Speech analysis system and method
Contents
1. automatically determining whether an error exists in the user pronunciation and if an error exists automatically categorizing the error 2 The method recited in claim 1 further comprising the step following the prompting step of displaying a fre quency spectrum of the user pronunciation 3 The method recited in claim 1 further comprising the step following the prompting step of broadcasting a sample of a correct pronunciation of the word 4 The method recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of issuing a report on an error in user pronunciation 5 The method recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of saving the error in a database accessible by the processor searching the database to determine whether a previous entry for the user exists and if a previous entry exists comparing the error with an error in the previous entry and determining a change with time 6 The method recited in claim 5 further comprising the step of issuing a report on the determined change 7 The method recited in claim 1 further comprising the step if an error exists of recommending a therapeutic program to address the error 8 The method recited in claim 7 wherein the program recommending step comprises the steps of searching a database comprising a plurality of records each record comprising a picture and a word associated therewith and automatically generating a set of records from the plural ity of reco2. American Guidance Service Khan Lewis Test of Phonol 10 15 20 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 ogy American Guidance Service Photo Articulation Test Pro Ed and Fisher Logeman Test of Articulation Pro Ed SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for eliciting a desired sound from a user It is a further object to provide such a system and method adapted to generate a report It is another object to provide a system and method for testing a user s articulation It is an additional object to provide such a system and method that is adapted to analyze a group of problematic sounds It is yet a further object to provide such a system and method that recommends a therapeutic program responsive to the analysis It is yet another object to provide such a system and method that includes a prescreening feature These and other objects are achieved by the present invention a first aspect of which comprises a method and system for providing speech therapy The method comprises the steps of selecting a problem speech sound and searching a database that comprises a plurality of records Each record comprises a picture and a word associated with the word Next a set of records is automatically generated from the plurality of records Each record contains a word specific to the problem speech s sound The set of records is next automatically presented
3. on which are resident the software package 15 of the present invention adapted to perform the functions as outlined above and a database 16 comprising the plurality of records 17 and demographic and historical data on the users 12 An input device is in communication with the processor 14 that has means for selecting a problem speech sound Such means may comprise any of the devices known in the art such as a keyboard 18 or pointing device such as a mouse 19 or touch screen A display device such as a display screen 20 is also in communication with the processor 14 Optional elements that are also in communication with the processor 14 may include a microphone 21 and a speaker 22 both under processor 14 control as well as means for performing analog to digital 23 and digital to analog 24 conversions The system 10 also has means for transferring records from the database to a storage medium such as a disk drive 25 under control of the software 15 or to a remote site such as another location 26 via a modem 27 over the internet 28 or such as another room 29 at the same location via an intranet 30 A printer 31 under processor control may also be provided for furnishing a hard copy of any portion of the session as desired A secondary system 40 for use of the personal version of the invention at the remote location 26 29 comprises a 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 processor 41 input device 42 and display
4. the system comprises a processor and an output device and a user input device each in signal communication with the processor The system further comprises an operator input and storage device that is not in signal communication with the processor but is connectable thereto for downloading operator entered data thereinto the data comprising the phonetic representation The software then receives downloaded data from the operator input and storage device the phonetic representa tion of the user s pronunciation The software automatically determines whether an error exists in the user pronunciation and if an error exists automatically categorizes the error The system and method of this second feature of the invention may be adapted for presentation of a single word a plurality of words having a predetermined feature desired to be tested a pretest for screening for potential articulation disorders and an analysis of connected speech with the use of a moving picture to elicit a narrative from the student The features that characterize the invention both as to organization and method of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description used in conjunction with the accompanying drawing It is to be expressly understood that the drawing is for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention These and other
5. therewith and wherein the software means is further adapted to auto matically generate a set of records from the plurality of records each record containing a word containing a problem speech sound representative of the error the set of records for subsequent display and pronunciation by the user 26 The system recited in claim 18 wherein the symbol comprises a picture and the output device comprises a display screen 27 The system recited in claim 18 wherein the output device comprises a display screen and wherein the software is adapted to direct a presentation of a motion picture representative of an action on the display screen
6. to a user sequentially on a display device and the user is prompted to pronounce the displayed word Finally the pronunciation of each word is scored The system of the first aspect of the present invention comprises a processor an input device in communication with the processor having means for selecting a problem speech sound and a display device in communication with the processor The database as described above is resident on the processor as are software means The software is adapted to automatically generate a set of records from the plurality of records with each record containing a word specific to the problem speech sound The software is also adapted to automatically present at least a portion of each record in the set of records to a user sequentially on a display device the set of records to a user sequentially on the display device and to prompt the user to pronounce the displayed word Finally the software is adapted to receive via the input device a score for the pronunciation of each word Another aspect of the present invention is a system and method for analyzing a speech problem by performing a test of articulation phonology and sound features that is admin istered and analyzed with the use of an electronic processor This method comprises the steps of presenting to a student user a symbol representative of a word and prompting the user to pronounce the word represented by the symbol into a microphone in signal co
7. 01 which are commonly owned with the instant application and which are incorporated herein by reference BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to systems and methods for analyzing and remediating speech pathologies and more particularly to such systems and methods that are computer based 2 Description of Related Art Articulation and phonology disorders are the most com mon of the speech and language disorders The prevalence of this disorder is at the time of writing approximately 10 of the school age population In addressing a perceived articulation issue in a student speech language pathologists have in the past used an initial test based upon a series of cards Each card contains a picture and a word and the student is asked to pronounce the word associated with the card The pathologist then determines whether the student s pronunciation is right or wrong It may be recognized that such a system can be cumbersome owing to the cards having to be placed in a desired order and sorted manually An intervention system designed to automate this process Picture Gallery I was presented by the owner of the current application In this system pictures and or words stored in a database could be sorted using a desired criterion such as a particular phoneme and presented to the student under software control for facilitating the acquisition or remedia tion of speech or langu
8. 5 832 441 A 11 1998 Aaron et al 5 857473 A 1 1999 Beard et al 5 865 626 A 2 1999 Beattie et al 5 927 988 A 7 1999 Jenkins et al 6 009 397 A 12 1999 Siegel 6 019 607 A 2 2000 Jenkins et al 6 030 226 A 2 2000 Hersh 6 055 498 A 4 2000 Neumeyer et al 6 071 123 A 6 2000 Tallal et al 6 077 085 A 6 2000 Parry et al 6 113 393 A 9 2000 Neuhaus 6 471 521 B1 10 2002 Dornbush et al 318 48 6 356 943 B2 3 2003 Murray et al 709 220 OTHER PUBLICATIONS LocuTour Multimedia Articulation Therapy for Oral Apraxia Dysarthria and Developmental Speech Disorders http www learningfundamentals com products manuals Artic I Cons Phonemes pdf Parrot Software User s Manual Automatic Articulation Analysis 2000 Parrot Software Inc Masterson Julie and Pagan Frank Interactive System for Phonological Analysis User s Guide pps 41 Harcourt Brace amp Compnay San Antonio 1993 Long Steven H and Fey Marc E Computerized Profiling User s Manual pps 119 Harcourt Brace amp Company San Antonio 1993 American Speech Language Hearing Association Tech nology 2000 Clinical Applications for Speech Language Pathology http professional asha org tech resources tech2000 7 htm pp 1 7 1996 PictureGallery http www psychcorp com catalogs sla sla014atpc htm pp 1 2 The Childes System Child Language Data Exchange Sys tem http childes psy cmu edu Additional Childes Too
