On the use of hidden Markov modelling for recognition of dysarthric speech

Recognition of the speech of severely dysarthric individuals requires a technique which is robust to extraordinary conditions of high variability and very little training data. A hidden Markov model approach to isolated word recognition is used in an attempt to automatically model the enormous variability of the speech, while signal preprocessing measures and model modifications are employed to make better use of the existing data. Two findings are contrary to general experience with normal speech recognition. The first is that an ergodic model is found to outperform a standard left-to-right (Bakis) model structure. The second is that automated clipping of transitional acoustics in the speech is found to significantly enhance recognition. Experimental results using utterances of cerebral palsied persons with an array of articulatory abilities are presented.