Laura Chambers

• BSc (Hons) Speech & Language Sciences
• Storytelling after right-sided stroke: Using real-time speech measures to identify the deficit

Survivors of right-sided stroke often have speech difficulties, particularly in story-telling. Speech can be less fluent than healthy speakers, contain longer pauses and more hesitations. However, these under-researched difficulties are often subtle, making identification by clinicians (neurologists, speech and language therapists, psychologists) challenging. This study analysed 10 audio recordings of the Cinderella story from right-sided stroke survivors, comparing them with 10 healthy speakers.  The project used speech analysis software, applying a novel way of measuring speech-rate by accounting for the duration of pauses, hesitations and other speech behaviours. Results revealed that speech-rates in right-sided stroke and healthy speakers were not significantly different. For the first time, we were able to compare the speed of story-telling skills experienced by individuals who have had a right-sided stroke. Mindful of the small samples, we provided empirical evidence that past clinical impressions reported in the literature may not be as accurate as previously thought.

Funding source: Newcastle University

Project Supervisor: Dr Christos Salis