Efficacy of speech intervention using electropalatography with a cochlear implant user

Electropalatography (EPG) has become relatively well established as a safe and convenient technique for use in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of children and adults with articulation disorders. EPG's wide applicability is reflected in the range of different cases that has been researched in recent years. Some research has been carried out using EPG therapy for deaf individuals who use hearing aids, however there are no similar studies for cochlear implant users. The purpose of this single case study is to explore the technique of EPG as a therapeutic intervention to treat voiceless velar stop consonant sound production in a deaf child cochlear implant user. EPG therapy was offered as a last resort when traditional therapy failed to achieve specific changes. During therapy, a list of familiar words was practised, using the visual feedback provided by EPG. The client's articulation was assessed using objective (EPG printouts) and subjective (listener ratings) measures at four assessment points. Changes were found to be statistically significant. Generalization of the newly‐acquired skills to untaught words containing voiceless velars was also observed. The results are discussed in the broader context of implications of this type of therapy with deaf clients

Analysis of the symmetry of electrodes for Electropalatography with Cone Beam CT Scanning

The process of compression of air and vibration of activity in the larynx through which speech is produced is of great interest in phonetics, phonology, psychology and is related to various areas of biomedical engineering as it has a strong relationship with cochlear implants, Parkinson’s disease and Stroke. One technique by means of which speech production is analysed is the use of electropalatography, in which an artificial palate, moulded to the speakers’ hard palate is introduced in the mouth. The palate contains a series of electrodes, which monitor contact between the tongue and the palate during speech production. There is interest in the symmetry or asymmetry of the movement of the tongue as this may be related to languages or right- or left-handedness, however this has never been thoroughly studied. A specific limitation of electropalatography for symmetry studies is that palates are hand-crafted and the position of the electrodes themselves may be asymmetric. In this work, we analyse the positioning of electrodes of one electropalatography setting. The symmetry was analysed by locating the electrodes of the palate through the observation of the palate with Computed Tomography. An algorithm to segment the electrodes and find the symmetry of left and right sides of the palates is described. No significant asymmetry was found for one specific palate. The methodology presented should allow the analysis of palates to be used in larger studies of speech production

Typically developing children's understanding of and attitudes towards diversity and peers with learning difficulties in the Greek setting

During the last few years, across Europe, special education has been orientated towards an inclusive model. Accordingly, in Greece, special education functions as an integral part of general education. However, few studies have investigated how children in the mainstream school understand diversity issues and specifically learning difficulties. The present study investigated typically developing children's understanding of and attitudes towards diversity, and peers with learning difficulties. For this purpose, children aged 9-12 years, completed a questionnaire with mainly open-ended questions and some close-type questions. Regarding children's understanding of diversity, the majority of responses focused more on individual/personality differences, on biological differences and less on disabilities or difficulties. Research into children's understanding about the causes of learning difficulties demonstrated misunderstanding, while a large number of children had a total lack of knowledge. On the other hand, they seem to understand that learning difficulties may affect all the aspects of life. Children's attitudes towards school inclusion were positive on a more superficial level. Results are discussed in terms of educational implications and school practice for the development and implementation of appropriate intervention programs. © 2011 Taylor & Francis