bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Information and Augmentative Communication Technique on Attitudes Toward Nonspeaking Individuals
Authors: Gorenflo Carole Wood , Gorenflo Daniel W.
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the effects of printed factual information and three augmentative communication techniques on attitudes of nondisabled individuals toward nonspeaking persons with physical disabilities. Employing a 3 (augmentative communication techniques) x 2 (presence/absence of information) factorial design, subjects viewed a videotape depicting a nonspeaking adult having a conversation with a normal-speaking individual. Subjects in Condition 1 viewed a tape depicting the nonspeaking individual using unaided communication techniques; Condition 2 subjects viewed the individual using an alphabet board; subjects in Condition 3 viewed the individual using a computer-based voice output communication aid (VOCA). A scale assessing attitudes toward nonspeaking persons, the Attitudes Toward Nonspeaking Persons Scale (ATNP), was developed and validated for purposes of this study and was employed as the dependent measure. Results revealed that subjects expressed more favorable attitudes when provided with the additional information concerning the nonspeaking individual. Attitude favorability also increased with the sophistication of the augmentative communication technique.
Perceptual Characteristics of Vowel and Prosody Production in Apraxic, Aphasic, and Dysarthric Speakers
Authors: Odell Katharine , McNeil Malcolm R. , Rosenbek John C. , Hunter Linda
Published: July 2014

Narrow phonetic transcriptions and prosodic judgments were made of single-word imitations by apraxic (AOS), conduction aphasic (CA), and ataxic dysarthric (AD) speakers. AOS and AD subjects showed similar vowel error patterns, particularly predominant errors in low, tense, and back vowels, more distortions than other types of vowel errors, and predominant errors in initial position of words and in monosyllabic words. The CA subjects displayed a different vowel error pattern, notably more substitutions than distortions, more errors in polysyllabic than monosyllabic words, and more errors in noninitial than initial positions of words. Analysis of prosodic features identifiable at the single-word level (e.g., syllabic stress, juncture, and struggles to initiate or complete productions) indicated that syllabic stress errors and more difficulty initiating than completing word production were characteristic of AOS and AD but not CA subjects.
Toward a Technology of Generalization
Authors: Elbert Mary , Powell Thomas W. , Swartzlander Paula
Published: July 2014

This descriptive study examined the number of minimal-word-pair exemplars necessary for 19 phonologically impaired children to meet a generalization criterion. For 59% of the test cases, three exemplars were sufficient for generalization to occur. Five exemplars were sufficient in 21% of the test cases, and it was necessary to teach 10 different exemplars in 14% of the test cases. In 7% of the test cases, generalization did not occur despite treatment on 10 exemplars. Although generalization usually occurred following treatment using a small number of exemplars, there was substantial variability across individual subjects. There was no apparent relationship between specific sounds and the likelihood of generalization; however, the data from some children suggested that treatment on one sound enhances learning of subsequent sounds. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Stability of Cohesion in the Spoken Narratives of Language-Impaired and Normally Developing School-Aged Children
Authors: Strong Carol J. , Shaver James P.
Published: July 2014

The short-term stability of the cohesion scores for the spoken narratives of language-impaired and normally developing school-aged children was investigated. Narratives were obtained from 39 language-impaired and 39 normal-language children, aged 8–10 years, at four 2-week intervals. Reliability coefficients for scores from five measures—two for cohesive adequacy and three for verbal productivity—were of adequate magnitude for analysis. Mean cohesive adequacy scores were stable across narratives, but stability coefficients were only moderately large. Stability coefficients for verbal productivity scores were sufficiently large for research purposes; mean scores were most similar between testing Times 2 and 3, indicating that stability increased after children had experience telling stories.
Following Up on Treated Stutterers
Authors: Craig A. R. , Calver P.
Published: July 2014

The present research aimed to investigate perceptions of fluency of persons treated with a fluency shaping technique called smooth speech. Four separate studies were conducted. The first showed that virtually all those treated were satisfied with their fluency following treatment. However, this satisfaction decreased to under half in the long term. The second study showed considerable opportunity in the long term for job promotion and upgrade in occupation for persons successfully completing a smooth-speech program. The third study compared employer perceptions of their employees’ speech between a group who had received treatment for stuttering and a nontreatment control. The employers’ perceptions of the treatment group were significantly enhanced, whereas no significant change occurred in employers’ perceptions for the control group. The last study explored possible determinants of relapse in a population of treated stutterers. Results showed that most had experienced some degree of relapse, but had subsequently recovered. Few believed their relapse was associated with being embarrassed about using smooth speech. The majority believed their relapses were related to feeling pressured to speak faster. Investigating perceptions of fluency following treatment for stuttering seems an important goal for research in order to enhance treatment effectiveness. Directions for further research into this area are discussed.
Analysis of Children’s Word-Finding Skills in Discourse
Authors: German Diane J. , Simon Elaine
Published: July 2014

