A speech training aid for the deaf with display of voicing, frication and silence

A new speech training aid providing visual feedback for deaf children is described. The Fricative and Timing Aid (FTA) distinguisnes between silence, voiced sounds and unvoiced sounds and displays their presence and duration within words or phrases. It provides target and attempt traces, allowing subjects to perceive and correct errors in speech. The FTA was used under controlled conditions to teach fricative production and voicing contrasts, over six months. The results show that (i) for children learning voicing contrasts, those using the FTA made more progress than those not using it and (ii) for children learning fricatives the progress made by FTA users and non-users was similar. However, the FTA made speech training easier and more efficient.