COMPUTER TRAINING FOR SPEECH PERCEPTION IN THE DEAF

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO PROVIDE A SET OF SOFTWARE PROGRAMS AND SUPPORT MANUALS FOR TRAINING PROFOUNDLY DEAF ADULTS AND CHILDREN TO USE SENSORY AIDS (TACTILE DEVICES ANDCOCHLEAR IMPLANTS) FOR SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PERCEPTION. THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP AN ADAPTIVE TRAINING SYSTEM THAT CAPITALIZES ON AVAILABLE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY WHILE INCORPORATING AN EXPLORATORY-BASED APPROACH TO LEARNING. THE CORE OPERATING SYSTEM, WHICH SIMULTANEOUSLY PRESENTS ANYCOMBINATION OF SPEECH, GRAPHICS, AND TEXT OUTPUT IN BOTH AN EXPLORATORY AND AN ASSESSMENT MODE, HAS ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED. THE SPECIFIC AIMS IN PHASE I ARE TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM THAT: (1) IDENTIFIES THE STUDENT'S LEARNING STRATEGIES, AND (2) ACCOMMODATES EACH STUDENT'S NEEDS BY RECONFIGURING THE "LESSON" BASED ON HIS/HER PERFORMANCE. ANINTEGRAL PART OF THE PLAN IS TO PROVIDE A SYSTEM THAT ALLOWSTHE TEACHER TO DEVELOP AND EASILY IMPLEMENT A LESSON PLAN BYPROGRAMMING THE CONTENT AND MODALITY FOR BOTH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PERCEPTION. IT IS APPARENT THAT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TACTILE AIDS AND COCHLEAR IMPLANTS HAS OUTSTRIPPED THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING METHODS; THUS, THE UTILITY OF SUCH DEVICES IS LIMITED BY THE LACK OF AN EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE TRAINING SYSTEM. A WELL-CONCEIVED AND EFFECTIVE TRAINING PROGRAM WITH WELL-DESIGNED MATERIALS WILL GREATLY ENHANCE AND EXPANDTHE USE OF SENSORY AIDS FOR DEAF AND HEARING-IMPAIRED INDIVIDUALS.