This investigation analyzed children’s word-finding skills in discourse. The subjects, 16 children with word-finding problems and 16 normal children in Grades 1–6, were matched for sex, age, grade, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic region, and receptive language. Subjects’ narratives, produced in response to three pictures and five probes, were tape recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with respect to the following word-finding indices: language productivity and the incidence of word-finding characteristics (repetitions, reformulations, substitutions, delays, empty words, time fillers, and insertions). Group comparisons were made with respect to these indices. Children with word-finding disorders did not differ from normal children in language productivity but manifested significantly more word-finding characteristics in their narratives. These findings are discussed with respect to characteristics and assessment of and intervention for children with word-finding disorders in discourse.
The Role of Target Word Stress in Auditory Comprehension by Aphasic Listeners
Authors: Kimelman Mikael D.Z.
Published: July 2014

The present investigation was designed to determine the influence of stressed word prosody on auditory comprehension by listeners with aphasia. Paragraph-length narratives were computer-edited to yield two conditions. In one condition, both the target words and the surrounding context were prosodically neutral; in the second condition, target words were stressed and the surrounding contexts were prosodically neutral. The paragraph-length stimuli were presented to 10 aphasic listeners and their comprehension was tested. Analysis revealed that prosodic information carried only by stressed target words, within paragraph-length stimuli, did not provide significant comprehension benefits to aphasic listeners. The comprehension improvement typically observed when paragraph-length narratives are stressed is, therefore, most likely due to prosodic cues that precede stress-bearing target words.
Subject Case Marking and Verb Morphology in Normally Developing and Specifically Language-Impaired Children
Authors: Loeb Diane Frome , Leonard Laurence B.
Published: July 2014

Recent theories of language development propose a direct relationship between children’s use of verb morphology and their use of subject case pronouns. Such proposals might contribute to an understanding of specifically language-impaired (SLI) children’s difficulties. These children’s extraordinary problems with verb morphology are well documented, and preliminary evidence indicates frequent pronoun case errors (e.g.,
her
for
she
) in their speech. Thus, it is possible that a collection of difficulties may be linked to a common source in these children. The objectives of this study were to determine: (a) whether subject case marking, as well as verb morphology was more limited in the speech of a group of SLI children than in the speech of a younger group of normally developing (ND) children matched for mean utterance length; (b) whether a relationship between the use of subject case marking and the use of verb morphology existed in the speech of the ND children; and, if so, (c) whether this relationship is evident in the SLI children as well, in spite of their more limited use of these features. The results revealed that the SLI children were more limited than the ND children in the use of both subject case marking and verb morphology. However, a relationship between the two types of usage was found in both groups of children.
The Validity of a Parent Report Measure of Vocabulary and Syntax at 24 Months
Authors: Dale Philip S.
Published: July 2014

Parent report can provide valuable information on early child language development for clinical and research purposes. Previous research has documented the validity of parent report as an overall assessment of child language and as a measure of expressive vocabulary. In this project, a newly revised questionnaire for the assessment of vocabulary and syntactic development, the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Toddlers, is evaluated. Twentyfour children at 24 months were seen for a laboratory assessment including the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test, the Memory for Sentences subtest of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition, and selected items of the Sequenced Inventory of Communicative Development. In addition, a language sample was recorded, from which mean length of utterance and other measures were derived. Concurrent validity correlations demonstrate high validity for parent report in both domains (r= .73–.79), and some ability to differentially assess the two.
The Use of an Invented Language Rule in the Differentiation of Normal and Language-Impaired Spanish-Speaking Children
Authors: Roseberry Celeste A. , Connell Phil J.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the results of a language-teaching procedure could be used to identify specific language-impaired children in a group of bilingual children with limited English proficiency (LEP). An invented morpheme was taught to two groups of LEP children who had been previously identified as normal and specific language-impaired. The language-impaired group learned the morpheme at a slower rate than the normal children, thus allowing the two groups to be differentiated. The approach promises to circumvent many of the obstacles that impede current practices for identifying language impairment in the LEP population.
Otoacoustic Emissions in an Adult With Severe Hearing Loss
Authors: Prieve B. A. , Gorga M. , Neely S. T.
Published: July 2014

Otoacoustic Emissions in an Adult With Severe Hearing Loss. Prieve, B. A., Gorga, M., and Neely, S. T.
JSHR
, April 1991, 379–385.
Task Complexity and Manual Reaction Times in People Who Stutter
Authors: Webster William G. , Ryan C. R. Lynne
Published: July 2014

