Electropalatography Research Articles

Gradient speech change during intervention for school-aged children and adults with cleft palate ± lip

ABSTRACT Gradient speech change, where speech sound production develops in a broadly step-wise fashion towards the standard adult form, is a well-recognised phenomenon in children developing typical speech, but is much less studied in speakers with developmental speech sound disorders. Instrumental techniques, such as electropalatography (EPG), may be useful for identifying gradient speech change and may supplement phonetic transcription in important ways. This study investigated whether gradient speech change occurred in six participants with cleft palate ± lip undergoing intervention within a usage-based phonology framework (2/6 participants with speech distortions; 4/6 with pattern-based speech substitutions; combined total of 25 speech sounds targeted for intervention). Participants received weekly therapy in a hospital setting and were aged 10–27 years. Gradient speech change with target speech sounds was examined using EPG analysis, which was undertaken after every fifth session of therapy. The presence of gradient change was determined by visually examining EPG palatograms and EPG indices for target speech sounds across successive EPG test points. This study found gradient speech change occurred in 22/25 target sounds over the course of intervention. This gradient change occurred for both speech distortions and pattern-based speech substitutions. The remaining 3/25 target sounds showed categorical change. Usage-based phonology was suggested as a theory with potential for explaining gradient speech change, with both typical and atypical speech, and with speech distortions and pattern-based speech substitutions. This finding adds to other research showing that the objective data provided by instrumental techniques, such as EPG, may be a valuable complement to phonetic transcription.

Telemedicine-enabled biofeedback electropalatography rehabilitation (TEBER): A pilot study for patients treated with surgery for oral cavity carcinoma.

To address the rehabilitative barriers to frequency and precision of care, we conducted a pilot study of a biofeedback electropalatography (EPG) device paired with telemedicine for patients who underwent primary surgery +/- adjuvant radiation for oral cavity carcinoma. We hypothesized that lingual optimization followed by telemedicine-enabled biofeedback electropalatography rehabilitation (TEBER) would further improve speech and swallowing outcomes after "standard-of-care" SOC rehabilitation. Pilot prospective 8-week (TEBER) program following 8 weeks of (SOC) rehabilitation. Twenty-seven patients were included and 11 completed the protocol. When examining the benefit of TEBER independent of standard of care, "range-of-liquids" improved by +0.36 [95% CI, 0.02-0.70, p = 0.05] and "range-of-solids" improved by +0.73 [95% CI, 0.12-1.34, p = 0.03]. There was a positive trend toward better oral cavity obliteration; residual volume decreased by -1.2 [95% CI, -2.45 to 0.053, p = 0.06], and "nutritional-mode" increased by +0.55 [95% CI, -0.15 to 1.24, p = 0.08]. This pilot suggests that TEBER bolsters oral rehabilitation after 8 weeks of SOC lingual range of motion.

Pathways to depalatalization of the palatal nasal in Quebec and hexagonal French: An EPG study

Abstract The palatal nasal is one of French’s most variable consonants with attested variants including [ɲ] alongside [nj] and, less frequently, [n] and [ŋ]. Variation is conditioned by both linguistic (position in the word, lexical item, flanking vowels) and speaker variables (in particular, variety). Except for insights provided by the studies reviewed in Recasens (2013), little is known of the articulatory properties of French /ɲ/ including the degree of inter-varietal and -speaker variation or the proportion of coronal and velar depalatalized realizations. We present here an electropalatographic (EPG) study of two European (EF) and two Quebec French (QF) speakers’ /ɲ/ production in both word-medial and -final positions in isolated and contextualized words. Quantitative indices and qualitative investigation of the linguopalatal contact profiles reveal that the EF speakers produced a relatively anterior /ɲ/, differing minimally from /n/ followed by /j/. Whereas one of their QF peers produced uniquely backed velar realizations of /ɲ/, the other speaker had fronted alveolopalatal variants word-medially versus backed velar realizations word-finally, with the latter differing minimally from the /ŋ/ of jogging. These findings are consistent with pathways to depalatalization observed in other Romance varieties and call into question the phonemic status of the palatal nasal in French.

