Articulation error of children with adenoid hypertrophy

Purpose: Adenoid hypertrophy is a physical alteration that may affect speech, and a speech disorder can have other negative effects on a child's life. Airway obstruction leads to constricted oral breathing and causes postural alterations of several oro-facial structures, including the mouth, tongue, and hyoid bone. The postural modifications may affect several aspects of speech production. Methods: In this study, we compared articulation errors in 19 children with adenoid hypertrophy (subject group) to those of 33 children with functional articulation disorders independent of anatomical problems (control group). Results: The mean age of the subject group was significantly higher (P=0.016). Substitution was more frequent in the subject group (P=0.003; odds ratio [OR], 1.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23- 2.62), while omission was less frequent (P