The study was designed to test the hypothesis that manual reaction time differences between people who stutter and those who do not reflect the information processing complexity of the task. The study focused on decision complexity in a reaction time paradigm. One manipulation involved increasing the number of response alternatives The second involved the spatial contiguity of signal and response locus. Twenty-four adult stutterers and 24 nonstutterers were compared with respect to response initiation and completion times on the various task conditions. Contrary to the hypothesis, there was no significant Group x Complexity interaction in the analysis of either response measure for either complexity manipulation. Stutterers were slower than nonstutterers overall, but with increasing decision complexity, the group response times paralleled one another. It is concluded that whatever response planning and organization deficit there may be in people who stutter, it is independent of decision complexity but may be evident in manipulations of response complexity defined in terms of spatial and temporal coordination.
Young Stutterers’ Nonspeech Behaviors During Stuttering
Authors: Conture Edward G. , Kelly Ellen M.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to assess the nonspeech behaviors associated with young stutterers’ stuttering and normally fluent children’s comparable fluent utterances. Subjects were 28 boys and 2 girls who stutter (mean age=54 months) and 28 boys and 2 girls who do not stutter (mean age=54 months). Each child and his or her mother were audio-video recorded during a loosely structured, 30-min conversation. Sixty-six different nonspeech behaviors associated with 10 randomly selected stutterings per stutterer and 10 comparable fluent utterances per normally fluent child were assessed by means of frame-by-frame analysis of the audio-video recordings. Results indicate that (a) young stutterers produce significantly more nonspeech behaviors during stuttered words than do normally fluent children during comparable fluent words, (b) young stutterers produce significantly more head turns left, blinks, and upper lip raising during stuttered words than do normally fluent children during comparable fluent words, and (c) talker group membership could be significantly determined on the basis of certain types of nonspeech behaviors despite considerable overlap in frequency and type of nonspeech behavior between the two talker groups. Findings suggest that children can be classified as stutterers on the basis of their nonspeech behaviors and that these behaviors may reflect a variety of cognitive, emotional, linguistic, and physical events associated with childhood stuttering.
Predicting Poor-Communication Status in Preschool Children Using Risk Factors Present at Birth
Authors: Tomblin J. Bruce , Hardy James C. , Hein Herman A.
Published: July 2014

The speech and language status of 662 children between the ages of 30 months and 5 years was determined through the use of parent report information. Twelve of these children were reported by their parents to have been diagnosed as having a speech-language disorder, and 50 of these children were found to be at or below the 10th percentile in language development for children of their age. Information about family background and birth history obtained when these children were born was evaluated with respect to its power to predict speech-language status in these preschool children. A set of risk criteria was found to accurately predict 55% of those children with poor communication skills and 76% of those with normal communication development. This prediction was improved by the addition of data about the child’s birth order. These results suggest that programs of preschool identification should consider the inclusion of a registry of children who are at risk for a communication disorder.
Verb Particle and Preposition Acquisition in Language-Impaired Preschoolers
Authors: Watkins Ruth V. , Rice Mabel L.
Published: July 2014

This study examined the acquisition of verb particles and prepositions in language-impaired, language-matched, and age-matched preschool children. A videotape experimental task, in which subjects viewed and described brief action sequences, was implemented. The videotape task included particle, preposition, full noun phrase, and pronoun noun phrase items for six different particle/preposition words. Primary results indicated that the use of verb particles constituted a particularly challenging linguistic task for the language-impaired subjects relative to both their age- and language-matched peers. These results suggest multiple sources of difficulty for language-impaired children in the acquisition of grammatical form classes. Lexical and grammatical difficulties, as well as possible processing limitations, are implicated.
Consonant Lingual-Palatal Contacts Produced by Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Children
Authors: Dagenais Paul A. , Critz-Crosby Paula
Published: July 2014

Ten normal hearing (NH) and 18 profoundly hearing-impaired (HI) children were recorded using palatometry and audiotape while producing the consonants /t,d,k,g,s,z,∫/ in CV syllables (V=/i, α/). The lingual-palatal contacts produced by the NH subjects for the alveolar stops were undifferentiated across voicing and vowel environment differences. Lingual-palatal contact patterns for the velar stops differed for vowel environment but not for voicing. The /s/ and /z/ sibilants were distinguished by groove width but not anterior place. Groove locations for /s/ and /z/ were more anterior than groove locations for /∫/. The anterior grove location for the /∫/ was vowel dependent. The HI subjects produced idiosyncratic lingual-palatal contact patterns. As patterns for individuals became more unique and less variable across the syllable stimuli, listener identifications showed correspondingly incorrect, undifferentiated responses. The atypical contact patterns used by the HI subjects often required interpretation of possible tongue activities during attempts at the various consonants.
Articulation Rate in 3- and 5-Year-Old Children
Authors: Walker Jean F. , Archibald Lisa M. D. , Cherniak Sharon R. , Fish Valerie G.
Published: July 2014

