Assessment Of Speech Disorders Research Articles

Using Objective Speech Analysis Techniques for the Clinical Diagnosis and Assessment of Speech Disorders in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the chronic and neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). It generally affects motor, sensory, cerebellar, cognitive, and language functions. It is thought that identifying MS speech disorders using quantitative methods will make a significant contribution to physicians in the diagnosis and follow-up of MS patients. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the speech disorders of MS via objective speech analysis techniques. The study was conducted on 20 patients diagnosed with MS according to McDonald's 2017 criteria and 20 healthy volunteers without any speech or voice pathology. Speech data obtained from patients and healthy individuals were analyzed with the PRAAT speech analysis program, and classification algorithms were tested to determine the most effective classifier in separating specific speech features of MS disease. As a result of the study, the K-nearest neighbor algorithm (K-NN) was found to be the most successful classifier (95%) in distinguishing pathological sounds which were seen in MS patients from those in healthy individuals. The findings obtained in our study can be considered as preliminary data to determine the voice characteristics of MS patients.

Выраженность речевых и когнитивных нарушений у больных ишемическим инсультом на втором этапе реабилитации на фоне проведенной тромболитической терапии

Introduction. The increasing frequency of ischemic stroke and its rejuvenation, leading to extremely unfavorable socio-economic consequences, make us reconsider the traditional technology of treatment and rehabilitation of patients with acute cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Thrombolytic therapy (TLT) today has established itself as the most effective method of treatment of ischemic stroke. Aim. To study the influence of thrombolytic therapy on the recovery of speech and cognitive disorders in patients with ischemic stroke at the second stage of rehabilitation. Materials and Methods. The study involved 68 ischemic stroke patients who were admitted to the second stage of rehabilitation. The patients were divided into two groups: 1st (n = 14) — patients who received thrombolytic therapy; 2nd (n = 54) — patients who received conventional CVA therapy. The assessment of speech disorders was carried out on the basis of the conclusion of the speech therapist. The severity of cognitive deficit was assessed using the BNCE scale (Brief Neuropsychological Cognitive Examination) and on the basis of data obtained during the consultation with a psychologist. The level of satisfaction of patients with their own condition was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale. Results. The described neurosomatic status of patients with CVA, who underwent TLT, indicates the prevalence of men of retirement age with the presence of hemispheric infarction, which is combined with disorders of both impressive and expressive speech and mild cognitive impairments. In the 1st group of patients, more severe motor and sensory speech disorders were revealed compared to the 2nd group. Conclusion. The presence of more severe speech disorders in the 1st group of patients, on the one hand, is associated with a smaller number of the 1st group (TLT target is 5%; referral of patients with the absence of cognitive, motor and speech disorders to the 3rd stage of rehabilitation, bypassing the second stage), and on the other hand, with the presence of possible hemorrhagic complications against the background of TLT, which dictates the need for closer control over the reperfusion therapy protocols in the acute period of ischemic stroke.

Medidas de inteligibilidade nos distúrbios da fala: revisão crítica da literatura

the reduction in speech intelligibility is considered one of the main characteristics of individuals with speech disorders, and is an important issue for clinical and research investigation. In spite of its relevance, the literature does not present a consensus on how to measure speech intelligibility. Besides the diversity of existent methods, another important issue refers to the influence of certain variables on these measurements and, consequently, on the interpretation of the results. to investigate evidence on the agreement between speech intelligibility measurements, obtained through different methods, used in the assessment of speech disorders, and to identify the effect of variables related to assessment procedures or to the listener. A critical review of articles indexed in the databases Medline, Web of Science, Lilacs and Scielo, until October 2007, was carried out. The key-word used to perform the search was speech intelligibility. there was no evidence of agreement between the speech intelligibility measurements obtained through different methods in the investigated literature. This fact limits the comparison between clinic and research results on speech intelligibility of individuals with speech disorders. Besides that, it was observed that some variables can interfere in these measurements, such as: type of task and speech stimulus, signal presentation mode, type of required answer and listener's experience with the speaker. These must be considered when interpreting the results of speech intelligibility tests.

Speech and the Maxillofacial Complex

SUMMARY The development of speech in the growing craniofacial complex is highly dependent on the integrity of the structure and its function. Although development begins in utero, much of the growth for potential communicative language occurs postnatally and is highly dependent on neurologic and cognitive integ-rity. Genetic and acquired deformations often result in severe dental and skeletal malocchi-sions, thus introducing the potential for disturbed speech production. The resulting disturbance may range from minor distortions of specific sounds to significant articulation disorders significantly affecting communicative effectiveness. Assessment of speech disorders in a child presenting with a maxillofacial disorder must be based on principles involving structural growth, timing, and presence of compensatory gestures, in addition to the assessment of speech and language modalities. Treatment of maxillofacial disorders generally requires both orthognathic surgery and orthodontic treatment. Although deformations can negatively affect speech, orthognathic surgery has been known to improve articulatory dis-tortions.5, 13, 17, 20, 22 In more severe cases, such as clefting and syndromic anomalies, orthog-nathic surgery has been shown to have minimal negative effects and to provide the patient with an esthetic and functional mechanism on which to develop articulated speech. A truly interdisciplinary approach is the best means of providing the patient with comprehensive, coordinated care. It is essential that the speech pathologist and the maxillofacial surgeon carefully coordinate treatment efforts so that they can develop a rehabilitative plan and schedule that are both effective and efficient.

New directions in the phonetic sciences

The discipline of phonetics has benefited greatly in recent years from new technological developments. This paper explores the impact of this new technology on three major areas of current interest to students of the language sciences: objective phonetic descriptions of speech sounds (particularly refined notions of place of articulation), the phenomenon of coarticulation and improved methods of diagnosis and assessment of speech disorders.