Auditory Percepton/Speechreading/Manual Communication

auditory perception relies on quality of perception of _____ and _______

segmental and suprasegmental

segmental

individual speech sounds

suprasegmental

rate, rhythm, intonation

hearing range/ speech intensity

Detects sounds from about 20–20,000 Hz

• Intensity limits depend on stimulus frequency,

with best sensitivity around 3000–4000 Hz.

• Overall intensity range is roughly 0–130/140

dB SPL.

• Signals below 0 dB SPL are usually not

heard.

• Signals above 130–140 dB SPL are felt as

discomfort or pain rather than heard.

• Average conversational speech at 1 meter

≈ 65 dB SPL (≈45 dB HL)

what is childrens fundamental frequency?

400 Hz

what is adults speech energy range

50-10,000 Hz

most speech energy occurs below ______

1000 Hz

above 1000 Hz speech energy drops at about ____ per octave

9 dB

male speech shows greatest energy near _____ due to ______

500 Hz, due to vocal tract resonance and fundamental frequency

formants

The 1st two formants are sufficient for

most vowels; F3 is important for /ɝ/

vowels

high intensity sounds at

low-mid frequencies

consonants

low intensity sounds

with a broader range and are critical for

intelligibility

frequency intensity audiogram

xes: dB HL (y) vs frequency (x)

• If particular sound has more than one major frequency

component = each is noted by the same phonetic symbol

• Vowels can generally be characterized as having

considerable acoustic energy in low-and mid-frequency range

• Consonants = less intensity overall

• Much more diffuse frequency distribution as a group

• Voiced consonants = greater amount of low-and mid-

frequency energy

• Voiceless consonants = mid-and high frequencies

• All consonants appear in the upper portion reflecting

weaker intensity

• Identify frequency characteristics related to distinctive

features

suprasegmentals are:

Superimposed throughout speech as overall features (pitch changes)

• Convey important information for speech perception primarily in low

frequencies through acoustic cues associated with fundamental frequency

and other related aspects of speech

duration

Duration ranges from 20-400 msec depending on the speech sound

• Vowels are longer than consonants with an average duration of 130-360msec

• Consonant duration ranges from 20-150 msec

what does rapid rate of speech do to those with hearing loss?

Rapid rate compresses cues, making it more difficult to perceive speech, particularly for those with hearing loss

cues!

Cues make up large portion of total speech signal and are very important in perception of speech

when does listening begin?

Fetal auditory system functional by ~18 weeks;

fetus begins to hear.

by _____ fetus responds to noise and voices

25-26 weeks

rapid refinement occurs from _____

birth to age 3 (critical period)

Conversational speech is highly

_______; multiple cues support

understanding when parts are missed

redundant

syntactic constraints

predictable English structure helps listeners

anticipate what comes next

semantic constraints

topic limits likely vocabulary (e.g., “food” → food words).

situational constraints

partner, setting, and time of day increase predictability.

noise

includes any factor that reduces

usable information, not only competing

sounds; it affects both amount and

clarity of what is heard and can be

especially problematic for children.

carhart

teaching people with hearing loss to use available auditory clues, focusing on sound

awareness and discrimination of nonverbal and speech stimuli.

erber

creating special communication conditions so children with hearing loss can acquire auditory perception skills that typical children gain naturally

adult goals

maximize use of auditory/related cues and support effecitve use of hearing aids and cochlear implants, aiming to improve listening, speech perception, and overall communication outcomes.

assessing auditory skills

Performed before, during, and end of auditory training

• Information is important, including the following:

• Determining whether auditory training appears warranted

• Providing basis for comparison of pretherapy with posttherapy performance

• Assess how much improvement in auditory performance (speech perception) has occurred

• Identifying specific areas of auditory perception to concentrate on in future auditory training

test to use for younger children for assessing auditory skills

LittleEARS questionnaire

test to use for older children for assessing auditory skills

WIPI or NU-CHIPS

test to use for adults for assessing auditory skills

NU-6

analytic auditory training

Break speech into smaller

components

example of analytic

are these words the same /kip/ /kit/?

synthetic

Stresses identifying clues from syntax and context using meaningful stimuli

example of synthetic training

Given a topic, the client repeats

back words or phrases that align

with the context

pragmatic training

Train listener to control

communication variables

example of pragmatic training

Conversational repair strategies,

proximity control

eclectic auditory training

combination of most or all strategies

example of eclectic auditory training

Practice speech in context with

role playing of conversational

repair strategies

SPICE

• Contains goals associated with four levels of speech perception

• Detection = 1st level; establish awareness and responsiveness to

speech

• Suprasegmental = 2nd level; Differentiating speech based on gross

variations in duration, stress, and intonation

• Vowel and consonant perception = 3rd level; perceptual distinctions

among individual word stimuli with similar duration, stress, and

intonation features but with different vowels and consonants

• Worked on in tandem

• Connected speech = 4th level; emphasis is perception of words in more

natural environment (phrases and sentences)

• Combined auditory–visual presentation and auditory-only listening

situations

• Used extensively with children using CI to develop listening skills

• Often used by Teachers of the Deaf or SLP

what is SPICE?