The major purposes of this study were to provide normative data on articulation rate in preschool children and to examine the influence on articulation rate of age, gender, context, and utterance length. The subjects were twenty 3-year-old children and twenty 5-year-old children, equally balanced for gender. Durational measures of utterances were analyzed in syllables and phones per second in both spontaneous and imitated speech contexts. The articulation rate of the 5-year-old subjects was significantly faster than that of the 3-year-olds. Spontaneous speech was significantly faster and more variable than imitated speech. Some gender differences were found. Measures in syllables per second and phones per second, although not always yielding identical results, were found to be highly correlated.
Effects of Stimulus Phase on the Normal Auditory Brainstem Response
Authors: Fowler Cynthia G.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of stimulus phase on the latencies and morphology of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) of normal-hearing subjects. Although click stimuli produced equivalent ABR latencies for the rarefaction and condensation phases, the subtraction of the waveforms from the two phases yielded a difference potential. Tone pip stimuli produced polarity differences that were inversely related to stimulus frequency: the higher the frequency, the smaller the ABR latency differences between responses to rarefaction and condensation stimuli, and the smaller the difference potentials. Thus, whereas the latency of click-evoked ABR is dominated by high-frequency responses with equivalent latencies regardless of stimulus phase, low-frequency responses contribute to the overall morphology of the ABR that yields the phasic difference potential. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to subjects with high-frequency hearing losses.
Acoustic Interpretation of the Voice Range Profile (Phonetogram)
Authors: Titze Ingo R.
Published: July 2014

The voice range profile (VRP) is a display of vocal intensity range versus fundamental frequency (F
0
). Past measurements have shown that the intensity range is reduced at the extremes of the F
0
range, that there is a gradual upward tilt of the high- and low-intensity boundaries with increasing F
0
, and that a ripple exists at the boundaries. The intensity ripple, which results from tuning of source harmonics to the formants, is more noticeable at the upper boundary than the lower boundary because higher harmonics are not energized as effectively near phonation threshold as at maximum lung pressure. The gradual tilt of the intensity boundaries results from more effective transmission and radiation of acoustic energy at higher fundamental frequencies. This depends on the spectral distribution of the source power, however. At low F
0
, a smaller spectral slope (more harmonic energy) produces greater intensity. At high F
0
, on the other hand, a shift of energy toward the fundamental results in greater intensity. This dependence of intensity on spectral distribution of source power seems to explain the reduced intensity range at higher F
0
. An unrelated problem of reduced intensity range at low F
0
stems from the inherent difficulty of keeping F
0
from rising when subglottal pressure is increased.
Validation of a Modern Miniature Transducer for Measurement of Interlabial Contact Pressure During Speech
Authors: Hinton Virginia A. , Luschei Erich S.
Published: July 2014

The response characteristics of the Entran Flatline pressure transducer (EPL-2001-10)
TM
and its potential for use in studies of speech production were investigated. Data from a model simulating bilabial closure and from 2 human subjects indicate that this transducer is an appropriate tool for measurement of interlabial pressure during production of bilabial consonants. That is, the onset of the pressure pulse corresponds to the initiation of lip contact between the upper and lower lips, and the return to baseline represents complete lip separation, thus eliminating the need to infer lip contact from records of lip movement. Transducer output is not influenced significantly by temperature fluctuations or changes in the configuration and stiffness of the lips. The frequency response and level of sensitivity are linear over the range of pressures produced during speech. The subjects in this study typically generated interlabial pressures of 1.0–3.0 kPa during production of [p] in a carrier phrase.
Speech Analysis Systems
Authors: Read Charles , Buder Eugene H. , Kent Raymond D.
Published: July 2014

Performance characteristics are reviewed for seven systems marketed for acoustic speech analysis: CSpeech, CSRE, ILS-PC, Kay Elemetrics model 5500 Sona-Graph, MacSpeech Lab II, MSL, and Signalyze. The characteristics reviewed include system components, basic capabilities (signal acquisition, waveform operations, analysis, and other functions), documentation, user interface, data formats and journaling, speed and precision of spectral analysis, and speed and precision of fundamental frequency analysis. Basic capabilities are also tabulated for three recently introduced systems: the Sensimetrics SpeechStation, the Kay Elemetrics Computerized Speech Lab (CSL), and the LSI Speech Workstation. In addition to the capability and performance summaries, this article offers suggestions for continued development of speech analysis systems, particularly in data exchange, journaling, display features, spectral analysis, and fundamental frequency analysis.
Language Sample Collection and Analysis
Authors: Evans Julia L. , Craig Holly K.
Published: July 2014