Clinical application of usage-based phonology: Treatment of cleft palate speech using usage-based electropalatography

Purpose To investigate whether a novel electropalatography (EPG) therapy, underpinned by usage-based phonology theory, can improve the accuracy of target speech sounds for school-aged children and adults with persistent speech sound disorder (SSD) secondary to cleft palate +/− lip. Method Six consecutively treated participants (7–27 years) with long-standing speech disorders associated with cleft palate enrolled in a multiple baseline (ABA) within-participant case series. The usage-based EPG therapy technique involved high-volume production of words. Speech was assessed on three baselines prior to therapy, during weekly therapy, at completion of therapy, and 3 months post-therapy. Percent correct of target phonemes in untreated words and continuously connected speech were assessed through acoustic phonetic transcription. Intra- and inter-transcriber agreement was determined. Result Large to medium treatment effect sizes were shown for all participants following therapy (15–33 sessions). Percentage of targets correct for untreated words improved from near 0% pre-therapy, to near 100% for most target sounds post-therapy. Generalisation of target sounds to spontaneous connected speech occurred for all participants and ranged from 78.95−100% (M = 90.66; SD = 10.14) 3 months post-therapy. Conclusion Clinically significant speech change occurred for all participants following therapy. Response to the novel therapeutic technique is encouraging and further research is indicated.

L1 influence on the L2 acquisition of English word-final nasal place contrasts: An electropalatographic study of L1 Japanese and Spanish learners

Languages differ in the extent to which phonologicalcontrasts observed in onsets are neutralized syllable finally. We examined theacquisition of English syllable-final /m n ŋ/ by L2 learners whose L1 nasalcodas lack independent place (Japanese) or neutralize to a single place(Spanish). Three learning outcomes were hypothesized, based on whetherlearners’ production is shaped mainly by coda complexity, perception of thecontrast or L1 dialectal realizations. Data from three reading tasks collectedfrom six learners (three of each L1) and two English-speaking controls wereexamined using electropalatography (EPG). Linguopalatal contact patterns wereanalyzed quantitatively and qualitatively (presence, absence, and degree ofalveolar and velar closures). While difficulty in realizing place contrasts wasobserved with all L2 speakers, contrary to our hypothesis, the L1 Spanishspeakers were less accurate than their Japanese-speaking peers, particularly inthe production of word-final prevocalic /ŋ/ for which a high rate ofneutralization to /n/ was witnessed. However, the Japanese learners’ greaterapparent accuracy was due to the presence of non-target final devoicedepenthetic vowels and/or stop-like releases. Overall, the results provideinsights into developmental stages in the acquisition of new positionalcontrasts, including evidence for first language and even idiolectal influence,and highlight the difficulty of blocking L1 neutralization processes.

EPG research and therapy: further developments

ABSTRACT Electropalatography (EPG) has been used in the past 50 years for studying the patterns of contact between the tongue and the palate during speech production in typical speakers and those with speech disorders due to different causes. At the 7th EPG Symposium in Japan that was held online on 24 January 2021 (see: https://epg-research.sakura.ne.jp/), a panel of invited experts discussed their views regarding further developments and application of the technique. This paper provides a summary of this discussion. EPG offers information on articulation which cannot be replaced by other instrumental measures of speech. Identified areas for further hardware development are thinner EPG plates, better dental and palatal coverage, wireless connectivity, and sensors that provide additional articulatory information (e.g. tongue pressure, tongue-palate distance). EPG can serve as a resource for teaching speech disorders and phonetics. Furthermore, EPG therapy can be combined with telepractice in the speech therapy of clients with speech disorders.

Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Successive Plosive Consonants in the Same Place of Articulation: An Electropalatographic Study

Objectives: This paper used electropalatography (EPG) to investigate the actual pronunciation when two plosives with the same articulation position appear successively. We aimed to determine the presence of the preceding consonant (C₁) in two successive consonants (VC₁C₂V) with the same articulation place.Methods: Tongue-to-palate contacts were recorded during the pronunciation of 8 words and 4 sentences containing those words by 5 normal adults and the closure duration and the maximum contact frame for utterance units (word, sentence), meanings (real word, nonword), and syllable structures (VC₁C₂V, VCV) were analyzed.Results: The closure duration in the syllable structures and the maximum contact frame in the meanings showed significant differences. The closure duration of the VC₁C₂V structure was significantly longer than that of the VCV structure in case of words; however, the difference reduced in the case of sentences. The maximum contact frame of the real words was significantly higher than that of non-words.Conclusion: Since the temporal characteristics between VCV and VC₁C₂V structure was distinguished and the tensification of C₂ indirectly showed the existence of C₁. These result support the fact that the preceding consonant is not deleted in two successive consonants with the same articulation place.