9. United States Patent US006725198B2 12 10 Patent No US 6 725 198 B2 Waryas et al 45 Date of Patent Apr 20 2004 54 SPEECH ANALYSIS SYSTEM AND METHOD 5 303 327 A 4 1994 Sturner et al 5 393 236 A 2 1995 Blackmer et al 75 Inventors Carol Waryas San Antonio TX US 5 487 671 A 1 1996 Shpiro et al James H Segapeli Schertz TX US RUE 5 e T Mis A 636 arre XT RAE San oun 5 679 001 A 10 1997 Russell et al 5 717 828 A 2 1998 Rothenberg 5 5 791 904 A 8 1998 Russell et al 73 Assignee pun ro cae Inc San 5 813 862 A 91998 Merzenich et al ntonio List continued on next page Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS U S C 154 b by 0 days EP 0 360 909 4 1990 EP 0 504 927 9 1992 This patent is subject to a terminal dis EP 1 089 246 4 2001 claimer WO 99 13446 3 1999 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 21 Appl No 09 997 204 4 Jackson Peter Introduction to Expert Systems 1999 22 Filed Nov 15 2001 Addison Wesley Longman Limited 3rd Edition pp E 65 Prior Publication Data TAN US 2002 0116183 Al Aug 22 2002 List continued on next page Er Primary Examiner Richemond Dorvil Related U S Application Data Assistant Examiner V Paul Harper NE E 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Allen Dyer Doppelt 63 Continuation in part of application No 09 769 776 filed on ia Or 4 Jan 25 2001 and a continuation in part of app
10. age skills No analysis or scoring is performed rather the product is intended for use by one or more students either alone or in concert with a pathologist teacher A previously known method of diagnosing articulation or phonology disorders included a pencil and paper test wherein a student is asked to speak a word The therapist grades the word subjectively based upon the therapist s ear and the local standards Other systems known in the art that address speech language analysis and therapy methodologies includes those of Neuhaus U S Pat No 6 113 393 Parry et al U S Pat No 6 077 085 UCSF and Rutgers U S Pat Nos 5 813 862 and 6 071 123 Neumeyer et al U S Pat No 6 055 498 Jenkins et al U S Pat Nos 5 927 988 and 6 019 607 Siegel U S Pat No 6 009 397 Beard et al U S Pat No 5 857 173 Aaron et al U S Pat No 5 832 441 Russell et al U S Pat Nos 5 679 001 and 5 791 904 Rothenberg U S Pat No 5 717 828 Wen U S Pat No 5 562 453 Ezawa et al U S Pat No 4 969 194 Sturner et al U S Pat No 5 303 327 Shpiro U S Pat No 5 766 015 and Siegel U S Pat No 6 148 286 Commer cial software products in the field of articulation phonology or speech sound production include Speech Viewer Inter active System for Phonological Analysis Speech Master Visi pitch and Computerized Profiling Commercial print products include the Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation
11. and correlating the categorized errors to determine an exist ence of an articulation disorder 17 A method for evaluating an articulation disorder comprising the steps of presenting to a user a motion picture representative of an action prompting the user to provide a narration on the action into a microphone in signal communication with a processor entering a phonetic representation of the user pronuncia tion of the narration into an input and storage device not in signal communication with the processor transferring the phonetic representation to the processor automatically determining whether an error exists in the user pronunciation and if an error exists automatically categorizing the error 18 A system for evaluating an articulation disorder com prising processor an output device and a user input device in signal com munication with the processor an operator input and storage device having means for receiving and storing data and connectable with the processor for downloading data thereinto 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 10 software means installable on the processor adapted to present on the output device a symbol representative of a word prompt a user via the output device to pronounce the word represented by the symbol into the user input device receive from the input and storage device a phonetic representation of the user pronunciation entered thereinto by the oper
12. ator and downloaded into the processor automatically determine whether an error exists in the user pronunciation and if an error exists automatically categorize the error 19 The system recited in claim 18 wherein the display device comprises at least one of a printer and a display screen the user input device comprises a microphone and the input and storage device comprises at least one of a keyboard and a pointing device 20 The system recited in claim 18 wherein the software means is further adapted to display on the display device a frequency spectrum of the user pronunciation 21 The system recited in claim 18 further comprising broadcasting means in signal communication with the pro cessor and wherein the software means is further adapted to direct a sample of a correct pronunciation of the word to be broadcast via the broadcast means 22 The system recited in claim 21 wherein the broad casting means comprises an audio speaker 23 The system recited in claim 18 wherein the software means is further adapted to issue a report on an error in user pronunciation via the display device 24 The system recited in claim 18 wherein the software means is further adapted if an error exists to recommend a therapeutic program to address the error 25 The system recited in claim 24 further comprising a database resident on the processor comprising a plurality of records each record comprising a picture and a word associated
