Which imaging technology was used to show that some children with SSD have undifferentiated lingual gestures?

• A. Electropalatography
• B. Magnetic resonance imaging
• C. Ultrasound
• D. Iowa Oral Performance Instrument

Answer: (A)

Visualizing where the tongue contacts the palate during speech lets us see whether tongue gestures are differentiated for different sounds. Electropalatography does this directly by using a custom palate plate embedded with electrodes that detect tongue-palate contact in real time as the child speaks. The resulting contact patterns show if the tongue makes distinct, phoneme-specific contacts or if the gestures are undifferentiated across sounds, which is something seen in some children with SSD.

Magnetic resonance imaging provides detailed anatomy but isn’t practical for tracking rapid, moment-to-moment tongue-palate contacts during connected speech. Ultrasound shows tongue shape and movement, mainly of the tongue surface, but not the precise contact pattern on the palate. The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument measures oral motor strength, not imaging of articulatory gestures.