Speech Communication Abilities Research Articles

Improving the effectiveness of treatment of patients with post-stroke aphasia

To evaluate the efficacy of speech therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) who received comprehensive treatment, including speech therapy and Cytoflavin infusions. 46 right-handed patients who were hospitalized during the acute phase of AIS in the left middle cerebral artery were included in the study. Patients received comprehensive speech therapy and were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group consisted of 25 patients whose treatment regimen included infusions of the Cytoflavin solution, while the second group (n=21) received only basic therapy for the secondary prevention of AIS. To assess the patients' condition, the following scales were used: the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the Modified Rankin Scale, a screening tool for aphasia, and the Goodglass-Kaplan Scale (GKS). After the completion of the treatment course, statistically significant improvements were noted in patients from both groups. However, the degree of disability and dependence on others for daily activities in patients receiving infusions of Cytoflavin solution was significantly lower in group 1 compared to group 2 (p=0.015). After the treatment, there was a regression of aphasia to moderate compensation in patients from group 1 (mean score 3 [3-4] points) and group 2 (mean 2 [2-2] points), with p=0.007 significance. As a result, patients from group 1 were able to communicate verbally on everyday topics (mean GKS score 3), while patients from group 2 also improved their communication, but still required significant assistance from an interlocutor (mean GKS 2). A clinical example is provided. A positive result was observed from the inclusion of Cytoflavin in the treatment of patients with aphasic disorders in AIS. There was a significant decrease in disability levels, an improvement in speech communication abilities, and a regression of aphasia following the use of the combination of drug therapy, speech therapy, and physical rehabilitation methods. Additionally, patients who received drug support with Cytoflavin showed an increased tolerance to treatment loads during therapy.

The follow-up study on patients of children with auditory neuropathy

Objective:To analyse the audiological characteristics of patients of children with auditory neuropathy（AN） for gaining a better understanding of the audiological characteristics prognosis of patients with AN. Methods:58 patients（108 ears） of children with AN were enrolled, all of whom had received further consultation within 10 years after the first consultation. Behavioral audiometry test, tympanogram test, distortion product otoacoustic emission（DPOAE）, auditory brainstem response（ABR）, cochlear microphonics（CM）, auditory steady-state response（ASSR） were performed on these patients. Results:①There were no significant changes in behavioral audiometry threshold between first and further consultation（P>0.05）；②Tympanograms were mostly of type A or As； ③The patients had worse DPOAE results in the further consultation, while the elicitation rate of other frequencies were higher except for the lower elicitation rate of 750 Hz and 1000 Hz；④There were 7 ears that had present ABR and CM in the first consultation, while three ears had present ABR and CM in the further consultation；⑤Except for 500 Hz, other frequency thresholds of ASSR in the further consultation were statistically significant compared with those in the first consultation（P<0.01）；⑥The threshold of behavioral audiometry at 4000 Hz was higher than that of ASSR, and there was no obvious correlation between the other frequencies（P>0.05）. Conclusion:There is a tendency of hearing deterioration in patients of children with AN. Patients with no DPOAE elicitation and no ABR elicitation or serious abnormalities need CM test to avoid misdiagnosis. The hearing status and speech communication ability of patients should be continuously monitored. Parents should pay attention to the changes in the behavioral ability of the children in daily life and make regular subsequent visits.

Evidence of visual crossmodal reorganization positively relates to speech outcomes in cochlear implant users

