Automated assessment and treatment of speech rate and intonation in dysarthria

摘要

Prosody assessment and treatment in dysarthria is clinically relevant, since prosodic impairment can have a negative impact on speech intelligibility and thus on participation in daily life conversation. We propose a speech-technology based software tool that provides automated numerical and visual feedback on two important aspects of prosody: speech rate and intonation. The tool includes speech rate and intonation algorithms, both specifically developed for the analysis of Dutch dysarthric speech. The tool enables speech-language pathologists to obtain objective measures of these prosodic aspects in a standardized and fast way, and enables dysarthric speakers to practise their prosodic skills intensively without the presence of a speech-language pathologist being required.