Pub. 3 2013-2014 Issue 2

28 A new iOS app released by Orem based CompleteSpeech, is quickly becoming a standard of care for speech therapy and language training in schools worldwide. VowelViz™ is the first app to give speakers immedi- ate visual feedback on their vowel quality, including the ever challenging vocalic /r/. VowelViz uses a revolutionary vowel mapping technology that allows speakers to clearly compare their pronunciation of sounds with visual targets based on researched averages from other speakers. “It removes all the guessing,” says Dan Smith, COO at Com- pleteSpeech. “Students are now empowered with clear and immediate feedback. Time spent trying to figure out what they were doing wrong is now spent practicing it right.” As speech is captured by the app from the student, their vowels are dynamically projected on a framework known as the “Vowel Quadrilateral,” a chart used in phonetics to represent sound production and tongue placement in the mouth during speech. When a target vowel is selected, a range appears representing the average “location” of that sound in the mouth. If the student fails to land their vowel production within that target range, they can adjust their tongue height and location and see the immediate change to their vowel. This location feedback allows users to see and mimic the difference in sounds, even if they cannot hear the difference. Since its release in the Apple App Store roughly 6 months ago, the dynamic feedback of VowelViz has been adopted by parents, school districts, private clin- ics, language educators, hospitals and Universities across the United States and internationally for use in speech therapy, accent modification and phonetics education. It has been used with learners of all ages and many develop- mental conditions including Apraxia of Speech, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Developmental Disorders and Autism among others. Perhaps the most sought after application of VowelViz in the school setting is correcting the vocalic /r/. Accord- ing to the Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation-2, the /r/ phoneme does not normally develop for all contexts within words (initial, medial and final) until 6 years of age. It is not uncommon for students to struggle for multiple years, even into middle school, in traditional therapy with the /r/ sound, even if they develop completely normally in all other areas. VowelViz provides a clear visual difference between properly articulated /r/’s (car, fern, deer, fire) and improper ones (cah, fuhn, dee-ah, fi-ah). This visual dif- ference allows students to practice independently, adding critical repetitions needed to develop muscle memory fast- er without relying on a parent or instructor for constant feedback. More importantly, the self-monitoring feedback provides the framework to practice accurately; after all, as the legendary Vince Lombardi said, “Only perfect prac- tice makes perfect.” With Apple’s 50% Volume Purchase Program for apps purchased in bulk by schools, VowelViz use is rapidly being adopted by school districts across the country. Pat Mervine, M.A., CCC-SLP, a nationally recognized author of the blog “Speaking of Speech” and school based Speech-Language Pathologist wrote, “I have lots of great artic and language apps on my iPad, but VowelViz is in a class by itself.” CompleteSpeech has posted tutorial videos for parents and instructors to maximize the effectiveness of the technology in whatever setting they may be. One Layton mother, Kendra, used VowelViz with her 10 year old son working on his /r/’s. “[My son] uses the instant feedback to manipulate his mouth/tongue into the posi- tions that allow the proper vocalic /r/’s to emerge. Rather than be taught by someone else, this tool is enabling him to teach himself!” VowelViz represents the second innova- tive speech technology created by CompleteSpeech, the first being the SmartPalate System. The SmartPalate Sys- tem displays tongue-to-palate contact in real-time allowing students to practice making difficult consonants repeatedly simply by matching their tongue with visual targets on a computer screen. CompleteSpeech made local headlines in May 2012 by winning 1st place in the Grow America busi- ness competition and has since made significant improve- ments to the SmartPalate System, as well as the develop- ment of VowelViz. VowelViz and VowelViz Schools are available for purchase on the Apple App Store for $29.99 and $49.99 respectively. If you would like more information on this story or to schedule an interview with Dan Smith, please call Dan at 877.710.6031 (office) 801.613.2073 (cell) or email Dan at dsmith@completespeech.com. Thank you! Utah App Improving Speech Worldwide BY DAN SMITH, COMPLETESPEECH