Effects of initial letter cueing on intelligibility of Japanese speakers with dysarthria

Abstract

Initial letter cueing is a unique communication system whereby speakers with dysarthria identify the first letter of each word on an alphabet board as the word is spoken. We investigated the effectiveness of initial letter cueing in 47 Japanese speakers with dysarthria. The following major results were obtained.

1. Intelligibility was significantly better in the first letter cue condition than in the no cues condition.

2. In each severity level group, intelligibility was significantly better in the first letter cue condition than in the no cues condition. This difference was particularly significant in the moderately and severely dysarthric groups.

3. For each type of dysarthria, intelligibility was improved by presentation of the first letter. The improvement was more significant for types in which intelligibility was poorer in the no cues condition.

4. Results did not differ significantly between three- and four-mora words.

On the basis of these findings, we discuss herein the clinical effectiveness of initial letter cueing in speakers with dysarthria.

Keywords:

• Dysarthria
• initial letter cueing
• intelligibility
• AAC