Spontaneous language samples elicited during freeplay and interview contexts were compared for 10 children who were specifically language impaired (SLI). Clinician-child videotaped interactions were analyzed for both structural and conversational behaviors. The results indicated that the interview was a reliable and valid assessment context, eliciting the same profile of behaviors as the freeplay context without altering diagnostic classifications. Most behaviors occurred significantly more often during the interview than during the freeplay context, indicating further that interviews are an efficient language sampling alternative for assessment purposes with elementary school-aged children with language disorders.
Time-Interval Analysis of Interjudge and Intrajudge Agreement for Stuttering Event Judgments
Authors: Cordes Anne K. , Ingham Roger J. , Frank Peter , Ingham Janis Costello
Published: July 2014

In response to the recognized need for a valid and reliable way to measure stuttering, this study investigates a measurement methodology based on time-interval analyses of stuttering event judgments. Three groups of judges, differing in stuttering judgment experience, identified stuttering events in 12 repeated presentations of five 1-min speech samples. Fixed time intervals ranging from 0.2 sec to 7.0 sec were then superimposed on the event judgments by a data analysis program. Inter- and intrajudge interval-by-interval agreement, and agreement for total numbers of intervals containing stuttering event judgments, were calculated for each judge group. Results showed that agreement was superior among more experienced judges and in longer interval lengths. Agreement varied across speech samples but not across the repeated judgment opportunities. Agreement was maximized at greater than chance levels for an interval of approximately 3.0 sec, but even this best agreement did not exceed a mean of approximately 60% for experienced judges.
Vocal Tremor Analysis With the Vocal Demodulator
Authors: Winholtz William S. , Ramig Lorraine Olson
Published: July 2014

Acoustic analysis of vocal tremor has the potential to make significant quantitative and diagnostic contributions to the study of vocal disorders. This paper presents a new device for analysis of vocal tremor. The Vocal Demodulator produces amplitude- and frequency-demodulated outputs and measures the frequency and level (percent) of low-frequency tremor components in sustained phonation. A standard microphone is used to transduce the voice signal for input to the demodulator. The input fundamental frequency (F
o
) range is 70–1200 Hz, and frequency response of the amplitude and frequency demodulation is 2.5–25 Hz. Five parameters are displayed in real time: F
o
, amplitude-modulation frequency, amplitude-modulation level, frequency-modulation frequency, and frequency-modulation level. Validation, calibration, and reliability data from synthesized test signals with modulation, as well as phonation from subjects with vocal tremor, subjects producing vibrato, and subjects with normal voice are presented. Research and clinical applications of this device are suggested.
Vowel Duration in Mothers' Speech to Young Children
Authors: Swanson Lori A. , Leonard Laurence B. , Gandour Jack
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether content words are selectively highlighted through increased vowel duration in mothers' speech to young children. Fifteen mother-child dyads served as subjects. All children (ages 1:6x2013;2:4) were female and had a mean length of utterance between 1.00 and 1.40 morphemes. Each mother was asked to read five experimental stories aloud to her child and to an adult. The vowel durations of both content words and function words in these stories were examined. Vowels in content wordsx2014;but not function wordsx2014;were significantly longer in child-directed than in adult-directed speech. It is suggested that this characteristic of child-directed speech might heighten young children's attention to content words and contribute to the exclusion of function words during the early stages of English language development.
The Relationship of Vallecular Residue to Oral Involvement, Reduced Hyoid Elevation, and Epiglottic Function
Authors: Perlman A. L. , Grayhack J. P. , Booth B. M.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this investigation was to identify certain variables that may result in vallecular residue after swallowing. The relationship between vallecular residue and oral-stage dysphagia, reduced hyoid elevation, and movement of the epiglottis was assessed in 330 patients referred to the speech pathology section for evaluation of oropharyngeal swallowing function. Patients with vallecular residue were more likely to have oral involvement or deviant epiglottic function, characterized by an absence of epiglottic inversion or incomplete inversion, than patients without vallecular residue. Although the primary focus of the study was between vallecular residue and the other select variables, the interrelationships among the three other variables were also studied. Patients with deviant epiglottic function were more likely to have oral involvement, reduced hyoid elevation, or vallecular residue than patients without deviant epiglottic function and patients with reduced hyoid elevation were more likely to have oral involvement than those with normal hyoid elevation. Multivariate analysis revealed that the relationship between oral involvement and deviant epiglottic function, present in the bivariate analysis, was not significant when controlling for other relationships in the model. The relationship between primary medical diagnostic category and the presence/absence of vallecular residue as well as the other dichotomous variables varied between and within diagnostic categories.
Equivalent Ear Canal Volumes in Children Pre- and Post-Tympanostomy Tube Insertion
Authors: Shanks Janet E. , Stelmachowicz Patricia G. , Beauchaine Kathryn L. , Schulte Laura
Published: July 2014

