Animated agent-enhanced voice treatment for individuals with Parkinson disease

Abstract

This proposal builds upon a well-established foundation of experimental data demonstrating the efficacy of LVST to help individuals with Idiopathic Parkinson Disease and the power of conversational interaction with animated agents to help individuals learn. This fit between ongoing work at LSVT and CSLR offers an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate the efficacy of speech treatment enhanced by animated agents to improve the accessibility, cost, and effectiveness of LSVT treatment, and thereby improve communication skills, self esteem and quality of everyday life of individuals with IPD. Background Oral communication is vital in education, employment, social functioning, and self-expression. Over 20 million children and adults have a neurological disorder that may impair their ability to communicate orally (Yorkston et al., 1988). The prevalence of disordered communication is particularly high in the one and one half million individuals diagnosed with Idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD). At least 89 % of these individuals have disordered speech and voice (Logemann et al., 1978); however, only 3-4 % receive speech treatment (Hartelius et al., 1994). With IPD predicted to increase significantly as the general population ages, there is a growing need for an accessible, inexpensive, effective treatment for disordered communication in these individuals. While Parkinson Disease is typically considered a Movement Disorder, the range of neuropsychological changes associated with IPD have been well described in the literature, and demonstrate that individuals with IPD have significant cognitive disabilities. These include slow