13. device 43 in communication with the processor 41 and either or both of a modem 44 for receiving a set of records and a storage device reader 45 for reading a stored set of records The software package 46 for this version is adapted to read the records present them to the student 12 sequentially and prompt the student 12 to pronounce the word associated with the record A flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of the auto mated speech therapy intervention method is given in FIGS 3A 3B The schematic of the system is substantially the same as that in FIG 2 The method comprises the steps of selecting the type of evaluation desired to be performed block 501 screening single word analysis deep test or connected speech analysis The screening or pre evaluation comprises the steps of presenting to a user a symbol repre sentative of a word block 502 and prompting the user to pronounce the word represented by the symbol into a microphone in signal communication with a processor block 503 The symbol presentation may comprise for example a picture on a display screen although this is not intended as a limitation The therapist then enters a phonetic representation of the user pronunciation into the processor block 504 In an alternate embodiment of the method the altered portion of which is illustrated in FIG 4 the therapist enters the phonetic representation of the user pronunciation into a separate operator input and s
14. ed The student or therapist can also elect block 114 to hear the word pronounced block 115 in a recommended manner by making an appropriate selection on an input device The scores are received by the system and an aggregate score is calculated block 116 for the problem speech sound The database also comprises a historical record of all sessions for each of the students and the database is then accessed to store the current score thereinto block 117 The therapist may choose to calculate a historical change block 118 from previously saved scores to provide an indication of the student s progress Such scores may also be used to calculate statistics block 119 for a group of students using for example a demographic filter The personal version of the system and method does not accept scoring nor is there a database from which sets of records may be created Rather the professional version is adapted to download a selected set of records onto a storage medium such as a diskette or to transmit the set of records to a remote site block 109 Such a remote site may comprise but is not intended to be limited to a room remote from the main processor accessible via intranet or a differ ent building accessible via internet This version then enables the student to perform block 120 the steps in blocks 110 112 and 115 as desired on his or her own The system 10 as schematically illustrated in FIG 2 comprises a processor 14
15. esentative of a word containing at least one of the errors determined in the pre evaluation and US 6 725 198 B2 9 performing an evaluation comprising performing steps a f using the generated set of symbols 13 The method recited in claim 12 further comprising automatically generating a report summarizing the errors detected in the evaluation performing step 14 The method recited in claim 12 wherein the evalua tion performing step comprises automatically recognizing an underlying commonality in the errors to achieve a diag nosis of a problem speech sound 15 The method recited in claim 14 further comprising the step of recommending a therapeutic program to address the diagnosed problem speech sound 16 A method for evaluating an articulation disorder comprising the steps of a presenting to a user a symbol representative of a word b prompting the user to pronounce the word represented by the symbol into a microphone in signal communi cation with a processor c entering a phonetic representation of the user pronun ciation of the word into an input and storage device not in signal communication with the processor d transferring the phonetic representation from the input and storage device to the processor e automatically determining whether an error exists in the user pronunciation f if an error exists automatically categorizing the error repeating steps a f a predetermined number of times
16. is is not intended as a limitation This version is contemplated for use in such settings 32 as a hospital clinic rehabilitation center school or private facility In the personal version 40 of the invention the student 12 may be working alone or in the presence of a nonprofessional such as a parent The therapist 11 may be for example a speech therapist or a teacher the student 12 may be a user who is learning a second language or a school attendee who is being tested for or who is already known to have an articulation problem or phono logical disorder The method comprises the steps of providing access to an electronic database that includes a plurality of records block 101 Each record comprises a word a picture representative of the word and a recommended pronunciation of the word In an alternate embodiment the record may also include a digitized video clip to represent motion or a verb to impart a concept of action In another embodiment the record may further include a digitized sound that is associated with the word For example the record for the word dog might contain a picture of a dog a video clip of a dog running and or a barking sound It is believed that such multiple stimuli appeal to a multiplicity of cognitive areas thereby optimizing the student s improvement Each record may further contain data useful for perform ing sorting functions such as at least one category and or concept An exemplar
