Influence of visual information on the intelligibility of dysarthric speech.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the influence of visual information on speech intelligibility for a group of speakers with dysarthria associated with Parkinson's disease.


METHODS
Eight speakers with Parkinson's disease and dysarthria were recorded while they read sentences. Speakers performed a concurrent manual task to facilitate typical speech production. Twenty listeners (10 experienced and 10 inexperienced) transcribed sentences while watching and listening to videotapes of the speakers (auditory-visual mode) and while only listening to the speakers (auditory-only mode).


RESULTS
Significant main effects were found for both presentation mode and speaker. Auditory-visual scores were significantly higher than auditory-only scores for the 3 speakers with the lowest intelligibility scores. No significant difference was found between the 2 listener groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that clinicians should consider both auditory-visual and auditory-only intelligibility measures in speakers with Parkinson's disease to determine the most effective strategies aimed at evaluation and treatment of speech intelligibility decrements.
University of Arizona, Tucson, USA. ckeintz@fau.edu
Connie K
CK
Keintz
Kate
K
Bunton
Jeannette D
JD
Hoit
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004401:Dysarthria / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013060:Speech; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception