Aphasic speech with and without SentenceShaper: Two methods for assessing informativeness.

BACKGROUND: SentenceShaper((R)) (SSR) is a computer program that is for speech what a word-processing program is for written text; it allows the user to record words and phrases, play them back, and manipulate them on-screen to build sentences and narratives. A recent study demonstrated that when listeners rated the informativeness of functional narratives produced by chronic aphasic speakers with and without the program they gave higher informativeness ratings to the language produced with the aid of the program (Bartlett, Fink, Schwartz, & Linebarger, 2007). Bartlett et al. (2007) also compared unaided (spontaneous) narratives produced before and after the aided version of the narrative was obtained. In a subset of comparisons, the sample created after was judged to be more informative; they called this "topic-specific carryover". AIMS: (1) To determine whether differences in informativeness that Bartlett et al.'s listeners perceived are also revealed by Correct Information Unit (CIU) analysis (Nicholas & Brookshire, 1993)-a well studied, objective method for measuring informativeness-and (2) to demonstrate the usefulness of CIU analysis for samples of this type. METHODS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; PROCEDURES: A modified version of the CIU analysis was applied to the speech samples obtained by Bartlett et al. (2007). They had asked five individuals with chronic aphasia to create functional narratives on two topics, under three conditions: Unaided ("U"), Aided ("SSR"), & Post-SSR Unaided ("Post-U"). Here, these samples were analysed for differences in % CIUs across conditions. Linear associations between listener judgements and CIU measures were evaluated with bivariate correlations and multiple regression analysis. OUTCOMES #ENTITYSTARTX00026; RESULTS: (1) The aided effect was confirmed: samples produced with SentenceShaper had higher % CIUs, in most cases exceeding 90%. (2) There was little CONCLUSIONS: That the percentage of CIUs was higher in SSR-aided samples than in unaided samples confirms the central finding in Bartlett et al. (2007), based on subjective judgements, and thus extends the evidence that aided effects from SentenceShaper are demonstrable across a range of measures, stimuli and participants (cf. Linebarger, Schwartz, Romania, Kohn, & Stephens, 2000). The data also attest to the effectiveness of the CIU analysis for quantifying differences in the informativeness of aphasic speech with and without SentenceShaper; and they support prior studies that have shown that CIU measures correlate with the informativeness ratings of unfamiliar listeners.

Building on residual speech: a portable processing prosthesis for aphasia.

This article examines the challenges of developing electronic communication aids for individuals with mild-to-moderate aphasia and introduces a new portable aid designed for this population. People with some residual speech are often reluctant to use communication aids that replace their natural speech with synthesized speech or the recorded utterances of another individual. SentenceShaper (computer software; Psycholinguistic Technologies, Inc; Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; www.sentenceshaper.com), a computerized "processing prosthesis," allows the user to record spoken sentence fragments and hold them in memory long enough to combine them into larger structures. Previous studies have shown that spoken narratives created with SentenceShaper--composed of concatenated, recorded segments in the user's own voice--may show marked superiority to the individual's spontaneous speech and that sustained use may engender treatment effects. However, these findings do not guarantee the program's efficacy to support functional communication or its acceptance by people with aphasia. Here, we examine strengths and weaknesses of SentenceShaper as the basis for a communication aid for individuals with mild-to-moderate aphasia and review factors guiding the design of SentenceShaper To Go, a portable extension to the program. Data from a "proof-of-concept" pilot study with the portable system suggest the viability of providing computer-based support for users' residual speech in composing and delivering spoken messages.

Widening the temporal window: processing support in the treatment of aphasic language production.

Investigations of language processing in aphasia have increasingly implicated performance factors such as slowed activation and/or rapid decay of linguistic information. This approach is supported by studies utilizing a communication system (SentenceShaper) which functions as a "processing prosthesis." The system may reduce the impact of processing limitations by allowing repeated refreshing of working memory and by increasing the opportunity for aphasic subjects to monitor their own speech. Some aphasic subjects are able to produce markedly more structured speech on the system than they are able to produce spontaneously, and periods of largely independent home use of SentenceShaper have been linked to treatment effects, that is, to gains in speech produced without the use of the system. The purpose of the current study was to follow up on these studies with a new group of subjects. A second goal was to determine whether repeated, unassisted elicitations of the same narratives at baseline would give rise to practice effects, which could undermine claims for the efficacy of the system.

Informativeness ratings of messages created on an AAC processing prosthesis.

BACKGROUND: SentenceShaper() (SSR) is a computer program that supports spoken language production in aphasia by recording and storing the fragments that the user speaks into the microphone, making them available for playback and allowing them to be combined and integrated into larger structures (i.e., sentences and narratives). A prior study that measured utterance length and grammatical complexity in story-plot narratives produced with and without the aid of SentenceShaper demonstrated an "aided effect" in some speakers with aphasia, meaning an advantage for the narratives that were produced with the support of this communication aid (Linebarger, Schwartz, Romania, Kohn, & Stephens, 2000). The present study deviated from Linebarger et al.'s methods in key respects and again showed aided effects of SentenceShaper in persons with aphasia. AIMS: Aims were (1) to demonstrate aided effects in "functional narratives" conveying hypothetical real-life situations from a first person perspective; (2) for the first time, to submit aided and spontaneous speech samples to listener judgements of informativeness; and (3) to produce preliminary evidence on topic-specific carryover from SentenceShaper, i.e., carryover from an aided production to a subsequent unaided production on the same topic. METHODS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; PROCEDURES: Five individuals with chronic aphasia created narratives on two topics, under three conditions: Unaided (U), Aided (SSR), and Post-SSR Unaided (Post-U). The 30 samples (5 participants, 2 topics, 3 conditions) were randomised and judged for informativeness by graduate students in speech-language pathology. The method for rating was Direct Magnitude Estimation (DME). OUTCOMES #ENTITYSTARTX00026; RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVAs were performed on DME ratings for each participant on each topic. A main effect of Condition was present for four of the five participants, on one or both topics. Planned contrasts revealed that the aided effect (SSR >U) was significant in each of these cases. For two participants, there was also topic-specific carryover (Post-U >U). CONCLUSIONS: Listeners judged functional narratives generated on SentenceShaper to be more informative than comparable narratives spoken spontaneously. This extends the evidence for aided effects of SentenceShaper. There was also evidence, albeit weaker, for topic-specific carryover, suggesting that the program might be used effectively to practise for upcoming face-to-face interactions.