17. lication No Milbrath amp Gilchrist P A 09 770 093 filed on Jan 25 2001 57 ABSTRACT 5D Int CL seo G10L 15 06 G10L 21 06 GO9B 19 04 GO9B 1 00 A system and method for analyzing a speech problem 52 US Cl ema 704 254 704 271 704 276 includes the steps of presenting a symbol representative of 434 185 434 167 Word and prompting the user to pronounce the word 58 Field of Search 704 216 270 represented by the symbol into an audio input device such as 70 4 258 251 246 434 327 322 185 a microphone in signal communication with a processor g d i 1 57 116 Next the therapist enters a phonetic representation of the gt user pronunciation into an operator input and storage device 56 References Cited the phonetic representation subsequently downloaded into the processor It is then automatically determined whether an U S PATENT DOCUMENTS error exists in the user pronunciation If an error exists the 4 615 680 A 10 1986 Tomatis 43457 CTOT is automatically categorized 4 969 194 A 11 1990 Ezawa et al 5 142 657 A 8 1992 Ezawa etal 704 276 27 Claims 5 Drawing Sheets open professional version of system 100 provide access to database of records 101 102 provide access to demographic data select problem speech sound 103 apply no filter 2 104 sort set of records into desired sequence 108 US 6 725 198 B2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS
18. ls CHILDES Windows Tools http childes psy cmu edu html wintools html SAILS the Speech Assessment amp Interactive Learning System SAILS Using SAILS in Clinical Assessment and Treatment http www propeller net react sails2 htm pp 1 3 GFTA 2 Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation 2 http www agsnet com templates productview p asp GroupID 311750 pp 1 3 KLPA Khan Lewis Phonological Analysis http www ag snet com templates productview p asp GroupID a1820 pp 1 2 Bernthal John E and Bankson Nicholas W Eds Articu lation and Phonological Disorders Fourth Edition Chapter 9 Instrumentation in Clinical Phonology by Julie J Master son Steven H Long and Eugene H Buder 1998 pp 378 406 cited by examiner U S Patent Apr 20 2004 Sheet 1 of 5 US 6 725 198 B2 open professional version of system 100 provide access to database of records 101 provide access to demographic data 102 select problem speech sound 103 104 apply ng filter 2 apply filter to limit set search database to create record set 107 106 19 109 yes sort set of records into desired sequence 109 FIG 1A 108 U S Patent Apr 20 2004 Sheet 2 of 5 US 6 725 198 B2 109 resen DESEE store transmit or store transmit 120 use personal version of system present 110 select display style 111 ane 112 prompt student for pronunciation 113 therapist scores p
19. mmunication with a processor Next the therapist enters a phonetic representation of the user pronunciation into the processor It is then automati cally determined whether an error exists in the user pronun ciation If an error exists the error is automatically catego rized In an alternate embodiment of the method the therapist enters the phonetic representation of the user pronunciation into an input and storage device that is not in signal communication with the processor At a later time the phonetic representation is downloaded into the processor whereupon the automatic determining and categorizing steps proceed US 6 725 198 B2 3 The system of the second aspect of the invention evalu ates an articulation disorder The system comprises a pro cessor and an output device and an input device each in signal communication with the processor Software installable on the processor is adapted to present on the output device typically a display device although this is not intended as a limitation a symbol representative of a word The software then is adapted to prompt a user via the output device to pronounce the word represented by the symbol and to receive from the therapist via the input device phonetic representation of the user s pronunciation The software automatically determines whether an error exists in the user pronunciation and if an error exists automatically categorizes the error In the alternate embodiment
20. nunciation or an omission These steps are repeated a predetermined number of times n for example 20 times block 510 It may then be desired to perform the deep test which may be performed with the knowledge gained from a pre evaluation as above or de novo If the pre evaluation has been performed the software automatically generates a set of symbols wherein each symbol is representative of a word containing at least one of the errors determined in the pre evaluation Then the steps as above are performed using the generated set of symbols and an evaluation is made of articulation errors for the whole set US 6 725 198 B2 7 If a single word is desired to be analyzed for the steps in blocks 502 509 are performed once for the desired word Once a word has been pronounced and the phonetic representation entered into the processor the therapist may decide to display a frequency spectrum of the user s pro nunciation block 508 If desired a sample of a correct pronunciation of the word may be broadcast via a speaker in signal communication with the processor block 509 When a plurality of words have been tested the evaluat ing step also comprises automatically recognizing an under lying commonality by correlating the errors detected This pattern recognition permits the software to achieve an over arching diagnosis of a problem speech sound block 511 Following the error categorization if desired a report can be iss