Electropalatographic study of connected speech in lateral misarticulation

AbstractAimLateral misarticulation (LM) is a speech sound disorder in which air escapes laterally during speech. In LM speech therapy, errors often remain in conversational speech, even when single syllables are produced correctly. However, previous studies have used syllables, words, and phrases as speech samples and have not analyzed conversational speech. In this study, electropalatography (EPG) was used to observe tongue–palate contact patterns in a sentence that is similar to conversational speech and thereby clarify the articulatory dynamics of LM in connected speech.MethodsThe participants included 30 patients with LM and 10 typical speakers. Tongue–palate contact patterns were recorded simultaneously with speech sounds. A global pattern (GP) for each participant was created by accumulating all the EPG patterns during the sentence production. The contact rates of cumulative global patterns (CGP) for each group were examined.ResultsThe GP for each participant revealed that typical speakers displayed continuous contact in the bilateral posterolateral region and less contact in the central region, whereas patients with LM exhibited less contact in the posterolateral region and more contact in the central region. The CGP for each group indicated that the LM group tended to have a lower contact rate in the posterolateral region and a higher contact rate in the anterior‐central region than the typical group.ConclusionLateral bracing in the posterolateral region and groove formation in the central region are important for patients with LM to consistently produce correct sounds in connected speech.

Electropalatography (EPG) activities in Japan and the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on EPG research and therapy: A report of presentations at the 7th EPG Symposium

BackgroundAt the 7th Electropalatography Symposium in Japan, held online on the 24 January 2021, a few speakers were invited to talk about how the COVID‐19 pandemic had impacted their research and/or speech therapy that involved the use of electropalatography (EPG) as well as the procedures adopted in order to continue their work in a safe manner. The information on protective measures when using instrumental techniques in speech research and therapy may be useful for colleagues in research and the clinic.AimsThe primary aims are: (1) to find out whether there are any published recommendations regarding protective measures for using EPG in research and clinic settings; (2) to discuss the impact of the pandemic and the corresponding restrictions and general protective measures directed (or advised) by local government and professional bodies at each stage of EPG work; and (3) to share experiences in using modified procedures for face‐to‐face EPG therapy sessions and combined EPG teletherapy. In addition, a brief overview of EPG and a summary of EPG research and clinical activities in Japan presented by one of the symposium organizers at the symposium are included.Methods & ProceduresA review of the literature regarding protective measures recommended for using EPG for speech assessment and treatment or research, supplemented by a discussion of our own experiences.Main ContributionThe literature review showed that there are no guidelines regarding protective measures for using EPG, but there is some advice regarding speech recording using microphones. Most published articles related to speech and language therapy (SLT) service during COVID‐19 are about telepractice or general clinical guidelines for face‐to‐face speech therapy sessions. The protective measures for using EPG developed based on the general guidelines recommended by local government and professional bodies (e.g., using visors, transparent acrylic board) were described. Using EPG in telepractice was discussed as well.ConclusionsIt has been challenging to continue EPG research and therapy during the pandemic. In order to deal with this crisis, available knowledge regarding infection control and recommendations from local government and professional bodies were applied to design methods and procedures that allowed EPG research and therapy to continue.What this paper addsWhat is already known on the subject There are general protective measures recommended by local government and professional bodies regarding speech therapy sessions (e.g., using personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing), but little is known about the measures for using instrumental techniques in speech research and therapy, particularly EPG. The equipment of each instrumental technique is different, so measures that are appropriate for one may not be suitable for others. Hence, specific recommendations are needed for EPG. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This paper provides pointers to information about recommendations regarding protective measures for speech research and therapy, supplemented with suggestions specific to EPG provided by experienced users based on actual experience. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? In evaluating the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on EPG research and therapy, an analytical approach was taken to break down the steps involved in carrying out those activities, and the challenges we faced and the possible alternatives for completing the tasks were discussed. A similar approach can be applied to evaluate other aspects of speech therapy service.

