Measure of the severity of ataxic dysarthria through the acoustic analysis

The objective of this work is to study the voice onset time (VOT) and the speed of transitions in diphthongs through the slopes of F2 in ataxic dysarthria, in addition to examining the relationship between these two acoustic measurements and severity of motor speech disorders. The results show higher VOT and greater variability and slower transitions in the dysarthric group. High correlation between these two measures and the level of speech intelligibility was found. Acoustic analysis has proved a useful tool for objective assessment of dysarthria. The two measures used in this study provide information on the severity of motor speech disorders and provide objective data that can be used in speech therapy and research.