SIR Medicine Investigation Abstract
CHANGES IN SPEECH PRODUCTION IN A PRELINGUALLY DEAFENED ADULT COCHLEAR IMPLANT USER
Presenter:
Arth K. Srivastava, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Advisor:
Dr. Patrick Wong, Northwestern University
Abstract:
This study is the first of its kind, as far as we know, to report the speech production characteristics of a cochlear implant (CI) user after a course of speech-language treatment. The participant's deafness was identified at the age of two, and she received the CI at the age of 43 tears. She had minimal ability, prior to treatment, to produce speech. A 24-week ABCABC single-subject treatment program was conducted addressing articulation, printed word pronunciation, and voice production, with two four-week segments for each area. "A" refers to the articulation aspect, "B" to the printed word pronunciation, and "C" to the voice production. Only one subject was used, and her improvement was calculated over the 24 week period. Treatment-specific progress, revealed by stimuli that were not used during treatment, was made in areas of articulation and printed word pronunciation, but not voice production. Measures found using the Templin-Darley Tests of Articulation, the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech, and the Phonological Awareness Test, also confirmed her progress. These results were discussed in relation to how long-term reduction of general auditory input and under-use of the speech production mechanisms can be remediated by technological and behavioral treatment.