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Vaghmi_Pro Articulation Therapy
a comprehensive system for articulation therapy

What is Articulation Therapy?

    Mis-articulation is a common problem even amongst normals. Children often mis-pronounce fricatives such as 's', 'sh' etc. 'Deaf needn't be dumb'. They have normal control over articulation. Problem of hard of hearing is much more complex. As they rely on lip-reading, they mis-articulate sounds 'b', 'p' and 'm'. Voice (g,d,b) Vs Unvoice (k,t,p) distinction is another major problem. Stroke patients have to undergo speech therapy to regain speech. Listening to one's own tape-recorded voice or standing in-front of a mirror is not an effective therapy technique. Vaghmi_Pro Articulation Therapy is a sophisticated software tool that converts a PC into a therapy equipment. What used to be monotonous and time consuming has now become interesting, effective and time saving. Vaghmi_Pro Articulation Therapy provides a visual feedback of articulation process and displays the measured parameter in comparison with a model. The articulation of the phoneme can be shown in a Script of a language of user's choice such as English, Hindi, Kannada etc. It has many interesting Games, Puzzles etc with powerful visuals. Stimulating tasks are to be achieved during therapy. The performance is scored. Reinforcement messages appear. Goals can be set in a graded manner.

Articulation Therapy Modules

See and Speak

See Vocal Tract Shape: This displays the mid-sagittal vocal tract shape (profile) indicating the ideal articulatory positions for sustained sounds and CV syllables. Phoneme and Sound clues can be Switched On or Off.

Lip Reading: To facilitate the learning of lip reading, front view of the face is shown. Phoneme and Sound clues can be Switched On or Off.

See Speech Signal: Speech signal corresponding to various sustained sounds can be shown in split screen format. This acts as an oscilloscope. The display duration can be chosen. Signal can be saved and recalled.

See Speech Spectrum: Speech spectrum is shown is split screen format. Frequency range can be selected. Cursor facility is provided. Spectra of subject and model can be compared for the same sound or specra for different sounds, such as 's' and 'sh', can be compared.

Vowel Therapy

Production of vowel sound can be learnt using this module. As the subject phonates a vowel, a display of First Vs Second formant is shown as a dot which ideally must be inside a marked rectangle.     In another program the measured distinctive feature High-Low Vs Front-Back is shown. The effect of moving the various articulators such as tongue and jaw on the formant locations or distinctive features can be visualized. Thus proper articulatory positions can be learnt.     Tongue is usually well hidden. But, by means of acoustic analysis, when the subject phonates a vowel, the measured tongue shape is shown against the tongue profile of a model.     In another program, a sustained sound is converted to pseudo script and is displayed. The pseudo script is similar for different productions of the same sound but differs considerably for different sounds.

Nasal Therapy

If sound comes out through nostrils for sounds other than m, n, ng it results in hyper 'nasal voice'. Some persons are unable to produce nasals such as m and n . Such cases are called hypo-nasal. There are three programs for Nasalence therapy. Two Microphone setup is used to measure the relative oral and nasal levels and are shown by Blue and Pink bars. Also, Nasalence is measured for the user selected interval. In Clock program a pendulum swings while the subject phonates, the extent of swing is proportional to per cent nasalence. Using the visual feedback, the user can voluntarily control the velum thus reduce or increase nasality as desired.

Fricative Therapy

This program can be used for cases with disability to produce and sustain frication. In Train program, a train moves forward emiting smoke when a proper fricative is produced. In Beaker program water gets filled-up in a beaker as the subject produces a sustained fricative. Also, there are Fricative Therapy programs to teach s Vs sh distinction and s Vs z distinction. In Sun-Rain sun shine is shown when a vowel is produced and rain fall is shown when a fricative is produced.

Plosives Therapy

This is used to teach Voiced Vs Unvoiced plosive distinction such as k Vs g, d Vs t, p vs b etc. When the subject says for example, 'apa'. Then a Blue-Black-Blue bar appears. When the subject says for example, 'aba' then a Blue bar appears without any breaks.

Picture-Word Articulation Test

     This program can be used as a platform to develope and run the test for any language by an experienced user.
     In Picture-word articulation test, pre-stored pictures and corresponding text are shown on the Screen. The subject has to pronounce the word. Subject's pronunciation can be recorded. Therapist evaluates the pronunciation. Pre-stored reference can be played. Visual and Audiotory positive and negative reinforcement can be given. Word clue can be suppressed or shown based on User's choice.

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