East Carolina University

Andrew M Stuart

Joseph S Kalinowski

Michael P Rastatter

Tim Saltuklaroglu

Vijaya Guntupalli

Methods and devices treat non-stuttering pathologies having impaired or decreased communication skills by administering a frequency altered auditory feedback signal to a subject having a non-stuttering pathology while the subject is speaking or talking to thereby improve the subject's communication skills.

Frequency altered feedback for treating non-stuttering pathologies

Methods and devices treat treating non-stuttering pathologies having impaired or decreased communication skills by administering a frequency altered auditory feedback signal to a subject having a non-stuttering pathology while the subject is speaking or talking to thereby improve the subject's communication skills.

Methods and devices treat treating non-stuttering pathologies having impaired or decreased communication skills by administering a frequency altered auditory feedback signal to a subject having a non-stuttering pathology while the subject is speaking or talking to thereby improve the subject's communication skills. Certain methods for treating subjects having non-stuttering pathologies or disorders presenting with an impairment or dysfunction in communication skills using frequency altered auditory feedback, comprise: (a) positioning a ear-supported device (devoid of external cabling during normal operation) for receiving auditory signals associated with a subject's speech in close proximity to at least one ear of an individual, the device being adapted to be in communication with at least one of the ear canals of the individual; (b) receiving in the device an audio signal associated with the subject's speech; (c) generating from the device a frequency altered auditory feedback signal having an associated frequency shift between about +/&#x2212;2 octaves relative to the received audio signal; and (d) transmitting the frequency altered auditory feedback signal to at least one ear canal of the subject.

Portable devices for treating stuttering or communication disorders include a circuit configured to automatically electronically select sua sponte different signal parameters and/or sound effect algorithms used to generate varied altered auditory feedback signals to a user over time.

Adaptation resistant anti-stuttering devices and related methods

Methods, devices, and computer program products display visual choral speech to a patient who stutters or has a speech impediment or impairment as a visual stimulus for the patient to enhance the fluency of the patient. The visual choral speech is incongruous with the speech produced by the stutterer and is provided by a visual display of the articulatory movements of a person other than the patient (or a simulated representation thereof) of the person's lips and mouth as the person speaks. The visual speech gestures can be displayed to the patient in advance of a speaking event or speech production by the stutterer and/or concurrently with a speaking event (either intermittently or continuous during the speaking event). The visual choral speech gestures can be based on a string of coherent words to provide the visual speech gestures signal such that it is relayed to the user without the attendant auditory component allowing the user to speak at a substantially normal pace with enhanced fluency.

Methods and devices for enhancing fluency in persons who stutter employing visual speech gestures

Methods and devices generate an exogenous natural second speech signal as an auditory stimulus to a user to enhance the fluency of persons who stutter. The natural speech signal is independent of the contemporaneous speech production of the stutterer and is provided by a voice gesture and can be a prolonged or sustained voice gesture sound such as a simple vowel, or consonant, or vowel trains and the like. The second speech signal can be transmitted in advance of a speaking event or speech production of the stutterer and/or concurrently with a speaking event, either intermittently or continuous during the speaking event. The devices of the instant invention are configured to provide the voice based speech signal such that it is audible to the user and does not require feedback of the user's own speech allowing the user to speak at a substantially normal pace with enhanced fluency. The device and methods can relay the signal based on a manual activation or automatically based on a detection of speech or a stuttering event on the part of the user.

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Winterville, NC, United States of America

Andrew M Stuart