Gender-Affirming Voice Training for Trans Women: Acoustic Outcomes and Their Associations With Listener Perceptions Related to Gender.

Objectives: To investigate acoustic outcomes of gender-affirming voice training for trans women wanting to develop a female sounding voice and to describe what happens acoustically when male sounding voices become more female sounding.

Study Design: Prospective treatment study with repeated measures.

Methods: N = 74 trans women completed a voice training program of 8-12 sessions and had their voices audio recorded twice before and twice after training.

Gender-Affirming Voice Training for Trans Women: Effectiveness of Training on Patient-Reported Outcomes and Listener Perceptions of Voice.

Purpose: Although speech-language pathologists have provided gender-affirming voice training for trans women since the 1970s, evidence for this training's effectiveness remains weak. Our study aimed to redress limitations of earlier studies and evaluate voice training effects on outcomes important to trans women.

Method: Seventy-four trans women (19-54 years old) who wanted a more female-sounding voice were recruited through two health facilities and provided with an eight- to 12-session voice training program based on contemporary literature, usual clinical practice, and client-centered care principles.

Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation of the Self-Efficacy Scale for Voice Modification in Trans Women.

Objective: To develop a self-efficacy questionnaire for voice modification related to gender affirmation and to examine the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the questionnaire among a cohort of trans women.

Methods: This study was undertaken in two phases. In phase I, four Speech- Language Pathologists (SLPs) and four trans women informed the development of the Self-Efficacy Scale for Voice Modification in Trans Women (SES-VMTW).

The Effectiveness of Gender Affirming Voice Training for Transfeminine Clients: A Comparison of Traditional Versus Intensive Delivery Schedules.

Introduction: Gender affirming voice training is a service provided by speech language pathologists to members of the trans and gender diverse community. While there is some evidence to support the effectiveness of this training, the evidence base is limited by a lack of prospective studies with large sample sizes. Finally, there has been only limited research investigating the effectiveness of this training when delivered on intensive (compressed) schedules, even though such schedules are used in clinical practice and may have practical benefits such as increasing service access for this vulnerable population.

Perceived Gender and Client Satisfaction in Transgender Voice Work: Comparing Self and Listener Rating Scales across a Training Program.

Background/aim: Scales used to collect perceptual ratings related to a speaker's gender are widely used in gender affirming voice training for trans individuals. Such scales may be used as outcome measures to gain insight into whether training has helped clients meet personal goals related to gender expression. These scales are also widely used in general research investigating the relationship between vocal characteristics and perceptions of speaker gender.

The Experiences of Trans and Gender Diverse Clients in an Intensive Voice Training Program: A Mixed-Methodological Study.

Intensive schedules in behavioral voice therapy and training have been proposed to have a range of positive benefits including enhanced outcomes, high client and clinician satisfaction, and reduced client attrition. In the sub-field of behavioral voice training for trans and gender diverse clients, intensive schedules may also present a means of increasing service access opportunities for a vulnerable population. Despite the proposed benefits there has been limited research investigating client experiences in intensive voice training programs.

Associations between the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ ) and self-report of voice femininity and acoustic voice measures.

Background: The Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ ) was designed to capture the voice-related perceptions of individuals whose gender identity as female is the opposite of their birth-assigned gender (MtF women). Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the TVQ is ongoing.

Aims: To investigate associations between TVQ scores and (1) self-perceptions of voice femininity and (2) acoustic parameters of voice pitch and voice quality in order to evaluate further the validity of the TVQ .

Further Evidence of the Construct Validity of the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ) Using Principal Components Analysis.

Objectives: The Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQ) is a population-specific self-report tool designed to capture the perceptions of male-to-female transsexual women (MtF women) regarding their vocal functioning and the voice-related impact on their everyday life. The aim of this study was to further the psychometric evaluation of the TVQ by examining its construct validity and confirming its reliability.

Study Design: This is a prospective validity and reliability study.

A novel approach for measuring social participation in adults who stutter.

Unlabelled: This paper reports a preliminary study which trialled a novel approach for measuring speech output and social participation. The amount of phonation was accumulated via an objective measure called an Ambulatory Phonation Monitor (APM).

Purpose: (1) To establish whether adults who stutter will tolerate wearing an APM for an extended period of time (three days), (2) to test whether the APM can accumulate useful data about the amount of phonation adults who stutter produce in the course of a normal day and (3) to examine a possible relationship between stuttering severity and amount of phonation.

