Expanding the Clinical Toolset: Acoustic Analyses for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists in the 21st Century

Abstract

Purpose: Clinical practice in audiology and speech-language pathology in the 21st century could greatly benefit from incorporating acoustic analyses because they can enhance and augment more traditional measures used when assessing communication disorders. However, more than 2 decades into our new millennium, acoustic analyses have not become widely used in clinical practice despite the fact that such analyses are free, widely available, and easy to use. More importantly, they hold unique advantages that could greatly benefit service delivery by speech-language pathologists and audiologists. In this clinical focus article, we aim to (a) present the utility and the benefits of using acoustic analyses in clinical practice, (b) illustrate those benefits with specific examples, and (c) encourage clinicians to take advantage of the unique contributions that acoustic analyses of speech may offer above and beyond traditional evaluations. Conclusions: The significant number of publications on clinical populations in communication disorders that include acoustic analyses testifies to the utility and necessity of such analyses for practicing audiologists and speech-language pathologists. We demonstrate the use of acoustic analyses with examples that range from aphasia to speech sound disorders, and we aim to demonstrate how acoustic analyses of speech can be a valued supplement to more traditional clinical evaluations.