Improving Speech Intelligibility in Adults

Book excerpt: Being intelligible to a listener means getting your message across and improving speech intelligibility is one of the most common goals for clients working with a speech-language pathologist (SLP). Improving Speech Intelligibility in Adults: Clinical Application of Evidence-Based Strategies is a professional resource for practicing SLPs working with adults with communication disorders, such as dysarthria, acquired apraxia of speech, and voice disorders. This book incorporates current research findings to support the use of evidence-based strategies in clinical situations. While other books may focus on “drilling” and “practicing” a list of words, sentences, and topics to use with a client to change their behaviors, Improving Speech Intelligibility in Adults uniquely focuses on the speaker and the listener in tandem. The author takes a noteworthy approach in how the listener can change behaviors to assist with understanding. The text presents a comprehensive approach to improving speech intelligibility by including ways to enhance the communication environment during in-person or teletherapy exchanges to enhance understanding between speaker and listener.