Poor Intelligibility Research Articles

Vocalization patterns in young children with Down syndrome: Utilizing the language environment analysis (LENA) to inform behavioral phenotypes.

Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at higher risk for both delayed expressive language and poor speech intelligibility. The current study utilized the quantitative automated language environment analysis (LENA) to depict mother and child vocalizations and conversational patterns in the home of 43 children with DS, chronologically aged 24-64 months. Children with DS displayed fewer utterances than typically developing children; however, there was wide variability. Furthermore, children with DS did not show increased vocalization counts across their chronological ages. In contrast to previous findings, this study found that the mothers of children with DS had a reduced number of vocalizations. However, the vocalizations increased with age in comparison to mothers of typically developing children. Implications for targeted interventions that facilitate learning opportunities in bidirectional contexts for children with DS and their parents are discussed, with particular attention to quantify behavioral phenotypes utilizing a novel expressive language assessment tool.

The Pharyngoesophageal Segment After Total Laryngectomy.

The aim of the present study was to characterize the pharyngoesophageal segment in laryngectomees who rated themselves as functional tracheoesophageal speakers. Voice perceptual assessment, high-resolution videomanometry of swallowing and phonation, and high-speed camera recording during phonation provided information about the anatomy and function of the pharyngoesophageal segment. Fourteen patients were included in the study. The voice assessments presented high intra/inter-listener reliability. We found a significant correlation between roughness and poor voice quality, hyperfunction and poor intelligibility, and poor voice quality, long time since the operation, and old age. High-resolution videomanometry during phonation revealed decreasing mean pressures from the distal esophagus to the pharynx and confirmed low resting pressures at the pharyngoesophageal segment and low esophageal peristaltic contraction pressures after laryngectomy in comparison to normal subjects. The neoglottis shape was mainly circular and presented a strong mucosal wave in most of the patients on the high-speed camera recording. Perceptual voice assessment and high-speed camera recordings provided baseline information about voice characteristics and vibration regularity of the neoglottis. Additionally, the quantitative measures obtained with high-resolution videomanometry may have clinical applicability as reference data in voice rehabilitation after total laryngectomy.

The Intelligibility of Interrupted Speech: Cochlear Implant Users and Normal Hearing Listeners.

Compared with normal-hearing listeners, cochlear implant (CI) users display a loss of intelligibility of speech interrupted by silence or noise, possibly due to reduced ability to integrate and restore speech glimpses across silence or noise intervals. The present study was conducted to establish the extent of the deficit typical CI users have in understanding interrupted high-context sentences as a function of a range of interruption rates (1.5 to 24 Hz) and duty cycles (50 and 75 %). Further, factors such as reduced signal quality of CI signal transmission and advanced age, as well as potentially lower speech intelligibility of CI users even in the lack of interruption manipulation, were explored by presenting young, as well as age-matched, normal-hearing (NH) listeners with full-spectrum and vocoded speech (eight-channel and speech intelligibility baseline performance matched). While the actual CI users had more difficulties in understanding interrupted speech and taking advantage of faster interruption rates and increased duty cycle than the eight-channel noise-band vocoded listeners, their performance was similar to the matched noise-band vocoded listeners. These results suggest that while loss of spectro-temporal resolution indeed plays an important role in reduced intelligibility of interrupted speech, these factors alone cannot entirely explain the deficit. Other factors associated with real CIs, such as aging or failure in transmission of essential speech cues, seem to additionally contribute to poor intelligibility of interrupted speech.

Research on Improving Room Sound Field of Exhibition Building

Generally, there is a high background noise and long reverberation time and poor speech intelligibility in exhibition space due to its big crowd and often commercial promotional activities so that communication is very hard, commercial activities broadcasting system is also difficult to ensure that customers can clearly hear the propaganda content. In this paper, through measured background noise of the new exhibition center in Chengdu, we found the acoustic problem in exhibition space, then we did simulation analysis in some exhibition building and took some acoustical process to get a good sound field.

