Abstract

Although recent literature suggests that fatigue influences the communication of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), its relationship to acoustic measures of speech, specifically formant transitions during diphthongs, has not been explored. In the present study, 11 participants diagnosed with MS, two of whom were perceptually dysarthric, and 12 control subjects were recorded as they performed selected speech tasks in both the morning and the afternoon. Before each recording session, participants rated their fatigue level. The participants with MS gave significantly higher ratings of fatigue than the control group. The speakers with MS had longer diphthong durations in a non-fatigued state, but not in a fatigued state, which was indicative of the variability in this group of speakers. Fatigue was not shown to affect any other acoustic variables. This finding may be attributable to the mildness of the speech impairment of this sample of speakers with MS.

Degree

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

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