Cued Speech: A visual communication mode for the Deaf society

International audienceCued Speech is a visual mode of communication that uses handshapes and placements in combination with the mouth movements of speech to make the phonemes of a spoken language look different from each other and clearly understandable to deaf individuals. The aim of Cued Speech is to overcome the problems of lip reading and thus enable deaf persons to wholly understand spoken language. In this study, automatic phoneme recognition in Cued Speech for French based on hidden Markov model (HMMs) is introduced. The phoneme correct for a normal-hearing cuer was 82.9%, and for a deaf 81.5%. The results also showed, that creating cuer-independent HMMs should not face any specific difficulties, other than those occured in audio speech recognition

Communicative Competence In Persons With Aphasia: The Impact Of Executive Function

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between executive function and performance on selected linguistic tasks in persons with aphasia secondary to left frontal lesions. A group of 15 persons with aphasia (PWA) completed three communication board tasks of varying levels of complexity and structure. The subject\u27s functional use of the picture/word communication board was tested during a Story Retelling task. In addition, the PWA\u27s executive function skills were examined using six nonverbal tests. The PWA group performance scores were compared to that of the neurologically healthy control group. Results demonstrated that the control group performed significantly better than the PWA group during 2 of the 3 executive function tests. In addition, the control group was more proficient at switching modalities and spontaneously using the target symbols correctly on the picture communication board compared to the PWA group during the story retelling task. There was no significant correlation found when comparing the PWA\u27s language skills and executive function using standardized tools. However, during many of the executive function tests the PWA tended to consistently demonstrate the following error types: perseverative, poor planning and decreased memory of task rules. When given picture pointing board tasks of high and low complexity during a highly structured or relatively unstructured environment, the PWA consistently performed better with the low complexity tasks in a structured environment. While the study showed that aphasia severity can not consistently predict performance on tests of executive function there were some noteworthy behavioral patterns observed during both the executive function and communication board tasks. The PWA demonstrated difficulty with planning, mental flexibility and self monitoring. In addition, response accuracy was usually dependent on the provision of task structure

The utilization of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and tympanometry in hearing screening of hearing-impaired children

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 1999"A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, May 14, 1999."Also available in print.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Language Switching using Augmentative and Alternative Communication: An Investigation of Spanish-English Bilingual Children with and without Language Impairments

Children with severe speech and language impairments may rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for a variety of communicative functions. Despite the availability of bilingual AAC devices that allow the user to communicate in more than one language and alternate between languages, little research has addressed assessment and intervention concerns for bilingual children who use AAC. This study investigated the ability of bilingual children with and without language impairments to discriminate between languages using a bilingual AAC app during a cued language switching task. Participants included 58 English-Spanish bilingual children ages 4;0 – 6;11 (23 with language impairments). Children received standardized language assessments in English and Spanish as well as assessment of nonverbal IQ and processing speed. All participants completed an experimental language switching task in which they were asked to locate images of vocabulary words in Spanish and English using a Spanish and English speech-generating device (SGD). Parents of child participants completed a demographic information form and participated in an interview about their child’s language environments. Results of a series of hierarchical linear regressions indicated that when controlling for age, processing speed significantly predicted children’s ability on the experimental language switching task. Nonparametric tests showed no evidence of increased response times on trials where participants were required to switch between languages compared to trials where they did not switch. Further analysis indicated that language dominance, nonverbal IQ, and language abilities were not significant predictors of bilingual language switching ability using AAC. Results from this study indicated that in addition to age, processing speed ability may be an important predictor of children’s ability to language switch using AAC. This study contributes to the understanding of how young bilingual children conceptualize and discriminate between language systems. This research paves the way for further assessment and intervention studies to investigate how best to support bilingual children with language impairments and developmental disabilities who may benefit from AAC

A Formative Evaluation Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Approaches To Promote Literacy In Young Children With Severe Speech And Physical Impairments

This thesis describes an educational intervention with three children with severe speech and physical impairments. The intervention focused on storybook reading experiences for early literacy development through the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication technologies and methods. The review of literature focused on the main aspects relating to children with SSPI, and in particular on the difficulties they experience in developing emergent literacy skills. This review suggests the hypothesis that the use of AAC Techniques in storytelling achievement can provide emergent literacy experiences, which can promote the development of literacy in children with SSPI. In particular the study set out to enquire whether AAC techniques can be used to enhance participation with SSPI in storytelling activities, and whether such activities improve a pupil’s opportunities to become emergent readers. A six-month intervention was designed which included strategies proposed for increasing the children’s participation during storybook reading sessions, like repeated readings of the same story, abundant use of graphic symbols and access to AAC techniques. Qualitative data were gathered from the professionals at the Centre, and from the mothers. Storybook reading sessions with the teacher at school and with the mothers or significant other at home were videotaped, at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Quantitative data were collected by videotape analysis. Communicative acts of children and adults were divided into communication categories, and their meaning was discussed as to form, use and content. One of the main conclusions of the study was that the use of stories promoting communication and language learning in storybook reading sessions can develop literacy skills if carried out in conjunction with AAC techniques, including graphic symbols and the technology to generate them. A second conclusion is that there is no automatic transfer of the improvement of communicative skills in the classroom to the interaction with the mothers

