Universal screen for language learning impaired subjects
First Claim
1. A method for screening a human to determine his/her ability to process spoken language, the method using target/distractor phonemes that are processed using a plurality of acoustic manipulations, each of the acoustic manipulations having a plurality of processing levels, the method comprising:
- a) presenting a target/distractor sequence of acoustically processed phonemes to the human;
b) requiring the human to indicate recognition of an acoustically processed target phoneme within the sequence;
c) recording the human'"'"'s correct/incorrect indication, corresponding to the sequence; and
d) repeating a)-c) for each of the plurality of processing levels, for each of the plurality of acoustic manipulations;
e) wherein a)-d) develop an acoustic processing profile for the human.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for screening an individual'"'"'s ability to process acoustic events is provided. The invention provides sequences (or trials) of acoustically processed target and distractor phonemes to a subject for identification. The acoustic processing includes amplitude emphasis of selected frequency envelopes, stretching (in the time domain) of selected portions of phonemes, and phase adjustment of selection portions of phonemes relative to a base frequency. After a number of trials, the method of the present invention develops a profile for an individual that indicates whether the individual'"'"'s ability to process acoustic events is within a normal range, and if not, what processing can provide the individual with optimal hearing. The individual'"'"'s profile can then be used by a listening or processing device to particularly emphasize, stretch, or otherwise manipulate an audio stream to provide the individual with an optimal chance of distinguishing between similar acoustic events.
108 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for screening a human to determine his/her ability to process spoken language, the method using target/distractor phonemes that are processed using a plurality of acoustic manipulations, each of the acoustic manipulations having a plurality of processing levels, the method comprising:
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a) presenting a target/distractor sequence of acoustically processed phonemes to the human; b) requiring the human to indicate recognition of an acoustically processed target phoneme within the sequence; c) recording the human'"'"'s correct/incorrect indication, corresponding to the sequence; and d) repeating a)-c) for each of the plurality of processing levels, for each of the plurality of acoustic manipulations; e) wherein a)-d) develop an acoustic processing profile for the human. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for testing a human to determine his/her ability to distinguish between target/distractor acoustic parameters that are common in spoken language, the method using a computer attached to speakers, the computer for processing the target/distractor acoustic parameters according to a plurality of selectable acoustic manipulations, each of the acoustic manipulations having a plurality of processing levels, the method comprising:
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a) providing a computer program to the human, for execution on the computer, the computer program containing the target/distractor acoustic parameters, and computer instructions to process the target/distractor acoustic parameters according to the selectable acoustic manipulations; and b) executing the computer program on the computer, said executing comprising; b1) selecting one of the plurality of acoustic manipulations, and one of its plurality of processing levels for processing the target/distractor acoustic parameters; b2) presenting a sequence to the human that contains the processed target/distractor acoustic parameters; b3) recording whether the human distinguished between the processed target and distractor acoustic parameters presented in the sequence; and b4) repeating b1)-b3) for each of the plurality of processing levels, for each of the plurality of acoustic manipulations. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification