Minimizing word error rate in a dyslexic reading-oriented ASR engine using phoneme refinement and alternative pronunciation

Little attention has been given to detecting miscues in the text space read by dyslexic children over an automatic speech recognition (ASR) engine. In an ASR system, the miscues are represented by word error rate (WER) and miscue detection rate (MDR). At all time, WER must be kept low, and MDR high so as to achieve better recognition. This paper focus on minimizing word error rate by formulating a better model for perspicuous representation of input data. Such representation takes into account phoneme refinement and alternative pronunciation for a particular Bahasa Melayu (BM) speech data uttered by dyslexic children. Based on literature, a few other optimal models of input data and their recognition results were compared. It is found that phoneme refinement and alternative pronunciation produced better recognition results as evidenced in the performance metrics --lower WER and higher MDR-- which are 25% and 80.77% respectively

Automatic transcription and phonetic labelling of dyslexic children's reading in Bahasa Melayu

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) is potentially helpful for children who suffer from dyslexia. Highly phonetically similar errors of dyslexic children‟s reading affect the accuracy of ASR. Thus, this study aims to evaluate acceptable accuracy of ASR using automatic transcription and phonetic labelling of dyslexic children‟s reading in BM. For that, three objectives have been set: first to produce manual transcription and phonetic labelling; second to construct automatic transcription and phonetic labelling using forced alignment; and third to compare between accuracy using automatic transcription and phonetic labelling and manual transcription and phonetic labelling. Therefore, to accomplish these goals methods have been used including manual speech labelling and segmentation, forced alignment, Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for training, and for measure accuracy of ASR, Word Error Rate (WER) and False Alarm Rate (FAR) were used. A number of 585 speech files are used for manual transcription, forced alignment and training experiment. The recognition ASR engine using automatic transcription and phonetic labelling obtained optimum results is 76.04% with WER as low as 23.96% and FAR is 17.9%. These results are almost similar with ASR engine using manual transcription namely 76.26%, WER as low as 23.97% and FAR a 17.9%. As conclusion, the accuracy of automatic transcription and phonetic labelling is acceptable to use it for help dyslexic children learning using ASR in Bahasa Melayu (BM

Using Phonically Based E-books to Develop Reading Fluency

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the ‘Tales of Jud the Rat’ reading fluency programme and its logic, and to present preliminary results from its use as a form of e-learning. The first section of the chapter provides an overview of the development of the ‘The Tales Jud the Rat’ series. Literature relevant to the neurolinguistic basis of the materials is then reviewed. Results from initial case study and the first cohort of children who have worked on this programme with their parents are presented in the third section, while the final section of the chapter provides an evaluation of the current status of the programme and indicates its potential uses

Cognitive Differences and Their Predictive Ability on Reading Performance in Skilled and Unskilled Readers.

The present study examined the relationships among short-term memory, working memory, phonological awareness, and reading performance as measured by an informal reading inventory. Relationships between and among the tasks, their predictive importance with regard to word recognition, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension, and their ability to discriminate among groups of readers were investigated. A battery of tests comprising 14 cognitive variables and 24 reading variables was individually administered to 105 fourth and fifth grade normally achieving readers, unidentified unskilled readers, and school identified unskilled readers. Results revealed that working memory, phonological awareness, and syntactic awareness tasks were significantly intercorrelated among themselves, and had significant correlations with the reading tasks. A linear combination of cognitive tasks correctly classified 88% of the original normally achieving group. A second linear combination of the cognitive tasks performed upon the two groups of unskilled readers correctly classified 66% of the original below average group and 57% of the original project read group. The cognitive variables were most effective in predicting word recognition, fluency, and reading grade level. Individual reading measures of word recognition, accuracy, and fluency significantly discriminated between the normally achieving group and the two groups of unskilled readers. Overall comprehension and oral retelling of setting/background significantly discriminated between the project read group and the below average group. A linear combination of cognitive and reading variables correctly classified 94% of the original normally achieving group. A second linear combination of cognitive and reading variables performed on the two groups of unskilled readers correctly classified 74% of the original below average and project read groups. These findings suggest that a combination of cognitive and reading tasks is most effective in discriminating among groups of readers, and that cognitive tasks appear to be effective predictors of reading performance