Pre- and postoperative equivalent ear canal volume measures were obtained from a group of 334 children ranging in age from 6 weeks to 6.7 years. The purpose of the study was to develop volumetric guidelines for the determination of tympanostomy tube patency. For children 4 years and older, almost no ambiguity existed in making this determination accurately. For younger children, the pre- and postoperative distributions overlap. A criterion value of ≥1.0 cm
3
as an indicator of a tympanic membrane perforation appears to yield the lowest possible error rate. When both pre- and postoperative measures are available, a difference of ≥0.4 cm
3
can be used in conjunction with the absolute value to identify a patent tympanostomy tube.
Linguistic Trade-Offs in School-Age Children With and Without Language Disorders
Authors: Masterson Julie J. , Kamhi Alan G.
Published: July 2014

Factors influencing the occurrence of trade-off effects among linguistic components were examined. Several linguistic measures were used to represent syntactic and phonological production in order to determine whether interrelationship patterns would vary across measures. Linguistic interactions present in imitated speech were compared to those from spontaneous speech. Group effects were explored by comparing data from children with language-learning disabilities, children with reading disabilities, and normally developing children. Results indicated trade-offs between some linguistic measures and positive relationships among others. More trade-offs were present in imitated speech than in spontaneous utterances. In general, interrelationship patterns were similar across groups. Interpretation of these results in reference to current models of sentence production is offered.
Speechreading Enhancement by Voice Fundamental Frequency
Authors: Hnath-Chisolm Theresa , Boothroyd Arthur
Published: July 2014

Recognition of words in sentences of known topic was measured in normally hearing adults via speechreading alone and speechreading supplemented with auditory presentation of signals intended to convey variations of voice fundamental frequency (F
o
) over time. Three signals were used: (a) the low-pass filtered output of an electroglottograph (unprocessed F
o
), (b) a constant amplitude sine wave whose instantaneous frequency was intended to equal that of F
o
(processed F
o
), and (c) the same sine wave restricted to a small number of discrete frequency steps (quantized F
o
). As the number of steps in the quantized F
o
contours increased from 1 to 12, the speechreading enhancement effect increased. The quantized F
o
contour with 12 steps was as effective as the processed F
o
contour (without quantization), but this processed contour was significantly less effective than the unprocessed electroglottograph signal. The results show that the auditory F
o
speechreading enhancement effect is sensitive to the errors introduced by the F
o
extraction and regeneration process used in this study. It is also sensitive to the quantization of F
o
contours into less than 12 steps. Whether more than 12 steps are required for the full enhancement effect remains to be determined.
The Role of Spectral and Temporal Cues in Vowel Identification by Listeners With Impaired Hearing
Authors: Summers W. Van , Leek Marjorie R.
Published: July 2014

This study examined the use of duration and formant frequency in the labeling of synthetic CVC stimuli forming a
beet-bit
continuum. Durational and F2 frequency cues to vowel identity varied systematically across stimuli. Subjects with normal hearing tended to rely primarily on F2 frequency in vowel labeling, whereas subjects with impaired hearing relied less on F2 information. This group difference was observed even for stimuli with large F2 differences, which were easily discriminated by all subjects. The effect of vowel duration on labeling was similar for both groups, with long-duration stimuli receiving more "beet" responses than short-duration stimuli across the F2 range. Psychoacoustic measures of frequency resolution and temporal resolution were poor predictors of a subject’s use of formant information and duration information in labeling.
Glottal Gap Configurations in Two Age Groups of Women
Authors: Linville Sue Ellen
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to gather data on glottal gap configurations in two age groups of women. Using videostroboscopy, glottal closure patterns of 20 women (10 young, 10 elderly) were observed across nine pitch/loudness conditions. While both young and elderly speakers displayed a high incidence of glottal gaps, the two groups differed markedly in the configuration of the gaps observed and in the phonatory conditions under which gaps were observed. Young speakers demonstrated posterior chink and incomplete closure significantly more frequently than elderly women, although rarely demonstrating anterior gap or spindle configuration. In contrast, anterior gap was the single most common type of gap in the elderly, with spindle also occurring significantly more frequently. Individual elderly speakers, overall, changed glottic configuration more frequently across phonatory conditions than did young speakers. Some individual elderly speakers tended to vary glottic configuration consistently with pitch level changes.
Role of Visual Feedback Treatment for Defective /s/ Sounds in Patients With Cleft Palate
Authors: Michi Ken-ichi , Yamashita Yukari , Imai Satoko , Suzuki Noriko , Yoshida Hiroshi
Published: July 2014

The role of visual feedback in the treatment of defective /s/ sounds in patients with cleft palate is described. Six patients with cleft palate who were similar in age, velopharyngeal function, and type of misarticulation were selected for this study. Treatment was provided using either visual feedback or no visual feedback. Visual feedback for tongue placement was provided by the Rion Electropalatograph (EPG). Visual feedback for frication was provided by a multi-function speech training aid (MFSTA). Improvement in /s/ sound production was assessed objectively using a method described previously (Michi et al., 1986). The results indicated that visual feedback for tongue placement and frication was especially useful in the treatment of defective /s/ sounds in patients with cleft palate who exhibited abnormal posterior tongue posturing during the production of dental or alveolar sounds.
Speech Breathing in Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Solomon Nancy Pearl , Hixon Thomas J.
Published: July 2014

