DIGITIZED COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE ACTIVITY MONITOR

Prentke Romich Company, Wooster OH

Investigators

Abstract

It is estimated that over one million citizens of the United States have speech impairments to the extent that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) could be considered as a clinical intervention method. While assistive technology (AT) is available that can at least partially alleviate their disability, the selection and application of AAC systems often is made in the absence of statistical data. An ongoing NIH phase I SBIR project at the applicant's organization is demonstrating the feasibility of developing a Language Activity Monitor (LAM) to monitor the communication output of an individual using a speech output device. This earlier LAM project, however, uses serial information and therefore only works with text-to-speech devices. The majority of AAC devices in use today are digitized systems that do not have serial output capabilities. Phase I for this project will research the feasibility for providing the LAM function for digitized AAC devices. The Digitized LAM (D-LAM) will record the speech output of these devices. The information, which includes time-stamp information, can later be analyzed on a computer as aid in assessing the efficacy of AT and intervention strategies. The outcomes for this project fall into three areas: research, outcomes measurement and clinical intervention. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The Digitized Language Activity Monitor will be made commercially available and offered until the market demand dissipates. The LAM II function, based on a proposed standard recording protocol, will be built into future AAC systems. Phase II will include the development of editing and analysis software products and clinical intervention strategies.