The effect of the SpeechEasy® device on acoustic and speech motor parameters of adults who stutter

Author(s)

Ana Paula Ritto ^[1] ; Fabiola Staróbole Juste ^[2] ; Claudia Regina Furquim de Andrade ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional - Brasil

^[2] Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional - Brasil

^[3] Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional - Brasil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Audiol., Commun. Res.; v. 20, n. 1, p. 1-9, 2015-03-00.

Abstract

Purpose To investigate variations in speech motor skills in adults who stutter and those who do not, using the SpeechEasy® altered auditory feedback device. Methods 1 2 Results The spontaneous speech task was the only task to show significant differences in both the intragroup and intergroup comparisons. In this task, the use of SpeechEasy® resulted in significant improvement in speech fluency, as measured by the percentage of stuttered syllables, for the group who stuttered. For the fluent group, the device produced the opposite effect: a significant increase in the frequency of stuttered disfluencies was observed with the device. No significant differences were found in either intragroup or intergroup comparisons relating to the acoustic aspects of the diadochokinesis and target phrase production tasks. Conclusion The results indicated that the use of SpeechEasy® improved the fluency of participants who stutter, without appearing to interfere with speech naturalness. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/15184-4 - Impact of SpeechEasy on acoustic and motor parameters of stuttering individuals
• Grantee: Ana Paula Ritto
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master