Rate, accuracy and consistency: diadochokinetic performance of young, normally developing children

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Abstract
This paper describes the performance of 30 normally developing children in the age range of 3-5 years on silent and spoken diadochokinetic (DDK) tasks. Issues of task design and scoring are explored and the findings are interpreted from a developmental and psycholinguistic perspective. Rate, accuracy and consistency measures of the children's performance are used to make comparisons both with the adult model presented and with each child's own speech sound system. The results show that, in general, accuracy and consistency of response are more sensitive DDK assessment measures for pre-school children than the more traditionally used rate of production. However, in each age group, different profiles of performance emerged which can be used for comparison with children with speech difficulties. It is argued that this normative data is essential for understanding the nature of children's speech difficulties, interpreting DDK assessment results, and for planning appropriate intervention.

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