21. objects attained and advantages offered by the present invention will become more fully apparent as the description that now follows is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS 1A 1B is a flow chart for an exemplary embodi ment of the speech therapy method of the invention FIG 2 is a schematic diagram of the speech therapy system FIGS 3A 3B is a flow chart for an exemplary embodi ment of the speech analysis method of the invention FIG 4 is a section of a flow chart for another embodiment of the speech analysis method of the invention FIG 5 is a schematic diagram of an alternate embodiment of the speech analysis system DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be presented with reference to FIGS 1A 5 A flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of the auto mated speech therapy intervention method is given in FIGS 1A 1B and a schematic of the system in FIG 2 The system 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 and method are also contemplated for use in the acquisition of a language skill as well as in a remediation setting There are two versions of the system and method In the profes sional version 10 of the invention block 100 typically two people who will be referred to as therapist 11 and student 12 are present although th
22. presentation of the symbols and sounds In the foregoing description certain terms have been used for brevity clarity and understanding but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the require ments of the prior art because such words are used for description purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed Moreover the embodiments of the apparatus illustrated and described herein are by way of example and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction Having now described the invention the construction the operation and use of preferred embodiment thereof and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby the new and useful constructions and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art are set forth in the appended claims What is claimed is 1 A method for evaluating an articulation disorder com prising the steps of presenting to a user a symbol representative of a word prompting the user to pronounce the word represented by the symbol into a microphone in signal communication with a processor entering a phonetic representation of the user pronuncia tion of the word into an input and storage device not in signal communication with the processor Un 10 15 20 25 30 35 45 50 55 60 65 8 transferring the phonetic representation from the input and storage device to the processor
23. rds each record containing a word contain ing a problem speech sound representative of the error the set of records for subsequent display and pronun ciation by the user 9 The method recited in claim 1 wherein the presenting step comprises displaying a picture on a display screen 10 The method recited in claim 1 wherein the error is selected from a group consisting of a substitution a mispronunciation and an omission 11 The method recited in claim 1 wherein the determin ing step comprises applying a dialectical filter adapted to discriminate between an error and a predetermined normal dialect word pronunciation 12 A method for evaluating an articulation disorder comprising the steps of performing a pre evaluation comprising the steps of a presenting to a user a symbol representative of a word b prompting the user to pronounce the word repre sented by the symbol into a microphone in signal communication with a processor c entering a phonetic representation of the user pro nunciation of the word into an input and storage device not in signal communication with the proces Sor d transferring the phonetic representation to the pro cessor e automatically determining whether an error exists in the user pronunciation and f if an error exists automatically categorizing the error repeating steps a f a predetermined num ber of times automatically generating a set of symbols each symbol repr
24. ronunciation 114 hear word yes pronounced 115 broadcast word calculate aggregate score 116 ji calculate historical change 118 calculate statistics 119 US 6 725 198 B2 Sheet 3 of 5 Apr 20 2004 U S Patent Old E 8c 0p uone o aowa LT aseqejep Sp4028J Wayshs Arepuooas OV wool 9 0Wau s PuoISSoJoJd U S Patent Apr 20 2004 Sheet 4 of 5 US 6 725 198 B2 soi GD 502 503 504 sos yes 506 no FIG 3A 510 automatically categorize the error 507 if desired display frequency spectrum 508 G09 509 if desired broadcast correct pronunciation 510 511 perform correlation of errors to make diagnosis Km yes vis 514 determine change over time a 215 C0 FIG 3B U S Patent Apr 20 2004 Sheet 5 of 5 US 6 725 198 B2 present symbol to user on display in communication with processor enter phonetic representation into separate input device 905 FIG 4 12 10 47 operator input and storage device 11 US 6 725 198 B2 1 SPEECH ANALYSIS SYSTEM AND METHOD CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation in part of and claims priority to application Ser No 09 769 776 entitled Speech Analysis and Therapy System and Method filed Jan 25 2001 and application Ser No 09 770 093 entitled Speech Therapy System and Method filed Jan 25 20
