CASL
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/22
Browse
35 results
Search Results
Item English (Scottish) speech development(Oxford University Press, 2024) Scobbie, James M.; Cleland, Joanne; Lawson, Eleanor; Schaeffler, Sonja; McLeod, SharynneScottish English is primarily spoken in Scotland, U.K. It is a national quasi-standard variety of English with a range of social and geographical variants. It can be characterized as a highly distinctive accent (or accent group) of English, mainly due to its relationship to Scots. Its strongly distinct character may be more phonetic, prosodic and lexical than strictly phonemic and phonological, so for practical reasons it can be assumed that its inventory and consonant phonotactics overlap sufficiently with other varieties for many “British English” clinical resources to be applicable. Scottish English is, however, rhotic in its prestige varieties, which makes it markedly different from non-rhotic Southern Standard British English and other non-rhotic varieties. There are few specific studies of children’s acquisition of Scottish English, though Scottish children are often incorporated in larger studies in the U.K. Research on Scottish English has focused on social variation, speech production, and remediation techniques augmented with real time visual biofeedback, involving children with speech sound disorders and cleft palate. Commonly-used speech assessments and interventions have not been developed specifically for this variety of English.Item Tongue Shape Complexity in Children With and Without Speech Sound Disorders(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2023-06-02) Dokovova, Marie; Sugden, Ellie; Cartney, Gemma; Schaeffler, Sonja; Cleland, JoannePurpose: This study investigates the hypothesis that younger speakers and speakers with more severe speech sound disorders are more likely to use simpler (undifferentiated) tongue gestures due to difficulties with, or immaturity of, lingual motor control. Method: The hypothesis is tested using cross-sectional secondary data analysis of synchronous audio and high-speed ultrasound recordings from children with idiopathic Speech Sound Disorders (n=30, aged 5;0 to 12;11) and typically developing children (n=29, aged 5;8-12;10), producing /a, t, ɹ, l, s, ʃ/ in an intervocalic /aCa/ environment. Tongue shape complexity is measured using “number of inflections” (NINFL) and “modified curvature index” (MCI) from splines fitted to ultrasound images at the point of maximal lingual gesture. Age, perceived accuracy, and consonant are used as predictors. Results: The results suggest that as age increases children with Speech Sound Disorders have lower MCI compared to typically developing children. Increase in age also led to decrease of MCI for the typically developing group. In the group of children with Speech Sound Disorders perceptually incorrect /ɹ/ productions have lower MCI than correct productions, relative to /a/. Conclusion: There is some evidence of systematic tongue shape complexity differences between typically developing children and children with Speech Sound Disorders when accounting for increase in age. Among children with Speech Sound Disorders, increase in age and perceptually incorrect consonant realizations are associated with decreasing tongue shape complexity.Item Practical options for articulatory feedback in the speech clinic(Wiley-Blackwell, 2023-07) Cleland, Joanne; Scobbie, James M.; Bowen, CarolineItem Quantifying changes in ultrasound tongue-shape pre- and post-intervention in speakers with submucous cleft palate: An illustrative case study(Taylor & Francis, 2021-09-08) Roxburgh, Zoe; Cleland, Joanne; Scobbie, James M.; Wood, SaraUltrasound Tongue Imaging is increasingly used during assessment and treatment of speech sound disorders. Recent literature has shown that ultrasound is also useful for the quantitative analysis of a wide range of speech errors. So far, the compensatory articulations of speakers with cleft palate have only been analysed qualitatively. This study provides a pilot quantitative ultrasound analysis, drawing on longitudinal intervention data from a child with submucous cleft palate. Two key ultrasound metrics were used: 1. articulatory t-tests were used to compare tongue-shapes for perceptually collapsed phonemes on a radial measurement grid and 2. the Mean Radial Difference was reported to quantify the extent to which the two tongue shapes differ, overall. This articulatory analysis supplemented impressionistic phonetic transcriptions and identified covert contrasts. Articulatory errors identified in this study using ultrasound were in line with errors identified in the speech of children with cleft palate in previous literature. While compensatory error patterns commonly found in speakers with cleft palate have been argued to facilitate functional phonological development, the nature of our findings suggest that the compensatory articulations