Keywords: jitter, shimmer, fundamental frequency, children's voice

Abstract: Jitter and shimmer acoustic parameters were analyzed in 248 school, ages 6 - 10, in Porto Alegre. In 131 children were found to have normal voices. In 117 children were found to be dysphonic in perceptual evaluations. Of these, only 13 (11%) exhibited alterations in jitter (0.65 average), throughacoustic analysis using Dr. Speeche software. Similary, of the 131 children with apparently normal voice, 122 (93%) exhibited shimmer perturbations (5.86 average). Jitter and shimmer parameters were not found sensitive as screening tools for determining normal or dysphonic voices in children.