Synthetic Speech Perception in Individuals With and Without Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
• Speech Perception
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Individuals with limited functional speech often use speech generating devices (SGDs).
• Understanding synthetic speech perception is crucial for improving AAC technologies.
• Research has explored synthetic speech perception for over two decades.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize research on synthetic speech perception over the past 20 years.
• To compare perception abilities between non-disabled listeners and those with impairments.
• To identify factors influencing synthetic speech comprehension.

Main Methods:

• Review of perceptual studies on synthetic speech.
• Analysis of listener groups including those with intellectual, language, and hearing impairments.
• Examination of factors affecting synthetic speech understanding.

Main Results:

• Perception of synthetic speech by individuals with intellectual/language impairments is influenced by acoustic-phonetic properties, task complexity, and listener experience.
• Listeners with intellectual and/or language impairments face greater challenges processing cognitively demanding synthetic speech signals.
• Nondisabled listeners generally process synthetic speech more effectively.

Conclusions:

• Synthetic speech perception is complex and varies across listener populations.
• Cognitive load significantly impacts the ability of individuals with impairments to process synthetic speech.
• Further research is needed to optimize synthetic speech for diverse user needs in SGDs.