uncovered are articulatory in nature.Item The dorsal differentiation of velar from alveolar stops in typically developing children and children with persistent velar fronting(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2021-03-09) Cleland, Joanne; Scobbie, James M.Purpose: This study has two key aims: Firstly to provide developmental articulatory norms for the alveolar–velar distinction in 30 English-speaking typically developing children. Secondly to illustrate the utility of the reported measures for classifying and quantifying the speech of children with a history of persistent velar fronting as they develop the contrast longitudinally. Method: This study involved secondary data analysis of the Ultrasuite corpus comprising ultrasound tongue imaging recordings of speech materials from 30 typical children and longitudinal data from five children with persistent velar fronting undergoing ultrasound visual biofeedback intervention. We present two new measures of coronal dorsal differentiation: KTMax and KT crescent area. These measures distinguish /k/ and /t/ by quantifying the magnitude of this distinction in absolute spatial terms (mm of linear dorsal difference). For the typical children, we report these measures in corner vowel contexts. We then compare these to dorsal productions by the children with speech disorders, before, during, and after intervention. Results: Both measures reliably distinguished /k/ and /t/ in typically developing children. There was an effect of vowel, with larger KTmax and KT crescent area in /a/ and /o/ vowel contexts than in an /i/ context. The children with persistent velar fronting showed KTmax values near zero before intervention, showing a complete merger between /k/ and /t/. During intervention they showed variable KTmax values. Post intervention they showed values within the range of typical children. Conclusions: This study provides articulatory norms derived from ultrasound tongue imaging for the dorsal differentiation in alveolar and velar stops in typically developing children. By applying these norms to children with persistent velar fronting as they acquire this contrast, we see that /k/ is acquired in an articulatorily gradient manner.Item Systematic review of ultrasound visual biofeedback in intervention for speech sound disorders(Wiley, 2019-06-10) Sugden, Eleanor; Lloyd, Susan; Lam, Jenny; Cleland, JoanneBackground As cost and access barriers to ultrasound technology have decreased, interest in using ultrasound visual biofeedback (U-VBF) as a tool for remediating speech sound disorders (SSD) has increased. A growing body of research has investigated U-VBF in intervention for developmental SSD; however, diversity in study design, participant characteristics, clinical methods and outcomes complicate the interpretation of this literature. Thus, there is a need for a synthesis and review of the evidence base for using U-VBF in intervention for SSD.Item The impact of real-time articulatory information on phonetic transcription: Ultrasound-aided transcription in cleft lip and palate speech(Karger, 2019-05-24) Cleland, Joanne; Lloyd, Susan; Campbell, Linsay; Crampin, Lisa; Palo, Pertti; Sugden, Eleanor; Wrench, Alan A.; Zharkova, NataliaObjective: This study investigated whether adding an additional modality, namely ultrasound tongue imaging, to perception-based phonetic transcription impacted on the identification of compensatory articulations and on interrater reliability. Patients and Methods: Thirty-nine English-speaking children aged 3 to 12 with cleft lip and palate (CLP) were recorded producing repetitions of /aCa/ for all places of articulation with simultaneous audio and probe-stabilised ultrasound. Three types of transcriptions were performed: 1. Descriptive observations from the live ultrasound by the clinician recording the data; 2. Ultrasound-aided transcription by two ultrasound-trained clinicians; and 3. Traditional phonetic transcription by two CLP specialists from audio recording. We compared the number of consonants identified as in error by each transcriber and then classified errors into eight different subcategories. Results: Both the ultrasound-aided and traditional transcriptions yielded similar error-detection rates, however these were significantly higher than the observations recorded live in the clinic. Interrater reliability for the ultrasound transcribers was substantial (k=0.65), compared to moderate (k=0.47) for the traditional transcribers. Ultrasound-aided transcribers were more likely to identify covert errors such as double articulations and retroflexion than the audio-only transcribers. Conclusion: Ultrasound-tongue imaging is a useful complement to traditional phonetic transcription for CLP speech.Item Visualising speech: Identification of atypical tongue-shape patterns in the speech of children with cleft lip and palate using ultrasound technology(NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 