Speech and voice range profiles of adults with untrained normal voices: methodological implications.

Automatic recordings were made of speech and voice range profiles for 63 vocally healthy Australian men and women without voice training (30 males and 33 females aged 21 to 65 years). Test-retest reliability, evaluated for a subgroup, was high. Speech range profile results were consistent with results reported by others.

Development and preliminary evaluation of the transsexual voice questionnaire for male-to-female transsexuals.

Objective: This study reports on the preliminary psychometric evaluation of the Transsexual Voice Questionnaire for Male-to-Female Transsexuals (MtF)-TVQ(MtF), a tool designed to measure the perceptions of MtF transsexuals regarding their voice. The TVQ(MtF) evolved from an extensive review of the existing Transgender Self-evaluation Questionnaire (TSEQ).

Study Design: This study was conducted in two phases.

Beyond voice: perceptions of gender in male-to-female transsexuals.

Purpose Of Review: This review covers recent research findings that demonstrate the effectiveness of speech pathology intervention in enabling male-to-female transsexual individuals to portray their gender identity through speech. Research reports that extend our understanding of communication characteristics that contribute to perceptions of sex in male-to-female transsexuals are identified. Current issues related to the measurement of therapy effectiveness are also presented.

Phonetograms, aerodynamic measurements, self-evaluations, and auditory perceptual ratings of male-to-female transsexual voice.

Objectives: This exploratory study reports instrumental and subjective data for 25 male-to-female transsexual (M-F TS) individuals using their attempted female voice. The aim was to examine the usefulness of phonetograms and aerodynamic measures for voice assessment of this client group.

Study Design: Descriptive and correlational.

The effect of smooth speech on the speech production of an individual with ataxic dysarthria.

Purpose: To examine the effects of an intensive Smooth Speech therapy technique on the speech production of an individual with ataxic dysarthria and on the individual's level of functioning on the domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

Method: This study utilized a single-subject experimental design. One individual with ataxic dysarthria took part in an intensive Smooth Speech therapy programme.

Communicative satisfaction of male-to-female transsexuals.

The aim of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the way male-to-female transsexuals perceived their communication and their satisfaction with it in different aspects of their lives. Three focus groups were conducted for the purposes of this study, each consisting of four participants. The transcribed dialogues of the groups were analysed using a grounded theory approach to find the common underlying themes.

The relative effectiveness of vocal hygiene training and vocal function exercises in preventing voice disorders in primary school teachers.

Voice disorders in teachers have a significant impact on their occupational functioning and well being. Teachers are believed to have a high prevalence of voice problems because of the unfavourable acoustic environments in which they work and the high vocal demands and stress levels associated with teaching. Although the types of voice problems teachers experience should be preventable because they are caused by factors that teachers can change, there is limited information available regarding the effectiveness of different preventative strategies.

The effectiveness of oral resonance therapy on the perception of femininity of voice in male-to-female transsexuals.

Ten male-to-female transsexuals participated in five sessions of oral resonance voice therapy targeting lip spreading and forward tongue carriage. Acoustic analysis of recordings made pre- and posttherapy found that participant formant frequency values (F1, F2, and F3, from the vowels /a/, /i/, and /mho/), as well as fundamental frequency (F0), underwent a general increase posttherapy. F3 values, in particular, increased significantly posttreatment.

Connecting stuttering management and measurement: IV. Predictors of outcome for a behavioural treatment for stuttering.

Background: Clinical trials have shown that behavioural treatments based on variants of prolonged-speech (PS) are best practice for reducing the stuttering rate in adults. However, while stuttering is significantly reduced or eliminated for most adults in the short-term with such treatment, relapse in the longer-term is common. Consequently, there has been interest in attempting to establish variables that predict responsiveness to PS-based treatments.

Treatment of chronic stuttering: outcomes from a student training clinic.

Background: It has been suggested that one way to increase speech pathologists' confidence in working with people who stutter is to provide them with relevant and stimulating clinical experiences during their professional preparation. This paper describes a treatment programme for adults who stutter that is conducted by speech pathology students, under supervision, in an Australian university setting. The aim of the research presented here was to establish speech outcomes for this programme, and to determine whether the programme meets benchmarks set by reports of similar programmes, in addition to providing mentorship for student clinicians.