Agenda ‣ Introduction to iCanSpeak iCanSpeak ‣ iCanSpeak from a Speech Language Pathologists’ perspective Everything is impossible, until it is not ‣ iCanSpeak from the perspective of someone who stutters Kiwanis Club of Ottawa ‣ Directions forward 2020-01-24 ‣ Questions www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 1 2 Introductions Stuttering / Stammering ‣ The team ‣ Repeated words or syllables ‣ Jacquee Blum Glance ‣ Prolongation of words or syllables ‣ Andrew Johnson ‣ Blockage of words or syllables ‣ Secondary mannerisms www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 3 4 Stuttering / Stammering Stuttering / Stammering ‣ https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/stuttering ‣ No known cause, no ‘cure’ ‣ 5 percent of all children will stutter for some period in their life, ‣ Many, many false solutions lasting from a few weeks to permanently. ‣ Almost no funding for medical research ‣ Boys are 2 to 3 times as likely to stutter as girls ‣ The number of boys who continue to stutter is three to four times larger than the number of girls. ‣ Most children outgrow stuttering, 1% of adults stutter www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 5 6 My Son - Andrew The iCanSpeak Idea ‣ People who stutter don’t stutter when: ‣ First investigation at the age of 5 ‣ They sing, shout, whisper, swear, or choral speak ‣ Vocabulary of a 10 year old, be patient (80% stop on their own) ‣ The initial idea: ‣ Speech therapy starting at 7 with Jacquee Blum Glance ‣ Create technology to simulate choral speaking in real time ‣ Summer program with U of Toronto at 13 ‣ Altered Audio Feedback (AAF) echos the speaker’s voice with delay and pitch ‣ Continues with therapy and is disfluent in English and French to simulate another speaker www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 7 8 Initial Project Sample Participant Video ‣ 2005 Funding from the Kiwanis Medical Foundation for study of Altered Audio Feedback ‣ iCanSpeak written on a Compaq iPaq for AAF and tested ‣ Thanks to Derek Finley for his technical help! ‣ Standard fluency test applied to multiple participants www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 9 10 Sample Participant Video “I know the answers, but I am so scared of what the class might think” www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 11 12 Lessons Learned 2006 Hibernation ‣ The software worked! ‣ Wait for the hardware to catch up ‣ The hardware let us down ‣ 2007 iPhone released, 2009 software development kits ‣ Battery life was only 30 minutes in real life ‣ 2010 Write custom version for Andrew ‣ Background noise was a barrier ‣ Wait for someone else to come out with an app ‣ Resistance to technology from many Speech Language Pathologists ‣ No one did www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 13 14 iCanSpeak v2.0 Lessons Applied in v2.0 ‣ 2013 Apple releases CareKit ‣ The software still works ‣ Start a new version of iCanSpeak ‣ The hardware has caught up ‣ 2017 Funding from Danbe Foundation and Kiwanis Medical ‣ Battery life is now 8 hours Foundation, Kathleen Faloon Johnson ‣ Background noise addressed with noise cancelling headphones (late 2019) ‣ 2019 Tool available for research ‣ Interest from Speech Language Pathologists, smart phones are no longer scary www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 15 16 2020 Version iCanSpeak From An SLP’s Perspective ‣ The software runs on any iPhone or iPod Touch ‣ Introduction to Jacquee ‣ Live module provides real time altered audio feedback - free ‣ SLP to Andrew and many others ‣ Techniques module provides daily fluency exercises - free ‣ Ottawa Board of Education and private practice ‣ iPad SLP module allows an SLP to remotely assign and monitor ‣ Most clients are children and youths participant exercises - Not currently public www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 17 18 Who are SLPs Andrew’s Disfluency ‣ University grads in Master’s Program in Communication Disorders ‣ Never worked with any stutterer as severe as Andrew ‣ Regulated Health Professionals by the College of Audiologists and ‣ Parents had to pursue private therapy as little therapy is available