Voice Treatment for Nonspecific Chronic Cough and Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion Disorder in Children

Abstract

Summarized by Carol WestbySeminars in Speech and Language, Volume 34, No. 1, is devoted to types and treatment of voice disorders in children. School speechlanguage pathologists (SLPs) may sometimes find it difficult to put children with voice problems on their caseloads because they must show how the disorder affects academic performance. The authors in this issue of Seminars make clear that pediatric voice disorders do impact academic performance. Voice disorders are associated with school absenteeism; decreased participation in academic classes, physical education, and extracurricular activities; and negative attention from classmates and school personnel, thus impacting academic performance and social well-being. Some voice disorders, such as vocal nodules, are familiar to SLPs; others, such as paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (PVFMD) and nonspecific chronic cough (NSCC), are less familiar. In their article in this issue, Gallena and Kerins describe the nature, assessment, and treatment of NSCC and PVFMD. NSCC Nature and CharacteristicsNSCC is diagnosed when a cough persists beyond the acute period of illness (3 weeks for adults and 4 weeks for children) and is not associated with asthma, postnasal drip, or reflux.NSCC has several characteristic features (Bauer, Magers, McCubbin,