Deaf individuals who use a cochlear implant (CI) have remarkably different outcomes for auditory speech communication ability. One factor assumed to affect CI outcomes is visual crossmodal plasticity in auditory cortex, where deprived auditory regions begin to support non-auditory functions such as vision. Previous research has viewed crossmodal plasticity as harmful for speech outcomes for CI users if it interferes with sound processing, while others have demonstrated that plasticity related to visual language may be beneficial for speech recovery. To clarify, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain responses to a partial face speaking a silent single-syllable word (visual language) in 15 CI users and 13 age-matched typical-hearing controls. We used source analysis on EEG activity to measure crossmodal visual responses in auditory cortex and then compared them to CI users’ speech-in-noise listening ability. CI users’ brain response to the onset of the video stimulus (face) was larger than controls in left auditory cortex, consistent with crossmodal activation after deafness. CI users also produced a mixture of alpha (8–12 Hz) synchronization and desynchronization in auditory cortex while watching lip movement while controls instead showed desynchronization. CI users with higher speech scores had stronger crossmodal responses in auditory cortex to the onset of the video, but those with lower speech scores had increases in alpha power during lip movement in auditory areas. Therefore, evidence of crossmodal reorganization in CI users does not necessarily predict poor speech outcomes, and differences in crossmodal activation during lip reading may instead relate to strategies or differences that CI users use in audiovisual speech communication.

Emotional value technology of foreign-language education for the development of speech communication abilities

The problem for the research. The focus of civilization on the priority of humanistic values implies a change in the way of thinking and actions of modern man. This requires from an individual new skills and value orientations. Not without reason, today in the methodology of teaching foreign languages, much attention is paid to the involvement of the emotional value component in the process of foreign-language education. The search for the means to implement it forced us to turn to the emotional value technology. The purpose of the research is to characterize the emotional value technology of foreign-language education and prove its effectiveness at the stage of development of foreign-language speech abilities. Methods of investigation. The experiment involved 64 students of the 5th and 6th grades of schools in Kirov. To obtain the data, the following methods were used: of calculating the success rate, based on the criteria and levels of evaluation the results of mastering by secondary school students the content of foreign-language education in combination of “intellectual” and emotional value components; of mathematical statistics (standard deviation, F-criterion). The findings of the study. The results of the final check displayed that the level of mastering the components of foreign-language education (“intellectual” components + the emotional value component) increased in 88% of students; it did not change in 12%. Differences are explained not by random factors, but by experimental training (F = 2,47; p &lt; 0,05). These data prove the effectiveness of the emotional value technology at the stage of development of students’ foreign-language speech abilities. Conclusions. In the process of adapting the model of the emotional value technology of foreign-language education, it turned out to be capable to function in the conditions of the development of speech communication abilities. The result was a contribution to the formation of the student’s linguacultural personality. This personality is characterised by foreign-language speech abilities in listening, speaking, reading, written speech, emotional and sensory recognition of cultural values and inner comprehension of their meaning.

Children's Neural Sensitivity to Prosodic Features of Natural Speech and Its Significance to Speech Development in Cochlear Implanted Children.

Catchy utterances, such as proverbs, verses, and nursery rhymes (i.e., “No pain, no gain” in English), contain strong-prosodic (SP) features and are child-friendly in repeating and memorizing; yet the way those prosodic features encoded by neural activity and their influence on speech development in children are still largely unknown. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), this study investigated the cortical responses to the perception of natural speech sentences with strong/weak-prosodic (SP/WP) features and evaluated the speech communication ability in 21 pre-lingually deaf children with cochlear implantation (CI) and 25 normal hearing (NH) children. A comprehensive evaluation of speech communication ability was conducted on all the participants to explore the potential correlations between neural activities and children’s speech development. The SP information evoked right-lateralized cortical responses across a broad brain network in NH children and facilitated the early integration of linguistic information, highlighting children’s neural sensitivity to natural SP sentences. In contrast, children with CI showed significantly weaker cortical activation and characteristic deficits in speech perception with SP features, suggesting hearing loss at the early age of life, causing significantly impaired sensitivity to prosodic features of sentences. Importantly, the level of neural sensitivity to SP sentences was significantly related to the speech behaviors of all children participants. These findings demonstrate the significance of speech prosodic features in children’s speech development.