Episodic traces and statistical regularities: Paired associate learning in typical and dyslexic readers

Learning visual-phonological associations is a key skill underlying successful reading acquisition. However, we are yet to understand the cognitive mechanisms that enable efficient learning in good readers, and those which are aberrant in individuals with developmental dyslexia. Here, we use a repeated cued-recall task to examine how typical and reading-impaired adults acquire novel associations between visual and phonological stimuli, incorporating a looking-at-nothing paradigm to probe implicit memory for target locations. Cued recall accuracy revealed that typical readers’ recall of novel phonological associates was better than dyslexic readers’ recall, and it also improved more with repetition. Eye fixation-contingent error analyses suggest that typical readers’ greater improvement from repetition reflects their more robust encoding and/or retrieval of each instance in which a given pair was presented: whereas dyslexic readers tended to recall a phonological target better when fixating its most recent location, typical readers showed this pattern more strongly when the target location was consistent across multiple trials. Thus, typical readers’ greater success in reading acquisition may derive from their better use of statistical contingencies to identify consistent stimulus features across multiple exposures. We discuss these findings in relation to the role of implicit memory in forming new visual-phonological associations as a foundational skill in reading, and areas of weakness in developmental dyslexia

A Case Study of the Preventing Academic Failure Orton-Gillingham Approach With Five Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Using the Mediating Tool of Cued Speech

Struggling deaf readers, like struggling readers with dyslexia, share similarities in their difficulty with phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Orton-Gillingham instruction is used to remediate these difficulties among hearing readers, but data is needed on its effectiveness with deaf students. Five subjects, who were severely deaf or hard of hearing, participated in a year long case study analyzing the impact of an Orton-Gillingham approach, supported with Cued Speech, on the development of their reading skills. Participants ranged from kindergarten to Grade 5, had additional learning, language, and socioeconomic challenges, and were mainstreamed in a public school district. Data were obtained in the fall, winter, and spring of one academic year from assessments (DRA, DIBELS, PAF), interviews with classroom teachers, and field notes. Results demonstrated that all five students made a year of growth, or more, on their reading achievement, similarly to expected yearly progress of students without disabilities. Results indicated that Orton-Gillingham instruction, supported with Cued Speech, may mitigate reading challenges among severely deaf or hard of hearing students in the mainstream. Additional studies are needed to verify the results in different educational settings

Evaluating the Efficacy of Communicative Reading Strategies With High-Risk First-Grade Students.

The specific aim of this project was to determine the efficacy of an integrated approach to remediation of oral language and reading. Communicative Reading Strategies (CRS) (Norris, 1985) was used with a group of twenty-one high-risk first grade students. Improvements were measured for aspects of language development that are specifically related to success in oral language use and reading. Nine children demonstrating below average performance on standardized measures assessing language and reading received intervention. A control group of 12 matched children served to control for changes as a result of maturation or general curriculum effect. The treatment group received intervention four days per week for 45 minutes each day for eight weeks during the summer. Changes in performance on both standardized reading and language measures and informal reading measures from pre-treatment to post-treatment were used to compare treatment and control groups. Additional posttesting at four months and nine months following treatment compared long term effects. The differences between gain scores for the two groups were compared at three different time intervals. Results revealed significant gains on both the standardized test and on the informal reading assessment. Results verified that CRS is an effective intervention for poor readers. Treatment subjects simultaneously improved on word recognition, reading rate, and comprehension for both measures. The treatment group again showed improvement on word analysis skills that could not be attributed to time or maturation. Although statistical differences were not found between groups on oral language measures, gains for individual subjects suggest CRS treatment positively affected language abilities

