Background: Adults presenting with unrepaired cleft palate are not a rare occurrence in middle-income countries. However, many surgeons are hesitant to operate on these individuals because of the challenges in repairing the wide adult cleft palate, as well as concerns regarding any improvement in speech in older patients. Unfortunately, the…

Background: There is a large body of research showing the negative impact of a total laryngectomy on the resultant voice signal across multiple outcomes (e.g., speech intelligibility/acceptability, listener comprehension, voice quality). However, there is limited information on the effects of laryngectomy on broader communication acts,…

Background: Intelligibility and comprehensibility in speech disorders can be assessed both perceptually and instrumentally, but a lack of consensus exists regarding the terminology and related speech measures in both the clinical and scientific fields. Aims: To draw up a more consensual definition of intelligibility and comprehensibility and to…

Background: Ultrasound visual biofeedback (UVBF) has the potential to be useful for the treatment of compensatory errors in speakers with cleft palate ± lip (CP±L), but there is little research on its effectiveness, or on how acceptable families find the technique. This study reports on parents' and children's perspectives on taking part in a…

Background: Hyperkinetic dysarthria is often present in isolated dystonia (ID) and is still understudied. Four main clusters of deviant speech dimensions in dystonia hyperkinetic dysarthria were initially provided: articulatory inaccuracy, phonatory stenosis, prosodic excess and prosodic insufficiency. Aim: The aim of our exploratory study was to…

Background: Perceptual measures such as speech intelligibility are known to be biased, variant and subjective, to which an automatic approach has been seen as a more reliable alternative. On the other hand, automatic approaches tend to lack explainability, an aspect that can prevent the widespread usage of these technologies clinically. Aims: In…

Background: There is a global need for synthetic speech development in multiple languages and dialects, as many children who cannot communicate using their natural voice struggle to find synthetic voices on high-technology devices that match their age, social and linguistic background. Aims: To document multiple stakeholders' perspectives…

Background: Previous research has found that high-frequency energy of speech signals decreased while wearing face masks. However, no study has examined the specific spectral characteristics of fricative consonants and vowels and the perception of clarity of speech in mask wearing. Aims: To investigate acoustic-phonetic characteristics of fricative…

Background: Speech intelligibility is a global indicator of the severity of a speech problem. It is a measure that has been used frequently in research and clinical assessment of speech. Previous studies have shown that factors, such as measurement method and listener experience, can influence speech intelligibility scores. However, these factors…

Background: Speech is the most common method of communication. Video-based clinical communication evaluation is a requirement for children with speech-language impairments living in rural areas, and those who have limited mobility. Aims: To determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Viking Speech Scale (VSS-T) via live…

Background: Individuals with developmental dysarthria typically demonstrate reduced functioning of one or more of the speech subsystems, which negatively impacts speech intelligibility and communication within social contexts. A few treatment approaches are available for improving speech production and intelligibility among individuals with…

Background: Intelligibility can be defined as the speakers' ability to convey a message to the listener and it is considered the key functional measure of speech. The Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) is a parent rating scale used to assess intelligibility in children. Aims: To describe normative and validation data on the ICS in Swedish and…

Background: Intelligibility measurement is influenced by the characteristics of a speaker, listener and contextual factors. This study addresses the clinical problem of measuring speech intelligibility in children with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) in real-world conditions. Aims: The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of…

Background: Total laryngectomy (TL) results in permanent functional changes requiring rapid development of complex new skills. A significant portion of this learning happens in the acute post-surgical stage. There is increasing interest in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in TL; however, implementation has been difficult. COVID-19…

Background: Imprecise articulation has a negative impact on speech intelligibility. Therefore, treatment of articulation is clinically relevant in patients with dysarthria. In order to be effective and according to the principles of motor learning, articulation therapy needs to be intensive, well organized, with adequate feedback and requires…