103,504 research outputs found

    University of Maine, Speech Therapy Telepractice and Technology Program Manual

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    Many children and adults with communication disorders, who live in Maine, do not receive speech therapy. Rural geography, a shortage of qualified speech-language pathologists, inadequate/costly transportation and inclement weather create significant challenges in reaching people in need of services. In response to this problem, an innovative graduate level telepractice training program in speech-language pathology has been developed at the University of Maine, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). The training program has three learning components: (1) Intensive Training, (2) Clinical Practicum, (3) Discussion Groups. These complementary activities are guided by ASHA (2005; 2013) requirements of knowledge and skills of speech-language pathologists in providing speech therapy telepractice clinical services and FERPA (1974), HIPAA (1996) and HITECH (1996) regulations. The University of Maine, Speech Therapy Telepractice and Technology Program manual provides the specific procedures used for training speech therapy telepractice to graduate students in Communication Sciences and Disorders. The manual contains a detailed outline and description of the program design, operational procedures, technology, equipment and forms used for training clinical competencies in speech therapy telepractice. Additionally, procedures and accompanying forms have been developed for outcomes measures including: Telepractice Practicum Evaluation form, eHelper Competencies, Supervisor Evaluation and Consumer Satisfaction.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/fac_monographs/1224/thumbnail.jp

    Ultrax:An Animated Midsagittal Vocal Tract Display for Speech Therapy

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    Speech sound disorders (SSD) are the most common communication impairment in childhood, and can hamper social development and learning. Current speech therapy interventions rely predominantly on the auditory skills of the child, as little technology is available to assist in diagnosis and therapy of SSDs. Realtime visualisation of tongue movements has the potential to bring enormous benefit to speech therapy. Ultrasound scanning offers this possibility, although its display may be hard to interpret. Our ultimate goal is to exploit ultrasound to track tongue movement, while displaying a simplified, diagrammatic vocal tract that is easier for the user to interpret. In this paper, we outline a general approach to this problem, combining a latent space model with a dimensionality reducing model of vocal tract shapes. We assess the feasibility of this approach using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to train a model of vocal tract shapes, which is animated using electromagnetic articulography (EMA) data from the same speaker. Index Terms: Ultrasound, speech therapy, vocal tract visualisation 1

    A Wireless Brain-Machine Interface for Real-Time Speech Synthesis

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    Background: Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) involving electrodes implanted into the human cerebral cortex have recently been developed in an attempt to restore function to profoundly paralyzed individuals. Current BMIs for restoring communication can provide important capabilities via a typing process, but unfortunately they are only capable of slow communication rates. In the current study we use a novel approach to speech restoration in which we decode continuous auditory parameters for a real-time speech synthesizer from neuronal activity in motor cortex during attempted speech. Methodology/Principal Findings: Neural signals recorded by a Neurotrophic Electrode implanted in a speech-related region of the left precentral gyrus of a human volunteer suffering from locked-in syndrome, characterized by near-total paralysis with spared cognition, were transmitted wirelessly across the scalp and used to drive a speech synthesizer. A Kalman filter-based decoder translated the neural signals generated during attempted speech into continuous parameters for controlling a synthesizer that provided immediate (within 50 ms) auditory feedback of the decoded sound. Accuracy of the volunteer's vowel productions with the synthesizer improved quickly with practice, with a 25% improvement in average hit rate (from 45% to 70%) and 46% decrease in average endpoint error from the first to the last block of a three-vowel task. Conclusions/Significance: Our results support the feasibility of neural prostheses that may have the potential to provide near-conversational synthetic speech output for individuals with severely impaired speech motor control. They also provide an initial glimpse into the functional properties of neurons in speech motor cortical areas.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.) (Grant R44-DC007050)National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.) (Grant R01-DC007683)National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (U.S.) (Grant R01-DC002852)Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (SBE-0354378

    The Complementarity between Theoretical Linguistics, Neurolinguistics, and Communication Sciences and Disorders

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    As science evolves, there is an ever-increasing interplay between disciplines. In Communication Sciences and Disorders interdisciplinary theory is needed because of a number of factors such as the growing detail in imaging technology, the development of new strategies in the identification and the treatment of disease, and the nuances that arise in fields that have become more and more specialized. Linguistics and the Communication Sciences and Disorders are a perfect example of disciplinary complementarity. This paper is the written version of an invited plenary speech given in 2016 at the Minnesota Undergraduate Linguistics Symposium. The theme of the symposium was Linguistic Applications, namely how linguistics complements and influences other fields. The specific angle taken in this paper is the complementarity between Linguistics, Neurolinguistics, and Communication Sciences and Disorders. Speech Language Pathologists receive patients with diagnoses affecting their ability to use language to communicate effectively. On the basis of the diagnosis, they determine the linguistic symptoms and a course of action. In my clinic, not only does the Speech Language Pathologist use an interdisciplinary approach, but a transdisciplinary model of care is used, as will be explained later in the paper