Vowel development in children with Down and Williams syndromes

Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) are genetic disorders resulting from different types of genetic errors. While both disorders lead to phonological and speech motor deficits, particularly little is known about vowel production in DS and WS. Recent work suggests that impaired vowel articulation in DS likely contributes to the poor intelligibility of DS speech. Developmental delays in temporal vowel structure and pitch control have been found in children with WS when compared to their chronological matches. Here, we analyze spontaneous speech samples produced by British children with DS and WI and compare them with typically developing children from the same geographic area in Southern England. We focus on the acquisition of fine-grained phonetic details, asking if children with DS and WS are able to synchronize the phonetic and indexical domains while coping with articulatory challenges related to their respective syndromes. Phonetic details pertaining to the spectral (vowel-inherent spectral change) and indexical (regional dialect) vowel features are examined and vowel spaces are derived from formant values sampled at multiple temporal locations. Variations in density patterns across the vowel space are also considered to define the nature of the acoustic overlap in vowels related to each syndrome.

Some effects of reflections and delayed sound arrivals on the perception of speech and corresponding measurements of the speech transmission index

Although the effects of reflections and later arriving sound repetitions (echoes) have been well researched and published over the past 60 years—ranging from Haas, Wallach, and more recently to Bradley & Sato and Toole, their effect on Speech Transmission Index measurements and assessments has only be cursorily studied. Over the past 20 years, the speech Transmission Index (STI) has become the most widely employed measure of potential speech intelligibility for both natural speech and more importantly of Public Address and emergency sound systems and Voice Alarms. There is a common perception that STI can fully account for echoes and late, discrete sound arrivals and reflections. The paper shows this not to be the case but that sound systems achieving high STI ratings can exhibit poor and unacceptable speech intelligibility due to the presence of late sound arrivals and echoes. The finding is based on the results of a series of listening tests and extensive sound system modeling, simulations and measurements. The results of the word score experiments were found to be highly dependent upon the nature of the test material and presentation.

Dysfluencies in the speech of adults with intellectual disabilities and reported speech difficulties

BackgroundIn individuals with an intellectual disability, speech dysfluencies are more common than in the general population. In clinical practice, these fluency disorders are generally diagnosed and treated as stuttering rather than cluttering. PurposeTo characterise the type of dysfluencies in adults with intellectual disabilities and reported speech difficulties with an emphasis on manifestations of stuttering and cluttering, which distinction is to help optimise treatment aimed at improving fluency and intelligibility. MethodThe dysfluencies in the spontaneous speech of 28 adults (18–40 years; 16 men) with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (IQs 40–70), who were characterised as poorly intelligible by their caregivers, were analysed using the speech norms for typically developing adults and children. The speakers were subsequently assigned to different diagnostic categories by relating their resulting dysfluency profiles to mean articulatory rate and articulatory rate variability. ResultsTwenty-two (75%) of the participants showed clinically significant dysfluencies, of which 21% were classified as cluttering, 29% as cluttering–stuttering and 25% as clear cluttering at normal articulatory rate. The characteristic pattern of stuttering did not occur. ConclusionThe dysfluencies in the speech of adults with intellectual disabilities and poor intelligibility show patterns that are specific for this population. Together, the results suggest that in this specific group of dysfluent speakers interventions should be aimed at cluttering rather than stuttering.Learning outcomes: The reader will be able to (1) describe patterns of dysfluencies in the speech of adults with intellectual disabilities that are specific for this group of people, (2) explain that a high rate of dysfluencies in speech is potentially a major determiner of poor intelligibility in adults with ID and (3) describe suggestions for intervention focusing on cluttering rather than stuttering in dysfluent speakers with ID.

Typical Clinical Findings Should Prompt Investigation for Juvenile Huntington Disease

An 11-year-old boy presented for neurological evaluation with a 5-year history of global developmental regression, abnormal involuntary movements, and worsening behavioral problems. He was adopted at 14 months of age and there was limited prenatal or family history. In early childhood, he had appropriate gross motor, fine motor, and language development, but “shakiness” was noted by his adoptive parents. In first grade, he was able to ride a bicycle, participate in gym class, dress himself, use utensils, write in cursive, and read at grade level. Since that time, a slow regression of fine motor, gross motor, and language skills was noted. His handwriting became illegible and he was having difficulty dressing himself. He walked on the edges of his feet and was no longer able to ride a bicycle or run without difficulty. His speech became unintelligible to strangers at the age of 9 years and he had significant difficulty with impulse control and memory. There was no known history of seizures. He had multiple involuntary movements of his arms and hands, such as hand-curling or arm-swinging, and had received the diagnosis of Tourette syndrome. He was under treatment with risperidone, citalopram, and clonidine for his involuntary movements without significant benefit. His physical examination revealed mild generalized hypertonia and difficulty with tandem gait. Choreiform movements of the extremities were noted. No myoclonus was seen. His speech was dysarthric with poor intelligibility and he spoke in oneto two-word phrases. He tended to walk on the outside of the feet with the toes turned inward. There was mild difficulty with tandem gait but he was able to walk on his toes and heels without difficulty. Neuropsychological testing revealed a full-scale IQ (FIQ) in the low-average range (FIQ 1⁄4 80), where it had been normal (FIQ 1⁄4 97) 5 years prior. Regression was noted on testing in verbal skills, speed of information processing, and math skills. EEG demonstrated diffuse slowing of the background

