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.

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.

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.

Effect of Speech Dialect on Speech Naturalness Ratings

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda S. Mackey ◽  
Patrick Finn ◽  
Roger J. Ingham
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Speech Fluency ◽  
The Third ◽  
Speech Naturalness

This study investigated the effect of speech dialect on listeners' speech naturalness ratings by systematically replicating Martin, Haroldson, and Triden's (1984) study using three groups of speaker samples. Two groups consisted of speakers with General American dialect—one with persons who stutter and the other with persons who do not stutter. The third group also consisted of speakers who do not stutter but who spoke non-General American dialect. The results showed that speech naturalness ratings distinguished among the three speaker groups. The variables that appeared to influence speech naturalness ratings were type of dialect, speech fluency, and speaking rate, though they differed across speaker groups. The findings also suggested that strength of speech dialect may be a scaleable dimension that judges can rate with acceptable levels of reliability. Dialect may also be an important factor that needs to be incorporated or controlled within systems designed to train speech naturalness ratings. It may also be an important factor in determining the extent to which stuttering treatment produces natural sounding speech.

Ataxic Dysarthria

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Yorkston ◽  
David R. Beukelman
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Rate Control ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Ataxic Dysarthria ◽  
Speech Performance ◽  
Oriented Research ◽  
Treatment Sequences

Treatment programs of four improving ataxic dysarthric speakers are reviewed. Treatment sequences were based on two overall measures of speech performance—intelligibility and prosody. Increases in intelligibility were initially achieved by control of speaking rate. A hierarchy of rate control strategies, ranging from a rigid imposition of rate through rhythmic cueing to self-monitored rate control is discussed. As speakers improved their monitoring skills, a compromise was made between intelligibility and rate. Normal prosodic patterns were not achieved by the ataxic speakers due to difficulty in precisely coordinating the subtle fundamental frequency, loudness and timing adjustments needed to signal stress. Three of the four subjects were taught to use only durational adjustments to signal stress. In this way, they were able to achieve stress on targeted words consistently and minimize bizarreness which resulted from sweeping changes in fundamental frequency and bursts of loudness. The need for further clinically oriented research is discussed.

Pre-Therapy Adaptation of Stuttering and Its Relation to Speech Measures of Therapy Progress

1968 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 740-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Prins
Keyword(s):  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Partial Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Normal Deviate ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Negative Direction ◽  
Therapy Program ◽  
Post Therapy

Three measures of stuttering adaptation were obtained on 20 stutterers prior to the beginning of an eight-week residential therapy program. Following therapy each subject was evaluated using six scores which represented changes in speaking rate and frequency of stuttering during oral reading and in self-formulated speech. The results showed that less than half of the stutterers demonstrated a significant adaptation trend (A t ), and only 12 of 20 showed significant normal deviate scores (A s ) of adaptation. Partial correlation coefficients were significant in a negative direction between pretherapy percentage (A p ) and trend (A t ) adaptation measures and post-therapy scores showing increment in reading and speaking rate. It appears that adaptation is neither consistendy nor highly related to speech measures of therapy progress. A rationale is suggested for the negative correlation of adaptation and therapy change scores.

Speaking Clearly for the Hard of Hearing II

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Picheny ◽  
N. I. Durlach ◽  
L. D. Braida
Keyword(s):  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Acoustic Analyses

The first paper of this series (Picheny, Durlach, & Braida, 1985) presented evidence that there are substantial intelligibility differences for hearing-impaired listeners between nonsense sentences spoken in a conversational manner and spoken with the effort to produce clear speech. In this paper, we report the results of acoustic analyses performed on the conversational and clear speech. Among these results are the following. First, speaking rate decreases substantially in clear speech. This decrease is achieved both by inserting pauses between words and by lengthening the durations of individual speech sounds. Second, there are differences between the two speaking modes in the numbers and types of phonological phenomena observed. In conversational speech, vowels are modified or reduced, and word-final stop bursts are often not released. In clear speech, vowels are modified to a lesser extent, and stop bursts, as well as essentially all word-final consonants, are released. Third, the RMS intensities for obstruent sounds, particularly stop consonants, is greater in clear speech than in conversational speech. Finally, changes in the long-term spectrum are small. Thus, speaking clearly cannot be regarded as equivalent to the application of high-frequency emphasis.

Construction of a Therapy program targeting Expressive language in non verbal autistic children

QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Safaa R EL-Sady ◽  
Mariam S Shadi ◽  
Marwa G Rezk
Keyword(s):  
Expressive Language ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Single Subject Design ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Language Therapy ◽  
Childhood Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
Therapy Program ◽  
Conversational Language

Abstract Background Some autistic children remain non verbal even after receiving multiple interventions. There is no obvious cause can explain failure of those autistic children who have adequate cognitive ability and communicative intent to acquire spoken language, except childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) that is treated differently than autism. Little is written about specific therapy programs that apply CAS treatment strategies to promote speech production for non verbal autistic children. Purpose The aim of this work is to detect the effectiveness of a therapy program targeting expressive language for non verbal autistic children by applying CAS treatment strategies. Methods pre – post single subject design in which each child acts as his or her own control. All the twenty children included in the study had been received previous language therapy at least for 6 months before the starting of the study with no improvement in verbal output. Results Of the twenty children enrolled in this study, eighteen children developed spoken language at least multiple single words used both during therapy session and at home. Conclusion a structured conversational language therapy program that apply CAS treatment strategies can help non verbal autistic children to acquire expressive language.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document