Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Whole-Word Recognition From Articulatory Movements For Silent Speech Interfaces, Jun Wang, Ashok Samal, Jordan R. Green, Frank Rudzicz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Articulation-based silent speech interfaces convert silently produced speech movements into audible words. These systems are still in their experimental stages, but have significant potential for facilitating oral communication in persons with laryngectomy or speech impairments. In this paper, we report the result of a novel, real-time algorithm that recognizes whole-words based on articulatory movements. This approach differs from prior work that has focused primarily on phoneme-level recognition based on articulatory features. On average, our algorithm missed 1.93 words in a sequence of twenty-five words with an average latency of 0.79 seconds for each word prediction using a data set of …

Autism Spectrum Disorders In Hispanics And Non-Hispanics, Virginia Chaidez, Robin L. Hansen, Irva Hertz-Picciotto

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives: To compare differences in autism between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. We also examined the relationship between multiple language exposure and language function and scores of children. Methods: The Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study is an ongoing population-based case-control study with children sampled (n = 1061) from three strata: those with autism (AU) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD); developmental delay (DD); or the general population (GP). Results: Non-Hispanic cases demonstrated higher cognitive composite scores for the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). There were significant associations between multiple language exposure and MSEL subscales for receptive …

Spatiotemporal Coupling Of The Tongue In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Mili S. Kuruvilla, Jordan R. Green, Yana Yunusova, Kathy Hanford

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The primary aim of the investigation was to identify deficits in spatiotemporal coupling between tongue regions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The relations between disease-related changes in tongue movement patterns and speech intelligibility were also determined.

Methods: The authors recorded word productions from 11 individuals with ALS with mild, moderate, and severe dysarthria using an x-ray microbeam during word productions. A coupling index based on sliding window covariance was used to determine disease-related changes in the coupling between the tongue regions across each word.

Results: The results indicated decreased spatiotemporal coupling of mid-posterior tongue regions and reduced tongue speed …

Sentence Recognition From Articulatory Movements For Silent Speech Interfaces, Jun Wang, Ashok Samal, Jordan R. Green, Frank Rudzicz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Recent research has demonstrated the potential of using an articulation-based silent speech interface for command-and-control systems. Such an interface converts articulation to words that can then drive a text-to-speech synthesizer. In this paper, we have proposed a novel near-time algorithm to recognize whole-sentences from continuous tongue and lip movements. Our goal is to assist persons who are aphonic or have a severe motor speech impairment to produce functional speech using their tongue and lips. Our algorithm was tested using a functional sentence data set collected from ten speakers (3012 utterances). The average accuracy was 94.89% with an average latency of …

Endoscopic And Stroboscopic Presentation Of The Larynx In Male-To-Female Transsexual Persons, Derek Palmer, Angela M. Dietsch, Jeff Searl

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Background. Male-to-female transsexual (MFT) persons often attempt to produce a female-sounding voice as part of the transition process. Endoscopic and stroboscopic data about how they accomplish this with an anatomically male larynx are lacking.

Objectives. To describe vocal fold activity in MFT persons producing their feminine voice and identify signs of vocal misuse or hyperfunction in MFT speakers, if any.

Study Design. Prospective, nonrandomized, descriptive study of a convenience sample of MFT persons.

Methods. All MFT persons had endoscopic and stroboscopic procedures completed. Images were rated on a range of parameters by two experienced voice therapists to derive the descriptions. …

Augmented Input: The Effect Of Visuographic Supports On The Auditory Comprehension Of People With Chronic Aphasia, Sarah E. Wallace, Aimee R. Dietz, Karen Hux, Kristy S.E. Weissling

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Background: Augmented input (AI), or the use of visuographic images and linguistic supports, is a strategy for facilitating the auditory comprehension of people with chronic aphasia. To date, researchers have not systematically evaluated the effects of various types of AI strategies on auditory comprehension.

Aims: The purpose of the study was to perform an initial evaluation of the changes in auditory comprehension accuracy experienced by people with aphasia when they received one type of AI. Specifically, the authors examined the effect four types of non-personalized visuographic image conditions on the comprehension of people with aphasia when listening to narratives.

Methods …