Exploring the relationship between children's facial emotion processing characteristics and speech communication ability using deep learning on eye tracking and speech performance measures

The ability of efficient facial emotion recognition (FER) plays a significant role in successful human communication and is closely associated with multiple speech communication disorders (SCD) in children. Despite the relevance, little is known about how speech communication abilities (SCA) and FER are correlated or of their underlying mechanism. To address this, we monitored eye movements of 115 children while watching human faces with different emotions and designed a machine-learning based SCD prediction model to explore the underlying pattern of eye movements during the FER task as well as their correlation with SCA. Strong and detailed correlations were found between different dimensions of SCA and various eye-movement features. A group of FER gazing patterns was found to be highly sensitive to the possibility of children's SCD. The SCD prediction model reached an accuracy as high as 88.9%, which offers a possible technique to fast screen SCD for children.

IPod Touch® to Increase Functional Communication of Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Significant Intellectual Disability

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and significant intellectual disability (ID) often have limited speech communication abilities. Abundant research supports use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to enhance skills of children with ASD and ID, but less research has examined efficacy of AAC with non-speaking adults. In this study, three adults with ASD and significant ID were taught basic functional communication using the iPod Touch® with MyTalk Mobile® software within a single-case, multiple-probe across-subjects design. The iPod Touch® taught with most-to-least prompting increased participants’ independent manding, participants were able to discriminate between picture symbols, and participants’ manding generalized to a naturalistic setting with typically available preferred items. Implementation of AAC coincided with increases in speech for one participant. Results illustrate how an applied behavior analysis approach incorporating a speech generating device is effective in teaching communication to adults with ASD and significant ID.

An auditory test battery for the assessment of executive functions

Recent studies have examined the potential role of executive functions (EFs) on the speech communication ability of cochlear-implant, hearing-aid users, and other patients with disordered speech, language, or hearing; in many of the tests used to measure EFs, the stimuli are visual rather than auditory. We developed an Auditory Executive Function (AEF) test battery in which the stimuli consist of word commands (e.g., “quit,” “stop”) spoken either in stern or in lenient voice tone. The battery measures the speed and accuracy of voice-tone classification in four conditions: (1) in the absence of information or response conflict (baseline); (2) while attempting to inhibit potent but inappropriate responses prompted by conflicting ear-laterality information (inhibitory control); (3) while having to switch between incompatible response-mapping rules from trial to trial (cognitive flexibility); and (4) while having to monitor and update the word presented in the current trial and remember the word presented 2–3...

Evaluation of Melodic Intonation Therapy for Developmental Apraxia of Speech

Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS) is a neurological disorder of unknown etiology that affects the speech communication abilities (American Speech and Hearing Association [ASHA], 2007). This disorder, also known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech and Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia, involves a cluster of symptoms that ultimately affect a child's ability to produce speech. The definition of DAS is controversial because there are no validated criteria that differentiate DAS from other speech disorders (ASHA, 2007). ASHA (2007) has proposed three key features of DAS including inconsistent errors in sound production, disrupted transitions between sounds and syllables, and inappropriate prosody. Furthermore, children with DAS may exhibit difficulties with non-speech oral motor function, motor speech function, prosody, language, phoneme awareness, structure of speech sounds, and literacy (ASHA, 2007). These characteristics can impact the child's ability to develop expressive language and requires intensive treatment (ASHA, 2007).Despite intensive therapy, children with DAS often show little improvement in their ability to use speech for communication (Marion, Sussman, & Marquardt, 1993; Velleman, 2003). Speech treatment approaches include emphasizing movement sequences, intensive drills with many repetitions, targeting specific individual sounds, imitations of sounds, and touch cues (Edeal & Gildersleeve-Neumann, 201 1; Velleman, 2003). Additional therapies include dynamic motor approaches, involving sensorimotor cues for the production of syllables (Chumpelik, 1984; Velleman, 2003), linguistic approaches/phonological approaches (McNeill, Gillon, & Dodd, 2009), or a mix of approaches/protocols (luzzini & Forrest, 201 0). Although many different treatments have been attempted, a recent systematic review suggested that there is not enough evidence to consider any one method as best practice; therefore, further research is needed (Morgan & Vogel, 2008). One method that has been debated is the use of Melodic Intonation Therapy.The technique of Melodic Intonation Therapy was published in 1 973 by Albert, Sparks, and Helm and consisted of a progression of speech intoning exercises for persons with nonfluent aphasia. Since the original publication, this technique has been researched and used by speech- language pathologists, music therapists, and music neuroscientists. The original technique involves a hierarchically structured program that is divided into three linguistic levels (Table 1). The first two consist of multisyllabic words and short phrases and the third of more phonological ly complex phrases (HelmEstabrooks, Nicholas, & Morgan, 1989). In each level the words and phrases are intoned slowly using a high note-low note pattern that is similar to the rhythm, stress, and intonation of the natural spoken version (Helm-Estabrooks et al., 1989, p. 4). Researchers and clinicians have adapted the protocol, with a focus on the first level or the use of a truncated version of the entire protocol.MIT is reported to work best with persons who have a left hemisphere stroke that included Broca's area, good auditory comprehension, and poor repetition and articulatory abilities (Helm-Estabrooks et al., 1989). The success of this technique has been attributed to the activation of the unimpaired language areas of the right hemisphere (Helm-Estabrooks et al., 1989), and the distributed nature of singing in the brain (Thaut, 2005). A growing body of research has demonstrated improvements in propositional speech abilities of adults with nonfluent aphasia after MIT treatment (Baker, 201 1; Belin et al., 1996; Breier, Randle, Maher, & Papanicolaou, 2010; Schlaug, Marchina, & Norton, 2009; Schlaug, Norton, Marchina, Zipse, & Wan, 2010). These successes led to the exploration of this technique for children with DAS.Initial studies on MIT with DAS have indicated some gains; however, there is a limited amount of research. …

