ASHA’s researchers and clinicians share a common goal of improving communication for people with speech difficulties. To further our shared goal, we’re bringing ASHA members the latest developments from top researchers around the world across five topics related to speech production and motor control.

The latest special issue in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR) contains articles developed from the 8th International Conference on Speech and Motor Control. Guest Editors Ben A. M. Maassen and Hayo Terband present 16 papers developed from this conference. Learn more about the Special Issue below!

Neural Anatomy and Physiology

The issue opens with an introduction by Maassen and Terband, who discuss the history of the conference and introduce the articles—which span five key topics. The first topic focuses on the anatomical structures and physiological processes that underlie speech production.

Wrench looks at the current understanding of how the tongue functions, challenging existing beliefs and presenting a structure based on neuromuscular compartments. Next, Offerede and colleagues report on a study in which they observed people during conversation to determine if participants subconsciously influenced each other’s breathing or speech production. In the final article of this section, Weston et al. study the relationship between leg motion and speech tempo in a cycling class.

Speech Production Modeling

Werner and colleagues kick off a series of articles on speech production modeling with an article on the acoustics of breath noises in speech. Then, Ashokumar et al. investigate whether or not individuals can learn or correct speech production using sensory information without producing any speech.

Svensson Lundmark and Erickson explain the role of the jaw, tongue, and lips in speech—and how they work together. Later in the forum, Janse and colleagues look at the link between cognitive control and maximum speech performance.

Conditions That Affect Speech Motor Control

Teplansky et al. compare tongue and lip motion control in individuals with and without amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Later, Huynh and colleagues show that people with ALS and their caregivers experienced a variety of challenges in accessing speech-language pathology services, highlighting the need for person-centered care.

Horton et al. look at stuttering—in particular, whether or not self-reported stuttering ratings correlated with ratings from clinicians. Elsewhere in the forum, Bunker and colleagues investigate whether word syllable duration can be used in place of speech rate for individuals with apraxia of speech. Later, Abbiati et al. examine whether different speech elicitation methods affect articulatory variability.

Additional Topics in Speech Motor Control

Three articles focus on typical and atypical speech motor and speech sound development in children. First, Namasivayam and colleagues search for factors that best predict functional communication improvements in children with motor-based speech sound disorder (SSDs).

Next, Machart et al. present an analysis of consonant production in children with and without cochlear implants. SSD in infants was also the subject of an article by guest editors Maassen and Terband, who look to help speech-language pathologists (SLPs) develop a process-oriented approach to help each individual child with SSD.

The forum closes with an article by Dvorak and Boutsen discussing The Collaboverse, a web-based platform for researchers, clinicians, and educators looking to narrow the digital divide. They discuss how one can use the network to generate clinically relevant data using machine-learning approaches and other advanced computational abilities.

More on Speech Motor Control

This issue aimed to bring together researchers and clinicians “in our collective endeavor to face the challenges of improving clinical practice for persons with speech difficulties” (Maassen & Terband, 2024a, p. 3885). Whatever work you do in speech motor control, we hope that these articles provide you with new ideas and inspiration!

We’d like to thank Drs. Maassen and Terband, as well as all of the authors who contributed to this forum, for bringing this work to JSLHR. The entire Special Issue is available online, or you can explore the individual articles using the links below.

Explore the Special Issue

Abbiati, C. I., Bauerly, K. R., & Velleman, S. L. (2024). Speech elicitation methods for measuring articulatory control. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4107–4114. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00056

Ashokumar, M., Schwartz, J.-L., & Ito, T. (2024). Changes in speech production following perceptual training with orofacial somatosensory inputs. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 3962–3973. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00249

Bunker, L. D., Bailey, D. J., Poss, E., Mauszycki, S., & Wambaugh, J. L. (2024). Stability over time of word syllable duration for speakers with acquired apraxia of speech. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4038–4052. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00007

Dvorak, J. D., & Boutsen, F. R. (2024). The Collaboverse: A collaborative data-sharing and speech analysis platform. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4137–4156. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00286

Horton, S., Jackson, V., Boyce, J., Franken, M.-C., Siemers, S., St John, M., Hearps, S., van Reyk, O., Braden, R., Parker, R., Vogel, A. P., Eising, E., Amor, D. J., Irvine, J., Fisher, S. E., Martin, N. G., Reilly, S., Bahlo, M., Scheffer, I., & Morgan, A. (2024). Self-reported stuttering severity is accurate: Informing methods for large-scale data collection in stuttering. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4015–4024. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00081

Huynh, A., Adams, K., Barnett-Tapia, C., Kalra, S., Zinman, L., & Yunusova, Y. (2024). Accessing and receiving speech-language pathology services at the multidisciplinary Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Clinic: An exploratory qualitative study of patient experiences and needs. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4025–4037. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00087

Janse, E., Shen, C., & de Kerf, E. (2024). Diadochokinesis performance and its link to cognitive control: Alternating versus non-alternating diadochokinesis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4096–4106. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00076

Maassen, B. A. M., & Terband, H. (2024a). 8th International Conference on Speech Motor Control. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 3881–3886. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00526

Maassen, B. A. M., & Terband, H. (2024b). Toward process-oriented, dimensional approaches for diagnosis and treatment of speech sound disorders in children: Position statement and future perspectives. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4115–4136. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00591

Machart, L., Vilain, A., Lœvenbruck, H., Tiede, M. & Ménard, L. (2024). Exposure to Canadian French cued speech improves consonant articulation in children with cochlear implants: Acoustic and articulatory data. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4069–4095. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00078

Namasivayam, A. K., Shin, H., Nisenbaum, R., Pukonen, M., & van Lieshout, P. (2024). Predictors of functional communication outcomes in children with idiopathic motor speech disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4053–4068. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00070

Offrede, T., Mooshammer, C., & Fuchs, S. (2024). Breathing and speech adaptation: Do speakers adapt toward a confederate talking under physical effort? Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 3914–3930. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00113

Svensson Lundmark, M., & Erickson, D. (2024). Segmental and syllabic articulations: A descriptive approach. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 3974–4001. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00526

Teplansky, K. J., Wisler, A., Goffman, L., & Wang, J. (2024). The impact of stimulus length in tongue and lip movement pattern stability in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 4002–4014. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00079

Werner, R., Fuchs, S., Trouvain, J., Kürbis, S., Möbius, B., & Birkholz, P. (2024). Acoustics of breath noises in human speech: Descriptive and three-dimensional modeling approaches. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 3947–3961. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00112

Weston, H., Pouw, W., & Fuchs, S. (2024). On the relation between leg motion rate and speech tempo during submaximal cycling exercise. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 3931–3946. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00178

Wrench, A. A. (2024). The compartmental tongue. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(10S), 3887–3913. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00125