The Intelligibility of Synthetic Speech to Learning Handicapped Children

This study investigated the effect of listening experience on the ability of learning handicapped children to understand synthetic speech. Two groups of 12 learning handicapped children each participated in the study. The first group was exposed to synthetic speech every day for 10 weeks, whereas the second had limited or no exposure to synthetic speech. When children were asked to identify stimulus words presented by a taped, female voice, the group with extended exposure to synthetic speech correctly identified approximately the same percentage of words as the group with limited exposure In contrast, when the stimulus words were presented by a speech synthesizer, children in the extended exposure group correctly identified a significantly higher percentage of the words than did those in the limited exposure group. Both groups correctly identified significantly fewer wends when words were presented by the speech synthesizer than when words were presented by the tape recorder. Educational implications of the low intelligibility scores of both groups when listening to synthesized speech are discussed, and future research needs identified.