Towards Speech Acquisition in Natural Interaction on ASIMO

The standard approach for teaching robots to communicate via speech is by providing the structure, statistics, and semantics of speech through a supervised, offline learning process. This process imposes constraints like a high degree of specialization to certain, predefined tasks. The resulting system is very rigid and lacks the ability to acquire new skills (e.g. words and their semantics). In contrast to this, children acquire language through observation of adults’ speech and, more importantly, in interaction with them. As a result their speech capabilities are very flexible and can adapt to new situations. Our research target is therefore to build a system that can learn to acquire speech in interaction with humans. The interaction aspect requires a hardware platform that can engage in a natural communication with humans in real-world environments. For this purpose we employ our humanoid robot ASIMO (see Fig. 1). To provide the robot with human-like speech communication abilities we are working on several aspects of sound processing, scene representation, and learning that will be outlined in more detail in the next sections.

Quality of life after cochlear implantation in postlingually deaf adults

To evaluate the quality of life after cochlear implantation in adult cochlear implant recipients and to assess the applicability of Nijmegen Cochlear implant Questionnaire (NCIQ). Thirty-two postlingually deaf patients, 19 males and 13 females, underwent cochlear implantation with the age at operation of 35.27 (18-66) during the period from 1996 to the end of 2006. NCIQ was used to investigate the application of the equipment, hearing ability, and emotional exchange ability. All of the patients used their cochlear implants for 16 h every day on average with an experience in using such implant of more than 6 months. Improvement was seen in sound recognition, speech recognition, confidence, daily life, social exchange, and emotional behavior ability at different degrees. The improvement of confidence was very obvious. The speech communication ability of those with a hearing deprivation time longer than 5 years was lower than that of those with a shorter hearing deprivation time. Age and educational level did not influence the efficiency. Cochlear implantation is a cost effective intervention in the postlingually deaf adults. NCIQ test can be used to evaluate the quality of life among postlingually deaf adult cochlear implant recipients in China.

화법수업능력 개선을 위한 평가영역 및 내용요소 연구

The purpose of this study is to development of the evaluation standards for speech communication teaching. Speech communication teaching has some property, differ from other subject teaching, and demands the specific evaluation standards for itself. Because it reflect a characteristic of speaking-listening. In this study, we consider the properties of the structural elements of speech communication teaching in school education, which are instructor, learner and the contents of speech communication instruction. And we investigate the recognitions of teachers and students on speech communication teaching through doing the survey. If teacher put the contents of teaching into practice with the evaluation standards for speech communication teaching, the speech communication abilities of student can be efficiently improved. This study provides the evaluation standards, that make a improvement of the abilities of teacher in speech communication teaching.