speech perception instructional curriculum and evaluation

communication training and therapy

• Emphasizes role of communication strategies

and pragmatics to facilitate successful

communication

• Adult with HL coached regarding those factors

in conversational situations that listener can

exercise control of and that can maximize

opportunity to perceive what is spoken

• Many factors are classified as being either

anticipatory or repair strategies

• Anticipatory strategies = things listener can

do to better prepare for communication or

ensure that it will be successful

• Repair strategies = techniques used to

overcome breakdown in communication

that has already occurred

• Speaker and listener = can use strategies

to help with perceiving given message

speechreading

• Variables impacting the

speechreading process: the

speaker, the signal/ code, the

environment, and the speechreader

• Research findings are difficult to

replicate in the clinical setting

helpful speaker behaviors in speechreading

• Use appropriate facial expressions and

common gestures

• Face the speaker within a 45-degree angle

• Use slightly slowed clear speech with

precise articulation

• Are a familiar face

not helpful speaker behaviors with speech reading

• Simultaneous oral activities (chewing,

smoking, yawning)

• Covering their mouth while talking

• Presence of facial hair

• Move head away from listener’s visual field

• Overarticulating and yelling

• Poor or absent nonverbal cues and gestures

signal/code

• Distinctive features improve receptive

capabilities to distinguish it from other

sounds

• Vowels contain the major concentration of

acoustic energy

• Voicing, nasality, affrication, duration, &

place of articulation help distinguish

consonants

• Place of articulation may provide some

visual cues

environment

• Speechreading performance is optimal when the speaker was about 5 feet from the

speechreader

• Distractors (simultaneous auditory and verbal competition) can adversely effect

speechreading

• Lighting should provide a contrast between the background and speaker’s face

• Relevant pictorial or auditory cues improve performance

vision with speechreading

• Speechreading proficiency tends to develop and improve throughout childhood and early

adulthood and is closely associated with the emergence of language skills

• Speechreading skills may decline in the elderly due to changes in visual processing speed

and acuity

• Reviews have reported that roughly 38–58% of individuals with hearing loss also have

documented visual deficits.

• In general, those with HL are not better speechreaders than those with normal hearing

Figure–ground:

finding a meaningful target signal in competing visual stimuli

closure

visually piecing together fragmented visual and spoken cues into a meaningful message.

Auditory input supports visual processing, and visual input enhances auditory processing.

know this!

speechreading assessment

• Can be formal or informal

• Use optimal distance (5-10 feet),

lighting, and viewing angle (0-45

degrees)

• Present without any associated

acoustic cues or using a combined

auditory-visual fashion (more

representative of communication)

• Can present visual only then auditory-

visual and calculate the difference in

accuracy to provide an estimate of

information yielded by speechreading

analytic approach:speechreading

• Assumes the whole (word, sentence) is understood only after its parts are visually perceived.

• Train visual identification of phonemes and syllables in isolation, then single words, then

sentences/phrases.

• Phonemes and syllables are the primary visual units; accuracy at this level supports comprehension of

larger units.

• “Talk, tool, mop – which word has /m/ in the initial position?”

synthetic approach:speechreading

• Emphasizes grasping the overall message, regardless of which specific parts are seen.

• Learners focus on general meaning of utterances rather than precise identification of every component.

• Read a short paragraph then ask the speechreader to answer 3-4 questions

manual communication

• Comprised of specific gestural codes

• Visual message is transmitted by fingers, hands, arms, and bodily postures using specific

signs or fingerspelling

• Used by high percentage of Deaf to communicate with other individuals also having manual

communication skills

• Various forms of manual communication are used in isolation or in combination with speech

• There are more than 300 different sign languages across the world

American Sign Language

• First form of manual communication established, independent of existing oral languages, by Deaf

• Some individuals learn ASL mainly via their deaf peers and professionals rather than parents

• Signs associated with ASL possess four identifying physical characteristics

• Hand configuration, movement, location, and orientation

prosodic features of speech are provided by

facial expressions, head tilts, body movement, and eye gazes

(Vernon & Andrews, 1990)

ASL is _____ a form of _____ but instead is a :

NOT; English, distinct language produced manually that requires just as

unique translation of English as does any foreign language (it has it’s own syntax)

signed english systems

• Deaf adults are most likely to be fully proficient ASL users.

• Many hearing signers use ASL signs with more English‑like grammar, often called Pidgin

Sign Language or Pidgin Signed English (PSE), which blends ASL signs with English word

order

signed english

represents English word‑for‑word: each spoken word is signed in English

order, and extra sign markers show tense, person, plurality, and possession.

fingerspelling

Represents 26 letters of English alphabet by 22 hand shapes and two hand movements

• Referred to as manual alphabet

exact and effective means of communication

least efficient form of manual communication

rochester method

teachers and students simultaneously “spell” what they are expressing orally

cued speech

• Ancillary tool in speechreading instruction

(Cornett, 1967, 1972)

• Intent of Cornett’s cued speech system =

talker to use hand cues simultaneously

while speaking to reduce confusion

produced by speechreading homophenous

phonemes (e.g., /p/b/m or f/v)

• Makes speechreading more accurate and

effective

• Cornett selected four hand positions and

eight hand shapes near mouth to facilitate

communication in the overall management

of those with hearing loss