title: Consistency of effects of slow rate and pauses on aphasic listeners' comprehension of spoken sentences.
abstract: The effects of intrasentence pauses and slow speaking rate on aphasic listeners' comprehension of spoken low- and high-difficulty sentences were investigated. Aphasic subjects heard commands spoken at a normal rate, at a slower than normal rate, and with inserted 4-s pauses. Subjects' performance was measured weekly for 4 consecutive weeks. The effects of pauses and slow rate on subjects' performance were not consistent across subjects or within subjects across sessions. Type of aphasia, time postonset of aphasia, and overall severity of comprehension deficit were not strongly related to aphasic listeners' responses to pauses or slow rate.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001037:Aphasia / Q000523:psychology*; D001039:Aphasia, Broca / Q000523:psychology*; D001041:Aphasia, Wernicke / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013067:Speech Perception; D013997:Time Factors