Nasalance and nasality in children with cochlear implants and children with hearing aids

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A cleft care workshop for speech and language pathologists in resource-limited countries : the participants' experiences about cleft care in Uganda and satisfaction with the training effect

Objectives: workshops and specialized training programs are often inaccessible for speech and language pathologists (SLPs) based in resource-limited countries given the lack of supply, the long travel distances and the excessive participation fees. To stimulate life-long learning opportunities for all, this study described and measured the effect of a free, two-day cleft care workshop for SLPs in Uganda. The workshop included different topics related to the assessment and treatment of children with a cleft of the palate with or without a cleft of the lip (CP +/- L). Methods: The participants who presented during the two-day course were asked to complete a pre- and postworkshop questionnaire to evaluate their satisfaction. The pre-workshop form also included some questions concerning cleft care in Uganda. Both the pre- and post-workshop forms included three visual analogue scales to investigate the evolution of the participants' estimation of their knowledge regarding speech in patients with a CP +/- L and to assess the changes in their self-confidence in the diagnosis and treatment of this population. Results: seventeen SLPs completed the pre- and post-workshop questionnaires. In general, the participants were highly satisfied with the different themes covered in the program. After the training course, the participants rated their general knowledge about CP +/- L and their self-confidence in the diagnosis and treatment of children with a CP +/- L significantly higher than before the workshop. Conclusion: the vast majority of the SLPs reported that cleft care was not easily accessible in Uganda. The most commonly reported obstacle for cleft care was a lack of knowledge about this matter in the SLPs themselves highlighting the importance of the organization of additional education opportunities. The participants reported a significantly higher level of self-confidence in diagnosing and treating children with a CP +/- L after the workshop. The content of this workshop can form the basis for future learning opportunities for SLPs based in resource-limited countries

The effects of feedback on the speech motor task of simulating hypernasality

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2010.Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-30)."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2010."The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of feedback on the learning of a novel speech task: simulating hypernasality. Forty participants (20 male, 20 female; age range 18-35 years) were randomly assigned into four groups, receiving different combinations of feedback type (visual or verbal) and relative frequency of knowledge of results (100% or 50%). The participants practiced hypernasal production of syllables, words and a passage during acquisition. Their performances at baseline, immediate retention, delayed retention and transfer were assessed with three different types of connected speech stimuli. The results showed that learning was took place in all feedback conditions. However, no significant difference was found across different feedback type and feedback frequency. The findings indicated that velopharyngeal closure during speech can be controlled voluntarily upon practice with appropriate feedback rendered. The findings also shed light on the treatment of hypernasality and on speech motor learning.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of Vowels in Cleft Palate Children with or without Hypernasality

Objectives. To clarify the difference between Lyapunov exponents (LEs) for cleft palate (CP) patients with hypernasality versus without hypernasality and to investigate the relationship between their LEs and nasalance scores (NSs). Material and Methods. Six CP patients with severe hypernasality (mean age 9.2 years) and six CP patients without hypernasality (mean age 8.0 years) were enrolled. Five Japanese vowels were recorded at 44.1 KHz, and the NSs were measured simultaneously. The mean first LE (mLE1) from all one-second intervals was computed. Results. The mLE1 for /o/ in patients with hypernasality was significantly higher than that in patients without hypernasality. The correlation coefficients between the mLE1 and NS for all vowels were not statistically different. Conclusion. The voice signal of /o/ for the patients with hypernasality was more instable than in those without hypernasality. The chaotic phenomenon was independent of nasal resonance in CP voice

The effectiveness of traditional methods and altered auditory feedback in improving speech rate and intelligibility in speakers with Parkinson's disease

Communication problems are a frequent symptom for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) which can have a significant impact on their quality-of-life. Deciding on the right management approach can be problematic though, as, with the exception of LSVT (R), very few studies have been published demonstrating the effectiveness of treatment techniques. The aim of this study was to compare traditional rate reduction methods with altered auditory feedback (AAF) with respect to their effectiveness to reduce speech rate and improve intelligibility in speakers with PD. Ten participants underwent both types of treatments in once weekly sessions for 6 weeks. Outcomes measures were speech rate for passage reading as well as intelligibility on both a passage reading and a monologue task. The results showed that, as a group, there was no significant change in either speech rate or intelligibility resulting from either treatment type. However, individual speakers showed improvements in speech performance as a result of each therapy technique. In most cases, these benefits persisted for at least 6 months post-treatment. Possible reasons for the variable response to treatment, as well as issues to consider when planning to use AAF devices in treatment are discussed

Effects of listening conditions on perceptual ratings of hypernasal speech

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2010."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2010."Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-34).Perceptual speech evaluation is commonly used in clinical settings and research purposes. Nevertheless, criticisms and questions regarding the use of perceptual evaluation exist. Variable reliability and variety of influencing factors, including listeners’ experience and listeners’ training are concerned by many researchers. Nevertheless, listening condition in perceptual speech evaluation have not been studied since 1984. Updated studies with justifiable experimental procedures and statistic approaches are called. This study investigates and compares the effects of different listening conditions, i.e. high quality headphone condition, regular commercial earphone, and free field speaker condition; on the perceptual rating of hypernasal speech. Outcome measures include the intra- and inter-rater reliability, and intra- and inter-rater agreement. The results showed that the three investigated listening conditions did not pose statistically significant differences in rating hypernasal speech. This study contributes to the construction of standard procedures and provides insights and directions for future studies in perceptual speech evaluation.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Reliability of rating synthesized hypernasal speech signals in connected speech and vowels

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2007.Also available in print.Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science