in Speech Language Pathologists of Ontario the school system ‣ Mostly private practice ‣ He had a strong peer group and did not feel bullied or ostracized due to the amazing support of family and friend ‣ Speech disorders, language disorders, cognitive-communication disorders, voice disorders, swallowing disorders, the diagnosis and ‣ He did not always share his thoughts, opinions because of the time treatment of autism spectrum disorder and extreme effort required www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 19 20 Andrew’s Disfluency Andrew and iCanSpeak ‣ Andrew knew every technique to achieve fluent speech but could ‣ Researched the Speech Easy device which was invented in the only achieve real fluency with choral reading and speaking United States but was large and unwieldy and very costly ($8k+) ‣ In 1999 summer intensive fluency program in Toronto with Dr. ‣ Impetus for iCanSpeak on a smart phone Robert Kroll, the only successful treatment program in Canada ‣ While many therapists oppose the use of technology, they do not ‣ For the first time, the Johnson’s heard Andrew speaking fluently walk in the shoes of a stutterer. ‣ Fluent speech can only be maintained for short periods of time ‣ Stuttering or dysfluency is one of the most debilitating communication disorders. www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 21 22 Therapy Resources in Ottawa The iCanSpeak Opportunity ‣ Preschoolers via First Words and CHEO ‣ Can you imagine the possibilities if everyone had access to the app and could speak fluently during presentations in class, answering ‣ When children enter school, they are discharged. Referred to questions, having conversations, asking someone out or speaking to CHEO School Health Rehabilitation Services (formerly CCAC/ an authority figure like a police officer or professor? LHIN) and the wait can be 12-18 months long ‣ The possibilities are endless ‣ Therapy is provided if the child meets the mandate, once every two weeks for a minimum of 30 minutes until techniques are learned ‣ Thanks to Danbe Foundation and the Kiwanis Medical Foundation for making this possible ‣ Maintenance therapy is not provided and the therapy is finite www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 23 24 iCanSpeak Impact for Stutters How Stuttering Impacted My Life ‣ Introduction to Andrew ‣ Naturally an outgoing and talkative person ‣ Part of the Kiwanis Family ‣ Determined to not allow stuttering to impact my life ‣ Cadets ‣ Invisible disability ‣ Bed Race ‣ Some personal interactions have been tough ‣ Transit Planner with the City of Hamilton ‣ Limited employment options growing up ‣ Forced to improve written communication to compensate www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 25 26 Speech Therapy’s Role In My Life How I Use iCanSpeak ‣ Fluency ‣ Primarily in ‘high stress’ situations ‣ Confidence ‣ Interviews ‣ “I wouldn’t be where I am today without it” ‣ Speaking to a room full of people ‣ Gives that extra fluency and confidence in my fluency ‣ Would recommend speech therapy and this app to anyone who stutters www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 27 28 Thx to Kiwanis and Danbe Directions Forward ‣ This will make a difference ‣ Wider studies ‣ uOttawa, Carleton, uToronto, Ottawa Hospital, CHEO ‣ Applications to Parkinson’s and Stroke patients ‣ Techniques in other languages ‣ Addition of AI and ML to help SLPs www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 29 30 One Can Make a Difference Questions? ‣ 350,000 people in Canada stutter ‣ www.iCanSpeak.org for download or donations ‣ Danbe Foundation, Kiwanis Medical Foundation, Kathleen Faloon Johnson, RKIL ‣ Alan Stanley - Design Creative Honcho, Andrew Johnson - Content Connoisseur & Chief Guinea Pig, Eileen Hennemann - Design Content Helmer, Jacquee Blum Glance - Head of Technique Application, Jamie Johnson - Byte Arranger and Supreme Commander, Laura Johnson - Head of Production, Mark Czapalay - Software Wizard, Scott Johnson - Document Preparation Master, Theresa Johnson - Letter Rearranger www.iCanSpeak.org www.iCanSpeak.org 31 32 Thanks ‣ www.iCanSpeak.org for download or donations www.iCanSpeak.org 33.