Abstract: It is a well-known fact that any two persons with disability are not alike and their articulation would not be similar. In this context teaching and rendering services for children with special needs particularly those who have hearing impairment and articulation disorder is quite a challenge. To provide clinical support services to the needy population, we have used MATLAB, a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment as a tool to achieve the aim and objectives of our project. The main aim of our project is to encourage students to achieve one of the primary milestone i.e., articulations of phonemes. To provide training in articulation of phonemes by continual therapy imparted through MATLAB and to promote interactive learning method during therapy sessions are the prime objectives. This Technical intervention would be very user friendly for therapist during the therapy session as they provide visual cues and also help giving feedback on improvement towards achieving the correct articulation to the children. These visual cues will encourage articulation disordered kid to learn in an easier way, unlike the traditional practice. Whole process was divided into three phases. Initially, the reliable and efficient microphone was selected for phoneme recording purpose based on frequency response characteristics. Where, the phonemes are recorded using different set of microphones; each microphone’s frequency response characteristic was analyzed and appropriate microphone (SLM) was selected for articulation therapy. Secondly, a data base of normal was created using the recordings from the suitable microphone that was articulated by the native Kannada speaking children with the age range of 7-8 years and without any articulation disorder. Finally, Phonemes articulated by articulation disorder children of the age range of 7-9 years was recorded. Comparison of its frequency response characteristic with the reference of normal children was obtained. The Cepstrum algorithm was used for the analyzing the frequency response characteristic. Analysis of the compared phonemes are studied and scored. These scored data are provided as visual cues through MATLAB tool. This visual feedback not only helps the therapist to provide therapy in clinical sessions but also encourage the child in achieving the milestone towards correct articulation very quickly in an easier way.
Keywords: MATLAB; SLM; MICROPHONE; CEPSTRUM.
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DOI:
10.17148/IJARCCE.2022.11761
