Oral Diadokokinetic Rate - An Insight into Speech Motor Control

Abstract

Speech motor disruptions are common with aging. The rate of oral diadochokinesis (DDK) is considered for determining the severity of speech motor control impairments. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in motor control in geriatrics in comparison with younger adults with Diadokokinesis as a speech parameter. Significant difference was observed between the geriatrics compared to the younger groups indicating poor performance of geriatrics on diadochokinetic rate in comparison to normal adults. The present investigation has provided evidence for analysing the error patterns in the syllable repetitions using DDK rate which is a simple yet quantitative measure.