be used to build a comprehensive profile of prosodic skills and deficits in these children. The results will uncover any significant differences in prosody abilities between the SBH and typically developing groups, and identify correlations between prosody and language abilities to determine co-dependencies.
Impact: Profiling prosodic skills will advance our knowledge of the complete behavioural profile of children with SBH. This knowledge will underpin future provision of effective support services, which will improve long term outcomes and ensure full social participation and integration for individuals with spina bifida.