Lexical Access in Individuals with Cerebral Palsy and Severe Speech and Physical Impairment

This study examined lexical access in adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy and severe speech and physical impairment (CP/SSPI) who have limited language production due to severe dysarthria or anarthria. To date, the impact of a severe speech production deficit on lexical activation and the organization of the mental lexicon has not been investigated. Such an investigation may support or refute these views of an articulatory basis of speech perception and lexical development and access. The hypothesis of this study is that spoken word recognition will be severely reduced or absent in this population although individual differences may result in variations. Method. Using the visual world eye tracking paradigm, in 16 adolescents and adults with CP/SSPI, the study examined resolution of phonological or semantic competition among referents for a spoken word as it unfolds over time. Eye gaze patterns were compared to published data as well as to a group of eight age-matched adults with no neurological impairment and to children with typical development (TD) from a previous study using the same stimuli and experimental design. Results. Participants with CP/SSPI revealed significant fixations to targets and to phonological onset competitors but not to semantic relatives beyond those directed to unrelated pictures while children with TD demonstrated significant phonological and semantic competition effects. The participants with CP/SSPI and higher PPVT-4 scores exhibited eye gaze patterns more similar to adults with no neurological impairment while those with lower scores were less efficient at resolving competition. Conclusion. Despite the presence of a severe speech impairment, individuals with CP/SSPI demonstrated varying levels of lexical activation, suggesting that theories relying on an articulatory bases of speech perception do not offer a complete explanation of lexical development and access in this population

Preliminary Study of the Application of Visual Phonics to the Remediation of Developmental Dyspraxia of Speech

An unequivocal program of remediation for developmental dyspraxia of speech remains to be established. Observations have concluded that dyspraxia, a neurologically-based motor programming disorder, benefits from a multisensory stimulation approach. One augmentative approach which incorporates auditory, tactile and visual stimuli is Visual Phonics. Research is limited in the use of Visual Phonics in dyspraxic intervention and, therefore, its contribution to remediation cannot be substantiated. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contribution of Visual Phonics to the remediation of developmental dyspraxia of speech. One subject, thirteen years of age, participated in this study. Upon identification of six prominently misarticulated sounds, the subject received two-hour intervention sessions, five tiroes per week, for three consecutive weeks. Standard articulation intervention augmented with Visual Phonics hand symbols was used to treat two of the error sounds in syllables, standard articulation intervention alone was used with another two error sounds, and the final two phonemes were monitored but not treated. Responses for all three treatments were recorded and results were shown in a time series of figures and tables. Regardless of the treatment strategy, it was found that the subject made notable progress on all errors. Data obtained demonstrated that on average the sounds treated utilizing Visual Phonics progressed more rapidly and, further than the untreated target phonemes or those treated without Visual Phonics. It was concluded that extensive further research is necessary to establish the efficacy of Visual Phonics as a treatment tool for developmental dyspraxia and that this report’s promising results suggest further study is warranted

The Effect of Developmental Factors on the Use of an Electronic Communication Device.

This study addressed a poorly understood variable of voice output communication aid (VOCA) use, namely mnemonic development. Forty children without disabilities, aged from 49 to 60 months, were required to use an IntroTalker (Prentke Romich Company) to participate in a one-on-one storybook reading task with the investigator. They were provided with sixteen messages to use during a scripted reading of The Three Bears. Children could use a trained verbal elaboration strategy or generate their own methods to retrieve messages. Immediate and delayed responses of children under two training methods were compared, and the contribution of developmental factors, including metamemory, were evaluated. In the control method, Direct Instruction (DI), children learned to retrieve messages via an error-free method including simple repetition of a verbal elaboration mnemonic. In the experimental method, Active Problem Solving (APS), children were first led through a series of steps alerting them to the limitations of non-symbolic retrieval strategies and allowing them to make retrieval errors, thus discovered the relative value of various retrieval strategies. Next, they were taught to retrieve the remaining messages in the same way as the DI children. Children with low metamemory skill were less accurate in their retrieval of messages, and produced more Self-corrected Responses when trained under the APS condition. Children receiving APS training showed an initial retrieval advantage on the first story-retelling immediately following training; however, on the second day retrieval by DI subjects matched APS. It was concluded that DI children experienced a de facto active problem-solving condition on the first day, when they produced many errors, thereby enhancing the value of the verbal elaborations they had been trained to use. Effects of perceptual, semantic and syntactic development, and of conflicts between the canonical and experimental Three Bears script were evident. Although the use of a normally developing population is controversial in the area of augmentative communication, the strategy was found to produce valuable insights into the errors made by children. Overall, the task was easy for most of the children, thereby supporting the use of VOCAs with young children