The Effect of Clear Speech on Cantonese Alaryngeal Speakers’ Intelligibility

<b><i>Background/Aim:</i></b> The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary data concerning the effect of clear speech (CS) on Cantonese alaryngeal speakers’ intelligibility. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Voice recordings of 11 sentences randomly selected from the Cantonese Sentence Intelligibility Test (CSIT) were obtained from 31 alaryngeal speakers (9 electrolarynx [EL] users, 10 esophageal speakers and 12 tracheoesophageal [TE] speakers) in habitual speech (HS) and CS. Two naïve listeners orthographically transcribed a total of 1,364 sentences. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Significant effects of speaking condition on speaking rate and CSIT scores were observed, but no significant effect of alaryngeal communication methods was noted. CS was significantly slower than HS by 0.78 syllables/s. Esophageal speakers demonstrated the slowest speech rate when using CS, while EL users demonstrated the largest decrease in speaking rate when using CS compared to HS. TE speakers had the highest CSIT scores in HS (listener 1 = 81.4%; listener 2 = 81.3%), and esophageal speakers had the highest CSIT scores in CS (listener 1 = 87.5%; listener 2 = 89.7%). EL users experienced the largest increase in intelligibility while using CS compared to HS (9.1%) followed by esophageal speakers (8.9%) and TE speakers (1.4%). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Preliminary data indicate that CS may significantly affect Cantonese alaryngeal speakers’ speaking rate and intelligibility. However, intelligibility appeared to vary considerably across speakers. Further research involving larger, heterogeneous groups of speakers and listeners alongside longer and more refined CS training protocols should be conducted to confirm that CS can improve Cantonese alaryngeal speakers’ intelligibility.

Separate and Combined Influence of Cognitive Impairment and Dysarthria on Functional Communication in Multiple Sclerosis

Purpose Dysarthria is a consequence of multiple sclerosis (MS) that can co-occur with cognitive impairment. Clinical management thus requires understanding the separate and combined effects of dysarthria and cognitive impairment on functional communication in MS. This study compared perceptual measures of intelligibility and speech severity that capture functional communication deficits for 4 operationally defined groups with MS. The relationship between communication participation and perceptual measures was also examined. Method Forty-eight adults with MS and 12 healthy controls participated. Cognitive testing and dysarthria diagnosis determined group assignment: (a) MS with cognitive impairment (MSCI), (b) MS with a diagnosis of dysarthria and no cognitive impairment (MSDYS), (c) MS with dysarthria and cognitive impairment (MSDYS + CI), and (d) MS without dysarthria or cognitive impairment (MS). Sentence Intelligibility Test scores, scaled speech severity obtained from the “Grandfather Passage,” and Communication Participation Item Bank (CPIB) scores were analyzed. Results Sentence Intelligibility Test scores approached 100% for all groups. Speech severity was greater for the MSDYS + CI and MSDYS groups versus controls. CPIB scores were greatest for the MSDYS + CI group and were not significantly correlated with either perceptual measure. Conclusions The CPIB and speech severity were sensitive to aspects of communication problems for some groups with MS not reflected in a measure of sentence intelligibility. Findings suggest the importance of employing a variety of measures to capture functional communication problems experienced by persons with MS.

Dysarthria in Mandarin-Speaking Children With Cerebral Palsy: Speech Subsystem Profiles

Purpose This study explored the speech characteristics of Mandarin-speaking children with cerebral palsy (CP) and typically developing (TD) children to determine (a) how children in the 2 groups may differ in their speech patterns and (b) the variables correlated with speech intelligibility for words and sentences. Method Data from 6 children with CP and a clinical diagnosis of moderate dysarthria were compared with data from 9 TD children using a multiple speech subsystems approach. Acoustic and perceptual variables reflecting 3 speech subsystems (articulatory-phonetic, phonatory, and prosodic), and speech intelligibility, were measured based on speech samples obtained from the Test of Children's Speech Intelligibility in Mandarin (developed in the lab for the purpose of this research). Results The CP and TD children differed in several aspects of speech subsystem function. Speech intelligibility scores in children with CP were influenced by all 3 speech subsystems, but articulatory-phonetic variables had the highest correlation with word intelligibility. All 3 subsystems influenced sentence intelligibility. Conclusion Children with CP demonstrated deficits in speech intelligibility and articulation compared with TD children. Better speech sound articulation influenced higher word intelligibility, but did not benefit sentence intelligibility.