Measurement and Modification of Speech Naturalness during Stuttering Therapy

1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger J. Ingham ◽  
Mark Onslow
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scale ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Intensive Treatment ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Target Level ◽  
Therapy Program ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Transfer Procedures ◽  
Speech Naturalness

This paper describes two studies that illustrate the utility of listener ratings of speech naturalness for measuring and modifying speech naturalness during a stuttering therapy program. The program involved 5 adolescent stutterers who were receiving an intensive treatment incorporating a prolonged speech procedure. In Study A, a clinician used a 9-point rating scale to score the speech naturalness of 1-rain speaking samples each stutterer made at intervals over the course of the program. The results demonstrated predictable trends in speech naturalness during the program, but they also showed that natural sounding speech is not a predictable outcome of a procedure that removes stuttering, controls speaking rate, and exposes clients to transfer procedures. In Study B, 3 of the 5 stutterers participated in single subject experiments partway through their therapy program. These experiments were designed to assess the effect of regular feedback of speech naturalness ratings on the stutterer's spontaneous speech. The results showed that each subject's speech naturalness ratings could be modified toward a target level of speech naturalness.

Stutterers' Self-Ratings of Speech Naturalness

1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger J. Ingham ◽  
Janis Costello Ingham ◽  
Mark Onslow ◽  
Patrick Finn
Keyword(s):  
Rate Control ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Therapy Program ◽  
Speech Naturalness

Using single-subject experiments with 3 adult stutterers, this study evaluated the effects of instructions to stutterers to rate and modify how natural their speech sounds on experimenters' ratings of speech naturalness, stuttering frequency, and speaking rate. The study also included an investigation of the reliability of stutterers' and listeners' naturalness ratings. The stutterers were partway through a therapy program using prolonged speech or rate control. Results showed the stutterers could modify their speech so that their naturalness ratings increased or decreased. These changes were independent of stuttering or speaking rate. Experimenter ratings of speech naturalness were unchanged in conditions where stutterers judged their speech to sound more natural, but paralleled the stutterers' ratings when they judged their speech to sound more unnatural. An attempt to see if stutterers differed in their ratings of how natural their speech sounded or felt showed differences for one stutterer. Reratings of randomized session recordings by experimenters and independent judges showed that their ratings were highly reliable. When the same randomized session recordings were rerated by the stutterers (1 and 3 months after the experiment), their judgments of changes in their speech naturalness, which were not found in the experimenters' ratings, remained consistent and reliable.

Modifying Electroglottograph-Identified Intervals of Phonation

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merrilyn L. Gow ◽  
Roger J. Ingham
Keyword(s):  
Short Duration ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Biofeedback System ◽  
Speech Naturalness

Single-subject experiments were conducted with an adolescent and an adult male who stutter to assess the effect on stuttering of changing the frequency of phonation intervals that were within prescribed duration ranges during spontaneous speech. Electroglottograph-identified intervals of phonation were measured using a computer-assisted biofeedback system. Both subjects demonstrated that their stuttering could be controlled by modifying the frequency of phonation intervals within short duration ranges. The experimental effects not only replicated earlier findings but were demonstrated to be independent of changes in speaking rate, or alterations to other intervals of phonation, and produced little disruption to speech naturalness. The theoretic implications of these findings are discussed.

scholarly journals Functional outcomes of orofacial myofunctional therapy in children with cerebral palsy

2001 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Jayanti Ray ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Functional Outcomes ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Spastic Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Myofunctional Therapy ◽  
Therapy Program ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Post Therapy

Though some anecdotal evidence supports the efficacy of orofacial myofunctional therapy in cerebral palsy and other disorders, controlled studies are very scant. This study was undertaken to examine the efficacy of orofacial myofunctional therapy in sixteen children diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy. Following baseline measures, all children participated in a four-month therapy program, consisting of training the tongue, lips, and jaw muscles for adequate posturing and functioning. Post-therapy measures indicated significant improvement in functioning of lips, tongue, and jaw. Speech intelligibility of words also improved significantly as measured by two judges using a five-point rating scale. A significant correlation was found between tongue functioning and improvement in speech intelligibility; however no significant correlation was obtained between functioning of lips/jaw and speech intelligibility. Clinical implications regarding use of orofacial myofunctional therapy with cerebral palsied children are discussed.

Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Naturalness in Speakers of Varying Gender Identities

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 2054-2069
Author(s):  
Brandon Merritt ◽  
Tessa Bent
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Rating Task ◽  
Gender Identification ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Speech Training ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Speech Naturalness

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how speech naturalness relates to masculinity–femininity and gender identification (accuracy and reaction time) for cisgender male and female speakers as well as transmasculine and transfeminine speakers. Method Stimuli included spontaneous speech samples from 20 speakers who are transgender (10 transmasculine and 10 transfeminine) and 20 speakers who are cisgender (10 male and 10 female). Fifty-two listeners completed three tasks: a two-alternative forced-choice gender identification task, a speech naturalness rating task, and a masculinity/femininity rating task. Results Transfeminine and transmasculine speakers were rated as significantly less natural sounding than cisgender speakers. Speakers rated as less natural took longer to identify and were identified less accurately in the gender identification task; furthermore, they were rated as less prototypically masculine/feminine. Conclusions Perceptual speech naturalness for both transfeminine and transmasculine speakers is strongly associated with gender cues in spontaneous speech. Training to align a speaker's voice with their gender identity may concurrently improve perceptual speech naturalness. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12543158

scholarly journals Clinicians’ Knowledge and Attitudes About Delirium Detection and Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 519-520
Author(s):  
Priyanka Shrestha ◽  
Erica Husser ◽  
Diane Berish ◽  
Long Ngo ◽  
Marie Boltz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scale ◽  
P Value ◽  
Clinical Implementation ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Strongly Agree ◽  
High Level

Abstract Delirium is a serious and potentially life-threatening problem, but it remains clinically under-recognized. Various factors contribute to this under-recognition, including limited understanding of delirium, insufficient training and application of delirium assessments, potential stigma for the patient and increased workload for the clinician. As a part of an NIH funded study testing a rapid two-step delirium identification protocol at two hospitals in the U.S. (one urban and one rural), clinicians completed a 12-item survey to assess their knowledge and attitudes about delirium and their confidence in preventing and managing delirium. Survey response options followed a 5-point rating scale (strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree). The sample for this analysis included 399 clinicians (MDs=53; RNs=235; CNAs=111). Chi-square was used to test for group differences between clinician types. Less than half of the clinicians reported agreeing with the statement, “delirium is largely preventable” (MDs: 47%; RN: 44%; CNA: 41%, p-value=0.021). MDs and RNs indicated a high level of confidence in recognizing delirium while CNAs endorsed lower levels of confidence (MDs: 87%; RN: 81%; CNA: 65%, p-value=0.001). All types of clinicians reported lower confidence in managing delirium (MDs: 29%; RN: 36%; CNA: 44%, p-value=0.117). 47% of CNAs and 37% of RNs agreed there is a need for additional training in caring for persons with delirium while only 21% of MDs agreed (p = 0.031). Understanding how different types of clinicians think and feel about delirium will inform training and communication initiatives, clinical implementation, and research on best practices for delirium identification and management.

Application of Psychometric Theory to the Measurement of Voice Quality Using Rating Scales

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Shrivastav ◽  
Christine M. Sapienza ◽  
Vuday Nandur
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Poor Agreement ◽  
Psychometric Theory ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Exact Agreement

Rating scales are commonly used to study voice quality. However, recent research has demonstrated that perceptual measures of voice quality obtained using rating scales suffer from poor interjudge agreement and reliability, especially in the midrange of the scale. These findings, along with those obtained using multidimensional scaling (MDS), have been interpreted to show that listeners perceive voice quality in an idiosyncratic manner. Based on psychometric theory, the present research explored an alternative explanation for the poor interlistener agreement observed in previous research. This approach suggests that poor agreement between listeners may result, in part, from measurement errors related to a variety of factors rather than true differences in the perception of voice quality. In this study, 10 listeners rated breathiness for 27 vowel stimuli using a 5-point rating scale. Each stimulus was presented to the listeners 10 times in random order. Interlistener agreement and reliability were calculated from these ratings. Agreement and reliability were observed to improve when multiple ratings of each stimulus from each listener were averaged and when standardized scores were used instead of absolute ratings. The probability of exact agreement was found to be approximately .9 when using averaged ratings and standardized scores. In contrast, the probability of exact agreement was only .4 when a single rating from each listener was used to measure agreement. These findings support the hypothesis that poor agreement reported in past research partly arises from errors in measurement rather than individual differences in the perception of voice quality.