A syntax-based reading intervention for English as second-language learners

Students with English as second language (ESL) are typically behind monolingual peers in reading comprehension even when phonemic awareness skills, phonics and word recognition are at grade level. The lack of syntactic awareness is one of the reasons cited in multiple studies (August & Shanahan, 2010; Da Fountoura & Siegel, 1995; Lesaux & Siegel, 2003; Lesaux et al., 2006; Chong, 2009). This study investigated the effects of a six week intervention designed to increase syntactic awareness, including meta-awareness of key structures of English for young ESL students in the upper elementary grades. Twenty typically developing ESL students in the fourth and fifth grade participated in an intervention program that consisted of 35-minute training in syntactic awareness (SA) or phonemic awareness (PA) for three times per week. The ability to produce embedded and conjoined structures, including changes in both oral language and reading, were examined. Results revealed significant gains in sentence combining skills for the syntactic awareness group after six weeks of treatment. Both groups increased their performance scores for the dependent measures word ordering, word reading in context, and comprehension. Levels of second language proficiency, specifically listening proficiency, had a significant influence on gain scores for measures of oral and written syntax, as well as reading. The results suggested that the time spent on higher level language was not at the expense of word recognition skills, consistent with an interactive model of reading that suggests that an interaction between higher level language (i.e., top-down) and decoding print (i.e., bottom-up) occurs to result in word recognition (Seidenberg and McClelland, 1989). Future studies are needed to further evaluate the effect of syntactic awareness training for English as second-language learners

The effectiveness of colored overlays on reading achievement and attitudes toward reading for students with Scotopic Sensitive Syndrome

This study investigated the effects on students identified with Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS) or Irlen Syndrome (IS) when using colored overlays as an intervention (immediately and over time) to assess reading performance (rate, accuracy, and comprehension); to measure visual-motor integration; and to assess attitude toward reading. SSS/IS is a visual perceptual problem related to a collection of symptoms that affects an individual\u27s performance when reading. Three participants, all males (one 3rd -grade student, one 4th -grade student, and one 5th -grade student), were identified as having SSS/IS and other learning disabilities. The study involved five test instruments (Irlen Reading Perceptual Scale, Qualitative Reading Inventory-4, Running Records, Visual Motor Integration, and Elementary Reading Attitude Survey), using pre- and post tests combined with a single-subject Alternating Treatment Design (ATD). Data were analyzed qualitatively through visual analysis of tables, line graphs, and bar graphs. While this study showed inconsistent and mixed results for the use of colored overlays, there were some interesting positive effects in the area of attitude toward reading and in immediate effects on rate and accuracy. Results were inconclusive on the long term effects of the use of colored overlays over time. The lack of consistent results in this study suggests that there is not a clear clinical significance for the use of colored overlays

Comparing the impact of OpenDyslexic and Arial fonts on the reading performance of Key Stage 2 readers with dyslexia

Several fonts have been designed with the aim of ameliorating some of the reading difficulties experienced by those with dyslexia. Anecdotal reports assert that the use of the dyslexia-friendly font OpenDyslexic mitigates reading difficulties by enhancing legibility through unique letterforms but there are few methodologically rigorous, peer-reviewed studies to substantiate or refute these claims. Without empirical evidence it may not be prudent for educational professionals to recommend that readers with dyslexia use a specific font. To investigate the impact of font on reading performance this mixed methods study compared the test scores in reading accuracy, reading rate and reading comprehension of 40 Key Stage 2 (KS2) participants with dyslexia and a control group of 38 typically progressing KS2 readers when texts were presented in the fonts OpenDyslexic and Arial. The spacing effect of the default designs of the two fonts was considered by including an expanded version of Arial. A semi-structured interview enabled all participants to voice their preferences and opinions of the two fonts. Findings showed that participants in both the groups achieved significantly higher test scores in reading accuracy and reading rate when passages were presented in OpenDyslexic font. No significant effect of font was found on reading comprehension scores for either group. The variable of spacing did not demonstrate a significant impact on test scores recorded. Readers’ preferences for font design were influenced by a number of subjective factors and did not align consistently with reading test scores. The findings of this study suggest that there may be a benefit to offering all reading matter in OpenDyslexic font to young readers with and without reading difficulties