CoPracTter: Toward Integrating Personalized Practice Scenarios, Timely Feedback and Social Support into An Online Support Tool for Coping with Stuttering in China

Title of the Paper

CoPracTter: Toward Integrating Personalized Practice Scenarios, Timely Feedback, and Social Support into An Online Support Tool for Coping with Stuttering in China

Bibliographic Information

• Research Domain: Computer-assisted language therapy, speech disorders, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Keywords: stuttering, assistive technology, field study, human-computer interaction, speech fluency, social support, personalized feedback, real-time information, stress scenarios

Research Background and Issues

• Identified Problems or Challenges:
  • Approximately 1% of the global population is affected by stuttering, with 13 million people who stutter (PwS) in China facing barriers to mental health and career development in daily life.
  • Current treatment solutions are predominantly designed for Western cultural contexts and do not address the specific needs of the Chinese environment.
  • PwS face challenges such as high treatment costs and insufficient resources, with China lacking professional speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and effective practice tools.
  • Existing tools primarily focus on independent practice, lacking peer support features and failing to provide timely personalized feedback effectively.
• Significance:
  • Stuttering not only impacts communication abilities but also leads to issues such as social anxiety and discrimination, severely affecting quality of life.
  • Particularly in China, cultural perceptions of stuttering are more negative, and patients often face greater social pressure and psychological burdens.
• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  • Existing studies overlook cultural differences and specific stuttering scenarios in their design approaches.
  • To improve the condition of PwS in China, it is urgently necessary to design a practical mobile application tool that integrates stuttering-trigger scenarios, real-time feedback, and social support mechanisms.

Solution

• Proposed Solution:
  • Develop a mobile application prototype, “CoPracTter,” which combines personalized stress scenarios, real-time speech metrics, and peer feedback to provide online support for speech fluency practice among PwS in China.
  • Includes five key design considerations:
    1. Personalized stress scenarios tailored to stuttering-trigger situations.
    2. Realistic and stress-inducing simulated scenario content.
    3. Integration of scenarios requiring users to practice stuttering-trigger syllables.
    4. Establishment of a supportive community for exchanging personalized feedback and psychological support.
    5. Provision of timely speech data feedback to enable users to reflect on and adjust their performance.
• Innovative Features:
  • The first mobile app to integrate stress scenario simulation, personalized feedback, and social support into a single tool, tailored specifically to the cultural and practical needs of Chinese PwS.
  • Offers real-time data analysis and community interaction, balancing individual practice with social support.
• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:
  • Design low-fidelity prototypes using Figma and develop the application using React framework and Node.js.
  • Employ signal processing and Fourier analysis to display real-time feedback, such as speech rate, volume, and facial expressions.
  • Use front-facing camera feedback for facial expression tracking, combined with video dialogue to simulate real-life scenarios.
  • Utilize Tencent Cloud’s speech-to-text service for real-time audio transcription.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:
  • Creatively designed and implemented the CoPracTter prototype tool, providing high-pressure practice environments through video and task simulations.
  • Established a supportive online community that enables targeted comments, ratings, and encouragement.
  • A seven-day deployment study demonstrated significant benefits for PwS in practicing speech fluency, boosting psychological confidence, and adapting to real-life scenarios.
• Advantages Compared to Existing Solutions:
  • Offers unique, personalized stuttering-trigger scenarios and task designs.
  • Adds real-time facial tracking and speech metric feedback features to help users make immediate adjustments.
  • Integrates social support and personalized guidance as an innovative design approach.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • The study revealed that participants improved their adaptation to real-life stuttering scenarios through stress scenario practice.
  • Subjective feedback, such as ratings and comments, helped participants receive peer support and enhance problem-solving awareness.
  • Real-time feedback, including speech rate data and facial images, effectively assisted participants in immediate adjustments.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • The deployment study was relatively short, lasting only seven days, and could not fully capture long-term user behavior.
  • The authenticity and stress level of video content were insufficient to completely simulate real-life scenarios.
  • Future directions:
    • Explore more immersive practice technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).
    • Conduct long-term deployment studies to analyze comprehensive usage patterns and effects.
    • Develop smarter comment filtering and feedback learning mechanisms.