Level of consumer awareness among the college students

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (01) ◽  
pp. 10-18
Author(s):  
Dhavindra Rawal
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Buying Behavior ◽  
Consumer Awareness ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Management Students ◽  
Purposive Sample ◽  
Awareness Level

This study aims at examining consumers’ awareness level towards labeling information of product in marketing practices based on an empirical study of college students in Tikapur  Municipality, Kailali. This study depends on a purposive sample of 180 students whichhave been selected from management, education and humanities faculties studying in graduate level at Tikapur Multiple Campus and Birendra Vidhya Mandir Campus at Tikapur, with a structured questionnaire to measure consumer buying behavior regarding the basic labeling information of packaged products, utilizing a four-point rating scale for measurement. The overall findings communicate that the aggregate consumers’ awareness level is low towards labeling information of packaged product in marketing practices. Furthermore, awareness level of management students is high in comparison to nonmanagementstudent.Similarly,maleconsumersarefoundmoreawarethanfemale.Thisstudyexploresthestatusandlevelofconsumerawarenessforthefirsttimeinstudyareaalongwiththesuggestionstoconsumers,businessmen,consumerforum,governmentunitsandpublic policymakers to improve the current status of consumer awareness, with implications for better business strategies and more useful to  consumerism.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Ratings of Speech Accuracy in Children With Speech Sound Disorders

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Linye Jing ◽  
Maria I. Grigos
Keyword(s):  
Interrater Reliability ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Training Procedure ◽  
Speech Sound Disorders ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Whole Word

Purpose: Forming accurate and consistent speech judgments can be challenging when working with children with speech sound disorders who produce a large number and varied types of error patterns. Rating scales offer a systematic approach to assessing the whole word rather than individual sounds. Thus, these scales can be an efficient way for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to monitor treatment progress. This study evaluated the interrater reliability of an existing 3-point rating scale using a large group of SLPs as raters. Method: Utilizing an online platform, 30 SLPs completed a brief training and then rated single words produced by children with typical speech patterns and children with speech sound disorders. Words were closely balanced across the three rating categories of the scale. The interrater reliability of the SLPs ratings to a consensus judgment was examined. Results: The majority of SLPs (87%) reached substantial interrater reliability to a consensus judgment using the 3-point rating scale. Correct productions had the highest interrater reliability. Productions with extensive errors had higher agreement than those with minor errors. Certain error types, such as vowel distortions, were especially challenging for SLPs to judge. Conclusions: This study demonstrated substantial interrater reliability to a consensus judgment among a large majority of 30 SLPs using a 3-point rating. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed along with proposed modifications to the training procedure to guide future research.

Brand Evaluation and Brand Choice: A Longitudinal Study

1973 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic B. Kraft ◽  
Donald H. Granbois ◽  
John O. Summers
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Diagnostic Tool ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Brand Choice ◽  
Evaluation Index ◽  
Brand Evaluation ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Over Time

An analysis is presented showing the association between a summated brand evaluation index and brands purchased over time. The summated index was no more predictive than simpler measures such as “brand last purchased” and a 7-point rating scale, although the summated index may have value as a diagnostic tool.

scholarly journals HIV/AIDS STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION AMONG THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN SELECTED RURAL COMMUNITY, KANCHEEPRAM DISTRICT, INDIA.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Hema Malini
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Stigma And Discrimination ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Aids Stigma ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Aids

Community-level stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV is found all over the world, with people forced to leave their home, change their daily activities such as shopping, socializing or schooling, face rejection and verbal and physical abuse. The objective of the study was to assess the HIV/AIDS stigma among the general public. Quantitative approach  and descriptive research design was adopted for the  present study. The study was conducted in Vallancherry a selected rural village of Kattankulathur . The sample size for the present study was 300. Three point rating scale  was used to assess the HIV/STIGMA and discrimination.The present study findings revealed that among 300 samples none of them reported severe stigma ,50 (16.7%)  participants reported moderate stigma and 250 (83.3%)  participants reported  low stigma. Stigma blocks access to HIV testing and treatment services, making onwards transmission more likely. The removal of barriers to these services is key to end the global HIV epidemic.Key Words : HIV, AIDS, Stigma, Discrimination, Rejection

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