Velopharyngeal Dysfunction

Velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) is a generic term which describes a set of disorders resulting in the leakage of air into the nasal passages during speech production. As a result, speech samples can demonstrate hypernasality, nasal emissions, and poor intelligibility. The finding of VPD can be secondary to several causes: anatomic, musculoneuronal, or behavioral/mislearning. To identify the etiology of VPD, patients must undergo a thorough velopharyngeal assessment comprised of perceptual speech evaluation and functional imaging, including video nasendoscopy and speech videofluoroscopy. These studies are then evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of specialists, who can decide on an optimal course for patient management. A treatment plan is developed and may include speech therapy, use of a prosthetic device, and/or surgical intervention. Different surgical options are discussed, including posterior pharyngeal flap, sphincter pharyngoplasty, Furlow palatoplasty, palatal re-repair, and posterior pharyngeal wall augmentation.

Acoustic Rehabilitation of the Church of Santa Ana in Moratalaz, Madrid

Abstract The church of Santa Ana in Moratalaz, Madrid, Spain (1965-1971), is an emblematic work of the architect Miguel Fisac. In his long career include interventions in the religious field, constituting one of the most important contributions to Spanish religious architecture of the last century. This church is a singular place of worship and architecturally significant, in which the acoustics played an important role in the configuration of the spatiality of the church. This paper studies the acoustic behaviour of the church and its relationship with its unique structural, spatial and coating material characteristics. The analysis of the current acoustic conditions, with high reverberation times (up to 6 seconds) and poor intelligibility on the audience, serve as the basis for making an acoustic rehabilitation proposal that contributes to improving the sound conditions of the building for the intended use, without distorting the spatial, formal and material aspects with which the architect conceived the project.

Abnormal speech processing in frequency regions where absolute thresholds are normal for listeners with high-frequency hearing loss

The ability to understand speech in quiet and in a steady noise was measured for 26 listeners with audiometric thresholds below 30 dB HL for frequencies up to 3 kHz and covering a wide range (0–80 dB HL) between 3 and 8 kHz. The stimulus components were restricted to the low (≤1.5 kHz) and middle (1–3 kHz) frequency regions, where audiometric thresholds were classified clinically as normal or near-normal. Sensitivity to inter-aural phase was measured at 0.5 and 0.75 kHz and otoacoustic emission and brainstem responses were measured. For each frequency region, about half of the listeners with high-frequency hearing loss showed extremely poor intelligibility for speech in quiet and in noise. These deficits could not be accounted for by reduced audibility. Scores for speech in quiet were correlated with age, audiometric thresholds at low and at high frequencies, the amplitude of transient otoacoustic emissions in the mid-frequency region, but not with inter-aural phase discrimination. The results suggest that large speech deficits may be observed in regions of normal or near-normal hearing for hearing-impaired listeners. They also suggest that speech deficits may result from suprathreshold auditory deficits caused by outer hair-cell damage and by factors associated with aging.