Speechreading and Aging

Speechreading and Aging

Factors affecting children’s speech communication in classrooms

A child’s ability to hear and communicate with speech in the classroom is influenced by several factors, including talker characteristics (level, clarity, dialect), the acoustical environment (noise level, reverberance), and listener characteristics (hearing status, cognitive development, language level, exposure to English). This presentation will review and assess the relative contribution of each factor to the communication requirements of the classroom. An emphasis will be placed on the large individual differences in listener characteristics that are likely to exist in contemporary classrooms, and their impact on the requirements of the acoustic environment for effective speech communication. Recent findings from this laboratory and from other researchers that document the range of speech communication abilities in both difficult and easy listening conditions among school-age children will be reviewed. Finally, an initial proposal for acceptable levels of background noise and reverberance in classrooms based on these findings will be offered. The rationale for this proposal is that noise and reverberance levels must be low enough to allow children with a wide range of listener characteristics to communicate with speech easily and effectively in the classroom. [See NOISE-CON Proceedings for full paper.]

Technology advancements in hearing protection circa 1995: active noise reduction, frequency/amplitude-sensitivity, and uniform attenuation.

Conventional hearing protection devices represent a mature technology that has been widely used since the late 1950s. When worn consistently and correctly such devices can provide suitable hearing protection in many, if not most noise-hazardous or aurally annoying situations. However, such devices have often been implicated in compromised auditory perception, degraded signal detection, and reduced speech communication abilities. In some instances this can create hazards for the wearer, or at the very least, resistance to use by those in need of hearing protection. Recent technological developments have been used to augment hearing protectors in an attempt to alleviate these problems for the user while providing adequate attenuation. Operational characteristics, design alternatives, performance data, and applications for active noise reduction, active sound transmission, frequency selectively, adjustable attenuation, amplitude sensitivity, and uniform attenuation features in hearing protectors are discussed, and recommendations are provided.

Technology Advancements in Hearing Protection: Active Noise Reduction, Frequency/Amplitude-Sensitivity, and Uniform Attenuation

Conventional hearing protection devices have often been implicated in compromised auditory perception, degraded signal detection, and reduced speech communication abilities. Recent technological developments have been used to augment hearing protectors in an attempt to alleviate these problems for the user, while at the same time providing adequate attenuation. Operational characteristics, design features, performance data, and applications for active noise reduction, sound transmission, frequency-selective, adjustable attenuation, amplitude-sensitive, and uniform attenuation devices are discussed.

Phonemic errors of deaf children on a nonsense syllable test

A closed response nonsense syllable test was developed to assess the reception of gross phonemic contrasts by deaf children. Test items were composed of V, VC, and CV syllables with the vowels /i,a,u/ and the consonants /m,s,g/. The test was administered over a two‐year period (1975 and 1976) to one hundred 12–14 year old deaf children enrolled in schools for the deaf throughout New York State. Percentile plots showed improvement in overall performance over the two‐year period. Greatest improvements were for vowels. Results indicated a pattern of errors similar to those reported by previous investigators for adults and adolescents [Pickett et al., in Speech Communication Ability and Profound Deafness, 119–133 (1970)]. These included: (1) scores for vowels were consistently higher than those for consonants, (2) scores for /u/ and /a/ were roughly the same and were in turn higher than the scores for /i/, (3) scores for the initial consonants were higher than scores for final consonants except for the nasal in which the reverse was true. [Work supported by Cooperative Research Endeavors in Education of the Deaf (CREED), Bureau for Special School Supervision, Office for Education of Children with Handicapping Conditions].

Speech Communication Ability of the Profound Deafness

Speech Communication Ability of the Profound Deafness