Maximum phonation time in pre-school children

Past studies on the maximum phonation time (MPT) in children have shown different results in duration. This factor may reflect the neuromuscular and aerodynamic control of phonation in patients; such control might be used as an indicator of other evaluation methods on a qualitative and quantitative basis. AIM: to verify measures of MPT and voice acoustic characteristics in 23 children aged four to six year and eight months. METHOD: The sampling process comprised a questionnaire that was sent to parents, followed by auditory screening and a voice perceptive-auditory assessment based on the R.A.S.A.T. scale. Data collection included the MPT. STUDY: a prospective and cross-sectional study. RESULTS: The MPT was 7.42s, 6.35s and 7.19s; as age increased, the MPT also increase significantly; the s/z relation at all ages was close to one. CONCLUSIONS: The results mostly agree with the medical literature. MPT values, however, were higher than in other Brazilian studies. It may be concluded that the ages that were analyzed are going through neuromuscular maturation; lack of structural maturity and neuromuscular control was more evident in chidlren aged four years.