Spashta Nudi (ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟ ನುಡಿ)

Children continually fascinate adults with their development, especially their ability to produce speech sounds and form words. This process begins in infancy and continues through early school years, enabling effective communication.

Typically developing children achieve about 90% speech clarity by around four years of age. However, children with hearing impairment often face challenges in articulation and pronunciation, affecting communication and social interactions. Despite advances in hearing aid technology, many continue to struggle with clear speech production, making focused articulation intervention essential.

Improving speech clarity often requires prolonged therapy, but many children cannot access it consistently due to practical constraints.

To address this, a clinician-assisted, parent-mediated articulation intervention was developed as part of a Final Year Engineering project by CSE (Artificial Intelligence) students S B Gnanashree Jain, Supriya S, Ramya P R, and Chuman Sarode R under the guidance of Dr. Hemanth S R, HOD, Deptt. of CSE(AI), Maharaja Institute of Technology Mysore, and with guidance and material support from Dr. N. Sreedevi, Professor of Speech Sciences, Shri. S. Karthik Venkat, Speech Technologist, and Shri. Vikaram A., Technician, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore. The team also acknowledges Ms. Delcita Fernandes for material preparation and Ms. Deepika K for validation on end users from AIISH.

The work is based on the Parent-mediated Kannada Articulation Training Manual (P-KAT), introduced in 2023 for Kannada-speaking children with hearing impairment. The manual includes structured stimuli with visual and grapheme support for vowels, consonants, and clusters, and was validated as effective in improving speech clarity.

Building on this, the “Spashta Nudi” app was developed to improve accessibility. It provides articulation training for 19 consonants in word initial, medial, and final positions. Activities follow a hierarchical structure from words to sentences and short story narration, enabling gradual learning. Reinforcements using GIFs enhance engagement.

The app supports home-based practice alongside therapy, empowering parents with structured resources. It is cost-effective, user-friendly, and reduces the need for frequent clinical visits.

Spashta Nudi can also be used for other articulation-related communication disorders, including children with cochlear implants. Its game-based activities encourage consistent practice.

Overall, the app serves as an accessible tool supporting improved articulation outcomes in children with diverse communication needs.