Speech training aids for hearing-impaired individuals: I. Overview and aims

Prelingual profound deafness typically results in aberrant or unintelligible speech production. For approximately 70 years, researchers and engineers have attempted, with little success, to provide electronic aids for speech training. Recent computer and signal processing technology has provided the impetus for several groups to implement new speech training aids. Following a review of deaf speech characteristics, several current computer-based aids are described. Included among those reviewed are two interrelated speech training aids which resulted from collaboration among the authors.