Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Computer-Aided-Therapy

Fluency shaping therapies involve a lot of speech practise for example gentle onset or connecting-the-syllables. There are several softwares available to aid the patient to practise efficiently. I know of three: Speak Gentle , Dr Fluency , Flunatic .

In my view, the advantages of CAF is: 1) the patient receives an accurate freedback of his/her performance 2) can easily see how much he has practised and set clear daily targets

The "disadvantages" are: 1) it is not a real speaking situation (so it can only be part of the therapy, transfer is therefore crucial) 2) some might find it boring to sit in front a computer for a long time.

Which software is the best? Hard to say as I have only practised with Speak Gentle, and I think it is a very good and stable software and the design is very efficient/elegant. I dont know much about Dr Fluency, just that it is the best known and most distributed one. Here is a case study. Looking at their website, they are certainly aggressively pushing their product commercially and know how to. It is my understanding that they have even pursued their interest in court. Finally, Flunatics is a newly developed software for the Kassel Stuttering Therapy that replaces SpeakGentle.

And here is my disclaimer, the past paragraph does only represent my understanding, and is not necessarily a reflection of the reality. For more and reliable information, please contact the companies themselves!!!!

Even if it does not make you fluent. It's a great way to practise your singing as you can see your voice curve. I has certainly improved my volume and gentle onset. Next time you see me, ask me to show you! But unfortunately it does not train you getting the right pitch, so I am still a long way from becoming a rock star! :-)

Tom

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