This book presents the latest theoretical developments in the area of speech motor control, offering new insights by leading scientists and clinicians into speech disorders. The scope of this book is broad, presenting research in the areas of modelling, genetics, brain imaging, behavioral experimentation, and clinical applications.

Speaking is one of the most complex skills that humans perform. This volume presents state of the art research in the science of speech motor control and speech disorders. This will be an important volume for all those involved in speech research and speech pathology, including those from the disciplines of psychology, neurology, and ENT.

A comprehensive and unified account of the neural computations underlying speech production, offering a theoretical framework bridging the behavioral and the neurological literatures. In this book, Frank Guenther offers a comprehensive, unified account of the neural computations underlying speech production, with an emphasis on speech motor control rather than linguistic content. Guenther focuses on the brain mechanisms responsible for commanding the musculature of the vocal tract to produce articulations that result in an acoustic signal conveying a desired string of syllables. Guenther provides neuroanatomical and neurophysiological descriptions of the primary brain structures involved in speech production, looking particularly at the cerebral cortex and its interactions with the cerebellum and basal ganglia, using basic concepts of control theory (accompanied by nontechnical explanations) to explore the computations performed by these brain regions. Guenther offers a detailed theoretical framework to account for a broad range of both behavioral and neurological data on the production of speech. He discusses such topics as the goals of the neural controller of speech; neural mechanisms involved in producing both short and long utterances; and disorders of the speech system, including apraxia of speech and stuttering. Offering a bridge between the neurological and behavioral literatures on speech production, the book will be a valuable resource for researchers in both fields.

This book explores the nature of cognitive representations and processes in speech motor control, based primarily on evidence from speech timing. It engages with the key question of whether phonological representations are spatio-temporal, as in the Articulatory Phonology approach, or symbolic (atemporal and non-quantitative); this issue has fundamental implications for the architecture of the speech production planning system, particularly with regard to the number of planning components and the type of timing mechanisms. Alice Turk and Stefanie Shattuck-Hufnagel outline a number of arguments in favour of an alternative to the Articulatory Phonology/Task Dynamics model. They demonstrate that a different framework is needed to account for evidence from speech and non-speech timing behaviour, and specifically that three separate planning components must be posited: Phonological Planning, Phonetic Planning, and Motor-Sensory Implementation. The approach proposed in the book provides a clearer and more comprehensive account of what is known about motor timing in general and speech timing in particular. It will be of interest to phoneticians and phonologists from all theoretical backgrounds as well as to speech clinicians and technologists.

Provides clinically relevant information for clinicians and students. Addresses theory, assessment procedures, treatment and management, issues in swallowing and feeding, stuttering, augmentative and alternative communication methods, and functional treatment outcomes. Extensive references.

Many children and adults experience impairment of their communication skills. These communication disorders impact adversely on all aspects of these individuals' lives. In thirty dedicated chapters, The Cambridge Handbook of Communication Disorders examines the full range of developmental and acquired communication disorders and provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive guide to the epidemiology, aetiology and clinical features of these disorders. The volume also examines how these disorders are assessed and treated by speech and language therapists and addresses recent theoretical developments in the field. The handbook goes beyond well-known communication disorders to include populations such as children with emotional disturbance, adults with non-Alzheimer dementias and people with personality disorders. Each chapter describes in accessible terms the most recent thinking and research in communication disorders. The volume is an ideal guide for academic researchers, graduate students and professionals in speech and language therapy.

Developmental Phonological Disorders: Foundations of Clinical Practice, Second Edition is the only graduate-level textbook designed for a competency-based approach to teaching, learning, and assessment. The book provides a deep review of the knowledge base necessary for the competent assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of developmental phonological disorders. Thoroughly revised and updated, the textbook contains learning objectives in each chapter to further support understanding of concepts and carefully designed case studies and demonstrations to promote application to clinical problem solving. Key Features: Learning objectives for each chapter subsectionIncludes the "how, why, and when" to apply each assessment and treatment procedure in clinical practice62 tables containing clinically relevant information such as normative data to interpret phonological assessment results99 figures to support clinical decision making such as recommending a treatment delivery model, selecting treatment targets, or choosing evidence-based interventions35 case studies to support a competency-based approach to teaching and assessment35 demonstrations that show how to implement assessment and treatment procedures The second edition provides a comprehensive overview of seminal studies and leading-edge research on both phonological development and phonological disorders, including motor speech disorders and emergent literacy. This wealth of theoretical background is integrated with detailed descriptions and demonstrations of clinical practice, allowing the speech-language pathologist to design interventions that are adapted to the unique needs of each child while being consistent with the best research evidence. New to the Second Edition: Updated and expanded section on childhood apraxia of speechUpdated and expanded sections on the identification and treatment of inconsistent phonological disorderAdministration and interpretation of the Syllable Repetition Task addedAdministration and interpretation of the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology added with case studies and demonstrationsNew organization, formatting, and editing to reduce the size of the bookCase studies revised to a single-page formatImproved Table of Contents to ease access to content, including norms tables, case studies, and demonstrations

The Handbook of Speech Production is the first reference work to provide an overview of this burgeoning area of study. Twenty-four chapters written by an international team of authors examine issues in speech planning, motor control, the physical aspects of speech production, and external factors that impact speech production. Contributions bring together behavioral, clinical, computational, developmental, and neuropsychological perspectives on speech production to create a rich and truly interdisciplinary resource Offers a novel and timely contribution to the literature and showcases a broad spectrum of research in speech production, methodological advances, and modeling Coverage of planning, motor control, articulatory coordination, the speech mechanism, and the effect of language on production processes