Speech rate treatments for individuals with dysarthria: a tutorial

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Dysarthria often presents with variable speech rates, impacting communication.
• Modifying speech rate is a recognized effective treatment for individuals with dysarthria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and analyze various published speech rate control interventions for dysarthric speakers.
• To examine the effectiveness, impact on intelligibility and prosody, and training requirements of different rate control strategies.

Main Methods:

• Review of published studies on speech rate interventions for dysarthria.
• Categorization of interventions into a hierarchy from rigid control to natural speech techniques.
• Analysis of effectiveness in rate reduction, intelligibility, prosody, and training needs.

Main Results:

• Multiple interventions exist, including pacing boards, alphabet supplementation, feedback systems, cueing, and delayed auditory feedback.
• Interventions vary in their degree of rate control, from maximal imposition to fostering independent control.
• Effectiveness is assessed based on rate reduction, intelligibility, prosody, and required training.

Conclusions:

• A range of speech rate control interventions are available for dysarthria, offering a spectrum of control.
• Selection of intervention should consider effectiveness, impact on speech naturalness, and patient-specific needs.
• Further examination of these interventions provides a basis for clinical decision-making in speech rate management.