A Comparison of the Aids Sentence List and Spontaneous Speech Intelligibility Scores for Dysarthric Speech

1985 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Frearson
Author(s):  
Kaila L. Stipancic ◽  
Kira M. Palmer ◽  
Hannah P. Rowe ◽  
Yana Yunusova ◽  
James D. Berry ◽  
...  

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to create an empirical classification system for speech severity in patients with dysarthria secondary to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by exploring the reliability and validity of speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') ratings of dysarthric speech. Method: Ten SLPs listened to speech samples from 52 speakers with ALS and 20 healthy control speakers. SLPs were asked to rate the speech severity of the speakers using five response options: normal, mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Four severity-surrogate measures were also calculated: SLPs transcribed the speech samples for the calculation of speech intelligibility and rated the effort it took to understand the speakers on a visual analog scale. In addition, speaking rate and intelligible speaking rate were calculated for each speaker. Intrarater and interrater reliability were calculated for each measure. We explored the validity of clinician-based severity ratings by comparing them to the severity-surrogate measures. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to create optimal cutoff points for defining dysarthria severity categories. Results: Intrarater and interrater reliability for the clinician-based severity ratings were excellent and were comparable to reliability for the severity-surrogate measures explored. Clinician severity ratings were strongly associated with all severity-surrogate measures, suggesting strong construct validity. We also provided a range of values for each severity-surrogate measure within each severity category based on the cutoff points obtained from the ROC analyses. Conclusions: Clinician severity ratings of dysarthric speech are reliable and valid. We discuss the underlying challenges that arise when selecting a stratification measure and offer recommendations for a classification scheme when stratifying patients and research participants into speech severity categories.


2021 ◽  
pp. 670-679
Author(s):  
Mohammad Soleymanpour ◽  
Michael T. Johnson ◽  
Jeffrey Berry

1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherrill R. Morris ◽  
Kim A. Wilcox ◽  
Tracy L. Schooling

Documenting changes in speech intelligibility across time is an important but difficult task for speech-language pathologists. This study reports on the development and initial testing of the Preschool Speech Intelligibility Measure (PSIM), a single-word, multiple-choice intelligibility measure. The PSIM is adapted from the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech (Yorkston & Beukelman, 1981) and is designed to plot changes in children's speech intelligibility across time. This instrument is offered as an addition to the existing array of available speech intelligibility measures.


2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine C. Hustad ◽  
Meghan A. Cahill

Clinical measures of speech intelligibility are widely used as one means of characterizing the speech of individuals with dysarthria. Many variables associated with both the speaker and the listener contribute to what is actually measured as intelligibility. The present study explored the effects of presentation modality (audiovisual vs. audio-only information) and the effects of speaker-specific familiarization across 4 trials on the intelligibility of speakers with mild and severe dysarthria associated with cerebral palsy. Results revealed that audiovisual information did not enhance intelligibility relative to audio-only information for 4 of the 5 speakers studied. The one speaker whose intelligibility increased when audiovisual information was presented had the most severe dysarthria and concomitant motor impairments. Results for speaker-specific repeated familiarization were relatively homogeneous across speakers, demonstrating significant intelligibility score improvements across 4 trials and, in particular, a significant improvement in intelligibility between the 1st and 4th trials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
John J. Sidtis ◽  
Diana Van Lancker Sidtis ◽  
Ritesh Ramdhani ◽  
Michele Tagliati

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has become an effective and widely used tool in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). STN-DBS has varied effects on speech. Clinical speech ratings suggest worsening following STN-DBS, but quantitative intelligibility, perceptual, and acoustic studies have produced mixed and inconsistent results. Improvements in phonation and declines in articulation have frequently been reported during different speech tasks under different stimulation conditions. Questions remain about preferred STN-DBS stimulation settings. Seven right-handed, native speakers of English with PD treated with bilateral STN-DBS were studied off medication at three stimulation conditions: stimulators off, 60 Hz (low frequency stimulation—LFS), and the typical clinical setting of 185 Hz (High frequency—HFS). Spontaneous speech was recorded in each condition and excerpts were prepared for transcription (intelligibility) and difficulty judgements. Separate excerpts were prepared for listeners to rate abnormalities in voice, articulation, fluency, and rate. Intelligibility for spontaneous speech was reduced at both HFS and LFS when compared to STN-DBS off. On the average, speech produced at HFS was more intelligible than that produced at LFS, but HFS made the intelligibility task (transcription) subjectively more difficult. Both voice quality and articulation were judged to be more abnormal with DBS on. STN-DBS reduced the intelligibility of spontaneous speech at both LFS and HFS but lowering the frequency did not improve intelligibility. Voice quality ratings with STN-DBS were correlated with the ratings made without stimulation. This was not true for articulation ratings. STN-DBS exacerbated existing voice problems and may have introduced new articulatory abnormalities. The results from individual DBS subjects showed both improved and reduced intelligibility varied as a function of DBS, with perceived changes in voice appearing to be more reflective of intelligibility than perceived changes in articulation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan J. McAuliffe ◽  
Annalise R. Fletcher ◽  
Sarah E. Kerr ◽  
Greg A. O'Beirne ◽  
Tim Anderson

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the effect of loud and slow speech cues on younger and older listeners' comprehension of dysarthric speech, specifically, (a) whether one strategy, as opposed to the other, promoted greater intelligibility gains for different speaker groups; (b) whether older and younger listeners' understandings were differentially affected by these strategies; and (c) which acoustic changes best predicted intelligibility gain in individual speakers. Method Twenty younger and 40 older listeners completed a perceptual task. Six individuals with dysarthria produced phrases across habitual, loud, and slow conditions. The primary dependent variable was proportion of words correct; follow-up acoustic analyses linked perceptual outcomes to changes in acoustic speech features. Results Regardless of dysarthria type, the loud condition produced significant intelligibility gains. Overall, older listeners' comprehension was reduced relative to younger listeners. Follow-up analysis revealed considerable interspeaker differences in intelligibility outcomes across conditions. Although the most successful speaking mode varied, intelligibility gains were strongly associated with the degree of change participants made to their vowel formants. Conclusions Perceptual outcomes vary across speaking modes, even when speakers with dysarthria are grouped according to similar perceptual profiles. Further investigation of interspeaker differences is needed to inform individually tailored intervention approaches.


1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Sheard ◽  
Roger D. Adams ◽  
Pamela J. Davis

Indices of interjudge reliability and inter- and intrajudge agreement were calculated from the ratings made by 15 experienced speech clinicians on five deviant speech dimensions with respect to 15 speakers with ataxic dysarthria. Speakers were chosen to cover a wide range of speech intelligibility (16–97%) as measured by the sentence intelligibility transcriptions of the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech (Yorkston & Beukelman, 1981). Intraclass correlation coefficients derived from each judge on two occasions were above .6 for imprecise consonants, excess and equal stress, and harsh voice, but below .6 for distorted vowels and below .5 for irregular articulatory breakdown. The last dimension also had the lowest percent agreement for the interjudge and intrajudge comparisons. Poor speech dimension definition seems to be the most likely source of error on irregular articulatory breakdown. Judges agreed equally well in rating dysarthric speech across the range from low to high intelligibility.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document