Overview
People rely on accurate speech production in order to express thoughts and communicate with others. However, for individuals with neurological impairment or diseases (e.g. stroke or Parkinson’s disease), the ability to produce intelligible speech can be significantly affected. In this lab, we examine how speech production affects conversation. Our work explores measurements of the acoustic speech signal, the speed and accuracy of listener comprehension, and changes that are made in response to communication breakdowns. By measuring how different speakers adapt their speech production and respond to listeners, we hope to gain insight into how best to tailor treatment approaches to individual patterns of communication disorder.

Participants wanted
The completion of our research goals depends on the generosity and participation of volunteers in our community – we are always looking for people to come to our department and participate. We are currently seeking participants for the following study:

Comprehension of Dysarthric Speech
We are currently seeking speech samples from people with speech difficulties following a stroke, brain injury, or diagnosis of a neurological disease.  For this project, we ask you to read a text and tell us a short story. We also ask you to complete some basic memory/word tests.  It takes no longer than 1 hour. Please contact annalise.fletcher@unt.edu for further information.

Get involved
If you are a UNT student interested in studying or working at the lab, please contact Dr. Annalise Fletcher with an outline of your interests. 

Recent Publications:

Fletcher, A., McAuliffe, M., Kerr, S., & Sinex, D. (2019). Effects of vocabulary and implicit linguistic knowledge on speech recognition in adverse listening conditions. American Journal of Audiology, 28(3S), 742-755.

Fletcher, A. R., Risi, R. A., Wisler, A., & McAuliffe, M. J. (2019). Examining Listener Reaction Time in the Perceptual Assessment of Dysarthria. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 71(5-6), 297-308.

Fletcher, A. R., McAuliffe, M. J., Lansford, K. L., Sinex, D. G., & Liss, J. M. (2017). Predicting intelligibility gains in individuals with dysarthria from baseline speech features. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60(11), 3043-3057.

Fletcher, A. R., Wisler, A. A., McAuliffe, M. J., Lansford, K. L., & Liss, J. M. (2017). Predicting intelligibility gains in dysarthria through automated speech feature analysis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60(11), 3058-3068.

Fletcher, A., & McAuliffe, M. (2017). Examining Variation in Treatment Outcomes among Speakers with Dysarthria. Seminars in Speech and Language, 38(03), 191-199.

Fletcher, A. R., McAuliffe, M. J., Lansford, K. L., & Liss, J. M. (2017). Assessing Vowel Centralization in Dysarthria: A Comparison of Methods. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60(2), 341-354.

McAuliffe, M. J., Fletcher, A. R., Kerr, S. E., O'Beirne, G. A., & Anderson, T. (2017). Effect of dysarthria type, speaking condition, and listener age on speech intelligibility. American journal of speech-language pathology, 26(1), 113-123.

Fletcher, A. R., McAuliffe, M. J., Lansford, K. L., & Liss, J. M. (2015). The relationship between speech segment duration and vowel centralization in a group of older speakers. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(4), 2132-2139.