Development of a Psychometric Measure of the Propensity to Consciously Control and Monitor Speech Production.

Purpose A speech-specific reinvestment scale (SSRS) is a psychometric measure of the propensity to consciously control and monitor speech production. This study develops and validates an SSRS as well as examines its relationship with speech performance with the moderating effects of trait social anxieties (i.e.

Effects of Error Experience on Learning to Lower Speech Nasalance Level.

Purpose This research aims to examine the effects of error experience when learning to speak with lowered nasalance level. Method A total of 45 typical speakers were instructed to learn to lower speech nasalance level in either an errorless (restricted possibility for committing errors) or an errorful (unrestricted possibility for committing errors) learning condition. The nasality level of the participants' speech was measured by a nasometer and quantified by nasalance scores (in percent).

Spectral moment analysis of affricates produced by Mandarin-speaking pre-adolescents with repaired cleft palate.

Objective: To explore the spectral differences in frication noise between aspirated and unaspirated affricates in typical Putonghua (standard Mandarin Chinese) pre-adolescent speakers, and to compare the spectral characteristics of affricate production between speakers with repaired cleft palate and their non-cleft peers.

Participants And Intervention: Spectral moment analysis, a quantitative approach to capture the contour of speech spectra, was carried out on speech samples produced by two groups of speakers: (a) speakers with repaired cleft palate (n=14, mean age=11.7 years) and (b) typical speakers (n=10, mean age=11.

Consonant accuracy in Mandarin-speaking children with repaired cleft palate.

Objective: To compare the consonant production of Chinese-speaking cleft palate children with perceived hypernasal resonance (PHR) after palatoplasty and those with perceived normal resonance (PNR), and to assess the possible influence of language on articulation.

Setting: Two hospital cleft lip and palate centers in mainland China.

Participants: Thirty-one speakers were allocated into two groups based on perceptual judgment results of their resonance provided by three speech therapists: one group with PNR (n=20, average age=9.

Spectral features and perceptual judgment of place of affricate in Putonghua-speaking pre-adolescents with normal and cleft palate.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between the spectral features and perceptual judgments of places of affricate in Putonghua (standard Mandarin Chinese), and to explore the possible contribution of different spectral moments on correct perception of place of articulation information by typical pre-adolescent speakers and those with cleft palate.

Method: A total of 139 affricates produced by 10 normal pre-adolescent speakers and 14 speakers with repaired cleft palate (distorted articulation) were presented to 12 listeners tasked with making a judgment of the accuracy of place of articulation using a visual analog scale.

Results: Statistical analysis showed a significant relationship between the third spectral moment (L3) and listeners' perceptual judgment of typical alveolar and retroflex affricates.

Validity and Reliability of Visual Analog Scaling for Assessment of Hypernasality and Audible Nasal Emission in Children With Repaired Cleft Palate.

Objective: To investigate the validity and reliability of multiple listener judgments of hypernasality and audible nasal emission, in children with repaired cleft palate, using visual analog scaling (VAS) and equal-appearing interval (EAI) scaling.

Design: Prospective comparative study of multiple listener ratings of hypernasality and audible nasal emission.

Setting: Multisite institutional.

Effects of error experience when learning to simulate hypernasality.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of error experience on the acquisition of hypernasal speech.

Method: Twenty-eight healthy participants were asked to simulate hypernasality in either an errorless learning condition (in which the possibility for errors was limited) or an errorful learning condition (in which the possibility for errors was not limited). The nasality level of the participants' speech was measured with a nasometer and reflected by nasalance scores (in percentages).

Evaluation of speech errors in Putonghua speakers with cleft palate: a critical review of methodology issues.

Speech errors associated with cleft palate are well established for English and several other Indo-European languages. Few articles describing the speech of Putonghua (standard Mandarin Chinese) speakers with cleft palate have been published in English language journals. Although methodological guidelines have been published for the perceptual speech evaluation of individuals with cleft palate, there has been no critical review of methodological issues in studies of Putonghua speakers with cleft palate.

Problem-based learning (PBL) and speech-language pathology: a tutorial.

The aim of this tutorial is to provide an introduction to problem-based learning (PBL), particularly as applied to speech-language pathology (SLP) programs. The tutorial is aimed at the reader who is less familiar with this learning approach. Additionally, it serves as a framework for the articles that follow in this special issue on PBL programs in SLP and other clinical education programs.

Performance of speech-language pathology students in problem-based learning tutorials and in clinical practice.

The purpose of the study was to identify if performance of speech-language pathology students in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials could predict subsequent clinical performance evaluated through (a) a non-standardized, custom clinical evaluation form (HKU form) and (b) a standardized competency assessment for speech pathology developed in Australia (COMPASS®). Students' scores from PBL tutorial performance were correlated with scores in clinical placement on both the HKU form and the COMPASS. Significant correlations were found between students' PBL tutorial performance (reflective journals and participation in the tutorial process) and their clinical performance (treatment and interpersonal skills) on the HKU clinical evaluation form.

Analogy instruction and speech performance under psychological stress.

To examine the efficacy of explicit and implicit forms of instruction for speech motor performance under conditions of psychological stress. In experiment 1, 20 participants were asked to deliver a formal presentation to validate the modified Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). In experiment 2, 40 participants were instructed explicitly by verbal explanation or implicitly by analogy to speak with minimum pitch variation and were subjected to psychological stress using the modified TSST.

Concept map analysis in the assessment of speech-language pathology students' learning in a problem-based learning curriculum: a longitudinal study.

The aim of this study was to track students' critical thinking performance longitudinally through concept map analysis in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. Concept map analysis has been employed in the assessment of students' critical thinking in medical education. Little is known concerning concept mapping (CM) in speech-language pathology (SLP) education.