EPG2S: Speech Generation and Speech Enhancement Based on Electropalatography and Audio Signals Using Multimodal Learning

Speech generation and enhancement based on articulatory movements facilitate communication when the scope of verbal communication is absent, e.g., in patients who have lost the ability to speak. Although various techniques have been proposed to this end, electropalatography (EPG), which is a monitoring technique that records contact between the tongue and hard palate during speech, has not been adequately explored. Herein, we propose a novel multimodal EPG-to-speech (EPG2S) system that utilizes EPG and speech signals for speech generation and enhancement. Different fusion strategies based on multiple combinations of EPG and noisy speech signals are examined, and the viability of the proposed method is investigated. Experimental results indicate that EPG2S achieves desirable speech generation outcomes based solely on EPG signals. Further, the addition of noisy speech signals is observed to improve quality and intelligibility. Additionally, EPG2S is observed to achieve high-quality speech enhancement based solely on audio signals, with the addition of EPG signals further improving the performance. The late fusion strategy is deemed to be the most effective approach for simultaneous speech generation and enhancement.

Auditory-Perceptual Judgement of Speech-Language Pathologists in Fricative Distortion by EPG Task

Objectives: In a clinical setting, a ‘trained ear’ is the essentials for speech–language pathologists (SLPs) because most SLPs rely on the auditory - perceptual method during assessment and treatment for speech difficulties. However, transcribing distortion errors using only auditory-perceptual judgement is a difficult task. This study investigated the auditory– perceptual ability in terms of distortion errors for pre and present SLPs.Methods: Sixty pre and present SLPs completed a survey, then performed a perceptual judgement task which was manufactured by electropalatography (EPG). The task consisted of 30 questions, including distorted (dentalized, palatalized, lateralized) and normal speech samples of Korean fricative /s/ with different types of vowels (/ɑ/, /u/) and lengths (1-syllabled, 2- syllabled, sentence).Results: There was no significant difference in the distortion task among three groups. All participants had the highest score in “dentalization”, the lowest in “lateralization”, and all distortion types were perceived better in the /u/ context than /ɑ/. Also, SLPs tended to judge “lateralization” errors as “normal articulation” and many of the participants perceived “palatalization” as “lateralization”.Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that active auditory training for SLPs is necessary to improve auditory perceptual ability, and suggests that EPG could be a useful instrument for the auditory training program.

Investigation into the effectiveness of electropalatography in treating persisting speech sound disorders in adolescents with co-occurring developmental language disorder

ABSTRACT This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Electropalatography (EPG) intervention in targeting specific phonemes/words in seven adolescents aged 14:10–18:06 with co-occurring speech sound and language disorders. Progress on individualised targets versus controls was evaluated following intervention undertaken as part of the participants’ usual speech and language therapy provision. As a group, the participants showed significantly greater progress on their targets than controls, indicating that the EPG intervention was effective. However, performance varied between participants, targets and school terms. Factors that may have influenced the effectiveness of intervention include spending more time on targets and focusing on a specific phoneme. Overall, the results suggest EPG should be considered as an intervention approach for this client group, even in the late teenage years.

Contextual reduction of word-final /l/ in Spanish: An EPG study

This article presents data on the contextual reduction of /l/ in Spanish. Electropalatography (EPG) was used to examine realisations of word-final /l/ in prevocalic and preconsonantal environments in order to determine to what extent articulatory reduction of the /l/ is attributable to coarticulation with following segments. Previous studies using static palatography (Josselyn 1907) describe continuous relaxation of the articulatory stricture associated with /l/ in different phonological environments. These descriptions, in turn, have informed standard reference works on Spanish phonetics (e.g. Navarro Tomás 1957, Gili Gaya 1966). Additionally, theoretical work on other languages has argued in favour of syllable-based accounts of /l/-allophony and reduction patterns (e.g. English /l/-darkening and vocalisation), whereas instrumental studies have revealed complexities to these patterns that challenge syllable-based analyses. The findings of the EPG study reported on here confirm that /l/-reduction in Spanish is a gradient phenomenon that arises due to antagonistic coarticulatory forces. Thus, the reduction patterns that emerge in the data cannot be predicted on the basis of syllabification algorithms alone.