Teasing Out Specific Language Impairment From an Autism Spectrum Disorder

Teasing Out Specific Language Impairment From an Autism Spectrum Disorder

SPEECH DIFFICULTIES AND POOR SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY IN ADULTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

BackgroundThis review gives an overview of studies on speech difficulties in adults with Down syndrome to identify causes and major determinants of poor speech intelligibility for this group and to suggest areas requiring further research.Material and MethodsExactly 39 published articles were selected by using the following MEsH search terms: speech disorders, articulatory apraxia, phonological impairment, articulation disorders, short-term memory, speech articulation disorders, and speech intelligibility. Articles were grouped for analysis based on themes related to underlying causes of speech difficulties and the diagnosis and treatment of speech difficulties. Future research needs are also presented.ResultsSpeech problems in adults with Down syndrome are not clearly defined. There is no specific data on underlying mechanisms that negatively impact on speech and there is no systematic assessment procedure available for evaluating the speech of adults with Down syndrome. Few studies have investigated treatment possibilities for speech disorders in adults and future research is needed into speech difficulties in adults with Down syndrome.ConclusionsResearch is required into therapeutic programs to improve the speech of adults with Down syndrome. One clinical consideration as to why this research is lacking might be that the speech problem is seen as a characteristic of the Down syndrome itself rather than being seen as the result of distinct underlying deficits that may be sensitive to speech therapy. To aid therapeutic program development, longitudinalstudies of adolescents and adults with Down syndrome are required. Special attention could be given to investigating oral-motor characteristics and apraxia of speech.

Combined effects of acoustic and visual distraction on cognitive performance and well-being

Information work is usually performed in offices and influenced by the combined effects of acoustics, room climate, lighting and air quality. However, the principal part of literature solely focuses on the individual effects of physical parameters. This study ( n = 32) investigates the combined effects of acoustic and visual distraction with regard to cognitive performance and well-being. Therefore low level background speech (40 dB(A)) of good or poor intelligibility was combined with either static or dynamic lighting. Experimental testing lasted for approx. 7 h for each participant and was conducted in mock-up offices. No interaction effects of background speech and lighting conditions with regard to cognitive performance were found. However, the results prove that even low level background speech of high intelligibility significantly impairs short-term memory, reasoning ability and well-being. But no effect of background speech on text comprehension and sustained attention was found. Visual distraction due to dynamic lighting caused significant complaints but did not impair performance. An interaction effect of background speech and lighting conditions was found with regard to perceived performance during task processing. Test persons only felt to perform better, if background speech of low intelligibility was combined with static lighting. It is shown that the effects on cognitive performance and well-being must be considered separately since these effects are rarely consistent.

Accommodation to sinewave speech is an online effect.

In earlier work [Hillenbrand et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 124, 2435 (2008)], we reported poor intelligibility (53.5%) for sinewave replicas of vowels in /hVd/ syllables. Tests with a separate group of listeners showed substantially higher intelligibility (73.1%) when the same syllables were preceded by a brief sinewave carrier phrase (CP). Additional tests showed the following: (1) a CP enhancement effect was seen even when the talkers used to generate the CP and the /hVd/ syllables did not match, showing that listeners are accommodating to the sinewave speech patterns and not solely to the talkers, and (2) a natural speech CP produced a decrease in intelligibility, showing again that listeners are accommodating in some way to the unusual characteristics of sinewave speech. In the present study, listeners identified sinewave /hVd/ syllables either alone or preceded by the sinewave CP in alternating blocks of trials (i.e., sinewave /hVd/ syllables alone and /hVd/ syllables preceded by a sinewave CP). Results using this alternating‐block format showed that enhancement due to the CP comes and goes as the CP comes and goes. This finding suggests that the effect is an online or real‐time effect. [Work supported by NIH.]

Thai Speech Parameters for Patients with Cleft Palate in a Universal Reporting System

AbstractSpeech characteristics in patients with cleft palate have typical patterns that include delayed speech and language development, articulation deficits, resonance disorders, voice disorders, and poor intelligibility. There need to be a reporting system developed as a standardized routine protocol that would be a more consistent reporting system and a means to compare speech outcomes across centers, languages, and within languages in order to make valid comparisons. Aim: To establish Thai speech parameters for patients with cleft palate in a universal reporting system. Methods: To develop a Thai universal parameters for speech outcomes based on speech sampling guidelines for universal parameters for reporting speech outcomes in individuals with cleft palate, four speech/language pathologists (SLPs) who had had experience working with individuals with cleft palate had consensus and established the first draft. Then, the speech parameter group submitted comments and suggestions on their first version....

