Assistive Technologies at the Edge of Language and Speech Science for Children with Communication Disorders: VocalIDTM, Free SpeechTM, and SmartPalateTM

a. A Few Words about Communication

It is estimated that 40 million Americans have a communication disorder (Ruben, 2000). While the hallmark of human communication is the use of this organized system of arbitrary symbols we call language, people also use non-linguistic forms of communication. Communication includes all information transmitted between a sender and a receiver of a message, and, therefore, can include facial expressions, gestures, body language, etc. (Plante & Beeson, 2013). For the majority of people, language is transmitted through speech, which involves the vocalization and articulation of the message we wish to transmit. When using speech, it is usually necessary that the sender and receiver of the message be able to hear in order to code and decode that message appropriately. Language can, however, also be written, or signed in the form of sign language.

It is not until we find ourselves struggling to express or comprehend a thought that we realize we take our ability to communicate for granted; human language and speech are nothing short of miraculous. Communication disorders are either acquired after an injury or illness, or are developmental, caused by congenital conditions such as genetic syndromes, childbirth-related complications, autism, or idiopathic etiologies. A breakdown in communication can occur at any of the various stages of message transmission, starting from the formulation of the thought in the sender’s mind to the decoding of that message in the receiver’s cortex, passing by the use of our vocal folds and articulators, among other processes.