Characterizing Nonfluent Speech in Aphasia: Variables that Affect Rater Judgment

Park, Hyejin and Rogalski, Yvonne and Rodriguez, Amy and Zlatar, Zvinka and Benjamin, Michelle and Rosenbek, John and Crosson, Bruce and Reilly, Jamie (2010) Characterizing Nonfluent Speech in Aphasia: Variables that Affect Rater Judgment. [Clinical Aphasiology Paper]

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Abstract

Judging speech fluency is an important characteristic of the evaluation of aphasic speech. However, it is a complex task since fluency is comprised of several speech dimensions. This study investigated five variables that contribute to judging fluency: speech rate, audible struggle, syllable type token ratio, speech productivity, and filler ratio. Twenty healthy older adults and 27 nonfluent aphasic speakers described the Cookie Theft picture (BDAE). Speech rate, audible struggle, and speech productivity were rated as significantly different between the two groups. Future studies with larger samples and broader populations are needed to support the predictive values in determining speech fluency.

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