Use of an Emergency Notification System in a Multi-Agency Functional Emergency Exercise: Feedback from Participants

This study examines feedback from automated reports and a participant survey concerning implementation of an emergency notification system (ENS) in a multi-agency functional flood exercise hosted by Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management. Representatives from nearly two dozen agencies were present. Emergency notifications through the ENS were reported after the exercise to have generally been useful in terms of keeping agencies appropriately informed in a timely manner. Most exercise users indicated that they were pleased overall with the results of using the ENS. One aspect of the experience that they noted having appreciated was the opportunity to replay messages if they wished to do so. However, technical problems with use of the ENS did exist. For example, text-to-speech (TTS) rendering in some instances produced messages with poor intelligibility, confirming the need for care in choosing well-functioning text-to-speech software and in crafting TTS messages appropriately for TTS rendering. Some messages going to voice mail during the exercise were clipped, such that recipients could not hear the entire message, a flaw. While nearly all exercise players received emergency notifications from the ENS via one or more communication devices, less than half of the total messages were listened to during the timeframe of the exercise. This confirmed the wisdom of keeping messages sent through different communication systems and channels consistent, because not all contacts listen to all messages on all receiving devices. Exercise players indicated a need for (i) notification messages to be crafted to be short, concise and easy to understand, (ii) the messages to have a date and time associated with them, and (iii) the messages to contain geographic locations, information on emergency impacts, and other intelligence needed to allow users to make appropriate responses.

Fundamental Frequency Variation With an Electrolarynx Improves Speech Understanding: A Case Study

This study examined the effect of fundamental frequency (F0) variation on the intelligibility of speech in an alaryngeal talker who used an electrolarynx (EL). One experienced alaryngeal talker produced variable F0 and a constant F0 with his EL as he read sentences aloud. As a control, a group of sentences with variable F0 was flattened at a constant F0. Twenty listeners heard these sentences in background noise and wrote down what they heard. Speech understanding was on average 14% better with variable F0 controlled by the talker than the sentences produced with a constant F0 and the control sentences resynthesized with flattened F0. Variable F0 contributes to speech understanding in noise. Because speech produced by an EL is considered to have poorer intelligibility in relation to other alaryngeal methods, training alaryngeal talkers to use variable F0 may prove to be of significant benefit for communication for those who use electrolarynges.

Perceptual accommodation to sinewave speech.

Many studies have reported good intelligibility for sine wave replicas of sentences (e.g., R. Remez et al., Science 212, 947–950 (1981)]. Recent work, however, has shown poor intelligibility (∼55%) for vowels in isolated syllables [J. Hillenbrand and M. Clark, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 123, 3326 (2008)]. While enhanced intelligibility for sentences undoubtedly reveals the importance of top‐down mechanisms, it is also possible that sentence‐length utterances allow listeners to make (as yet unknown) perceptual accommodations to the unfamiliar acoustic properties of sine wave speech (SWS). In this study, the intelligibility of SWS replicas of 16 vowels/diphthongs in isolated syllables (“heed,” “hid,” and “hide”) was compared to that of the same syllables when preceded by a seven‐word SWS carrier phrase (CP) spoken by the same talker. Intelligibility was ∼24 percentage points higher when the SWS syllables were preceded by the SWS CP than when the same utterances were presented in isolation. Furthermore, the effect was observed even when the CP and test‐syllable talkers did not match, showing that the effect involves more than just talker normalization. Finally, a same‐talker natural speech CP preceding the SWS syllable produced a decrement rather than an improvement in intelligibility.

The impact of background speech varying in intelligibility: Effects on cognitive performance and perceived disturbance

Noise abatement in office environments often focuses on the reduction of background speech intelligibility and noise level, as attainable with frequency-specific insulation. However, only limited empirical evidence exists regarding the effects of reducing speech intelligibility on cognitive performance and subjectively perceived disturbance. Three experiments tested the impact of low background speech (35 dB(A)) of both good and poor intelligibility, in comparison to silence and highly intelligible speech not lowered in level (55 dB(A)). The disturbance impact of the latter speech condition on verbal short-term memory (n = 20) and mental arithmetic (n = 24) was significantly reduced during soft and poorly intelligible speech, but not during soft and highly intelligible speech. No effect of background speech on verbal-logical reasoning performance (n = 28) was found. Subjective disturbance ratings, however, were consistent over all three experiments with, for example, soft and poorly intelligible speech rated as the least disturbing speech condition but still disturbing in comparison to silence. It is concluded, therefore, that a combination of objective performance tests and subjective ratings is desirable for the comprehensive evaluation of acoustic office environments and their alterations.