An Analysis of Connected Speech Samples of Aphasic and Normal Speakers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a technique for quantifying connected speech samples of aphasic individuals as they recover from the moderate to the mild range of severity. Verbal picture descriptions elicited from mild and moderate aphasic speakers were audio-recorded and compared to those elicited from normal adult and geriatric speakers. These samples were compared on the basis of a measure of amount of information conveyed (content units) and two measures of efficiency including speaking rate (syllables per minute) and rate at which information was conveyed (content units per minute). Results indicated an inverse relationship between severity of aphasia and amount of information conveyed. However, mild and high-moderate aphasic speakers tended to communicate as much information as normal speakers. Both measures of efficiency differentiated groups of mild and high-moderate aphasics from normal speakers as well as differentiating low-moderate from mild aphasic speakers. Use of this quantification system which takes into account both amount of information and efficency of communication is illustrated with data obtained from a recovering aphasic speaker.

Intensive Language Action Therapy in Chronic Aphasia: A Randomized Clinical Trial Examining Guidance by Constraint

“…Nonetheless, most participants demonstrated some gains in performance, and nearly all scores improved for both groups. One exception was in CUs (Yorkston & Beukelman, 1980) produced for the Cookie Theft Picture Description ): The ILAT participants produced marginally more CUs, whereas the PACE group produced marginally fewer (Table 5).…”

“…Changes in content units (CUs; Yorkston & Beukelman, 1980) were analyzed for the Cookie Theft Picture Description. In addition to standardized tests of aphasia, participants were tested on three occasions in order to select sets of stimuli to be trained (or not).…”

Aphasic speech with and withoutSentenceShaper®: Two methods for assessing informativeness

“…Unlike measures of length and grammatical structure, informativeness measures are typically used to quantify changes in how effectively the person communicates the content of a message. Informativeness can be measured objectively with published procedures such as Correct Information Unit (CIU) Analysis (Nicholas & Brookshire, 1993) or content unit analysis (Yorkston & Beukelman, 1980). Informativeness can also be measured subjectively, using listener judgements.…”

Reliability of main event measurement in the discourse of individuals with aphasia

“…A number of studies have shown that measures such as Yorkston and Beukelman's (1980) content unit analysis and Nicholas and Brookshire's (1993) correct information unit (CIU) analysis are helpful in monitoring changes in the connected speech of individuals with aphasia (Yorkston & Beukelman, 1980;Craig et al, 1993;Nicholas & Brookshire, 1993). Moreover, research suggests that any comprehensive assessment of structured discourse should also include a measure of the ability to relay main events (Capilouto, Wright & Cranfill, 2003;Nicholas & Brookshire, 1995).…”