Tongue strength and endurance among typically developing children and children with idiopathic speech sound disorders in the United Arab Emirates

BACKGROUND: Tongue strength and endurance in adults have been extensively studied, but data on these parameters in young children remain largely unavailable. AIMS: This study aimed to collect normative objective tongue strength and endurance data from a pediatric population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to examine the effects of age and sex on these parameters. METHODS: This normative study included a total of 65 typically developing (TD; n = 36) children and children with idiopathic speech sound disorders (ISSDs; n = 29). The participants were assigned to four age groups (range: 3–8 years) and stratified by sex. Data on their tongue strength and endurance were collected using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument. RESULTS: Tongue strength scores and endurance time increased with age in both the TD and ISSD groups. Sex had no statistically significant effects on tongue strength or endurance in either group. Furthermore, tongue strength and endurance time scores were higher in the TD group than in the ISSD group. CONCLUSIONS: The data obtained in this study would add important normative data to the database of standardized measurements for maximal strength and endurance scores in the pediatric population of the UAE. Future research is encouraged to collect additional data that can help healthcare professionals objectively evaluate children with feeding, swallowing, and speech sound production difficulties.