Computer-based auditory skill building program for aural (re)habilitation

基于计算机的听觉技能培养计划，用于听力（康复）康复

• 批准号: 7537831
• 负责人: PAMELA ALLISON CONNORS
• 金额: $ 19.79万
• 依托单位: BIOSPEECH, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-05 至 2010-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7537831
• 关键词: Acoustics; Address; Adult; Affect; Age; Americas; Auditory; Auditory Physiology; Base Sequence; Cartoons; Censuses; Child; Client; Cochlear Implants; Cochlear implant procedure; Cognitive; Collaborations; Comprehension; Computers; Condition; Custom; Data; Databases; Development; Devices; Discrimination; Early identification; Ensure; Environment; Face; Family member; Feedback; Friends; Future; Goals; Habilitation; Head; Health Sciences; Health Services Accessibility; Hearing; Hearing Impaired Persons; Home environment; Household; Housing; Image; Implant; Individual; Individual Differences; Insurance; Intention; Internet; Language; Language Development; Language Disorders; Learning; Life; Maxon; Methodology; Methods; Modification; Monitor; Names; Newborn Infant; Noise; Numbers; Oral; Oregon; Orthography; Pathologist; Performance; Phase; Phonetics; Planet Mars; Progress Reports; Public Health; Purpose; Range; Rate; Reader; Reading; Research Infrastructure; Research Personnel; Schools; Screening procedure; Self-Administered; Signal Transduction; Software Tools; Specialist; Specific qualifier value; Speech; Speech Intelligibility; Speech Sound; Stimulus; Structure; System; Talents; Testing; Text; Time; Training; United States; Universities; Visual; Vocabulary; Voice; Week; Work; auditory deprivation; base; computerized; cost; data structure; day; deafness; design; hearing impairment; implantation; improved; male; programs; prototype; regional difference; remediation; rural area; skills; sound; teacher; tool; usability

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the past decade, two advances have made the acquisition of listening skills and intelligible speech by individuals with hearing loss more attainable. The first is universal newborn hearing screening and the second is cochlear implantation (CI). 90% of children who receive a CI before they are 18 months old attain intelligible speech. However, intensive aural (re)habilitation training is crucial for these children and other individuals who receive CI's to fully realize the benefit of a cochlear implant. Face-to-face training with a speech and language pathologist is expensive, time-consuming, and may not always be available because clients may live in rural areas where there are no specialists, or children may be placed in public schools without in-house AR specialists. There are several aural (re)habilitation tools available commercially that can be self-administered. Many of these are specifically designed for adult speakers. One tool that is available for children is the Listening Skills Tutor developed by researchers at the Center for Spoken Language Understanding (CSLU) at Oregon Health & Science University and specialists at the Tucker-Maxon Oral School. In Phase I, we will significantly expand the capabilities of this Listening Skills Tutor (LST) and evaluate its performance. The most important improvement of the LST is that it will contain adaptive computer-guided lessons for a wide variety of phoneme listening targets, allowing hearing-impaired individuals to attain listening skills without the extensive guidance of a specialist. In addition, the new system presents phoneme listening targets with improved speech (either natural or improved synthetic voice); uses image alternatives in addition to, or instead of, word alternatives; and uses a natural as opposed to a synthetic talking face. In this Phase I-STTR project we will focus on phonetic discrimination and identification skill building. In Phase II, we will expand the LST to include suprasegmental targets and global comprehension activities. Supra-segmental targets include pitch and pitch contours, amplitude, and speech rate. Global comprehension includes understanding words in conversation and will be presented in quiet and adverse listening conditions such as in noise or with competing conversations (babble). In addition, in Phase II we will build a computer-based assessment tool which will determine what specific targets users need to learn. The assessment tool will use an up-down methodology of testing (or staircase method) which determines the entry level of users based on a selective number of stimuli. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE In the United States, roughly 22,000 adults and nearly 15,000 children have received cochlear implants and these individuals need intensive auditory (re)habilitation (AR) training to fully realize the potential benefit of a cochlear implant and attain intelligible speech. Face-to-face AR training with a specialist is expensive, not always covered by insurance and not always feasible because clients may live in rural areas where there are no specialists, or children may be placed in public schools without in-house AR specialists. Therefore, a computer-guided program that allows auditory training without the help of a specialist is necessary. The proposed project will create and evaluate such a program, focusing on learning phoneme discrimination and identification. It uses natural and high-quality synthetic voices, displays choice alternatives with child- appropriate pictures, and has a natural talk-face option.

描述（由申请人提供）：在过去的十年中，两项进步使得听力损失者更容易获得听力技能和清晰的言语。第一个是全民新生儿听力筛查，第二个是人工耳蜗植入（CI）。 90% 接受 CI 的儿童在 18 个月大之前就可以理解语言。然而，对于这些儿童和其他接受 CI 治疗的人来说，强化听力（康复）训练对于充分认识人工耳蜗的益处至关重要。与言语和语言病理学家进行面对面的培训既昂贵又耗时，而且可能并不总是可行，因为客户可能生活在没有专家的农村地区，或者孩子可能被安置在没有内部机构的公立学校AR 专家。市面上有几种可以自我管理的听力（康复）工具。其中许多是专门为成人演讲者设计的。可供儿童使用的工具之一是听力技能辅导员，该工具由俄勒冈健康与科学大学口语理解中心 (CSLU) 的研究人员和塔克-马克森口语学校的专家开发。在第一阶段，我们将显着扩展听力技能导师 (LST) 的功能并评估其性能。 LST 最重要的改进是它将包含针对各种音素听力目标的自适应计算机指导课程，使听力障碍人士无需专家的广泛指导即可获得听力技能。此外，新系统还以改进的语音（自然语音或改进的合成语音）呈现音素聆听目标；除了文字替代品之外，还使用图像替代品，或者代替文字替代品；并使用自然的而不是合成的说话面孔。在第一阶段-STTR 项目中，我们将重点关注语音辨别和识别技能的培养。在第二阶段，我们将扩展 LST 以包括超分段目标和全局理解活动。超音段目标包括音调和音调轮廓、幅度和语速。整体理解包括理解对话中的单词，并将在安静和不利的聆听条件下呈现，例如噪音或竞争性对话（喋喋不休）。此外，在第二阶段，我们将构建一个基于计算机的评估工具，该工具将确定用户需要学习的具体目标。该评估工具将使用自上而下的测试方法（或阶梯法），根据选择性的刺激数量确定用户的入门级别。公共健康相关性 在美国，大约 22,000 名成人和近 15,000 名儿童接受了人工耳蜗植入，这些人需要强化听觉（再）康复 (AR) 培训，以充分认识人工耳蜗的潜在益处并获得可理解的言语。与专家面对面的 AR 培训费用昂贵，并不总是包含在保险范围内，而且并不总是可行，因为客户可能生活在没有专家的农村地区，或者孩子可能会被安置在没有内部 AR 专家的公立学校。因此，需要一种无需专家帮助即可进行听觉训练的计算机引导程序。拟议的项目将创建并评估这样一个程序，重点是学习音素辨别和识别。它使用自然且高质量的合成声音，通过适合儿童的图片显示选项，并具有自然的对话选项。