Breathing was investigated in 14 male subjects with Parkinson’s disease and 14 healthy male control subjects. Kinematic, spirometric, acoustic, and pressure data were used to assess function during resting tidal breathing, reading aloud, and monologue production. Data were collected at two times during the drug cycle for subjects with Parkinson’s disease. During resting tidal breathing, subjects with Parkinson’s disease, on average, had a faster breathing rate, greater minute ventilation, and smaller relative contribution of the rib cage to lung volume change than did healthy control subjects. During speech breathing, rib cage volume was smaller and abdominal volume was larger at initiation of the breath groups for subjects with Parkinson’s disease than for healthy control subjects. Subjects with Parkinson’s disease produced fewer words and spent less time producing speech per breath group and tended to have a faster interpause speech rate than did healthy control subjects. There was no difference between groups for duration of inspirations between speech breath groups. Oral pressure was lower for subjects with Parkinson’s disease but estimated tracheal pressure did not differ between the two subject groups. Few differences were found between the two times in the drug cycle for resting and speech breathing. Results provide indirect evidence for reduced relative compliance of the rib cage to the abdomen for subjects with Parkinson’s disease as compared to healthy control subjects. In addition, the results support the possibility of inadequate valving of the air stream for subjects with Parkinson’s disease.
Influence of Frequency Selectivity on Comodulation Masking Release in Normal-Hearing Listeners
Authors: Hall Joseph W. , Grose John H. , Moore Brian C. J.
Published: July 2014

Experiments 1 and 2 investigated the effect of frequency selectivity on comodulation masking release (CMR) in normal-hearing subjects, examining conditions where frequency selectivity was relatively good (low masker level at both low [500-Hz] and high [2500-Hz] signal frequency, and high masker level at low signal frequency) and where frequency selectivity was somewhat degraded (high masker level and high signal frequency). The first experiment investigated CMR in conditions where a narrow modulated noise band was centered on the signal frequency, and a wider comodulated noise band was located below the band centered on the signal frequency. Signal frequencies were 500 and 2000 Hz. The masker level and the frequency separation between the on-signal and comodulated flanking band were varied. In addition to conditions where the flanking band and on-signal band were presented at the same spectrum level, conditions were included where the spectrum level of the flanking band was 10-dB higher than that of the on-signal band, in order to accentuate effects of reduced frequency selectivity. Results indicated that CMR was reduced at the 2000-Hz region when masker level was high, when the frequency separation between on-signal and flanking band was small, and when a 10-dB level disparity existed between the on-signal and flanking band. In the second experiment, CMR was investigated for narrow comodulated noise bands, presented either without any additional sound or in the presence of a random noise background. CMR increased slightly as the masker level increased, except at 2500 Hz when the noise background was present. The decrease in CMR at 2500 Hz with the high masker level and with a noise background present could be explained in terms of reduced frequency selectivity. In a third experiment, we compared performance for equal absolute bandwidth maskers at a low (500-Hz) and a high (2000-Hz) stimulus frequency. Results here suggested that detection in modulated noise may be reduced due to a reduction in the number of quasi-independent auditory filters contributing temporal envelope information. The effects found in the present study using normal-hearing listeners under conditions of degraded frequency selectivity may be useful in understanding part of the reduction of CMR that occurs in cochlear-impaired listeners having reduced frequency selectivity.
The Early Months of Stuttering
Authors: Yairi Ehud , Ambrose Nicoline Grinager , Niermann Rebecca
Published: July 2014

Objective data on the development of stuttering during its first several months are sparse. Such a deficit is due to parents’ tendency to postpone professional consultation regarding early stuttering until later in the course of the disorder and to a lack of longitudinal studies beginning close to onset. This report presents information on a rare group of 16 preschool subjects who were evaluated within several weeks after stuttering onset and followed for 6 months using multiple measures. The findings show that often early stuttering takes on a moderate-to-severe form. Substantial changes occurred, however, during the 6 months of the study, with a strong tendency for reduction in stuttering-like disfluencies, number of head/face movements, clinician severity ratings of stuttering, and parent ratings of stuttering. Several subjects, including severe cases, exhibited complete recovery. The large changes that occur during the early stage of stuttering suggest that relatively small differences in the length of post-onset interval (stuttering history) can greatly influence all research data of early childhood stuttering. The high, as well as fast, improvement rate suggests that the precise timing of early intervention should be conscientiously evaluated in carefully controlled studies.
Narrative Skills in 4-Year-Olds With Normal, Impaired, and Late-Developing Language
Authors: Paul Rhea , Smith Rita L.
Published: July 2014

