The haptic chair as a speech training aid for the deaf

Abstract

The 'Haptic Chair' (Nanayakkara et al., 2009, 2010) delivers vibrotactile stimulation to several parts of the body including the palmar surface of the hand (palm and fingers), and has been shown to have a significant positive effect on the enjoyment of music even by the profoundly deaf. In this paper, we explore the effectiveness of using the Haptic Chair during speech therapy for the deaf. Based on evidence we present from a 12-week pilot user study, a follow-up 24-week study with 20 profoundly deaf users was conducted to validate our initial observations. The improvements in word clarity we observed over the duration of these studies indicate that the Haptic Chair has the potential to make a significant contribution to speech therapy for the deaf. © 2012 ACM.