An Electropalatographic Study of Korean Fricatives /s/ and /s*/

Objectives: The present study is aimed an electropalatographic investigation of Korean fricatives /s/ and /s*/. All data from this study is based on the production of 5- adult speakers who speak Korean as their first language.Methods: Electropalatography (EPG) is an instrumental technique for showing tongue and palate contact during speech. The participants recorded /s/ and /s*/ in CV (/si/, /sɑ/, /su/, /s*i/, /s*ɑ/, /s*u/) and VCV (/ɑsi/, /ɑsɑ/, /ɑsu/, /ɑs*i/, /ɑs*ɑ/, /ɑs*u/) context using EPG and then, four variables were analyzed: row of medial groove (RMG), medial groove width (MGW), medial groove length (MGL), and maximum contact frame (MCF).Results: There was significantly greater medial groove width and maximum contact frame for / s*/ compared to /s/. The difference between /si/ and /sɑ/ was also found in the row of medial groove, medial groove width and maximum contact frame. /si/ was produced further back, and had a longer medial groove length. Also, it showed more total tongue-palate contact than /sa/.Conclusion: A various range of palatal contact patterns were found between typical adults for perceptually normal /s/ and /s*/. The results provided the information about tongue–palate pattern of Korean fricatives /s/ and /s*/. These findings would be utilized to build the basic data and useful information for Korean EPG system.

Electropalatographic Therapy and Speech Production for Children With Down Syndrome

Purpose Children with Down syndrome (DS) demonstrate speech sound disorders, which impact speech intelligibility in academic and social settings across the life span. The purpose of this technical report is to determine the effects of electropalatographic (EPG) therapy on speech productions for children with DS receiving school-based speech-language therapy services. EPG is a form of visual feedback that displays timing and location of the tongue's contact with the palate during productions of individual phonemes. Method Authors completed a comprehensive literature search to locate articles that investigated the treatment effects of EPG for children with DS. Using the PICO (population, intervention, control, and outcomes) format, we sought in the research to answer “Do children 3–18 years of age with Down syndrome (P), who receive EPG therapy (I) compared to same-age peers with Down syndrome who do not receive EPG therapy (C) show improvement on speech sound production (O)?” Results Three studies met the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised. Two studies were single-subject designs, and one study was a randomized controlled study. Results revealed that EPG therapy improved speech sound production of target phonemes (/s/, /ʃ/, /k/, and /g/) with no transfer to speech intelligibility. Conclusions The results may further the understanding of EPG therapy as a treatment approach, particularly in older individuals with DS receiving school-based speech-language therapy services. Prior to adopting EPG as a treatment approach, clinicians should consider treatment intensity and students' cognitive abilities. Additional research is needed on the long-term effects and generalization of EPG therapy.

Trans-vocalic coronal consonant coarticulation in Central Arrernte: An electro-palatographic study

This study examines trans-vocalic CVC coarticulation of the coronal (dental, alveolar, retroflex and (alveo-)palatal) stop, nasal and lateral consonants of Arrernte, an Aboriginal language of Central Australia, using electro-palatographic (EPG) recordings of continuous speech. Coronal consonants are known to be more coarticulatorily resistant than peripheral consonants such as bilabials and velars, and this study teases out the coarticulatory differences between these four coronal places of articulation. Results confirm findings from previous studies that laminal consonants (dental and alveo-palatal) are broadly more coarticulatorily aggressive than apical consonants (alveolars and retroflexes), with the alveolars the least resistant to coarticulation. Dental consonants exert fronting effects on both preceding and following consonants, a result consistent with previous acoustic results for these sounds. Similarly, alveo-palatal consonants show both anticipatory and carryover effects, though their exact coarticulatory effect depends on the affected consonant place and manner. The retroflex consonants exert strong fronting effects on the following consonant, and it is suggested that this is due to the anterior release of retroflexes following ballistic forward movement during closure. There is also some evidence of a retraction effect of retroflexes on preceding consonants. Despite this evidence of coarticulatory aggression, retroflexes are particularly affected by preceding and following palatals: in these cases, the retroflex articulation becomes more forward, and dorsal contact for the retroflex is increased. In sum, by examining speech in an understudied language, we learn that there are still greater complexities in the co-ordination of consonants produced using the tongue tip and blade.

Biosignal Sensors and Deep Learning-Based Speech Recognition: A Review.

Voice is one of the essential mechanisms for communicating and expressing one’s intentions as a human being. There are several causes of voice inability, including disease, accident, vocal abuse, medical surgery, ageing, and environmental pollution, and the risk of voice loss continues to increase. Novel approaches should have been developed for speech recognition and production because that would seriously undermine the quality of life and sometimes leads to isolation from society. In this review, we survey mouth interface technologies which are mouth-mounted devices for speech recognition, production, and volitional control, and the corresponding research to develop artificial mouth technologies based on various sensors, including electromyography (EMG), electroencephalography (EEG), electropalatography (EPG), electromagnetic articulography (EMA), permanent magnet articulography (PMA), gyros, images and 3-axial magnetic sensors, especially with deep learning techniques. We especially research various deep learning technologies related to voice recognition, including visual speech recognition, silent speech interface, and analyze its flow, and systematize them into a taxonomy. Finally, we discuss methods to solve the communication problems of people with disabilities in speaking and future research with respect to deep learning components.