Influence of analogy instruction for pitch variation on perceptual ratings of other speech parameters.

Purpose: Analogy is the similarity of different concepts on which a comparison can be based. Recently, an analogy of "waves at sea" was shown to be effective in modulating fundamental frequency (F0) variation. Perceptions of intonation were not examined, as the primary aim of the work was to determine whether analogy instruction had a negative impact on other parameters of the speech signal compared with explicit instruction.

Effects of practice schedules on speech motor learning.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of various practice schedules on learning a novel speech task. Forty healthy Cantonese speakers were asked to learn to produce a Cantonese phrase with two target utterance durations (2500 and 3500 milliseconds). They were randomly assigned to one of four learning conditions, each completing a different practice schedule, namely Blocked only, Random only, Blocked-then-Random, and Random-then-Blocked.

The use of analogy in speech motor performance.

The acoustic correlates of pitch variation were examined in 40 participants who received analogy instructions or explicit instructions that required them to modulate their intonation during speech production. First, using focus group methodology, professional speech-language pathologists were asked to identify analogies that best described minimum pitch variation (monotone), moderate pitch variation (normal intonation), and maximum pitch variation (exaggerated intonation) in speech. The focus group established that an appropriate pitch variation metaphor may be related to imagery of "waves at sea", with minimum pitch variation represented by a flat calm sea, moderate pitch variation represented by a moderate sea, and maximum pitch variation represented by a choppy sea.

Perception of speech by individuals with Parkinson's disease: a review.

A few clinical reports and empirical studies have suggested a possible deficit in the perception of speech in individuals with Parkinson's disease. In this paper, these studies are reviewed in an attempt to support clinical anecdotal observations by relevant empirical research findings. The combined evidence suggests a possible deficit in patients' perception of their own speech loudness.

Effect of LSVT on Lexical Tone in Speakers with Parkinson's Disease.

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) has well-documented treatment efficacy for individuals with hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Positive changes have been noted after treatment not only for vocal loudness but also for many other speech dimensions, including intonation (monotonicity). There have been few studies investigating the effect of LSVT on lexical tone which, like intonation, is controlled by variations in fundamental frequency.

The perception of intonation questions and statements in Cantonese.

In tone languages there are potential conflicts in the perception of lexical tone and intonation, as both depend mainly on the differences in fundamental frequency (F0) patterns. The present study investigated the acoustic cues associated with the perception of sentences as questions or statements in Cantonese, as a function of the lexical tone in sentence final position. Cantonese listeners performed intonation identification tasks involving complete sentences, isolated final syllables, and sentences without the final syllable (carriers).

Speech-language pathology students' approaches to learning in a problem-based learning curriculum.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is hypothesized to enhance the development of deep learning. Most previous studies, however, have focused on outcomes (knowledge and skills) rather than students' approaches to learning, or how learning approach correlates with learning outcomes. Undergraduates in a speech-language pathology program (n = 114) completed the revised 2-factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) twice in an academic year to identify their approaches to learning and to compare these results with academic outcomes.

Effects of Class III malocclusion on young male adults' vocal tract development: a pilot study.

Purpose: To compare the vocal tract configuration between male speakers with Class III malocclusion and their normally developing counterparts and to investigate the concomitant acoustic changes caused by the alterations in vocal tract configuration.

Patients And Methods: Eight young male patients with Class III malocclusion and 8 normally developing counterparts participated in this study. Acoustic reflection technology was used to measure vocal tract dimensions in the 2 groups.

Studies of Chinese speakers with dysarthria: informing theoretical models.

Most theoretical models of dysarthria have been developed based on research using individuals speaking English or other Indo-European languages. Studies of individuals with dysarthria speaking other languages can allow investigation into the universality of such models, and the interplay between language-specific and language-universal aspects of dysarthria. In this article, studies of Cantonese- and Mandarin-Chinese speakers with dysarthria are reviewed.

Intonation contrast in Cantonese speakers with hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease.

Purpose: Speech produced by individuals with hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a number of features including impaired speech prosody. The purpose of this study was to investigate intonation contrasts produced by this group of speakers.

Method: Speech materials with a question-statement contrast were collected from 14 Cantonese speakers with PD.

Effect of listener training on perceptual judgement of hypernasality.

Reliable perceptual judgement is important for documenting the severity of hypernasality, but high reliability can be difficult to obtain. This study investigated the effect of practice and feedback on intra-judge and inter-judge reliability of hypernasality judgements. The judges were 36 speech-language therapy students, who were randomly assigned to three groups for training: (1) Exposure (simple exposure to hypernasal speech samples), (2) Practice-only (practice with hypernasality judgements without feedback), and (3) Practice-Feedback (practice with hypernasality judgements with feedback).

Universal parameters for reporting speech outcomes in individuals with cleft palate.

Objective: To achieve consistency and uniformity in reporting speech outcomes in individuals born with cleft palate with or without cleft lip using perceptual parameters that characterize their speech production behavior regardless of the language or languages spoken.

Design: A working group of six individuals experienced in speech and cleft palate was formed to develop a system of universal parameters for reporting speech outcomes in individuals born with cleft palate. The system was adopted in conjunction with a workshop held in Washington, D.

Problem-based learning, critical thinking and concept mapping in speech-language pathology education: A review.

Despite speech-language pathology (SLP) education undergoing many innovative changes over the years, there has been little research about learning or outcomes in SLP programs. Critical thinking in clinical decision-making, however, has been identified as a critical skill in SLP. Several recent studies have shown that concept mapping can be used to assess, and perhaps enhance, critical thinking.