25. th If desired block 107 the set of records may also be sorted block 108 in various ways to produce a desired sequence including but not limited to putting the words in alphabetical order random order or some other chosen sequence In a preferred embodiment all the words in the database contain at least one of the letters r 1 and s since these are known to present a problem most frequently For a professional therapy session a decision may be made whether to present the set of records or store transmit US 6 725 198 B2 5 them block 109 If the former the set of records is next presented sequentially to the student in the predetermined sequence on a display device block 111 and the student is prompted to pronounce the word block 112 The display style may be selected block 110 from a word only a picture only or a word plus a picture If the student can read he or she can use the displayed word to form a pronunciation if the student cannot yet read or cannot read the currently presented language the picture will also aid in acquisition of reading skills as well as pronunciation In the professional setting the therapist scores the stu dent s pronunciation block 113 by inputting for example correct incorrect skip or re present which will record an indication to re present the record at a later time such as after all the other items in the set have been present
26. torage device 47 such as but not intended to be limited to a personal data assistant block 520 At a later time the user pronunciation data are down loaded into the processor block 521 to complete the steps of the method A schematic of the system FIG 5 illustrates the addition of the operator input and storage device 47 which is connectable to the system 10 when desired for downloading data into the processor 14 that has been entered thereinto by the therapist 11 The advantages of this embodiment include the user and the operator being able to use separate pieces of hardware thereby eliminating physical restraints imposed by attempt ing to share equipment Further during the session the user cannot view the operator s scoring information which may inhibit the user In addition the operator s hardware may retain data for downloading into more than one processor if desired for subsequent collection and analysis In both embodiments the software installed upon the processor then automatically determines whether an error exists in the user pronunciation block 506 The determi nation may additionally include the application of a dialec tical filter block 505 that is adapted to discriminate between that which is deemed to be a true error and a predetermined normal dialect word pronunciation If an error exists the software automatically categorizes the error block 507 An error may be for example a substitution a mispro
27. ued detailing the user s error s block 512 Additionally the error may be saved in a database that is accessible by the processor block 513 If a previous entry for this user already exists which is determined by a search the error found in the present test may be compared with an error previously found and a change overtime determined for that user block 514 to note whether an improvement has occurred Again if desired a report may be issued block 515 as to the change determined An additional feature of this invention is the ability once a categorization has been made of an error of recommend ing a therapeutic program to address the error block 516 Such a recommendation formulation may comprise for example creating a set of records as detailed above in FIGS 1A 2 If connected speech analysis is desired to be performed the symbol comprises a motion picture representative of an action and the user is prompted to provide a narration on the action into a microphone in signal communication with a processor The therapist then enters a phonetic represen tation of the user s pronunciation of the narration into the processor Software resident in the processor automatically determines whether an error exists in the user pronunciation and if an error exists automatically categorizes the error It may be appreciated by one skilled in the art that additional embodiments may be contemplated including alternate forms of
28. y set of categories comprises animals art babies celebrations global images environment family food garden health and exercise home leisure medical money music pets play school shopping signs symbols sports technical vacations and work An exem plary set of concepts comprises activities objects places people ideas and events The record also typically com prises a vocabulary level associated with the word and a length of the word The method next comprises the step of inputting or accessing previously input demographic information for the student block 102 Then a problem speech sound that is desired to be improved upon is selected that is known from a prior diagnosis block 103 The problem speech sound may be selected from a group consisting of a phoneme and a feature The feature com prises at least one of a place a manner and a voicing characteristic Searching on a feature yields matches in all positions of words The database is electronically searched block 106 for records containing words that include the problem speech sound to generate a set of records A filter may be applied if desired block 104 to further limit the set block 105 including selecting a category or concept using the demographic information to limit the set such as elimi nating words that are intended for students over 7 years of age for a 5 year old student setting a desired vocabulary level or selecting a word leng
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search