Speech errors and articulatory gestures: an electropalatographic investigation

One of the major findings of traditional investigations of speech errors is that a single segment is the smallest unit affected by speech errors, although the possibility that units smaller than the segment could play a role in explaining speech errors was not entirely rejected. A number of relatively recent studies using instrumental kinematic techniques for speech analysis bring evidence that errors often occur at subsegmental units of speech production, i.e. at the level of articulatory gestures. Such errors occur due to the coproduction of articulatory gestures, whereby the gestures from both the target consonant and the competing speech sound overlap. As they represent the gradient shift from one segment to another, they are often called gradient errors. Such processes are almost impossible to capture without the use of instrumental kinematic techniques, such as electropalatography (EPG). Th ere are no instrumental kinematic studies of speech errors in Croatian speech. Th us, the aim of this paper is to use EPG to investigate speech errors produced in one Croatian tongue twister. The analysis was focused on /r/ and /l/ targets produced by 10 native female speakers of Croatian, while producing the tongue twister which facilitated speech errors in these two sounds. Each token of the target consonant was classifi ed in one of the four categories: (1) perceptually and articulatorily correct production (P1A1); (2) articulatorily correct but perceptually incorrect production (P0A1); (3) perceptually correct but articulatorily incorrect production (P1A0) and (4) perceptually and articulatorily incorrect production (P0A0). Th e classifi cation was made by the authors via auditory analysis and visual inspection of spectrograms and electropalatograms prior to the quantitative kinematic analysis. Subsequent analyses showed evidence of gradient errors, which would not be detected without the use of instrumental kinematic techniques. Th is investigation supports the claim that traditional method of collecting speech errors by perceptual analysis only is not sensitive enough to detect the subtleties of erroneous productions and speech motor control.

An Investigation of Tongue-Palatal Contact Changes in Patients With Skeletal Mandibular Lateral Deviation After Sagittal Split Ramus Osteotomy

This study aimed to investigate the changes in tongue-palatal contact patterns in patients with mandibular lateral deviation by electropalatography (EPG) before and after sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO). Ten mandibular asymmetry patients who underwent SSRO participated in the study. Tongue-palatal contact patterns for the production of /t/ and /s/ sounds were observed using EPG before surgery and 3 months after surgery, and the changes in EPG pattern were examined. The number of electrode contacts in the 2 vertical columns of the EPG plate was calculated both in the mandibular deviation side and the nondeviation side. The EPG patterns for /t/ and /s/ showed asymmetry before surgery but became normal after surgery. Before surgery, the number of electrode contacts in the 2 vertical columns in the mandibular deviation side was significantly lower than that in the nondeviation side and the normal participants during /t/ and /s/ articulation. However, the number of electrode contacts in the deviation side significantly increased after surgery. This study demonstrated that the tongue-palatal contact patterns for /t/ and /s/ articulation shifted to the direction of mandibular deviation and improved after SSRO.

Electropalatography Contact Patterns in the Production of Malay Consonants among Paralysed Patients

Various techniques are available for improving speech production among subjects with speech problems, including paralysed patients. In this study, electropalatography (EPG) that detects the tongue and hard palate contact during continuous speech is used as a therapeutic instrument for improving the production of speech among paralysed patient. Five paralysed subjects with different medical background had been chosen. All paralysed subjects were asked to wear a Reading Palate which has 62 electrodes as a sensor to detect the tongue and hard palate contacts. The electrode sensors were divided into four zones which are alveolar, postalveolar, palatal and velar zones. The signals of the electrodes were transferred to a computer and analysed using Articulate Assistant TM 1.18. The objective of this study is to determine the location of contact between the tongue and hard palate among five paralysed subjects during the production of bilabial, postalveolar, velar and glottal consonants. The contact patterns produced by the paralysed subject were compared with the contact pattern guideline of the Malay consonants. In conclusion, EPG is suitable to be used as a device to identify the difference in the contact pattern. Besides, EPG can also be used as an exercise instrument to train the muscle movement to improve the contact pattern.