    Eye Tracking Impact on Quality-of-Life of ALS Patients

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    Chronic neurological disorders in their advanced phase are characterized by a progressive loss of mobility (use of upper and lower limbs), speech and social life. Some of these pathologies, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, are paradigmatic of these deficits. High technology communication instruments, such as eye tracking, can be an extremely important possibility to reintroduce these patients in their family and social life, in particular when they suffer severe disability. This paper reports and describes the results of an ongoing experimentation about Eye Tracking impact on the quality of life of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. The aim of the experimentation is to evaluate if and when eye tracking technologies have a positive impact on patients' live

    A Multi-Smartwatch System for Assessing Speech Characteristics of People with Dysarthria in Group Settings

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    Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) frequently use vocal exercises in the treatment of patients with speech disorders. Patients receive treatment in a clinical setting and need to practice outside of the clinical setting to generalize speech goals to functional communication. In this paper, we describe the development of technology that captures mixed speech signals in a group setting and allows the SLP to analyze the speech signals relative to treatment goals. The mixed speech signals are blindly separated into individual signals that are preprocessed before computation of loudness, pitch, shimmer, jitter, semitone standard deviation and sharpness. The proposed method has been previously validated on data obtained from clinical trials of people with Parkinson disease and healthy controls.Comment: 6 page, 9 figure, 1 table, 8 equations, Proceedings e-Health Networking, Applications and Services (Healthcom), 2015 IEEE 17th International Conference on, Boston, USA. 201

    EchoWear: Smartwatch Technology for Voice and Speech Treatments of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

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    About 90 percent of people with Parkinson\u27s disease (PD) experience decreased functional communication due to the presence of voice and speech disorders associated with dysarthria that can be characterized by monotony of pitch (or fundamental frequency), reduced loudness, irregular rate of speech, imprecise consonants, and changes in voice quality. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work with patients with PD to improve speech intelligibility using various intensive in-clinic speech treatments. SLPs also prescribe home exercises to enhance generalization of speech strategies outside of the treatment room. Even though speech therapies are found to be highly effective in improving vocal loudness and speech quality, patients with PD find it difficult to follow the prescribed exercise regimes outside the clinic and to continue exercises once the treatment is completed. SLPs need techniques to monitor compliance and accuracy of their patients\u27 exercises at home and in ecologically valid communication situations. We have designed EchoWear, a smartwatch-based system, to remotely monitor speech and voice exercises as prescribed by SLPs. We conducted a study of 6 individuals; three with PD and three healthy controls. To assess the performance of EchoWear technology compared with high-quality audio equipment obtained in a speech laboratory. Our preliminary analysis shows promising outcomes for using EchoWear in speech therapies for people with PD

    Assistive Technology For Hearing and Speech Disorders

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    Many individuals with hearing loss will need rehabilitation in order to live maximally productive lives. As such, they need a variety of assistive technologies that provide them with improved access to information thereby enhancing their communication capabilities in a wide variety of environments. Most devices either provide sound amplification or alternate ways to access information through vision and /or vibration. These technologies can be grouped into three general categories. Within each main category, there are subcategories based on different purposes or the intended audiences when utilizing the technology. The overall goal of these devices is improved accessibility to information as close as possible to that enjoyed by individuals without speech and language disorders. The paper discusses the assistive technology for those with hearing impairment. Keywords: Assistive Listening Device, Hearing Technology, Alerting Devices, Communication Suppor

    Can an iPad app promote educational team communication and child use of pictures in communication?

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    Denman Undergraduate Research Forum - Honorable MentionLast year an iPad application named Citra was developed by an interdisciplinary group of students at Ohio State. Citra was designed for persons with severe communication disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Down syndrome, with the knowledge that such limits in communication greatly impact a person's ability to meet their basic needs. For example, it is estimated that 33 to 55% of children with ASD will never develop effective spoken communication (Cafiero & Meyer, 2008). Although augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods have been found to be especially beneficial for individuals with such severe communication disorders, only recently have AAC methods been implemented using widely available technology such as the iPad. As a type of AAC, Citra utilizes visual stimuli to support communication and to connect the child's caregiver team through a notes-sharing feature. The purpose of this research project is to employ two methods to examine the initial acceptance, use, and effectiveness of the Citra iPad application for two children with severe communication disorders. First, each child's family and speech therapist completed four questionnaires across a 9-week interval to examine their perceptions of Citra's usefulness and the child's general experience with Citra. Second, in order to compare effects of digital versus non-digital formats, the researcher observed each child's communication attempts using Citra versus another non-computerized form of AAC across six short snack sessions. The 9-week data collection period is currently underway; data presented in this thesis covers the first four weeks for Child 1 and the first three weeks for Child 2. From this data, preliminary results have been formed and are presented here. So far the study has found no significant difference between digital versus non-digital AAC formats. Once completed, this initial study of Citra's validity will provide a platform for additional validation efforts and make a timely contribution to research in AAC.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Social and Behavioral SciencesNo embargoAcademic Major: Speech and Hearing Scienc
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