Assessment of Diadochokinetic skills in 7 to 9-year-old students of primary schools in Kermanshah, Iran

Speech production involves planning, programming and implementation phases for which several specific regions of cerebrum are responsible. Deficits in these steps can be manifested in disorders of speech production and Diadochokinesis. Diadochokinetic tasks are used in assessment and management of speech disorders such as dysarthria and cerebella impairments. The aim of this research was to assess and determine Diadochokinetic performances of 7 to 9-year-old students studying at primary schools of Kermanshah, Iran.

In this cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study, 210 students (105 females, 105 males) were randomly recruited from the elementary schools of Kermanshah province and then were equally divided into three age groups (7, 8 and 9-year olds). Students had to repeat one syllable consisting of a consonant and a vowel twenty times to determine their production rate.

The result showed that the average times of repeating one syllable for 7, 8 and 9-year old children were 5.05, 4.68 and 4.47 seconds respectively.

This study showed that age and the type of vowel used in the assessment can affect Diadochokinetic skills and that the results of such assessments should be incorporated in diagnosis and treatment of articulation disorders.