Dysphonia related to bilateral vocal fold lesions can have a lasting negative effect on a child’s education, self-esteem and quality of life (Connor et al., 2008). Various forms of treatments including voice therapy are available, but there is a lack of data to show the efficacy of such treatments (Smith, 2013). The aim of this study was to investigate the progression of dysphonic symptoms of pediatric bilateral vocal fold lesions as they progress through puberty to facilitate a better understanding of pediatric voice disorders. This study evaluated the current voice quality of children diagnosed with bilateral vocal fold lesions post-puberty using acoustic and aerodynamic measurements. It compared the current quantitative measures to the measures taken pre-puberty. It is hypothesized that quantitative measures of pre-pubertal children diagnosed with bilateral vocal fold lesions will show changes post-puberty and that these changes will be greater in males than in females. This study also collected subjective data in the form of the self-assessment, Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (pVHI), and compared these data pre- and post-puberty. Descriptive analyses were utilized to compare data from two male subjects. The results, though not statistically significant, support all three hypotheses. Both subjects showed a decrease in Mean Fundamental Frequency (Fo) and Mean Peak Air Pressure (MPAP) as well as an increase in Maximum Phonation Time (MPT), Cepstral Peak Prominence (CPP), Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID), and Average Airflow. Scores of the pVHI also decreased or remained at 0, indicating a possible relationship between the decrease or increase in quantitative measures and the decrease or increase in qualitative measures, though inferential statistics could not be used to confirm this. The initial results from this study are highly encouraging, suggesting that this line of research should be continued to use inferential statistics.
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