Effect of direct and indirect voice training in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology students

Abstract

Purpose: To verify the effect of two approaches of vocal training in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology students, a direct and an indirect approach. Methods: Participants were 25 female Speech Language Pathology and Audiology students divided into two groups: direct training with vocal exercises, DTG (n=13); and indirect training with vocal orientations, ITG (n=12). The training sessions were conducted by the same speech language pathologist in six weekly sessions of 30 minutes. Both groups underwent multidimensional voice assessment, pre- and post-training: vocal self-assessment; Vocal Symptoms Scale (VSS); auditory perceptual analysis of sustained vowel and connected speech; acoustic analysis of voice through the Vocal Range Profile (VRP) and Speech Range Profile (SRP); and Group Climate Questionnaire, only at the end of training. Results: The DTG showed changes in auditory perceptual analysis of vowel, which was less diverted after training; and expansion of the voice range in the VRP and SRP, which proves best vocal performance. However, the ITG showed no changes in any of the parameters evaluated. In Group Climate, the ITG obtained the highest conflict score in comparison to the DTG, probably because the indirect approach did not favor exchange in the group and did not allow a better quality interaction. Conclusion: The direct approach provided greater benefits to students than the indirect approach, with significant change in voice quality, and can serve as inspiration to Speech Language Pathology and Audiology courses to prevent dysphonia.