Two groups of children who were slow in expressive language development (SELD) at age 2 and a matched group of toddlers with normal language were re-evaluated at age 4. Assessment included measures of productive syntactic skills in spontaneous speech and narrative abilities in a standard story retelling task. Four-year-olds who continued to perform below the normal range in sentence structure production scored significantly lower than their normally speaking peers on all measures of narrative skill. Children who were slow to begin talking at age 2 but who, by age 4, had moved into the normal range in basic sentence structure production showed no statistically significant differences, in terms of several of the measures of narrative ability, from either normally speaking 4-year-olds or from the group with persistent delay. The implications of these findings for the management of early language delay and its relation to school learning disability are discussed.
Supplementing Tests of Statistical Significance
Authors: Young Martin A.
Published: July 2014

This tutorial summarizes some of the widely known limitations of tests of statistical significance and then focuses on extracting measures of variation accounted for as a supplement to significance testing. Computation details are presented for research consumers. Some cautions in interpreting these measures are also reviewed.
Genetic Aspects of Early Childhood Stuttering
Authors: Ambrose Nicoline Grinager , Yairi Ehud , Cox Nancy
Published: July 2014

Although stuttering has long been acknowledged as a familial disorder, the nature of a genetic component remains unclear. Most previous data used in genetic studies were obtained primarily from adults who stutter and may be biased in several respects. The purpose of this investigation was to quantify the frequency of stuttering in relatives of preschool-age children who stutter, and who were first seen close to the onset of the disorder. Detailed pedigrees (family trees), including first-, second-, and third-degree relatives, were obtained from parents of 69 children who stuttered. We found, as have previous studies, that more male than female relatives ever stuttered, but that female subjects who stuttered had more female relatives who ever stuttered than did male subjects. In order to identify the genetic model most consistent with the observed patterns of stuttering transmission, we conducted segregation analyses. Results from these analyses suggest that transmission of a single major genetic locus increasing the liability to stuttering best accounts for the transmission of stuttering in families of preschool-age children who stutter.
The Influence of Noise on the Measured Amplitudes of Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions
Authors: Whitehead M. L. , Lonsbury-Martin B. L. , Martin G. K.
Published: July 2014

This paper describes the influence of noise on the measured amplitudes of tonal signals, as determined using narrowband spectral analysis, that is, the technique typically used to measure distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). At small signal-to-noise ratios, background noise results in overestimation of DPOAE amplitude and, thus, substantially influences the measured properties of the low-level portions of DPOAE-growth functions, in particular the apparent slope of the functions in this region. It is shown that, because of the influence of noise, the algorithm for the objective estimation of detection thresholds of DPOAEs, and of the slopes of DPOAE-growth functions, described by Nelson and Kimberley (1992), will tend to underestimate these values. This systematic underestimation is presumably the reason why many of the DPOAE-detection thresholds and growth slopes presented in that study were considerably lower than those reported in previous studies using similar measuring equipment and paradigms but different detection-threshold and growth-slope estimation techniques. In the present paper, a simple equation allowing an estimated correction for the effects of noise on measured DPOAE amplitudes is presented. Finally, an alternative strategy for the estimation of DPOAE thresholds, one that is less prone to the influence of noise, is suggested.
Narrative Discourse in Children With Language Disorders and Children With Normal Language
Authors: Liles Betty Z.
Published: July 2014

This review and analysis of the literature on narrative discourse in children places particular emphasis on children with language disorder. The review (a) describes theoretical perspectives on narrative use, (b) surveys researchers’ rationales for the investigation of narrative ability, (c) discusses methodological issues relevant to narrative research, and (d) concludes with a discussion regarding future research. Specific topics contained within these discussions include contributions from allied disciplines, the pragmatic nature of narrative use, narrative ability as an index of language development, methodological issues in research design, and clinical implications of future research.
Comparison of F
o
Extraction Methods for High-Precision Voice Perturbation Measurements
Authors: Titze Ingo R. , Liang Haixiang
Published: July 2014

Voice perturbation measures, such as jitter and shimmer, depend on accurate extraction of fundamental frequency (F
o
) and amplitude of various waveform types. The extraction method directly affects the accuracy of the measures, particularly if several waveform types (with or without formant structure) are under consideration and if noise and modulation are present in the signal. For frequency perturbation, high precision is defined here as the ability to extract F
o
to ±0.01% under conditions of noise and modulation. Three F
o
-extraction methods and their software implementations are discussed and compared. The methods are cycle-to-cycle waveform matching, zero-crossing and peak-picking. Interpolation between samples is added to make the extractions more accurate and reliable. The sensitivity of the methods to different parameters such as sampling frequency, mean F
o
, signal-to-noise ratio, frequency modulation, and amplitude modulation are explored.