2018) Lloyd, Susan; Cleland, Joanne; Crampin, Lisa; Campbell, Linsay; Zharkova, Natalia; Palo, PerttiPrevious research by Gibbon (2004) shows that at least 8 distinct error types can be identified in the speech of people with cleft lip and palate (CLP) using electropalatography (EPG), a technique which measures tongue-palate contact. However, EPG is expensive and logistically difficult. In contrast, ultrasound is cheaper and arguably better equipped to image the posterior articulations (such as pharyngeals) which are common in CLP. A key aim of this project is to determine whether the eight error types made visible with EPG in CLP speech described by Gibbon (2004) can be also be identified with ultrasound. This paper will present the first results from a larger study developing a qualitative and quantitative ultrasound speech assessment protocol. Data from the first 20 children aged 3 to 18 with CLP will be presented. Data are spoken materials from the CLEFTNET protocol. We will present a recording format compatible with CAPS-A to record initial observations from the live ultrasound (e.g. double articulations, pharyngeal stops). Two Speech and Language Therapists analysed the data independently to identify error types. Results suggest that all of the error types, for example fronted placement and double articulations can be identified using ultrasound, but this is challenging in real-time. Ongoing work involves quantitative analysis of error types using articulatory measures.Item Visualising speech: Using ultrasound visual biofeedback to diagnose and treat speech disorders in children with cleft lip and palate(NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 2017-09) Cleland, Joanne; Crampin, Lisa; Zharkova, Natalia; Wrench, Alan A.; Lloyd, Susan; Palo, PerttiChildren with cleft lip and palate (CLP) often continue to have problems producing clear speech long after the clefts have been surgically repaired, leading to educational and social disadvantage. Speech is of key importance in CLP from both a quality of life and surgical outcome perspective, yet assessment relies on subjective perceptual methods, with speech and language therapists (SLTs) listening to speech and transcribing errors. This is problematic because perception-based phonetic transcription is well known to be highly unreliable(Howard & Lohmander, 2011) especially in CLP, where the range of error types is arguably far greater than for other speech sound disorders. Moreover,CLP speech is known to be vulnerable to imperceptible error types, such as double articulations which can only be understood with instrumental techniques such as ultrasound tongue imaging (UTI). Incorrect transcription of these errors can result in misdiagnosis and subsequent inappropriate intervention which can lead to speech errors becoming deeply ingrained.Item Enabling new articulatory gestures in children with persistent speech sound disorders using ultrasound visual biofeedback(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2019-02-05) Cleland, Joanne; Scobbie, James M.; Roxburgh, Zoe; Heyde, Cornelia J.; Wrench, Alan A.Purpose: This study evaluated ultrasound visual biofeedback treatment for teaching new articulations to children with a wide variety of Speech Sound Disorders. It was hypothesized that motor-based intervention incorporating ultrasound would lead to rapid acquisition of a range of target lingual gestures with generalization to untreated words. Method: Twenty children aged 6-15 with a range of mild to severe speech disorders affecting a variety of lingual targets enrolled in a case series with replication. Of these, fifteen children completed the intervention. All of the children presented with a variety of errors. We therefore employed a target selection strategy to treat the most frequent lingual error. These individual speech targets were treated using ultrasound visual biofeedback as part of 10 to 12 one hour intervention sessions. The primary outcome measure was percentage target segment correct in untreated wordlists. Results: Six children were treated for velar fronting; three for post-alveolar fronting; two for backing alveolars to pharyngeal or glottal place; one for debuccalisation (production of all onsets as [h]); one for vowel merger; and two for lateralised sibilants. Ten achieved the new articulation in the first or second session of intervention despite no children being readily stimulable for their target articulation before intervention. In terms of generalization, effect sizes for percentage target segments correct ranged from no effect (five children); small effect (one child); medium effect (four children) and large effect (five children). Conclusion: Ultrasound visual biofeedback can be used to treat a wide range of lingual errors in children with various speech sound disorders, from mild to severe. Visual feedback may be useful for establishing new articulations; however, generalization is more variable.